New Baby Veiled Digging

[nelly224]

hey everyone,

I recently just bought my first baby veiled chameleon two days ago. At first he was up on the plants and basking but just starting today he or she (I don't know the sex) has been digging and laying on the ground or close to the ground to sleep. Yesterday it ate a lot of crickets and I saw it eat a few today also. I've been misting it 3-4 times since I got it. Everywhere Ive been reading though its not a good sign that its digging. Does anyone have any further advice or information? I'd really appreciate the help. I'm freaking out.!

 

[BKFritz]

I copied and pasted this for you to fill out...it's kind of a standard form that lets other members get an idea of how the cham is living and lets them help you better.

How to ask for help
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

 

[nelly224]

E=BKFritz;1130759]I copied and pasted this for you to fill out...it's kind of a standard form that lets other members get an idea of how the cham is living and lets them help you better.

How to ask for help
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 - veiled chamelion sex?, and age of your chameleon?uknown. How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a day
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? crickets What amount? 10 a day What is the schedule? Mornings 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?misting 3-4 times a day for 30 seconds and no
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?brown and yellow
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? Combo 24 by 12 by 12
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 60 watt basking bulb, zilla tropical 25 UVB bulb, heating pad on side of cage. At night I shut off everything except the night basking bulb
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 82 at basking spot, 70 at night
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I don't know humidity levels
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No
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? Bedroom, between two windows, 3 feet above floor
Location - Where are you geographically located? Pennsylvania

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

My baby veiled has been staying close to the ground and digging in the ground all day and sleeping on the ground at night.


Pictures are helpful[/QUOTE]

 

[BKFritz]

I copied and pasted this for you to fill out...it's kind of a standard form that lets other members get an idea of how the cham is living and lets them help you better. [/B]

How to ask for help
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 - veiled chamelion sex?, and age of your chameleon?uknown. How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a day
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? crickets What amount? 10 a day What is the schedule? Mornings How are you gut-loading your feeders? if you're not gut loading your feeders I would start. There are some really good commercial gut loads available but you can feed the crickets anything you can feed a chameleon.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? since chameleons kept indoors don't receive enough natural sunlight they need to be supplemented. It is recommended to dust crickets with calcium (no D3) at every feeding, calcium with D3 twice each month, and a multivitiman twice each month.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?misting 3-4 times a day for 30 seconds and no
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. urates (the white/yellow part of the bowel movement is ideally white in color. If it isn't it can mean dehydration. You can add a water dripper or increase the frequency or duration of your mistings. You can make a dripper from a cup or bucket. Poke a very small hole in the bottom and place it on top of the screen top. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?brown and yellow
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? Combo 24 by 12 by 12
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 60 watt basking bulb, zilla tropical 25 UVB bulb, heating pad on side of cage. At night I shut off everything except the night basking bulb
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 82 at basking spot, 70 at night
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I don't know humidity levels
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No
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? Bedroom, between two windows, 3 feet above floor
Location - Where are you geographically located? Pennsylvania

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

My baby veiled has been staying close to the ground and digging in the ground all day and sleeping on the ground at night. if you have exposed substrate in plants you should cover it with rocks large enough the the Cham couldn't possibly ingest them. If you have any type of substrate covering the bottom of the enclosure it should also be removed. It can hold in bacteria and loose crickets can hide in it.


Pictures are helpful

If you happen to have pictures it would help too. The folks here are amazing at helping out with cage set up and all that entails! They can also help you guesstimate age and figure out gender!

 

[BKFritz]

Also, if you go back to the home screen and look to the right, just above "User Albums" you will see a link to chameleon care. It has some great information for chameleon keepers!