my veiled cham died

[evildude]

i bought my baby veiled (2-3 inches long)a week and half ago and i came down this morning and he was dead his head was black and his arms were 2 i took his cage to the pet shop and they said that the setup was ok so i don't no what i done wrong . can any tell me what i did wrong he has a glass exo terra 45cm,45cm,45cm and a exo terra waterfall and a drip system the temp was 30c and hum was 50-60 his diet was crickets ,locust please help i miss the little fella all ready and want another one but i don't want to make the same mistake .i have never had any reptiles apart from turtles so do you recommended a different reptile as a starter many thanks ben

 

[TRI0N]

Sorry for your loss...

If you could give us some pictures or more details on your setup such as if you had subtrate on the bottom, light brand names and length of time each day they are on and off, what Vitiman Supliments were you using and how often, how old was your chameleon, is that a Exo_Terra Glass or Screen product?

The water fall right off is a bad thing. If you use one it needs to be cleaned daily to disinfect any bacteria that grows in them at a rapid rate.


Again sorry for your loss but if you can give us all the details of your setup and product names for lighting and such we might be able to zero in to what happen to avoid happening again.

 

[Justin Carl]

seems to me you bought your chameleon a little young. a veiled that size wouldnt be very old. maybe a month and a half.

 

[Justin Carl]

it may have been that he was in a glass cage. this can help bacteria grow.

 

[evildude]

Sorry for your loss...
the uv light is exo terra repti glo 5.0,100w heat lamp the uv light stays on 12 hours a day and the heat lamp stays on all of the time .i have a glass terra tank sorry no pictures as clean tank out with reptile disinfectent after he died.i use nutrobal every day after gutloading with oranges and rice crispes and on the floor i had bark and mud as for how old he was i don't no he was very small tho thanks for the reply

 

[Calavera]

For future experience, a 100 watt heat lamp is way to hot for any chameleon in a glass enclosure. The highest wattage i use is 75, and all m y cages are screen on all sides, and at least 3 feet x 1.5 feet. A chameleon that young would be very susceptible to overheating, given the environment he was in. I keep most of my neonates in a small mesh enclosure with 40 watt incandescent bulbs. Also, just because you have a waterfall, doesn't mean your chameleon will drink from it. On addition to your drip system, i always mist juveniles and neonates at least 3 times a day. My honest assumption is that your little guy overheated. For future experience, i strongly recommend a screen enclosure, with a lower wattage incandescent heat source. Also, never forget that chameleons are diurnal, like you and i; they love to sleep at night and are most active in the day. Given this information, you should always provide a second heat source, which emits very little, or no visible light. This will allow your chameleon to obtain the proper amount of sleep. Evildude, i know it hurts now and you probably feel some degree of guilt, but don't let this first mistake discourage you. Most everyone here can relate to the loss of a chameleon and the frustration it causes. My best advise is to keep asking questions and better prepare yourself, should you decide to continue with another chameleon. Best of luck,

-Cala-

 

[Dave Weldon]

...100w heat lamp... and the heat lamp stays on all of the time...

Howdy,

When you say heat lamp on all of the time, did you mean a light-producing heat lamp? Chameleons need darkness at bedtime and also benefit from a temperature drop at night. Even low 60's is not an issue. If he didn't get darkness at night, there could have been enough stress from the situation to induce illness. 100W may have been too much heat if it wasn't placed far enough to keep the baby's basking temp around ~85F. The temp gradient throughout the glass enclosure may not have been sufficient to give him a place to cool down.

What part of the world are you located?

 

[Calavera]

Sorry, i didn't catch this before. What were you gut-laoding with rice crispies and oranges? And also, i would never recommend mud as a substrate for any chameleon, especially a baby.

 

[Justin Carl]

i use two 100 watt bulbs in my cage. one is uvb and the other is just a repti glo light. my cage is very large tho. about 50x22x22 the hottest it gets is mid 90's but that is the basking area.

 

[pedro92]

i bought my baby veiled (2-3 inches long)a week and half ago and i came down this morning and he was dead his head was black and his arms were 2 i took his cage to the pet shop and they said that the setup was ok so i don't no what i done wrong . can any tell me what i did wrong he has a glass exo terra 45cm,45cm,45cm and a exo terra waterfall and a drip system the temp was 30c and hum was 50-60 his diet was crickets ,locust please help i miss the little fella all ready and want another one but i don't want to make the same mistake .i have never had any reptiles apart from turtles so do you recommended a different reptile as a starter many thanks ben

A waterfall is not a good idea because of the fact of drowning and also bacteria. A glass enclosure is not good for this can cause stress and other health factors. where are u getting his diet from he could have got a infection or bacteria in food or husbandry. where did u purchase the cham at.

 

[bucky]

Really,you shouldnt be getting advice from a pet store,if you bought it from them, I doubt he was in good condition when you got him.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

When you say the substrate was "mud", this leads me to believe that it was very damp in there and could have been full of bacteria. I'm guessing though, that your chameleon has passed from high temperatures in that very small glass enclosure.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Sorry for your loss...

If you could give us some pictures or more details on your setup such as if you had subtrate on the bottom, light brand names and length of time each day they are on and off, what Vitiman Supliments were you using and how often, how old was your chameleon, is that a Exo_Terra Glass or Screen product?

The water fall right off is a bad thing. If you use one it needs to be cleaned daily to disinfect any bacteria that grows in them at a rapid rate.


Again sorry for your loss but if you can give us all the details of your setup and product names for lighting and such we might be able to zero in to what happen to avoid happening again.

A waterfall is always a bad idea..no matter if you plan on cleaning it daily or not...leave it outside the cage.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

I would suggest doing a search for a local reptile show if you wish to replace him. Most pet stores are a bad place to get chameleons. He may have been too young and something wrong with him before you bought him.Most pet store employees wouldnt even know if they are selling you a healthy animal or not. Yes the mud substrate is bad...better to have no substrate.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. They are so precious at that age and irresistable. You did your best, following the directions of those who should have been knowledgeable professionals.

You will definitely get a wealth of reliable information from the senior members on this board. They (especially Dave Weldon) helped save the life of our veiled chameleon, Guido, last May. He probably cringes whenever I mention that, but it meant so much to us.

You can also use the "search" on this forum to do more research. Be encouraged. With the help you get here you can be in great shape with everything ready to go for your next chameleon.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Its not easy losing a pet..especially one that you had such a short time.

You said..."i bought my baby veiled (2-3 inches long)a week and half ago and i came down this morning and he was dead his head was black and his arms were 2 i took his cage to the pet shop and they said that the setup was ok so i don't no what i done wrong"...at that size there is still a mortality rate where the chameleon can die for no apparent reason. If your cage temperatures weren't too hot or cold and the rest of your husbandry was good and you didn't get it too cold bringing it home, then that could be what happened.

Concerning your set up...I don't recommend substrates for arboreal chameleons...many of them can cause impaction. I don't recommend waterfalls wither because they are too difficult to keep clean.

You said..."his diet was crickets ,locust"...insects should be gutloaded and fed a nutritious diet. (This wouldn't have anything to do with your chameleon's death when you had it such a short time.)

A chameleon needs appropriate temperatures for good digestion, proper supplementation, exposure to UVB light, good food and water and an appropriate cage set-up to do well.

You said..."please help i miss the little fella all ready and want another one but i don't want to make the same mistake .i have never had any reptiles apart from turtles so do you recommended a different reptile as a starter"...leopard geckos, fat tailed geckos are better starter lizards...but you still need to read up on them first IMHO.

In case you do decide to try another chameleon, please read some good information first and ask lots of questions here if you have any. I would suggest that you get a male first and that it be several months old. Here are some sites that have good information...
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm

 

[SuperRad]

It seems like he was burned. (head black, arms black). 100 watts is too much for a baby that size. especially in a glass terrarium. with the substrate and mud, that's a breeding ground for bacteria right there. And since you had such a high amount of heat in there, was he getting enough water? were you misting the terrarium?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

They turn dark after they pass on.
I'm going to go with overheated. Young chams need cooler temps and 100 watts on a glass enclosure is way too much.
Did you have a thermometer to know the temps?
I am sorry for the little guy. So many die victims of the husbandry advice from pet shops.
My advice is to do some very extensive research on chameleons and their husbandry before trying this again.
I'm glad you found this forum.

-Brad

 

[evildude]

when you said not to add subrate what would you put on the bottom of the exo terra and after you mist or drip system do you wipe it off the bottom .and the pet shop is reptile shop they sell everything snakes ,lizards and they had a waterfall in there tank so that's why i got one and they told me to put bark so i mix 50/50 bark and mud in with him . and his temp was 25c and they told me it had to be 30c so thats why i bought a 100w to take it up to the 30c and it stayed at the 30c and hum 50/60 .what light would you recommened for the night time and what flooring and heat lamp wattage for a glass exo terra 45cm/45cm/45cm with a mesh top many thaks for your help ben

 

[dj special k]

when you said not to add subrate what would you put on the bottom of the exo terra and after you mist or drip system do you wipe it off the bottom .and the pet shop is reptile shop they sell everything snakes ,lizards and they had a waterfall in there tank so that's why i got one and they told me to put bark so i mix 50/50 bark and mud in with him . and his temp was 25c and they told me it had to be 30c so thats why i bought a 100w to take it up to the 30c and it stayed at the 30c and hum 50/60 .what light would you recommened for the night time and what flooring and heat lamp wattage for a glass exo terra 45cm/45cm/45cm with a mesh top many thaks for your help ben

Use the glass exo terra for another reptile other than chameleons. Chameleons need the wire screen cages not only for heat to escape and control the temps... but also their respiratory needs. They need as much fresh air as they can get, and using a glass terrerium would only be trapping in the the same air with little ventilation.
Screen cages have a plastic or pvc floor which you can clean easily or even drill holes at the bottom so that the water can drain into a pan which you can provide underneat the cage. You dont need to put anything on the cage floor. Good luck