Need advice!

Ashleycrockett

New Member
Ok, so I got my baby chameleon on April 2nd, and he recently passed away May 23rd. I had the proper set up and everything for him, with a basking lamp, leaves and branches, also the bottom was filled with moss. I would mist his housing area multiple times a day. About a week before he passed away he stopped eating and started turning really dark for multiple hours.. Im guessing that means he was stressed out, but nothing i had been doing changed. Except maybe the weather outside had gotten hotter? Also the picture attatched is from when we first got him and after two months he hadnt grown a bit.

Did i do something wrong?
 

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I notice you didn't mention a uvb bulb... That for sure is a problem if you did not have one. Also it would be helpful if you filled out the care sheet.
 
I would guess he ingested some of the moss in the cage and got impacted. Which is prolly why he stopped eating. That's just my guess thou
 
Too hot for him

My sympathies for your loss. In 40 years of keeping chams I know how devastating losing one can be.

I see this all the time. The baby veiled only need a low wattage heat bulb and only in the daytime.

Also, if they stop eating then you need to offer a different bug for them to munch on.

Also, you may just have gotten one that wasn't meant to be a pet.

Also, even baby veileds like large environments with lots of hiding places.

Also, in my opinion every environment should have a fountain with running water. These are inexpensive and available at most hardware or home supply stores. Not only does it guarantee higher humidity but most chams learn to drink from them in a few months.

Get another one and see if your luck changes.
 
no uvb is a huge problem..if he ate the moss and became impacted it could have killed him..also moss holds moisture,and fecal matter causing a huge area of bacteria and parasites he also could have had a infection or parasites....please fully educate yourself on your specific care of your cham if you do it will work out better next time
 
Hi there,

I am very sorry to hear that your little one has passed away. It is very admirable that you are trying to figure out what went wrong before you decide to get a new one.

Chameleons are pretty much the hardest to take care of, when it comes to reptiles, and sometimes things can go wrong even if you got everything right with the husbandry, especially if it is your first cham.

I would like to link you to this care resource we have on the forums, which has been written by experienced members based on years of chameleon keeping: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Also, if you really want to get to the bottom of what might have happened to your little one, you can fill out this form: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
Just copy/paste it and fill in the answers, providing as much information as you can. Once all information is in one place, we can then have a look at it and tell you what might have been off in your setup or what might have been done better in your care. It won't bring your little one back, but it can and will help you to avoid the same mistakes (if there were any), when you decide to get a new chameleon.

All the best,
Julija
 
My sympathies for your loss. In 40 years of keeping chams I know how devastating losing one can be.

I see this all the time. The baby veiled only need a low wattage heat bulb and only in the daytime.we kept the heat bulb on only in the daytime and turned it off at night 12 hours on 12 off, and if he got hot he would go to the other side of the tank to cool off.

Also, if they stop eating then you need to offer a different bug for them to munch on.next time i will try a different varity of bugs for him to munch on. but he seemed to really like the meal worms.

Also, you may just have gotten one that wasn't meant to be a pet.we got him at petsmart? is that not an ideal place to get chams?

Also, even baby veileds like large environments with lots of hiding places.

Also, in my opinion every environment should have a fountain with running water. These are inexpensive and available at most hardware or home supply stores. Not only does it guarantee higher humidity but most chams learn to drink from them in a few months. what kind are availible at hardware stores?

Get another one and see if your luck changes.i plan on getting another one but i want to find out first if i did something wrong, because i dont want to see another one suffer because of something i did wrong.



reply above^^^^
 
I would guess he ingested some of the moss in the cage and got impacted. Which is prolly why he stopped eating. That's just my guess thou
i did see him trying to eat the moss, but i took it out of his mouth after he grabbed it. would that make him angry? he was actually very loving to me most of the time and rarely puffed up or hissed at me to leave him alone. next time im not going to use moss.
 
Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.


Pictures are helpful
Can you please fill this out so its easier to tell you what was wrong
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?Veiled Chameleon, believe he was a male. Got him when he was a couple of weeks old and had him for about 2 months
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?once a day, or every other day
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?we fed him meal worms, whenever we turned on the light, and let him eat until he wouldnt take anymore, and would always have some in a bowl for him so he could grab them when he wanted.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?flukers calcium, couple times a week, but he seemed to never take the worms that had been dusted.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?id mist multiple times a day, once i saw that the leaves had dried i would mist again. i sprayed him with a reptile spray bottle. i had seen him drink a couple times
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. brown and white.. not runny
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?no
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?glass and screen combo, the size is 12x12x18 we plan on getting a bigger one, but he was about the size of a bic lighter.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 50 watt and 12 on in the day 12 off at night
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?highest about 85. lowest at night maybe 65? i never looked what the temperature was at night. but our room stays prety warm.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?im not sure.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?fake plants
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?in our room about two feet from the bed on a stand.
Location - Where are you geographically located?indiana

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Ok, so I got my baby chameleon on April 2nd, and he recently passed away May 23rd. I had the proper set up and everything for him, with a basking lamp, leaves and branches, also the bottom was filled with moss. I would mist his housing area multiple times a day. About a week before he passed away he stopped eating and started turning really dark for multiple hours.. Im guessing that means he was stressed out, but nothing i had been doing changed. Except maybe the weather outside had gotten hotter? Also the picture attatched is from when we first got him and after two months he hadnt grown a bit.
 
Ashley there are quite a few things I see wrong here. First of all it sounds as if you had your chameleon in a fish tank? Is that correct?. These habitats are no good for chameleons as they do not have proper bottom ventilation. You need a terrarium or most preferred a screen cage. A uvb light does not give off any heat so most likely you were not using a uvb bulb. Do you have the bulb? Whjat does it say on it? What brand is it? How did you measure your temps and with what? In a glass tank it is very hard to regulate temps when you are shining a light down into such a small area. If you were not using a uvb for two months, it could have caused major issues with your chameleon but not necessarily death. I have seen them go without this and live, but develop illnesses such as Metabolic Bone Disease. Never put any substrate in your cage. that would include, moss, mulch, dirt, sand, small rocks etc. All of these can be injested. It is very possible this is what caused your chameleons death. You were given a great care sheet that will give you all you need to properly care for another chameleon if you decide to get one. I am sorry your little one passed away. Sometimes we have to learn from our mistakes unfortunately. There are other things that need changing too, but they would not have caused death. The care sheet you were provided will address those.
 
Also, in my opinion every environment should have a fountain with running water. These are inexpensive and available at most hardware or home supply stores. Not only does it guarantee higher humidity but most chams learn to drink from them in a few months.

I disagree with this recommendation. Unless you are an experienced keeper who understands just how careful you need to be about bio-filtering or changing the fountain water and keeping everything (poop, urates, feeders) out of it, you are asking for trouble. A newbie purchasing one of those fake waterfalls expecting it to serve as a water source can end up killing their cham. Not all chams learn to use one. I also haven't found that they raise the humidity in a large screen cage much at all (and yes, I have used them and found them to be too much trouble).
 
Ok, so I got my baby chameleon on April 2nd, and he recently passed away May 23rd. I had the proper set up and everything for him, with a basking lamp, leaves and branches, also the bottom was filled with moss. I would mist his housing area multiple times a day. About a week before he passed away he stopped eating and started turning really dark for multiple hours.. Im guessing that means he was stressed out, but nothing i had been doing changed. Except maybe the weather outside had gotten hotter? Also the picture attatched is from when we first got him and after two months he hadnt grown a bit.

Did i do something wrong?

Sorry to hear this Ashley. It sounds as if you and your cham were victims of pretty poor husbandry information.
 
Ashley there are quite a few things I see wrong here. First of all it sounds as if you had your chameleon in a fish tank? Is that correct?. These habitats are no good for chameleons as they do not have proper bottom ventilation. You need a terrarium or most preferred a screen cage. A uvb light does not give off any heat so most likely you were not using a uvb bulb. Do you have the bulb? Whjat does it say on it? What brand is it? How did you measure your temps and with what? In a glass tank it is very hard to regulate temps when you are shining a light down into such a small area. If you were not using a uvb for two months, it could have caused major issues with your chameleon but not necessarily death. I have seen them go without this and live, but develop illnesses such as Metabolic Bone Disease. Never put any substrate in your cage. that would include, moss, mulch, dirt, sand, small rocks etc. All of these can be injested. It is very possible this is what caused your chameleons death. You were given a great care sheet that will give you all you need to properly care for another chameleon if you decide to get one. I am sorry your little one passed away. Sometimes we have to learn from our mistakes unfortunately. There are other things that need changing too, but they would not have caused death. The care sheet you were provided will address those.

he wasnt in a fish tank, he was in a chameleon cage made specifiacly for them with vents under the doors and mesh at the top. and it was a uvb bulb.so he was heated and we had a thermometer.
 
he wasnt in a fish tank, he was in a chameleon cage made specifiacly for them with vents under the doors and mesh at the top. and it was a uvb bulb.so he was heated and we had a thermometer.

Please, don't take the comments too hard, people are just trying to help you and sometimes making assumptions that turn out wrong (as in the case with the aquarium assumption). In regards to UVB bulb - you didn't mention that when describing your lighting setup, you just wrote it was 50W, you didn't mention what brand it was or what was the UVB percentage (usually it is 5.0 or 10.0), that is why Carol decided you had no UVB source.

From what I can see, first of all your chameleon was very young when you got him - 2 weeks old is too young really, especially if this was your first chameleon. They are very fragile at that age, and normally it is not advised to buy or sell them until they've reached at least 2-3 month. Where was it that you bought him?

Your feeding was sub-optimal I would say. Mealworms contain close to none nutritional value, they are mostly fat really, that's all, and plus you say he never took the ones that were dusted in calcium. Also you did not mention using any kind of vitamin supplement. That means that he probably was not getting the nutrients, minerals and vitamins that he needed to develop and grow properly. Chameleons need a variety of feeders, it is advised to use crickets, roaches, hornworms and silkworms as main feeders, and dusting with calcium at every feeding is of paramount importance, because chameleons need calcium not only for their bones, but also for many other bodily processes, including proper muscle function, breathing, etc.

There could have been subtle signs indicating that he was not doing well before he started getting dark and closing his eyes, that you have not noticed simply because of lack of experience - there is nothing wrong with that, I have tried it myself, it happens, because chameleons are challenging creatures to keep.

Finally, there might have been some kind of a genetic defect, or maybe his mum was not cared for properly while she was carrying eggs, which resulted in him being weak or even ill, and in that case there was really not much you could have done.

Do you have any pictures of him that were taken after some time in your care or maybe shortly before he passed away? Also, maybe you have a picture of the enclosure itself? That could really help. There is a possibility that even though you had leaves and branches in his enclosure, there was still not enough places for him to hide and get his privacy - I am mentioning that because you wrote yourself that he started getting dark and lack of hiding places can stress chameleons very much.

And please, don't take any of this as an attack on yourself. I believe with all my heart, that you were doing the best you could for your little friend. I have lost a chameleon myself and I know how it hurts... I would however like to help you figure out what went wrong, so that you can enjoy keeping these wonderful critters in future :)

JUlija
 
he wasnt in a fish tank, he was in a chameleon cage made specifiacly for them with vents under the doors and mesh at the top. and it was a uvb bulb.so he was heated and we had a thermometer.

oh ok sorry about that. When people usually say glass with a screen top it turns out to be a fish tank. And again, uvb bulbs do not really produce heat so I am not sure what you are saying. I would be interested in knowing the specific bulb you used as you stated it to be of a wattage that uvb bulbs usually do not have.
 
I disagree with this recommendation. Unless you are an experienced keeper who understands just how careful you need to be about bio-filtering or changing the fountain water and keeping everything (poop, urates, feeders) out of it, you are asking for trouble. A newbie purchasing one of those fake waterfalls expecting it to serve as a water source can end up killing their cham. Not all chams learn to use one. I also haven't found that they raise the humidity in a large screen cage much at all (and yes, I have used them and found them to be too much trouble).

couldn't agree more
 
Sorry for your loss. It's not easy losing one.

There is a natural die off rate of hatching chameleons in the first few weeks of life they shouldn't be sold to anyone but an experienced keeper IMHO before they are three months old so the person gets a strong healthy chameleon.

This being said...if you are going to get another one you need to make some husbandry changes if you want one to do well. No substrate, better dusting, better diet to begin with.

We recommend no substrate in most cases because of the danger of them leading to impaction if ingested.

Since most insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phos its important to dust the insects with a phos - free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for it. It's also recommended that the insects be dusted twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A and twice a month with a phos - free calcium / D3 powder.

Mealworms can sometimes lead to impaction but are okay to use as part of the diet. Crickets, silkworms, locusts, superworms, roaches, etc can also be included in the diet. It's important to feed them well since you want to feed your chameleon healthy insects.
 
oh ok sorry about that. When people usually say glass with a screen top it turns out to be a fish tank. And again, uvb bulbs do not really produce heat so I am not sure what you are saying. I would be interested in knowing the specific bulb you used as you stated it to be of a wattage that uvb bulbs usually do not have.


no need to apolagize, i just read what i wrote and i did sound a bit rude. im sorry!
the bulb was powerful enough to heat up housing area. it was a reptisun 50 watt uvb.
 
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