My chameleon is very dark and his skin looks very dry!!!
- Thread starter scorpilon
- Start date
SpinyFranky
New Member
Start by filling out the "how to ask for help form" that is stickied at the top of the health clinic forum. Fill it out as accurately as possible. This can be reached by clicking the forums link, then clicking on health clinic.
In all honesty, just by what you said no one is going to have any idea what is going on, so if you would want a decent and informed answer - fill out that form.
S.F
Forgot to add: Throw in some pictures as well. Please make sure they are of decent quality - can't tell very much if photos that are overly bright, or overly dark for that matter.
Elizadolots
New Member
I note in your profile that you say your veiled and panthers are housed in side by side cages. Can they see each other or do you have a good visual barrier between the cages?
here is the link to the pictures of my set up
https://www.chameleonforums.com/que...er-temp-new-veilded-panther-owner-help-38096/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/que...er-temp-new-veilded-panther-owner-help-38096/
Some info
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species(veil chameleon), sex(male), and I am not sure on age i think around 6 months of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care (almost two weeks)?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon( I take him out a few times a week )?
Feeding - What are you feeding your ( dusting the crickets with a mixture of reptivite,herptivite,and repti calcium with D3 and I feeed them meal worms also. I feed until they Don't eat anymory then i take the bowl of worms away I dust them every time I put them in , ? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? the feeders i use the orange blocks they sell at the store for crickets (flukers orange cubes)
Watering - this is tricky I never see him drink but i mist the cage three times a day and have a dripper in there I just ordered a pro mist and waiting for it to come!!!
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. the droping have been good I guess no yellow, just white and the poop looks good. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? (NO)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (NONE)
Cage Info: click on link for pictures and on my profile !!!
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 my cage is in the 70s and there is a basking spot with a 75 watt light (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - this is weird it stays around 30s during the day and jumps to 50 at night when i mist it goes up to 60 -70%How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? (Digitial gauge)
Plants - Are you using live plants? YES LIVE FICUS) If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It is in my living room near a window but not right up against it ) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? it is on a small table
Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in south Florida
Pictures are helpful
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species(veil chameleon), sex(male), and I am not sure on age i think around 6 months of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care (almost two weeks)?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon( I take him out a few times a week )?
Feeding - What are you feeding your ( dusting the crickets with a mixture of reptivite,herptivite,and repti calcium with D3 and I feeed them meal worms also. I feed until they Don't eat anymory then i take the bowl of worms away I dust them every time I put them in , ? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? the feeders i use the orange blocks they sell at the store for crickets (flukers orange cubes)
Watering - this is tricky I never see him drink but i mist the cage three times a day and have a dripper in there I just ordered a pro mist and waiting for it to come!!!
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. the droping have been good I guess no yellow, just white and the poop looks good. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? (NO)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (NONE)
Cage Info: click on link for pictures and on my profile !!!
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 my cage is in the 70s and there is a basking spot with a 75 watt light (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - this is weird it stays around 30s during the day and jumps to 50 at night when i mist it goes up to 60 -70%How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? (Digitial gauge)
Plants - Are you using live plants? YES LIVE FICUS) If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It is in my living room near a window but not right up against it ) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? it is on a small table
Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in south Florida
Pictures are helpful
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think you are overdusting, especially with vitamins (two vitamin dusts every feeding???) Mealworms aren't a great feeder...too much chitin and not very nutritious. The Flukers gutload isn't great. Dark leafy greens, fruit chunks, fortified cereal grains, bee pollen is better. Or, try Cricket Crack offered by Tiki Tiki Reptiles.
What type (brands!) of lighting. You didn't say. For basking you can use an ordinary house light bulb. For UVB you need a linear tube fluorescent such as ReptiSun 5.0.
Your humidity jumps at night because the basking light is off. 30% all day is too low. You need to raise the level by misting more thoroughly, adding to the plants (adding surface area to hold water droplets), or running a room humidifier next to the cage in cycles. Also hanging some plastic sheeting on back and/or sides of the cage helps a lot.
What type (brands!) of lighting. You didn't say. For basking you can use an ordinary house light bulb. For UVB you need a linear tube fluorescent such as ReptiSun 5.0.
Your humidity jumps at night because the basking light is off. 30% all day is too low. You need to raise the level by misting more thoroughly, adding to the plants (adding surface area to hold water droplets), or running a room humidifier next to the cage in cycles. Also hanging some plastic sheeting on back and/or sides of the cage helps a lot.
justjumpit621
New Member
wattage depends on how hot it gets at the basking spot. I don't use any additional lighting for my plants but you can get a grow bulb at home depot.
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
For my basking spot I use a [60?] watt plant bulb, which works well in helping my plants and giving off just enough heat. However, I just also bought a long 6500 K bulb (daylight bulb) which is supposed to help tremendously with the plants. I have those two for my plants and they are doing great. But in most cases you can do without the extra daylight bulb.
SpinyFranky
New Member
Ideally your veiled chameleon would like to bask at temperatures close to 85F. Ambient temperatures through out the cage should range from 75F+ near to bottom to 80F+ approaching the basking site. 85F should be the highest temperature in the cage. Measure this with a digital therma with probe.
You will need to experiment ( not in the chameleon cage ) with wattages that get you as a close as possible to this temperature. However since you live In Florida - I would start with a 40 watt - though a 50 watt may be needing.
I live in southern california - I use 50 watts.
If you temperatures are below 80 in the cage, your chameleon is probably dark and ashy because it is cold as hell. Dark coloration helps to absorb heat.
I will let someone else chime in regarding your feeder and supplementation problem. But trust me - there are problems.
Ok well i increased the light and the basking spot is 85 and I relized that he is starting to shed but it is not going well and only littile pieces are comming off and it has been three days now.. He is always dark now and necrosis changes color unless I am holding him .. I still never seehim drink water is he dehadrated? And what else can I do?
Texas Panther Man
New Member
Hes prob not drinking in front of you. Are his urates in his poop white? If so then hes drinking. As others have stated your relative humidity should be over 50% and spike to 65% or more right after misting. Sounds like you need more plants. and to mist more thouroughly.
over the weekend i added two more plants and i have closed both sides and the back with screen glass which is a plastic sheet that looks like screen but it is plastic and the lowest the humidity has dropped is 45% but it stays around 60-75% the poop is white with some yellow.. so now I am worried
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Just give him long showers. This is what I've done, to give you an idea - I purchased one of those pesticide pump sprayers with a hose from Home Depot for about $20, and have positioned it on one side of the cage. I then cut a small hole on the top of the cage just big enough to fit the pump's hose nozzle through, and attached it so that it's on one corner spraying outwards into the cage. I fill the pump with about one liter of hot water, because it comes out warm, pump it, and let it go. It will spray continuously for 20 minutes easily and it's more than enough time for me to leave the room and give him the privacy he needs to drink as much as he wants.
Typically I'll come back and Othello is sitting right under the nozzle with his eyes closed and his face looking rigt into it lol. He loves it. And then I do shorter sprays during the rest of the day, and with that the humidity is good and he drinks lots of water. However, you're going to need to have a great drainage system in place to deal with that much water!
Typically I'll come back and Othello is sitting right under the nozzle with his eyes closed and his face looking rigt into it lol. He loves it. And then I do shorter sprays during the rest of the day, and with that the humidity is good and he drinks lots of water. However, you're going to need to have a great drainage system in place to deal with that much water!
Regarding supplements...I dust at most feedings with a phosphorus-free calcium powder to help make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in most of the feeder insects.
I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that it gets some D3 without overdoing it. I leave it to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB. (UVB should not pass through glass or plastic. Most often recommend UVB light is the long linear fluorescent tube Repti-sun 5.0 light.)
I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up i the system like prEformed vitamin A will but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene so some people give a little prEformed once in a while. Excess prEformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job though and may push the chameleon towards MBD.
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. When balancing them, you need to look at the supplements, what you gutload with and what you feed the chameleon.
Appropriate temperatures also play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption in that temperature affects digestion.
I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that it gets some D3 without overdoing it. I leave it to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB. (UVB should not pass through glass or plastic. Most often recommend UVB light is the long linear fluorescent tube Repti-sun 5.0 light.)
I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up i the system like prEformed vitamin A will but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene so some people give a little prEformed once in a while. Excess prEformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job though and may push the chameleon towards MBD.
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. When balancing them, you need to look at the supplements, what you gutload with and what you feed the chameleon.
Appropriate temperatures also play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption in that temperature affects digestion.
