Need help! with my Veiled Care

[Derrick]

Great looking chameleon.

May I ask you a question since I am also new to this?

Do you handle your chameleon a lot? It looks as if he's doing a great job in the pictures and doesn't look to be stressed at all.

I know everyone says to handle your chameleon as little as possible but I've read this recently:

The act of handling chameleons will not kill them. Some chameleons do become stressed when handled. If they are sick with some other disease, then handling may stress them beyond their physical capacity. Those chameleons should be handled as little as possible. Most chameleons can be handled with no problem. Some of the wild caught chameleons are not used to being handled and may resist handling. With these chameleons, handle only as necessary at first, gradually increasing the frequency and duration to accustom them to handling. Most captive bred chameleons can be handled without any problems, though some captive bred chameleons may resist being handled at the beginning.

That's coming from Dr. Rob Coke, DVM, who is suppose to be one of the best reptile vets in the United States.

 

[amy045]

Great looking chameleon.

May I ask you a question since I am also new to this?

Do you handle your chameleon a lot? It looks as if he's doing a great job in the pictures and doesn't look to be stressed at all.

I know everyone says to handle your chameleon as little as possible but I've read this recently:



That's coming from Dr. Rob Coke, DVM, who is suppose to be one of the best reptile vets in the United States.[/QUOTE

i just handle him once a week... everytime i handle him a take pictures of him to see how its growing and to posted here... so be i dont recomend you to handle every day because they are stressfull.. if i am incorrect and anyone have something to say posted....

 

[Prehensile]

Que camaleon mas bonito.
me encanta tanto.
ase cuanto que tu lo tienes?
yo tambien soy de puerto rico.

 

[amy045]

pss lo tengo com hace dos meses y medio

 

[amy045]

my cham dosnt interested in mealworms!!! its that bad?

 

[amy045]

need help!!
where i can buy Grasshoppers???

 

[amy045]

where i can find grasshopper?? online.. thanks

 

[amy045]

Help !! my cham looks Weak!! why ifeed him 3 time peer week (6-8 crickets each time i feed him)

 

[BocaJan]

Your chameleon does not look ok. His eyes look sunken (lack of water and humidity) and looks like the start of MBD in those back legs. If he is weak I would say that it is progressing. He must be able to hunt for those crickets as those are his staple food. They need to be lightly sprinkled with calcium without D3 every feeding, calcium with D3 2 times a month and a general vitamin 1x/month. Do a search on vitamins on this forum and you will see the actual brand of powdered vitamins to get.

Chameleons need 12 hours of the linear reptisun bulb in order to get the UVB they need if kept in the house. Keeping them by a window doesn't work because windows keep out UVB. You can put their cage outside if you have enough plants where it can get sun and shade for 12 hours. However, you need to make sure he gets watered 3-4 times a day outside for several minutes. They are thirsty little critters.

Good luck and make the changes now! Have you read the kitty article below? It is an excellent article on a chameleon named kitty and all the information on setting up the cage through the management of eggs, plus you get some pictures.

ps - until his strength returns feed him daily and watch so he eats what you feed him. Don't let his food sit in his cage, but make sure he shoots for it so he gets the calcium for his bones.

 

[kinyonga]

When a chameleon has MBD you need to bring the calcium back into balance and then make the necessary changes to your husbandry to keep them in balance. The quickest way to bring it back in balance is for the chameleon to have calcium injections until the blood calcium levels are high enough that it can be given a shot of calcitonin to draw the calcium back rapidly into the bones.

Here's some information that might help.......
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20040608.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

Hope this helps!

 

[melric]

Kinyonga some of those links don't work. I've been meaning to tell you. It's the second, third, and last link.

 

[kinyonga]

Hopefully they will work for you now. They have to be accessed through the WayBackMachine...and periodically they get out of date again.

 

[melric]

Hopefully they will work for you now. They have to be accessed through the WayBackMachine...and periodically they get out of date again.

Perfect. Thank you!