New Cham owner - colour changing concerns

J

JayDeeW

New Member
chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, Unknown age, had him one week
Handling - Daily
Feeding - about 4 Small locusts 3times a day, dusted, fed with gel and cabbage/lettuce
Supplements - Repti calcium without D3 every feed, was going to use Calcium with D3 twice a month and multi bit supplement twice a month but not had him long enough yet
Watering - Misting 3 to 4 times a day for about a minute each time
Fecal Description - Brown and white
History -

Cage Info:
Cage Type: Screen Cage, H 760 X w 400 X D 400 cm
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? On for approx 12 hrs per day
Temperature - 80 82 deg f basking spot, Lowest overnight temp 60 - by thermometer probe in cage
Humidity - unsure not got a humidity meter as yet
Plants - 3 non toxic plastic plants
Placement - main living area in corner of room, not near fans or air vents, near to a window but no drafts. Cage is on floor at present, top of cage is 760cm from floor.
Location - South Coast UK

Current Problem - Bought Bud from local aquarium/reptile shop, he was in cage with other males of same age, all were very light green in cage in shop, Bud was also very light green when we bought him home, bought a starter kit and set it up before we got him. He was light green for the first couple of days but has now started turning a darker colour, often on one side only and the other side is light green, some times he is just very dark but as soon as u take him out of the cage he goes much lighter, he is very good with being handled and will eat from yr hand, he is moving around the cage ok, eats well and poops well, not seen him drink but poop is white and brown as suggested it should be on here. Just wondering if his darker colouring is anything to be concerned about, thought the darker colour was supposed to mean he is stressed but thought that he would be more stressed when he was being handled but he is light green then, he seems to be the opposite.

Sorry on an iPad and not sure how to post pics :/
 
Welcome to the forums and congrats on Bud. I keep veileds and they are awesome chameleons and show allot of personality. You can see my veileds here.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-beautiful-veileds-142194/

You can get an app called tap talk and load photos from your iPad. About how long is Bud? I picture would be very helpful. Normally veileds are much happier when out of the cage. They also often turn dark to bask and that can only be on on one side, the side facing the basking bulb. Are you using a UVB light? They have to have UVB. Veileds can also go through a brown stage. It can also be caused by stress or he could just be adjusting to his new home. Pictures of his home would also be very helpful.

Does Bud have bumps called spurs on the heels of both back feet? Males have these bumps from hatch and females don't.

This is my blog for how I recommend keeping veileds. I am in the US and this method has worked very well over the years. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

The best to you and Bud and looking forward to seeing pictures soon.
 
jannb said:
Welcome to the forums and congrats on Bud. I keep veileds and they are awesome chameleons and show allot of personality. You can see my veileds here.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-beautiful-veileds-142194/

You can get an app called tap talk and load photos from your iPad. About how long is Bud? I picture would be very helpful. Normally veileds are much happier when out of the cage. They also often turn dark to bask and that can only be on on one side, the side facing the basking bulb. Are you using a UVB light? They have to have UVB. Veileds can also go through a brown stage. It can also be caused by stress or he could just be adjusting to his new home. Pictures of his home would also be very helpful.

Does Bud have bumps called spurs on the heels of both back feet? Males have these bumps from hatch and females don't.

This is my blog for how I recommend keeping veileds. I am in the US and this method has worked very well over the years. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

The best to you and Bud and looking forward to seeing pictures soon.
Click to expand...
Hi Jannb,

Thanks for your reply, I will try tap talk and get some pictures up, I have managed to make an album with some pics of him but not sure who can see it? This is a learning curve lol

In answer to your questions: Yes we do have a uvb light and a daylight bulb and both are on for approx 12 hrs then turned off for the night.

Yes he has spurs and is definitely male, the shop only sells males, he's about 6inches from head to tip of tail, I believe the shop said he was about 8 weeks old when we got him. Have wanted one for a long time and my husband bought him for me as a birthday present :)

Have only had him a week but we are all totally smitten
 
JayDeeW said:
Hi Jannb,

Thanks for your reply, I will try tap talk and get some pictures up, I have managed to make an album with some pics of him but not sure who can see it? This is a learning curve lol

In answer to your questions: Yes we do have a uvb light and a daylight bulb and both are on for approx 12 hrs then turned off for the night.

Yes he has spurs and is definitely male, the shop only sells males, he's about 6inches from head to tip of tail, I believe the shop said he was about 8 weeks old when we got him. Have wanted one for a long time and my husband bought him for me as a birthday present :)

Have only had him a week but we are all totally smitten ��
Click to expand...

I just check out your album and Bud looks good. Get ready for him to crawl right into your heart. They have a way of doing that really fast! :)
 
He has already, today my husband took him out and I put my hand out for him to come to me but instead his tongue flicked out at my hand twice and he point blank refused lol, I think it may be because I had perfume on and he didn't like it.

This is his cage, it's usually more in the corner of the room, pulled it out so you can see it better, want some more plants for higher up the cage I think.

2d8f29f874a2f7f0e74f36d086be7d24.jpg
 
They don't like perfume. I quit wearing it years ago.

You need to make a few changes to Bud's cage. First, veileds eat everything so you need to take the bark or whatever that is off the bottom of the cage. He could eat that and become impacted. It's also easier to keep clean with a bare floor. He needs some live plants, live plants help to keep the humidity up between mistings and way more greenery and vines in the middle to upper part of the cage. I would recommend hanging the lights up a few inches off the top of the cage or he will get a burn to close to the basking light. I'm going to give you a couple of links so you can look and see how other keepers have their cages set up to give you some ideas.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-2-post-your-pics-94781/
 
FYI. Whatever Jann says is SPOT ON! Plus her veiled snare beauuuutiful! And phew to the perfume and some smelly lotions too! I don't wear perfume but found out quick what the little guys do and do NOT like!
 
jannb said:
They don't like perfume. I quit wearing it years ago.

You need to make a few changes to Bud's cage. First, veileds eat everything so you need to take the bark or whatever that is off the bottom of the cage. He could eat that and become impacted. It's also easier to keep clean with a bare floor. He needs some live plants, live plants help to keep the humidity up between mistings and way more greenery and vines in the middle to upper part of the cage. I would recommend hanging the lights up a few inches off the top of the cage or he will get a burn to close to the basking light. I'm going to give you a couple of links so you can look and see how other keepers have their cages set up to give you some ideas.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-2-post-your-pics-94781/
Click to expand...

I will remove the stuff from the bottom of the cage straight away, this is quite hard, lots of conflicting advice, it even recommends this stuff on the bag for chams, but no way do I want him to get impacted :/

So what sort of live plants should we be looking for, have heard that some plants are toxic to them, and I read that we need to wash the plants and replant them in organic soil?

We have a really large piece of bark in the bottom that is hollow, should we take that out as well? What about the soil in the plants, saw some people are covering them with stones but guess they have to be big so they can't eat them, what about slate, can you use that? Wanted to put more greenery up the top and wanted to put live plants in but wasn't sure what to go for :)

Husband was going to hang the light anyway, that was only temporary, although the the shop told us we could leave it resting on the top, guess for now I could just move the vine down a bit, will also get more vines for him too.

Thanks for the advice, always ready to take stuff on board, want Bud to be happy and healthy :)
 
JayDeeW said:
I will remove the stuff from the bottom of the cage straight away, this is quite hard, lots of conflicting advice, it even recommends this stuff on the bag for chams, but no way do I want him to get impacted :/

So what sort of live plants should we be looking for, have heard that some plants are toxic to them, and I read that we need to wash the plants and replant them in organic soil?

We have a really large piece of bark in the bottom that is hollow, should we take that out as well? What about the soil in the plants, saw some people are covering them with stones but guess they have to be big so they can't eat them, what about slate, can you use that? Wanted to put more greenery up the top and wanted to put live plants in but wasn't sure what to go for :)


Husband was going to hang the light anyway, that was only temporary, although the the shop told us we could leave it resting on the top, guess for now I could just move the vine down a bit, will also get more vines for him too.

Thanks for the advice, always ready to take stuff on board, want Bud to be happy and healthy :)
Click to expand...


This is from my blog that I linked to you above.


You will need live plants for your cage to help keep up the humidity. I really like the Pothos it seems to hold the water for a long time and also does quite well inside. The Ficus and Schefflera also do great indoors. The Hibiscus is a favorite of the veileds but needs allot of light so your need to use hibiscus outside or have a couple to rotate from inside to outside for sun. Your plants will need to be washed and rinsed well and replanted before you use them. Use organic soil and buy large river rocks to cover the soil so your cham will not be able to eat the soil. Make sure the rocks are very large so the cham cannot eat the rocks.
 
Ok we have got rid of the bark at the bottom of the cage, it just has green felt type sheets on the bottom, we have a schefflera potted in organic soil with river stones on top, Bud has been much greener since we made the changes, he has many more places to hide and is eating and drinking well.

Here is a picture of his cage now [emoji3]

86de14fafffbf8a73abed967e7cbe85a.jpg


If you look hard enough you can just see him peeking out from the leaves on the right of the picture about half way up :)
 
JayDeeW said:
Ok we have got rid of the bark at the bottom of the cage, it just has green felt type sheets on the bottom, we have a schefflera potted in organic soil with river stones on top, Bud has been much greener since we made the changes, he has many more places to hide and is eating and drinking well.

Here is a picture of his cage now [emoji3]

86de14fafffbf8a73abed967e7cbe85a.jpg


If you look hard enough you can just see him peeking out from the leaves on the right of the picture about half way up :)
Click to expand...


That looks slot better! I see Bud in there! I bet he likes it better too. :)
 
jannb said:
That looks slot better! I see Bud in there! I bet he likes it better too. :)
Click to expand...

He went green as soon as the plant went in and does seem much happier

His basking branch is about 2 inches from the light, temp probe is just underneath this branch and temp is approx 82degrees.

Thank you, I'm so glad I found this forum, will definitely be coming back regularly for advice when needed and to read posts, the more knowledge the better, glad my little Bud is much happier :)

Julie
 
JayDeeW said:
He went green as soon as the plant went in and does seem much happier

His basking branch is about 2 inches from the light, temp probe is just underneath this branch and temp is approx 82degrees.

Thank you, I'm so glad I found this forum, will definitely be coming back regularly for advice when needed and to read posts, the more knowledge the better, glad my little Bud is much happier :)

Julie
Click to expand...

I would cut down the plant so that it's at least 4 inches from the top. You don't want him to be too close as he can risk burning himself.
 
Wowbango said:
I would cut down the plant so that it's at least 4 inches from the top. You don't want him to be too close as he can risk burning himself.
Click to expand...

You could also move the lights up off the top of the cage because sometimes they hang on the screen under the light and get a burn.
 
jannb said:
You could also move the lights up off the top of the cage because sometimes they hang on the screen under the light and get a burn.
Click to expand...

Going to buy a stand for the lights to hang them up above the cage rather than on the top so tha should solve that, we have cut the plant down a bit too
 
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