Need help new baby Cham

Cactus

Member
Hi. I’m new here and to Cham care in general about a week ago I rescued a Cham from pet smart. He was fine when he got home but now is making sneezing noises but is not clicking or crunching when she breaths. I know I should have gone to a broader but didn’t want him staying in the 6 inch cage they had 2 in. She’s still vary little (not sure how old ) I spray her cage 4 times a day it’s a screen change and is a 16 by about three feet up. I don’t thinks it’s an uri but it might be salt depot in its nose. Any help with care would be awsome
 

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Hi. I’m new here and to Cham care in general about a week ago I rescued a Cham from pet smart. He was fine when he got home but now is making sneezing noises but is not clicking or crunching when she breaths. I know I should have gone to a broader but didn’t want him staying in the 6 inch cage they had 2 in. She’s still vary little (not sure how old ) I spray her cage 4 times a day it’s a screen change and is a 16 by about three feet up. I don’t thinks it’s an uri but it might be salt depot in its nose. Any help with care would be awsome
Hi there and welcome to the forum. Please fill this out with as much detail as possible. Then we can get to what you are describing and what we can see from the pictures.

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.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
I’ve got her in a zoo Med uvb and heat lamp her basking spot is around 87. She pooped and looked normal ( not runny or to dry ) it’s been handled quite a bit the day we got it and seemed to injoy The freedom. I have fed him small crickets and have been trying to get her to eat fruit she’s not really interested in it.
 
I’ve got her in a zoo Med uvb and heat lamp her basking spot is around 87. She pooped and looked normal ( not runny or to dry ) it’s been handled quite a bit the day we got it and seemed to injoy The freedom. I have fed him small crickets and have been trying to get her to eat fruit she’s not really interested in it.
If you could please copy and paste that form into your post then go through every question and answer them. :)
 
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon female I think had her for about a week
  • Handling - every day (not a fan of Misting) and we had to put her plants in
  • Feeding - a few meal worms as a treat and mostly small crickets
  • Supplements - reptil calsum with d3 zoo med
  • Watering - Every 4 hours for about 45 seconds with a hand spray bottle
  • Fecal Description - not ruby but moist with ( what ever the white pee stuff is in the middle )
  • History - rescued from pet smart about a week ago
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 16 by 16 about 2.5 feet tall
  • Lighting - Zoo med uvb and heating lamp with 12 hour schedule
  • Temp is 87 in backing spot 72 in cool spot
  • Humidity -I’m not sure ( havent bought humidity gage
  • Plants - golden pathos and dracaena
  • Placement - Corrner of room with no vents near it low traffic area
  • Location - Owensboro ky
Current Problem - sneesing sounds
 
Lol there try’s the charm

Ok see all my feedback in red. I do have some additional questions.
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon female I think had her for about a week
  • Handling - every day (not a fan of Misting) and we had to put her plants in ( don't spray her directly)
  • Feeding - a few meal worms as a treat and mostly small crickets How many crickets, how often do you feed, at what time of day do you feed? mealworms are a poor source of nutrients and have the ability to cause impaction in chams so do not feed these.
  • Supplements - reptil calsum with d3 zoo med How often are you dusting with this. Do you have a calcium without D3? Do you have a multivitamin? Calcium WITH D3 should only be given 2 times a month, Calcium WITHOUT D3 should be done at every feeding, and a multivitamin should be given 2 times a month.
  • Watering - Every 4 hours for about 45 seconds with a hand spray bottle. Does she have a little dripper for a constant water source?
  • Fecal Description - not ruby but moist with ( what ever the white pee stuff is in the middle ) is the urate ( the white portion) mostly to all white or is it mostly yellow or orange?
  • History - rescued from pet smart about a week ago
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - screen 16 by 16 about 2.5 feet tall Start thinking about upgrading cage size. If this is a female she will require a permanent lay bin since they lay infertile eggs like chickens.
  • Lighting - Zoo med uvb and heating lamp with 12 hour schedule Lighting needs to be upgraded. the UVB compact bulb is virtually useless. You will need a T5Ho linear fixture with a 10.0 uvb bulb. 12 hour schedule is correct. Make sure your heat bulb is not a red colored one.
  • Temp is 87 in backing spot 72 in cool spot Too hot at basking. Needs to be about 82-85 max... Your highest little branch is much much too close to the heat. This poses a very high risk for thermal burns. Highest basking branch should be about 8 inches below the top screen.
  • Humidity -I’m not sure ( havent bought humidity gage Need to buy one. THis one works well just do not spray it directly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H1R0K68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • Plants - golden pathos and dracaena
  • Placement - Corrner of room with no vents near it low traffic area
  • Location - Owensboro ky
Current Problem - sneesing sounds
The sneezing could be from too much calcium with D3. They can also do this when they are getting tap water. Use distilled or Reverse Osmosis water. Could be the start of a respiratory infection.
You will want to make quite a few changes to your enclosure. Needs tons of branches horizontally starting from 8 inches from the top of the cage dropping down to about 8 inches above the bottom. These can be hooked in using tiny zip ties. Remove all the substrate from the bottom of the enclosure. they will eat this and it can cause impaction. Plants should have 1 inch river rock on top of the dirt to keep them from eating the dirt as well. Try to find a pothos that has a lot of long vines that you can weave up into branches to provide cover. They are arboreal so they like to be up in trees with cover it makes them feel safer. You can add a shower curtain to the back and a side on the outside of the cage to keep from spraying the walls.
Dragonstrand.com makes excellent cages. They also sell their dragon ledges and drip pans separately that will work with other cage brands. ledges make it so you can put plants higher in the cage without adding weight to your screen.

Additional resources.

www.chameleonbreeder.com excellent podcast devoted to the education of the care of these animals.
www.dragonstrand.com dragon ledges, drip pans, and fantastic cages.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/ Read through all the different sections
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ Care sheet on your veiled.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/egg-laying-and-the-laying-bin.345/ if it is a female you will need to start learning about lay bins

You want your enclosure to be like this... full of live plants and using real branches to create a safe environment for the baby. You can get creative here.
Here are two links to enclosure threads where tons of people have posted pics.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/the-official-enclosure-picture-thread.49688/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/official-enclosure-picture-thread-2-post-your-pics.94781/

newcage3.JPG




Here are some help images as well.




Supplements pic.jpeg
Gutloading 101.jpeg
UVB lighting pic.jpeg
nonUVB pic.jpeg
Basic Feeder pic.jpeg
 
ive been meaning to get more sticks we have a farm with a lot of drift wood and other sticks would that be safe if I wash them with a tiny bit of dawn. Also I try using bananas and he wasn’t interested at all any advice for feeding them fruit and veggies. When I get rid of the substrate would I need to mist not for humidity control
 
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ive been meaning to get more sticks we have a farm with a lot of drift wood and other sticks would that be safe if I wash them with a tiny bit of dawn. Also I try using bananas and he wasn’t interested at all any advice for feeding them fruit and veggies
Yeah you can wash them with a little dawn and then rinse extremely well and let them dry out.
So most are not fans of fruits and veg... but if you do decide to try to feed this go with the ones on the nutritious gutload options. Remember with this as well variation is key. cutting up very tiny pieces.
 
Ok thanks so much I’ve been using tap idk what I was thinking. One more thing, when can u actually sex a Cham idk if there’s a age like there is with leo’s
 
Ok thanks so much I’ve been using tap idk what I was thinking. One more thing, when can u actually sex a Cham idk if there’s a age like there is with leo’s
lol this is a learning process. just keep learning. There is a ton of info in this hobby. And it can get a bit overwhelming. Asking questions and searching the forum is a great way to find out info. The podcast and resource links will help you a ton.
Yes you can sex a Veiled at a very young age. Your looking at the back feet. on the backside of the foot there will be a tarsal spur if it is male. If it is a female it is smooth no spur.

These are images of my guys tarsal spurs. He is older so they are very obvious but this is what you are looking for but very small.

Tarsal spur1.jpg tarsal Spur2.jpg
 
Ok so it’s actually a male wooo no eggs. I think his nose might be clogged up a little his nostrils look a little white and made more sneezing sounds after I moved the substrate from his cage it’s a sneeze followed by a little whistle sound
 
Ok so it’s actually a male wooo no eggs. I think his nose might be clogged up a little his nostrils look a little white and made more sneezing sounds after I moved the substrate from his cage it’s a sneeze followed by a little whistle sound
Keep an eye on him. Do you see lots of white hard stuff around his nose? Could be him processing out the extra minerals from the tap water, could be the supplements your using. If your over powdering your feeders. No powdered donut effect lol. lightly dusted is what your going for. Make sure your not using calcium with D3 every feeding. Go back and read through my notes on supplements.
 
Not trying to be rude here and @Beman is the woman with all the right info here and you should take everything she's said at face value. But how does one rescue something they know nothing about? Is that really considered rescuing? Can we just call it what it was "an impulse pet purchase" please and thank you.
Yes an impulse buy but they are here trying to learn and being very open unlike a lot of others that come here saying they know it all and are rude when we try to help. I give them points for that. I myself impulse bought without knowing anything and I came here sought out the information to be the best keeper possible. I feel that I rescued my boy. He was in a crowded tiny cage. If someone else bought him he very well may not have gotten someone like me that went home and learned how to give him the best life.
 
Update he’s doing great all the sudden haven’t heard a sneeze sense I moved out the substrate?!?! Maby mold in it ? but again thanks so much. I got some more wood in his cage and seems to like it a lot . ( yeah it was pretty much an impulse buy. Not a good idea but so happy I have him now )
 
Maybe since he is your first your not used to what a sneeze or a cough is. :) Keep a close eye on him. Start making the changes to his enclosure and husbandry. Lighting is extremely important so don't hold off on anything. Every single aspect of their care is important. Ignoring even one thing can have consequences.
 
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