New Cham Owner c:

[PedroANDAshley]

Hey!
My names Ashley and my Chams name is Pedro.
Ive been a 'silent reader' for a couple days now.
And this forum really has helped me!
Now I got some questions c: and Im sure you were expecting that!

1. How should I set up my little dripper?
I have a pothos plant in Pedros cage and the leaves make it impossible to get all the water in one drip bucket and the droplets seem to "fall back" on the leaves going into the plant soil and im sure it will eventully drown.

2.Is reptiglo 5.0 safe? Its a liner bulb and Ive heard people have been using them w/o problems for a while. But other opinions would be great in case.

3.How often do they poop? Ive had pedro for about 3 days now and no poop!

4. I never see pedro drink. And im scared hes dehydrated but I cant tell cuz he wont poop! Ive only seen him drink once when I first got him. I misted and he drank it right away and even tore off some pothos plant to eat c:.

Any ways info much appreciated.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums Ashley. Congrats on your new cham! What kind of a chameleon is Pedro? How old is he?

Make sure to have a drain in the pot your plant is in and it should be fine.

Have you seen Pedro eat? What kind of feeders are you using? What are you gut loading the feeders with? Tell us about the supplements you are using.

Young chameleons poop just about everyday if they are eating. Older ones maybe a few times a week.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

 

[draetish]

Hi Ashley, this is the best way to get started. Please provide as much info and pictures are very helpful and we will all work together to address any issues.

How to ask for help

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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

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Hes a veiled and Im not sure how old he is maybe a couple months?
I got him at pets mart and they hed been the for a while and he was so big for his cage :c
I had to save him lol.
He eats alot.
He eats crickets and I feed him a couple super worms a day.
I buy them from the sore (which im gonna stop doing cuz they dust with d3 every two days and pedro shouldnt eat that much d3)
They gut load them with the high calcium dry and then I take them home and they eat kale and lettuce and oranges.
I havent dust the crickets with any supplements. Ive only had him for about three days but today im going out to get some
Calcium w/o poshro or d3
Vitamin A
Clacium w/d3
and from what i studied on here he should have cal w/o phor. or d3 just about
every feedeing
Vitamin A twice a month
and cal w/ d3 twice a month.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Pedro is a male veiled cham.
Handling - twice since i got him. Once to check him and once to put him into his new cage.
Feeding - I feed him crickets and superworms. He eats like 5 or 6 crixs a day and 2 super worms. I put two crix at a time in and he hunts them and I hand feed the worms cuz they got attuides and pincers lol. I gut load the feeders with the dry high cal stuff and kale oranges and lettuce.
Supplements - Havent got any yet but gonna get pure cal. cal w/ d3 and w/o phos. and vitamin A.
Watering - I use a dripper. I mist every day twice a day for about 1 to 3 mins. Ive only seen Pedro drink once.
Fecal Description - Ive never seens pedros poop!
History - When I bought him at a pets mart the lady was trying to tell me he drinks standing water!! And he only eats 3 crixs a day!!He was skinny and still is a little skinny in my opinion.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - He has a all screen reptibreeze cage i believe its a 1.5x2x2.5? He has plenty of branches (real and fake) and the bottom has nothing but newspaper.
Lighting - I have a 100watt spot light in a clamp light fixture for basking and thats on for about 12 hours a day and its around 85-90F basking and 80-75F ambient. and a liner tube uvb light 5.0 18" by repti glo which is on for about 12 hours a day as well. When I turn off the basking and uvb light I turn a 75watt infra red light on so he can sleep which hits around 80F basking and 70F ammbient.
Humidity - Humidity is about 50-70 and I use a petco one...which I know I should go get a digital after reading around.
Plants - I have one live pothos plant c:
Placement - Its next to a window but I keep the blinds closed cuz I heard seeing outside causes stress because predetors could be in a tree or just other things. Also Its next to my computer but I wouldnt consider it a high traffic area because not alot of people come around this area and he doesnt seem to mind me.
Location - Im located in washington state.

Current Problem - I havent seen him drink for 2 days. He wont drink while I mist him and i mist for a while. And I cant see his poop to check if hes dehydrated.

 

[jamncristian]

you shouldnt use an infared light, chams benefit from a night time temp. drop

 

[draetish]

Your basking temp and lights are too hot. Basking temp should be around 82-85 and ambient temps in mid 70s. The red light could be causing his eye issue and should not be used at all. No lights at night and they can handle temps down in the 60s and should be that cool at night. I'm not a veil expert, but that might be a female and if that the case then there are other issues to address. Eyes don't look that sunken in and it does take them about 3-5 days to settle in. I'll let others chime in now.

 

[jannb]

Does he have spurs (little bumps) on the heels of his back feet?

 

[draetish]

Hey!
My names Ashley and my Chams name is Pedro.
Ive been a 'silent reader' for a couple days now.
And this forum really has helped me!
Now I got some questions c: and Im sure you were expecting that!

1. How should I set up my little dripper?
I have a pothos plant in Pedros cage and the leaves make it impossible to get all the water in one drip bucket and the droplets seem to "fall back" on the leaves going into the plant soil and im sure it will eventully drown.

2.Is reptiglo 5.0 safe? Its a liner bulb and Ive heard people have been using them w/o problems for a while. But other opinions would be great in case.

3.How often do they poop? Ive had pedro for about 3 days now and no poop!

4. I never see pedro drink. And im scared hes dehydrated but I cant tell cuz he wont poop! Ive only seen him drink once when I first got him. I misted and he drank it right away and even tore off some pothos plant to eat c:.

Any ways info much appreciated.

As far as your dripper issue, you could tie the drip hose to one of the leafs and have it drip into a container to control where it goes. Or you could place a catch bin under the whole viv and just let it go. As for your plants, you can add additional drainage holes in the pot. Pothos are okay being wet as long as the water can drain thru. Veileds do eat pothos, ficus and their favorite is hibiscus.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Yes he does. Its deff. a he. Ill drop the infrared.
UGH I hate pet store employees :/
I shoulda known too...shame on me :c

Im just worried he has no poop :c
and wont drink.
And I know how hard chams are to care for.
I dont want him to get sick :/
Maybe showering him?
is he to young for that?

 

[jamncristian]

showering could help, silk worms have a
high moisture content and are
good in helping to hydrate

 

[draetish]

As long as the showering technique is done right, that is probably the best thing to do first. Set him on a plant in the shower, aim the water at the wall and not directly on him. Make sure the water not warm to your touch. Warm to us is hot to them. Keep an eye on him as he might freak out. I agree ordering silkworms or hornworms would be a great benefit.

 

[Elizadolots]

Waves Hi!

One of mine can't resist the urge to poop on my hand. I'm sure it's a tactic to get put back in the cage (and, it works). Anytime I get "poop concerned" I take him out and let him walk around my fingers for 5 or 10 minutes and he always provides me a sample to look at. You might try that.

 

[dindy]

horn worms would be the best way to help hydrate, feeding too many silkworms could maybe give him too much calcium...when i got my first cham and even others after that i would never see them drink but thats cause they are new to their environment and are not always trusting to their surroundings yet, especially the big human head gawking right at them!...he he he...he probably drinks when you walk away after misting him...just keep misting the cage 3 times a day maybe a couple more times if your that worried, with a fine mist for a few minutes...sometimes with chameleons it can take a few minutes to trigger them to start drinking...so mist for a little while and watch to see if he starts, just make sure you have good drainage so you can actually mist without worrying about the cage filling up...he looked alright in the picture...obviously he is gonna trip out a bit for the first while but you said you saw him drink the first day...if he is really thirsty he would drink, when some of mine would get a bit dehydrated or some of the when first got them they werent in the best of shape...if they were that thirsty most of them would run right up to the spray nozzle or bottle and id drip or spray it right into their mouths!

good luck!

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Hes not a fan of being handled.
Im sure the lady at pets mart scared him as well as all the little kids im sure poked at his age.
Plus its in their nature.
I dont wanna stress him :c
But thanks guys I think Illl try the silk worm things and see if that'll help.
And maybe the shower thing if I can get him out without him puffing or hissing. I dont want him to fall.

 

[dindy]

come to think of it tho...he kinda looks like a she!
are you sure its a male???...i dont see spurs and the head doesnt look like a males...theres also what looks like a females pattern as well...hmmmm

 

[PedroANDAshley]

He has little spurs right on his back feet lol. I wish my camera phone would take better pics and if i get to close i might make him mad. lol

 

[dindy]

i think the pic is just a bit shiny and bright...looked like a female for a minute to me lol...