mysterious chameleon death

[kbax]

I'm new to the forums. So please don't be too hard on me. In addition I am rather upset about this event and could use some help.I came home from work today and found my veiled dead in its cage. It seemed to be very happy the day before. I couldn't tell if it ate some of its bedding or severely dehydrated or if it was sick before we had it.

Veiled cham I'm not sure how old
Cage- 3'x3'x4'
Lighting- a 100w uvb bulb and a 50w basking bulb. They are on from about 6 am to 8 pm.both lights are hung.
I use a mister for humidity control and spray the cage 3 times a day.
Cage has ranging temps that range from 72 to about 90 I have two electric thermometers.

I have 2 live plants a ficus tree and a pothos
Its fed up to 10 crickets a day.

I have since removed the bedding, but is dehydration a major issue with chams? If it is what can I do in order to make sure it doesn't happen? I have owned chams in the past and never ran into this issue. I had the cham for only a week and a half. Now I have a baby chameleon because the pet store took responsibility for the problem. As I said I don't actually know why it died, but if it is preventable or was my fault I want to make sure I do every thing I can to prevent that from happening. When I tried to put it by a plant with water on it, the cham did a very odd neck twist and stuck out its tongue. Does anyone know what this means?

The expert at the pet store said my habitat is perfect, I may just be looking for an answer but if anyone could give me some insight I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[happy]

Hello and welcome to the forums.
just a few clarifying questions. you stated you have a 100watt uv bulb, and a 50 watt basking bulb... is the uv bulb a combo bulb? one with both heat and uv? how far from the cage is it? what is the temperature in the spot the chameleon would bask in?

dehydration is always a risk in chameleons.. but the chameleon would have had to have been very dehydrated when you got from the store(1.5 weeks).
if you received a chameleon and died within 2 weeks, there was something seriously wrong with the chameleon when you got, or your husbandry was way off, and from what you posted, not likely.

for the most part, you have answered most of the questions in the "ask for help" questionnaire, but i would go over it again, and answer, if you have any images of the chameleon in question, that would help as well. and pictures of the enclosure would also help.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'm new to the forums. So please don't be too hard on me. In addition I am rather upset about this event and could use some help.I came home from work today and found my veiled dead in its cage. It seemed to be very happy the day before. I couldn't tell if it ate some of its bedding or severely dehydrated or if it was sick before we had it.

Veiled cham I'm not sure how old
Cage- 3'x3'x4'
Lighting- a 100w uvb bulb and a 50w basking bulb. They are on from about 6 am to 8 pm.both lights are hung.
I use a mister for humidity control and spray the cage 3 times a day.
Cage has ranging temps that range from 72 to about 90 I have two electric thermometers.

I have 2 live plants a ficus tree and a pothos
Its fed up to 10 crickets a day.

I have since removed the bedding, but is dehydration a major issue with chams? If it is what can I do in order to make sure it doesn't happen? I have owned chams in the past and never ran into this issue. I had the cham for only a week and a half. Now I have a baby chameleon because the pet store took responsibility for the problem. As I said I don't actually know why it died, but if it is preventable or was my fault I want to make sure I do every thing I can to prevent that from happening. When I tried to put it by a plant with water on it, the cham did a very odd neck twist and stuck out its tongue. Does anyone know what this means?

The expert at the pet store said my habitat is perfect, I may just be looking for an answer but if anyone could give me some insight I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm really sorry for your loss. Not a great re-introduction to chameleon keeping.

As Happy mentioned, there was likely a health issue before you got him/her

As far as the neck twist and sticking out tongue when you put him on a wet plant, it could be that s/he was twisting to bite you or s/he was trying to lap up some water.

Veileds are pretty tough. Even if your husbandry wasn't perfect, they usually take a lot longer than a week and a half to die from poor husbandry. Without an necropsy, you will never know why s/he died.

Substrate isn't a great choice for chameleons, especially Veileds which have a penchant for eating things. Your temps seem a little high, especially if it was/is a baby, but if s/he could get to cooler temps, it likely wasn't an issue. They do like to cool down at night.

Dehydration is always an issue with chameleons. You can use a dripper and mist the cage. Have you read the care sheets for Veileds?

Again, I'm very sorry.

 

[ponders]

Sorry about your little guy.

Is your uv bulb a coil or a linear tube? I would recommend a linear bulb for babies.

 

[laurie]

Hard on you? Why? It sounds like you took the proper care of your chameleon. Don't hold yourself responsible for his death. You recieved a Cham with a problem, I am sorry you had to watch it die.

Take good care of your new little one. I hope you have a long time together. Glad you joined the forum, and can share your new baby with us.