my chameleons info...need some help...

[erik775]

Chameleon Info:
your chameleon-she is a female veild,5 or 6 months old ive had her for about 1 week...
Handling - i rearly handel her becuz i burly got her 1 or twice since ive had her..
Feeding -3 week old krickets 10 or more in the morning and same in the evening...gut loading them with apples, oranges,qcumbers,lettus...
Supplements -herptivite (rep-cal)every othe week and reptivite(zoo-med) no d3 every other day
Watering - i mist the cage about 2 or 3 times a day...and for a dripper im useing a watter bottel with a verry small home on the bottom i see her drink watter here and there...
Fecal Description - like a dark brown olive color with some white, and a tad bit of yellow i noticed once shes gone two or 3 times since ive had her i think ...
History - she usualy stays under her reptisun 5.0 light...

Cage Info:
Cage Type -i have a screen cage 18x18x36
Lighting - exo-terra sunglow...120v...60hz...40w...for basking...and 18in reptisun 5.0 zoo-med 9:00am to 8 or 9:00 pm...
Temperature - 70 in the mornings and it goes to 75 during the day in basking area...i think the lowest temp was 67....im neasuring my tem and humidity with a flukers digital therm...and hyd...
Humidity -stays around 70 or higher mabey one or two lower this morning after misting it wa sat 99%...i mist my cage with a spray bottel...
Plants - yes live plants ...i have a hibiscus plant and a pothos vine plant...
Placement - in my room about 3 feet of the ground no fans or vents or high traffic......
Location - i live in southern california...

Current Problem - the colors of my chameleon...and why she is always kinda dark coclors...

 

[roguekiller23231]

i'm not an expert so you might have to wait for someone with more experiance to answer.

i was told that 5.0 UV is a little too much, should be 2.0

my chameleon only ever goes dark colours when he is cold, what kind of temps are you getting inside the viv, and what temps is your chameleon at?

the spots in the picture mean that she is scared or angry, not surprising if you havnt handles her that much, you should try slowly, dont try to pick her up, and if she hisses or puff up as she is in the picture back away slightly.
wax worms are fantastic for getting your chameleon used to you and your hand being in the viv.

do you have any basking/spot/heat lamps on top of the viv? as these are necicary for her to walm up, i'd also increase the dusting shcedule of pure calcium and use something like sticky tongue farms Miner all I (I is the indoor version O is for outdoor chameleons) and make sure that you calcium does not contain any Vitamin D3, and is pure calcium if your giving suppliments because you can risk ovedosing the chameleon.

 

[carol5208]

The reptisun 5.0 is perfect so do not change that. Your basking spot should be higher than 75. Your cham may be cold and also it takes them some time to adjust to their new enclosure and she maybe dark from that. Up your basking wattage to 60 and see if you cant get that temp up to atleast 85. Maybe she needs to warm up.

 

[Gensen]

5.0 UVB is good perfect keep it!

5.0 UVB Reptisun linear bulb is perfect ~ keep that as Carol said it is what is most commonly recommended by many of the keepers here.

 

[Gensen]

Plus....

If you have had her for only a week she may need time to simply settle in and get used to her new "home"... give her time....

 

[kinyonga]

I think you are giving it two vitamin powders so you need a phos.-free calcium powder. Also I think the Reptivite has prEformed vitamin A in it.

Here's some information I post often for newbies that will explain supplements, etc. a bit....
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Sorry this is to long...but hope it helps.