My poor baby fell

[shells]

My poor 3 wk old veiled was walking around in his cage today up the wall and onto the ceiling, I was watching him as its hot up there, and to my disbelief he crawled right onto the hot area and started trying to get off but crawled further into the hot area, I started rushing towards his cage as he was trying to get away as fast as he could, as I got to the door he let go of the hot surface with 3 feet and was hanging by one foot, I unlocked the door but it was to hot to hold on and he fell all the way to the bottom of the cage, I was horrified, I picked him up gently and let him walk on my finger and he walked fine, no damage, so I let him walk back onto a branch and he walked in fine but he was breathing sooo heavy from fright. Poor baby, I thought I'd lost him already! I hope he doesn't do that again, will he learn from that, are veileds smart enough to learn from mistakes?

 

[JaxyGirl]

That must have been a shock to you and your little one. Glad he's Ok!
Out of curiosity...is the lamp for your basking spot resting directly on the screen? You might consider raising it up a bit so it doesn't get so hot. Also, the basking temps for a baby should be only between 78-82 degrees max. It might be too hot.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

No they aren't
The biggest cause of burns are keepers assume that chams
know when their being burned and will just move out of the way.

Well chams don't move out the way when their being burned
its like a sunburn for us we don't know we got really burned
untill later when we have a huge red scab.

What watt basking bulb are you using?
Whats the basking area temp?

 

[shells]

Yes my heat/uvb dome light is sitting on top of the cage, its uvb and heat in one bulb, so I guess I should hang it above not place it on top

Also my babes is called Triton same as yours right? He's just shed and is awesome, but I am still new to chams, he's my very 1st one and I am grateful to you guys for helping me!

Thank you

 

[shells]

I just checked my uvb/heat bulb and it has no wattage on it, just says uvb/heat, so I may swap it up from my adult bearded dragons big 4 foot cage bulbs, she has a uvb bulb and a heat bulb in two seperate bulb holders, her bulb is a ceramic heat so its hot, so I'll swap it for a house bulb, is 60 watt ok?

 

[Gensen]

UVB & Basking

I would get a linear Reptisun 5.0 UVB Bulb and then a seperate light for basking... you can use a regular household bulb 40,60 or what ever wattage to reach the desire basking temperature. The UVB linear buld will go into the hood fixture and that you can sit right on the cage, but the basking light and dome you may want to hang that a bit above the cage as mentioned so it is not sitting on the screen.

Glad he seems to be ok!

 

[JaxyGirl]

I just checked my uvb/heat bulb and it has no wattage on it, just says uvb/heat, so I may swap it up from my adult bearded dragons big 4 foot cage bulbs, she has a uvb bulb and a heat bulb in two seperate bulb holders, her bulb is a ceramic heat so its hot, so I'll swap it for a house bulb, is 60 watt ok?

Triton is an Awesome name...if I do say so myself
You need totally different lighting for chams then for beardies. I have two beardies myself. I use a 10.0 UVB reptisun for them which is too strong for a cham.
what you need is Reptisun 5.0 UVB linear tube style bulb. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-24-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/ and a dome lamp with a 40-60wat bulb to bring the basking spot to 78-82 degrees. You don't want the dual heat/uvb compact style bulbs because they are too hot and too strong and cause eye problems

 

[JaxyGirl]

Also, you should fill out the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ I know it's kinda a pain but it's worth the couple of mins it takes to fill it out. It will also help us check out your set up etc so that anything that is wrong can be nipped in the bud right from the start which will help your cham live a long healthy life

 

[Jamelon]

i would go with a 40W household bulb for heat, thats what i use, and it keeps temps steady at 79-81 on my chams basking spot and thats about a foot away from the light.

 

[shells]

Oh wow, thats aweful, I work in petsmart so I will buy him a 5.0 on thursday when I'm back in work, I'll get a seperate holder for each one of the lights, I don't know how I'm gonna hang the light above the cage as his cage is up against a wall on a table, so I'd have to drill something into the wall I guess to hold it there.

Jaxy, I went into the link to fill in the form you send a link for but I don't know how to fill it in, is there a button to click on or something or is that just basic info that I need to type the answers to into a message like this, sorry to be a pain but I didn't see a way to fill it in.

 

[JaxyGirl]

Oh wow, thats aweful, I work in petsmart so I will buy him a 5.0 on thursday when I'm back in work, I'll get a seperate holder for each one of the lights, I don't know how I'm gonna hang the light above the cage as his cage is up against a wall on a table, so I'd have to drill something into the wall I guess to hold it there.

Jaxy, I went into the link to fill in the form you send a link for but I don't know how to fill it in, is there a button to click on or something or is that just basic info that I need to type the answers to into a message like this, sorry to be a pain but I didn't see a way to fill it in.

I think we can just copy and paste it and you should be able to fill it in now by replying with a quote and filling it in that way

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 to 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 - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[Salem Jones]

Yea don't trust the little hand outs at Petsmart. I used to work there too as a manager and most people in Pet Care don't know as much as they should about the pets.

 

[shells]

Yes I know, I asked our pet care associates if they know much about chams and none of them know much, thats why I'm here

 

[Cainschams]

I don't know how I'm gonna hang the light above the cage as his cage is up against a wall on a table, so I'd have to drill something into the wall I guess to hold it there.

Use two small pieces of 2x4 to set the lamp onto or something of that nature.

 

[JaxyGirl]

Yes I know, I asked our pet care associates if they know much about chams and none of them know much, thats why I'm here

I would seriously answer the how to ask for help form because as stated above many pet stores don't know what their doing when it comes to chams and if there is something wrong with your husbandry we can take care of it right away before your cham has any problems in the future. Chams are very delicate and it doesn't take long for symptoms to show and when they do it's usually too late. However, most of the problems are due to set up, lighting, supplements and feeding all simple things that could have been prevented in the beginning with the right info. JMO

 

[shells]

* Your Chameleon - I have a 3 week old male veiled cham, I've had him about 4 days ish
* Handling - very little, I've held him twice only so far
* Feeding -Very small crix, about 5/10 daily, I feed him in the morning and around dinner time, crix food from my crix breeders, carrotts, potatoes and collard greens.
* Supplements - Fluckers for both, calcium on one feeding a day, vitamins once a week.
* Watering -I use a spray bottle and spray down all of the plants till they are soaked and dripping alot, I do this twice daily around feeding time, a couple times I've seen him drinking.
* Fecal Description -soft/firm browish/dark stool, white firmish urate on the end
* History -He's only 3 weeks old, so he doesn't have much history!


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - screen cage, size 30" by 16" by 16"
* Lighting - getting a new repti 5.0 in 2 days,repti and house bulbs,lighting hrs around 7am till too 10/11 pm
* Temperature - when I get my new lights I will buy a therm to test the temps, I've only had him 4 days so not set yet.
* Humidity - I don't know how to test for humidity, how do I do that?
* Plants - One live ficus, the rest are fake vines/leaves
* Placement -In a corner of our dining room right now, no vents, fans etc near by, the cage top is about 6 foot from the floor
* Location -I am located in Ontario, Canada

 

[shells]

2 by 4 hmmm, I guess I could set it on top of something yes, space permitting. Ok I'll try that tomorrow, thanks guys for all of your replies, I have learnt quite a bit tonight that will benefit my lil Triton, thank you

 

[JaxyGirl]

He's very young so don't handle often because you don't want to stress him out too much
* Feeding -Very small crix, about 5/10 daily, I feed him in the morning and around dinner time, crix food from my crix breeders, carrotts, potatoes and collard greens.
* Supplements - Fluckers for both, calcium on one feeding a day, vitamins once a week. For supplements you want three types. 1) Phosphorous free Calcium calcium without D3 to be lightly dusted on your feeders every day. 2)Phosphorous free Calcium with D3 dust feeders twice a month. 3)Multi Vitamin supplement used twice a month.
* Watering -I use a spray bottle and spray down all of the plants till they are soaked and dripping alot, I do this twice daily around feeding time, a couple times I've seen him drinking. That's really good you see him drink..chams are very prone to dehydration
* Fecal Description -soft/firm browish/dark stool, white firmish urate on the end
* History -He's only 3 weeks old, so he doesn't have much history!
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - screen cage, size 30" by 16" by 16"
* Lighting - getting a new repti 5.0 in 2 days,repti and house bulbs,lighting hrs around 7am till too 10/11 pm You only want a 12 hr cycle for lighting ex 7am-7pm putting it on a timer works great.
* Temperature - when I get my new lights I will buy a therm to test the temps, I've only had him 4 days so not set yet. He's very young so a 40 wat regular incandescent house bulb should be sufficient to bring temp to 78-82 degrees in his basking spot. You want to measure temp right on his basking spot. Baby's can over heat very quickly and are very sensitive to temps which you already found out.
* Humidity - I don't know how to test for humidity, how do I do that? You can purchase a hygrometer from just about any petstore I have a digital one that I got from flukers that has temp and humidity. You want the humidity to range between 50-70%. Humidity will go up when you spray and down when it dries out

 

[carol5208]

You should have your lights set on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 off. If you guys have a time change up there like we do(I dont know) and it gets dark earlier,which will be in about a week, then you can have the lights go off to coincide when it starts getting dark. 10 or 11 is way too late! You should have 3 types of vitamins, Calcium wd3 to be given twice a month, calcium w/o d3 at every feeding and a multivitamin 2or 3 times a month. You can get a gauge to measure the humidity probably at your pet store. Zoo med makes one, they aren't the best so they say but are cheap and give you a general idea or get a digital one that does temp and humidity at home depot or lowes. You say your cham is only 3 weeks old. That does not seem right. Do you mean 3 months? You should be feeding pinhead crickets. Is that what you are feeding? Oh, Jaxy girl beat me to it!!!

 

[JaxyGirl]

Hahaha! Carol, Do you realize how many times we've answered the same questions with the exact same answers back to back...that's too funny. Must be Karma..LOL!