My Chameleon is black all the time

[MrJones]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass, Screen, Combo, 500mm x 400mm x 400mm
Lighting - I am useing a Repti Zoo 15watt uvb 5.0 light for 12 hours a day. Teprature - The highest temp at top is 28c and at bottom is 22c the lowest over night temp is about 18c i measure these temps with a thermomater
Humidity - i dont know what the humidaty levels are but i am misting the cage twice a day making sure that water droplet from on the leave so he can drink from that.
Plants - i have onlt put plastic plants in.
Placement - the cage is in my living room it is a high traffic area the cage stands about a meter of the foor. the cage is next to a window that remains closed all the time.
Location - i am in sunny South Africa

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - He is a Veild cham , male , 5-6months old and has been in my care for a week.
Handling - i Handle him once a day for about 5 minutes
Feeding - i am feeding him small cricket about 10mm long 10 a day. i give him 5 in the morning and 5 late afternoon. i am gutloading my feeders with any vegatables i have in the house 24 hour be for feeding them to him.
Supplements - i dust the feeders ever time i feed with Zoo med Repti-calcium with d3
Watering - i mist the cage with a hand held spray bottle untill the leaves of the cage a wat and have formed water droplet on them i have never seen him drinking water off the leaves
Fecal Description - he has never been tested for parasites his droppings are white clear and black the black part of it seem solid when it comes out and the rest is soft almost liquid
Current Problem - his color is black all the time except when he is sleeping and eating. i have another female and she remains green all the time.

 

[wilfred]

It is not good for the chameleon to be in a high traffic area. Usually when they are black it is from stress.

The first thing I notice is that there is not enough branches in the upper part of the cage. They like to be in trees it makes them feel safe to be higher up. You have the cage close to the ground and the chameleon cannot get to the upper part of it, with out climbing on the screen, if at all.

You are also giving way too much D3. You should be dusting with a calcium without d3 everyday or two. With D3 maximum twice a month.

Try to get a real plant in there. Also, putting him outside for a while one day might change his color (i.e. make him happy). Those were just my first thoughts, I am sure others will add more.

Adding branches and more cover for him to hide, putting him higher off the ground, and stopping with so much D3 are urgent problems that need to be fixed.

 

[MrJones]

the calcium that i am useing contains the d3 in it 10.390% should i get one with out d3 rather

 

[wilfred]

keep the one you have, but get a calcium without D3. Also is your bulb a long tube or a small coil?

Also there are so few leaves in the cage he is most likely not getting enough to drink, that is why it so urgent that you get more vegetation in there.

 

[MrJones]

the bulb is the small cioled one.

have added more vegetation and more branches for him to purch on i will get calium tomorrow and see how that goes.

 

[warpdrive]

the bulb is the small cioled one.

have added more vegetation and more branches for him to purch on i will get calium tomorrow and see how that goes.

Hi Mr. jones,

most coiled bulbs can hurt a chameleon's eyes and should be replaced.
I'm not sure what you can get by you, but a tube fluorecent 5.0 bulb is better and needed.
a basking bulb of the standard kind, non-coiled or compact, should be used for basking...say a 25w-40w

Harry

 

[pssh]

Is the top of the cage glass or screen? If it is glass repace it with screen, uvb doesn't go through glass. A long uvb 5.0 tube is in order. Perferably a reptisun 5.0 if you can. Add more plants, preferably live as they keep the humidity up and some veileds like to eat plants. That being said, make sure that the plants are non-toxic. Any substrate you have in your cage should be removed.

Also, try to gut load with veggies high in calcium and a few fruits too. A simple move of the cage may make him 'happier.' Move it so that the basking spot is above your eye level and so it's in a low traffic area.

For dusting the crickets, use a plain phos-free calcium without D3 Mon-Fri. Then alternate on Saturdays between a phos-free calcium with D3 and a multi-vitamin dust. Dont use a dust on Sundays. When dusting, lightly dust the crickets, they shouldn't be white like ghosts.

Maybe add a few more mistings in the cage. He may be aclimating, so he might just be that way for a few more days, but you should still follow the other members advice.