My veiled chameleon, Rupert
- Thread starter Isaact06
- Start date
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome on here, and what a handsome boy! I do see some concerning things in his cage and with his casque. If you could fill out this questionnaire in as much detail as possible, it'd be greatly appreciated so we can help you give Rupert (LOVE the name!) the best life possible!
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
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Please Note:
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.
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Please Note:
- The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
- Photos can be very helpful.
Male, I got him December 2020 he's probably almost 2 years old, from PetSmart. My mom bought him without me knowing as a present, so It didn't really have a great setup for about 2 months or so. I very rarely handle him. I feed him 5 crickets a day. Mealworms every once and a while. I gut load them with some high calcium dry cricket food, and also some commercial cricket oranges. I dust them with calcium without D3 3-4 days out of the week, and with d3 once every 2 weeks. His mist king mister mists 3 times a day for 5 minutes. I see him drinking every once and a while. His fecal matter is very normal looking brown, not liquid, with white to light yellow urates. Has never been tested for parasites, but has never shown signs as far as I know. 4-2-2 ft reptibreeze screen cage. Not entirely sure what the current uvb is, but I know it's a 5.0 and is about 2 months old. His heat lamp is a ceramic heat emitter, and is about 5 inches elevated off the cage. His basking spot is usually around 87 degrees. Not sure what the bottom temp is, but last time I measured it, it was good, and my setup hasn't changed since. 50% humidity. My room is about 40% humidity, so I don't have to do much to maintain 50%. Hibiscus and golden pothos, he eats some hibiscus every once and a while. His cage is elevated about 3 feet, so he's usually 6.5 ft in the air. No fans next to his cage. It is by my bedroom door, but he doesn't really stress out very easily from the traffic. East Texas.
Do you think his casque looks fatty? There was some stuck shed when I took that first pic, it's not there anymore.
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Thanks! Here's some feedback and some more questions:
• I'd find an experienced and reputable chameleon vet to take him to since he did come from Petsmart and has never been tested for parasites. Make sure they doa general checkup and x-rays, bloodwork, a fecal (bring a fresh one with you, and try to drop off two more after if you can to make sure no parasites were missed), and to check out his casque.
• At his age, he should only be getting 3-5 feeders (depending on weight) every other day. Both of those gutloads are not good, sadly. I've attached a gutload sheet below; the more variety, the better! I've also attached a feeder variety sheet, too!
• For dusting, it shoulda phosphorus-free calcium without D3 at every feeding except for one feeding per week, where you'll alternate between a phosphorus-free calcium with D3 and a multivitamin without D3 (but with preformed Vit. A), so that each is fixed once every two weeks. What brands and types of supplements do you use?
• Could you post a pic of your UVB please? Is it's normal light bulb or coiled light bulb or a long, skinny bulb? Also, what brand is it?
• What do you use to measure your basking temps? It should be 89°F for his basking temp. What are his nighttime temps?
• His daytime humidity should be between 30-50%, preferably on the lower end. If he has the right temps and enough air circulation at night, his humidity should be higher (up to 75-100%). What do you use to measure humidity?
• The reptile hammock and fake plants need to come out. The hammock isn't meant for chameleons to use, and fake plants can cause an impaction and lead to death since veileds eat their plants. Could you post a picture of his entire cage, please? I've attached some chameleon-safe plant lists below (make sure to choose the ones that are veiled-safe). If you want more options, I have a couple links that go more in-depth!
• Fellow Texan! What part of East Texas are you from?
It could be fat, an infection, or something else. @Beman will be more help than me!
Attachments
I don't think so, the only time I think he could've had an opportunity to burn himself was during a freeze a while ago. Our house was 40 degrees, and so I put his heat lamp directly on the screen. That was February 2021. His casque got big like this as he grew, over the course of a few months. I think he's fat, so Im going to cut down on his feeding, I'm also going to give him more variety in his food. I've also heard that a swollen casque could mean mbd. He acts perfectly fine, and I've never had issues with him behaving oddly. This is a picture of his head lamp.
So it looks like your using the compact screw in bulbs for UVB... IF that is what you are using then you want to switch to a linear T5HO fixture and a 5.0 bulb. And they need a basking branch below this fixture 8-9 inches away.
MBD would not be the cause... We see this with obesity and with thermal burns to the casque causing an infection.
How often are you feeding him?
I would be careful with the heat emitter... They can produce some extreme temps. You do not want basking hotter than 80-85. And you should not run it at night. They need a cool down.
I've wanted to get a better uvb for a while, and I will definitely get the T5H0. In the picture you can see the heat lamp and a grow light, the uvb is a little to the side of where he basks. I feed him every day, but I will start feeding him every other day. His basking spot is definitely not too hot, and might even be closer to the cooler side somehow. He has no heater at night, and it's about 72 degrees at night. This is my uvb. It's pretty new.
Ok so that bulb is doing nothing. especially if it is off to the side. But the issue is this one only pushes UVB about 3-4 inches down. So you want to get a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 or 6% bulb and you want it to run the width of the enclosure. Basking branch should then be 8-9 inches below this new fixture.
This one would work https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/who...84-reptisun-terrarium-hood-t5-24-zoo-med.html
Thank you! I will definitely buy this very soon
How much and how often are you feeding now?
5 crickets a day, I will start feeding 3 every other day
Ok so your going to want to reduce it to 2 medium/large sized every other day and see if he starts dropping weight. He will not be happy about it. But if you can not get him to drop weight he can actually end up with organ failure due to the obesity.
