Need help with my new Veiled Cham

[Camo Boy]

She has been sleeping most of the day recently and today was bubbling from the mouth. It stopped after about 10 minutes but it scared me. I'm not sure what to do. I have her in a screen cage with a night lamp and no substrate and for water I use a plant mister a few times a day. I feed her 5 crickets a day with calcium dust on them, and today I put her in the bathroom and let the shower make the room really humid for about 15 minutes and let her sit in there for a few hours. The bubbling occurred after that. Please help I'm not sure what's wrong with her.

 

[yodathepanther]

Yeah that doesnt sound good at all bubbling from the mouth i think can be related to respiratory infection? And also id feed more then 5 crickets can you post a picture of your chameleon and cage also could you tell me what light you use, are you using a light at night???

 

[MSMorgan]

Sounds like a raspatory infection. Please take him to a vet asap.

 

[bobbydigital]

Please fill out the how to ask for help form

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[Camo Boy]

Yes I have a night light but I usually don't keep it on when it's hot at night already because I've read they need darkness to sleep well.

 

[Camo Boy]

Here's the cage

 

[Camo Boy]

Yeah that doesnt sound good at all bubbling from the mouth i think can be related to respiratory infection? And also id feed more then 5 crickets can you post a picture of your chameleon and cage also could you tell me what light you use, are you using a light at night???

Is that what you needed to see?

 

[yodathepanther]

Id recommend a Vet visit asap. Also Chameleons require zero light at night and should be kept on a schedule, like 12 hours of light 12 hours of dark, your cage needs a lot of work you need atleast a large reptibreese cage if you have the money x-large or make a cage, you need to rearange the plants so he can actualy climb from top to bottom please look at other peoples cages on here i will also provide a picture of my setup which cost i think under 200$, the lighting is also improper i think you should try a t5ho light which can be ordered online with a acradia 12% uvb with d3 and for a basking light a 65 watt flood light phillips brand no led soft white light ill give you a link make sure you dont over mist also i have a mister that goes off by the hour for 45 seconds i also hand mist, try and feed as many as he can eat cricket, dubai roaches, silk worm are all good feeders no meal worms! You needa focus on the cage/ lighting asap if you want him to be happy and get better hes gonna get a lot bigger do research youtube has tons of video im no expert but im sure someone else on here can help even more anyone????

 

[Brodybreaux25]

While the previously mentioned husbandry fixes are correct they are 100% irrelevant if you don’t take her to the vet now. No one on the internet can save your cham. On top of having what is most likely a RI she is also severely dehydrated. If somehow she pulls through then we can discuss husbandry fixes.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Where do you live?

 

[Graves923]

2 step process here...

1) Find an exotic vet and make an appointment ASAP.
2) After you contact a vet, start doing research into Veiled Chameleon care... The fact you have a night light for any reason tells me you didn't do proper research before acquiring this chameleon.

Use this section on the forum for practically everything you need to know about proper chameleon care: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/

Here is a proper caresheet for veiled chameleon care. This is going to be your guide to fixing your chameleons enclosure and correcting your husbandry. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[yodathepanther]

While the previously mentioned husbandry fixes are correct they are 100% irrelevant if you don’t take her to the vet now. No one on the internet can save your cham. On top of having what is most likely a RI she is also severely dehydrated. If somehow she pulls through then we can discuss husbandry fixes.

Yeah i totally agree thats why i mention the vet first but im just wondering could the husbandry lead to a ri or how do chams get ri’s?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Yeah i totally agree thats why i mention the vet first but im just wondering could the husbandry lead to a ri or how do chams get ri’s?

I’d say improper husbandry is the #1 cause of RI in captive chameleons, specifically high humidity.

 

[gonioporagirl]

I would take out the night light. Chameleons need full darkness in order to sleep or else they will have interruptions in their sleep. A lack of sleep could be why your cham is sleeping during the day and can also lowr your cham's immune system, making him more prone to infections. They really dont need any extra heat or light at night, room temperature is fine

 

[Camo Boy]

While the previously mentioned husbandry fixes are correct they are 100% irrelevant if you don’t take her to the vet now. No one on the internet can save your cham. On top of having what is most likely a RI she is also severely dehydrated. If somehow she pulls through then we can discuss husbandry fixes.

Here's the update on my Cham, she is doing well I added a live gardenia to her cage and made it so she can climb from top to bottom. I also stopped using the night light a while ago and I got a daytime uvb bulb she hasn't had bubbling in her mouth since a few days ago. And now is climbing all over. I live in New Mexico so it's pretty hot and dry here. I've read that the live plant should help keep the humidity up. Also she is eating well which ive read is a good sign that she is doing good. I'm not sure she needs to go to the vet as I think the problem was the low humidity but I'm getting a humidifier soon so help with that also. Here's a few photos of my new setup.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

You still need to make more changes to your setup. Did you take your cham to the vet? Chams need very specific things and failing to provide can have very bad consequences. I’d fill in that form mentioned above so the people on the forum can help you out a little. Chameleon care is complex and can be a little overwhelming at the beginning but the people here made it so much easier for me!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Here's the update on my Cham, she is doing well I added a live gardenia to her cage and made it so she can climb from top to bottom. I also stopped using the night light a while ago and I got a daytime uvb bulb she hasn't had bubbling in her mouth since a few days ago. And now is climbing all over. I live in New Mexico so it's pretty hot and dry here. I've read that the live plant should help keep the humidity up. Also she is eating well which ive read is a good sign that she is doing good. I'm not sure she needs to go to the vet as I think the problem was the low humidity but I'm getting a humidifier soon so help with that also. Here's a few photos of my new setup.

You completely ignored everything I said. Why come on here asking for help if your not going to listen to any thing we said? RIs don’t just go away in a day or two.

The couple of little changes you made are a drop in the bucket towards the changes that need to be made.

You made no mention of her hydration issues, did you do anything about that?

 

[Camo Boy]

You completely ignored everything I said. Why come on here asking for help if your not going to listen to any thing we said? RIs don’t just go away in a day or two.

The couple of little changes you made are a drop in the bucket towards the changes that need to be made.

You made no mention of her hydration issues, did you do anything about that?

Well I put the live plant in the enclosure and we talked to a local vet who said you can buy the super expensive medication for the possible illness or you could put her in the bathroom with the shower on a few days a week to get the mucus out of the lungs which is like a home remedy. No need to be hostile I'm new to this and money is tight. From what ive read most chameleons kept in pet stores are sick due to improper housing and keeping. She has no other symptoms other than taking short naps during the day and is otherwise active and hunting the crickets in her cage. To keep her hydrated and humid I've put a material covering 2-3 sides of the enclosure and she is well hydrated because her eyes are not sunken in.

 

[Graves923]

Just to put this out there... If you are tight on money, a chameleon was not the best choice for a pet... These are expensive animals to care for even after all the enclosure items are purchased.

First off, that cage is extremely small. If you did proper research before purchasing anything, you would have known to start with a taller cage and would have to upgrade to an even bigger cage when the chameleon is around 8-9 months old. With that set up youll need to buy a new cage in acouple months since you veiled will out grow that one fast. Adult veileds need a cage ATLEAST 48 inches tall and 24 inches wide.

Second, you havent mentioned how you are hydrating your chameleon. Humidifiers wont help keep your cham hydrated. A proper misting schedule and durations will not only prevent dehydration but also provide all the humidity needed. Veiled come from Yemen, an extremely dry environment. Any prolonged and constant humidity with no drop in said humidity will cause respiratory infections along with possible fungal infections of the skin.

FYI if you chameleon is sleeping during the day, even for short amounts of time, its not good and its health can decline rapidly.

Please read over the links I posted above, correct your care and enclosure according to the caresheet I linked as well.

 

[Graves923]

Well I put the live plant in the enclosure and we talked to a local vet who said you can buy the super expensive medication for the possible illness or you could put her in the bathroom with the shower on a few days a week to get the mucus out of the lungs which is like a home remedy. No need to be hostile I'm new to this and money is tight.... To keep her hydrated and humid I've put a material covering 2-3 sides of the enclosure and she is well hydrated because her eyes are not sunken in.

Also, the proper way to treat RIs is to increase basking temps. Increasing humidity will make the RI worse in my experience. As mentioned above, most RIs are cause by HIGH humidity and not letting the enclosure dry out.

Now, do you have a hygrometer to accurately measure humidity in the cage? This will tell you whether or not you need to increase or decrease humidity. Guessing just wont cut it with these animals.