My cams color, energy, and eating.

[Peachs_chameleon]

Hello! I have a 1yo veiled chameleon and her name is peaches. 5 days ago she laid infertile eggs, everything went as planned, but since then her energy has been down and hasn’t been wanting to eat as much. I’m concerned about her color, energy levels, and her eating.

She ate 2 mealworms that I dusted in calcium with NO D3 for the past two days but hasn’t really been as interested in the crickets. Although she did eat a few crickets, it’s not as much as normal. A normal meal for her is between 5-8 crickets and sometimes a few meal or wax worms.

She is a dark brown color during the day with her cage temp at 85 with a 40% humidity level. Durning the night she’s a beautiful lime green with blue, yellow, and orange stripes. For the evening her cage is about 70 degrees and a humidity of 80%. Her lights come on at 8:30 am and shut off at 8:30 pm. I have a Zoomed tropical UVB & Heat lighting kit, as well as the zoomed T5 HO ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. Her cage is 24’ x 24’ x 48’.

As for her energy she kind of just lays underneath her basking light and heat lamp doesn’t explore her cage as much as she used to. She stays well hydrated, no sunken eyes, and normal pee and poop.

It may be nothing I just wanted to be sure everything is normal or if it’s not, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Ive never had a chameleon lay eggs because they have all been males so I don’t know if this is normal for a female who just laid eggs.

 

[elizaann2]

Hello! I have a 1yo veiled chameleon and her name is peaches. 5 days ago she laid infertile eggs, everything went as planned, but since then her energy has been down and hasn’t been wanting to eat as much. I’m concerned about her color, energy levels, and her eating.

She ate 2 mealworms that I dusted in calcium with NO D3 for the past two days but hasn’t really been as interested in the crickets. Although she did eat a few crickets, it’s not as much as normal. A normal meal for her is between 5-8 crickets and sometimes a few meal or wax worms.

She is a dark brown color during the day with her cage temp at 85 with a 40% humidity level. Durning the night she’s a beautiful lime green with blue, yellow, and orange stripes. For the evening her cage is about 70 degrees and a humidity of 80%. Her lights come on at 8:30 am and shut off at 8:30 pm. I have a Zoomed tropical UVB & Heat lighting kit, as well as the zoomed T5 HO ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. Her cage is 24’ x 24’ x 48’.

As for her energy she kind of just lays underneath her basking light and heat lamp doesn’t explore her cage as much as she used to. She stays well hydrated, no sunken eyes, and normal pee and poop.

It may be nothing I just wanted to be sure everything is normal or if it’s not, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Ive never had a chameleon lay eggs because they have all been males so I don’t know if this is normal for a female who just laid eggs.

Hello and welcome! Can you share pictures of your enclosure including the lights at the top? Will you also share pictures of your lovely lady?

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

Hello and welcome! Can you share pictures of your enclosure including the lights at the top? Will you also share pictures of your lovely lady?

Thank you! And yes give me a few minutes to transfer them from my phone to the computer

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

I

The last

picture is her AFTER her eggs. Skinnier and that dark brown i was talking about.

 

[elizaann2]

View attachment 345366View attachment 345367View attachment 345368View attachment 345369View attachment 345370View attachment 345371 I unfortunately don’t have pictures of the cage. I will take some when I get home but I’m at work and won’t be off late so……stand by for those hahaha. The last picture is her AFTER her eggs. Skinnier and that dark brown i was talking about.

Oh she is so darling

Ok that is actually normal that coloration. It may take her a few days to bounce back. If you see her turn dark colors, hang out at the bottom of her enclosure, close her eyes or have sunken eyes that’s signs of distress and she’ll need a vet asap in which case. Speaking of, do you have one?

According to my poor eyesight she laid around 40 eggs. That’s quite high you’ll want closer to 20 eggs in a clutch. You can adjust this by her husbandry…specifically her basking temp and food intake.

Do me a favor and fill out this husbandry form below and after you fill it out we can help zero in things you can do to decrease her clutch size.

Until then give her extra drinking opportunities, and some special feeders like horn worms or silk worms if you can get them, dusted with calcium of course

 

[elizaann2]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

Oh she is so darling

Ok that is actually normal that coloration. It may take her a few days to bounce back. If you see her turn dark colors, hang out at the bottom of her enclosure, close her eyes or have sunken eyes that’s signs of distress and she’ll need a vet asap in which case. Speaking of, do you have one?

According to my poor eyesight she laid around 40 eggs. That’s quite high you’ll want closer to 20 eggs in a clutch. You can adjust this by her husbandry…specifically her basking temp and food intake.

Do me a favor and fill out this husbandry form below and after you fill it out we can help zero in things you can do to decrease her clutch size.

Until then give her extra drinking opportunities, and some special feeders like horn worms or silk worms if you can get them, dusted with calcium of course

• Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, female, 1yo. Been in my care since mid July.
• Handling - Rarely. When I do it’s only when I open the door to her cage if she wants to come out I assist her in doing so as well as putting her back.
• Feeding - I feed her crickets, meal worms, wax worms, and horn worms although I am trying to broaden her diet. Crickets- 5-8, Wax worms- 2-5, Meal worms- 2-5, occasional horn worms- 1. The schedule is I feed her about an hour and fifteen minutes after lights come on. If she isn’t hungry I try again at 12 and again at 2 if she still hasn’t eaten. Im not sure how to gutload.
• Supplements - I’m not sure the brand but I use calcium with NO D3.
• Watering - I use the little dripper which has been working just fine, cam drinks from it often. ? I do mist for 2-4 minutes, roughly every night, 30 minutes after lights out. I also use a fogger to increase the humidity.
• Fecal Description - Pee is white and moist. Poop is brown and moist. She has never been tested for a parasite.
• History - No.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - It’s a screen cage that I added two extra screening layers to two sides of the cage so it’s more hybrid now. The dimensions are 24’x24’x48’.
• Lighting -I have a Zoomed tropical UVB & Heat lighting kit, as well as the zoomed T5 HO ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. Lights come on at 8:30 am and turn off at 8:30 pm.
• Temperature - Floor is roughly 75 while the top is more 80-85. Lowest overnight temp is 68 but typically 70. i have a zoomed thermomete for degrees and humidity levels.
• Humidity - During the day typically 30% while at night typically 80%. I create the humidity by using a foher and mist the cage as well. To measure I use the zoomed thermometer.
• Plants - Yes, right now only have one as the other two died. Not sure of the plant but it’s similar to a Parlor Palm.
• Placement - Its in my room. Not near any vents and I no longer use my fan. Right now she isn’t elevated, the cage is on my floor. Currently building a 2’x2’x2’ stand for her cage to go on.
• Location - I live in loxahatchee Florida.

 

[elizaann2]

Thank you! See my answers below in bold

• Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, female, 1yo. Been in my care since mid July. Great, if she is a year she is an adult, we can switch her to 'the diet', which will help with producing too many eggs.
• Handling - Rarely. When I do it’s only when I open the door to her cage if she wants to come out I assist her in doing so as well as putting her back. Perfect! Most chams get highly stressed with handling, I love that you let it be her choice
• Feeding - I feed her crickets, meal worms, wax worms, and horn worms although I am trying to broaden her diet. Crickets- 5-8, Wax worms- 2-5, Meal worms- 2-5, occasional horn worms- 1. The schedule is I feed her about an hour and fifteen minutes after lights come on. If she isn’t hungry I try again at 12 and again at 2 if she still hasn’t eaten. Im not sure how to gutload. Are you feeding her this much each day? Now that your girl is fully grown you will want to feed her 3-4 small feeders 3 times a week. This is the schedule I use for my female veiled that seems to work well, she has had clutches of 31 eggs and less: Monday/Wednesday/Friday - 3 small feeders such as dubia, crickets, bsfl or silkworms. Saturday is my treat bug day, she gets either 3 small super worms or 3 small wax worms. Super worms and wax worms are super high in fat and are not very nutritious bugs, they are also addictive and we find chameleons will go on hunger strikes so they can keep getting their 'candy bar bugs'. For your convenience, I have attached a list of bugs that you can use as feeders for your beautiful girl. Grasshoppers are becoming pretty common as well . Gut loading is easy, you just throw in fresh veggies such as sweet potato, mustard greens, collard greens etc. I'll attach a list of great gut loading options for you too. I feed my bugs on the days I feed my chameleons so I don't forget anyone
• Supplements - I’m not sure the brand but I use calcium with NO D3. Can you share a picture please? Will you share a photo of your supplements? You need to dust her bugs every feeding with Calcium without D3, then you also need a multivitamin, which I see in one of your photos, does this multivitamin have D3 in it?
• Watering - I use the little dripper which has been working just fine, cam drinks from it often. ? I do mist for 2-4 minutes, roughly every night, 30 minutes after lights out. I also use a fogger to increase the humidity. I see that you live in Florida which is a pretty humid state. Be sure to only fog at night if you do need to fog (again, Florida ), and make sure that your temps in your enclosure are at least 68 degrees or lower before you fog. This is very important because high temps and high humidity can cause respiratory infections. Reading below it sounds like your girl is well hydrated so great job
• Fecal Description - Pee is white and moist. Poop is brown and moist. She has never been tested for a parasite. Again, great job! If she hasn't' been tested for parasites I strongly suggest doing so.
• History - No.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - It’s a screen cage that I added two extra screening layers to two sides of the cage so it’s more hybrid now. The dimensions are 24’x24’x48’. Beautiful!
• Lighting -I have a Zoomed tropical UVB & Heat lighting kit, as well as the zoomed T5 HO ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. Lights come on at 8:30 am and turn off at 8:30 pm. Great! The 10.0 UVB is a little strong, you will either need to live that 10-12 inches above her basking branch OR get an Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0, if you get one of these lights then make sure the highest branch is 6 inches away from the UVB light.
• Temperature - Floor is roughly 75 while the top is more 80-85. Lowest overnight temp is 68 but typically 70. i have a zoomed thermomete for degrees and humidity levels. The top is a little warm for your girl, you want her basking branch to be 78-80 degrees, no higher. We are finding that high temps and an excess of food is what is causing our girls to overproduce eggs, which is exhausting for them but also dangerous. How long do you have your heat lamp on for? You may only need it on for like 30 minutes in the morning.
• Humidity - During the day typically 30% while at night typically 80%. I create the humidity by using a foher and mist the cage as well. To measure I use the zoomed thermometer. 30% is a little dry, you'll want her day time humidity levels to be closer to 40-50%, you can add an extra misting session in the middle of the day if it gets below 40%, or maybe add more plants to help boost humidity. Humidity at night is perfect
• Plants - Yes, right now only have one as the other two died. Not sure of the plant but it’s similar to a Parlor Palm. Yep, been there. I've killd many a plant unfortunately. Most of us on here have plant lights to help keep our plants alive. Really our plants die because they get too much light, too little light, too much water or too little water. Pothos are great plants for our enclosure because they have a wide tolerant range. I would remove all the fake plants immediately, veiled chameleons have a tendency to eat the plants in their enclosure and if your girl takes a nibble (either on purpose or by accident) of one of those fake plants it can cause impaction which is fatal. I took all my fake plants and put them on the outside of my enclosure so they still provided privacy for my baby . This website may be helpful to you regarding safe plants and where to place them in your enclosure. https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/plants
• Placement - Its in my room. Not near any vents and I no longer use my fan. Right now she isn’t elevated, the cage is on my floor. Currently building a 2’x2’x2’ stand for her cage to go on. Ok you'll want to get her off the floor as soon as you can, height equals safety to chameleons as well as plant coverage. All of my enclosures are on tables or something similar so that the top of the branch in the enclosure goes above my head. The chameleon overlords prefer it that way so they can look down upon us hairless-ape-servants and know we cant get them.
• Location - I live in loxahatchee Florida.

A couple side notes/questions from me:
1. Do you have a lay bin for your girl?
2. I'll attach photos of my enclosure to give you some ideas of how much plant coverage you should provide for your baby.
3. Branches - You can get branches from outside to use in your enclosure, make sure they are from non-sap producing trees and don't use any branches that produce a strong odor/smell. Get lots and lots of them! Scrub them down with soap and hot water in your bathtub and rinse rinse rinse! Let them dry in the sun and ta-da!!! Free branches! You'll want to use a whole network of branches in your enclosure, both as support and as highways for your girl to explore on. What you currently are using in your enclosure I would personally remove, that thick moss thing in the middle of the enclosure may flake off with time and get in your girls eyes and the hammocks are known to rip out claws

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

Okay, i’m getting her off the floor immediately today! i have a table i’m going to put her on temporarily until i build her 2’x2’x2’ stand.
i don’t feed her everyday, i feed her every other day but since she hasn’t been eating as much i’ve been offering her food everyday. she doesn’t eat everyday but since she did get skinnier i did just want to offer.
and yes i do have a playing bin although peaches wanted to dig in her plant and birth her eggs in the pot
i will attach a picture of the supplements as soon as i get home.
and thanks so much for the time your taking for me and my sweetheart to make her life better!! i’ve take into consideration every little last detail and i will definitely be making some changes.

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

she’s off the floor!! yay!!!! she’s on a nice 2 foot night table but it really made a big difference. also the supplement names are reptivite reptile vitamins with D3. The other one is called rep-cal and that’s her calcium with NO D3. i’m now working on removing some things that you suggested and i’m going to add some more branches. i should be able to get new plants very soon!!!!!!

 

[Sonny13]

This could help you a bit https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/low-budget-enclosure-setup.2462/
The changes don’t to be that expensive, but for your girl it’s like becoming the queen of her kingdom.

 

[elizaann2]

she’s off the floor!! yay!!!! she’s on a nice 2 foot night table but it really made a big difference. also the supplement names are reptivite reptile vitamins with D3. The other one is called rep-cal and that’s her calcium with NO D3. i’m now working on removing some things that you suggested and i’m going to add some more branches. i should be able to get new plants very soon!!!!!!

Ok perfect, feed her every other day 3 small feeders each time. Dust them with calcium each feeding except for the Reptivite Reptile vitamins with D3, use that one on the 1st and 15th of each month

 

[elizaann2]

Here are some resources that will be helpful to you:

Veiled chameleon care sheet
Chameleon Academy Website
Neptune the Chameleon Website

Let me know what other questions you have and please share your progress as you update her enclosure I love to see what people create

 

[Peachs_chameleon]

Here are some resources that will be helpful to you:

Veiled chameleon care sheet
Chameleon Academy Website
Neptune the Chameleon Website

Let me know what other questions you have and please share your progress as you update her enclosure I love to see what people create

thank you so much for all the information and time you put in to my girl!! we both really appreciate you so much and just being off the floor she looks so happy!

 

[elizaann2]

thank you so much for all the information and time you put in to my girl!! we both really appreciate you so much and just being off the floor she looks so happy!

Oh good I’m so glad to hear that