New Chameleon, a few questions

[donatella]

Hi, I'm new here, a chameleon owner for 3 days now. I have a very young female veiled, and I had just a few questions about making sure all is well with her. My biggest concern, because I know she eats (she's grabbed crickets right out of my fingers), is her... well, pooping. I've seen the pictures people have posted here about what they should look like. I'm pretty sure she's dropped some turds, but I don't see any white droppings. Should she be doing both at once, or just kind of alternate urate and poop?

How would I know if she had a blockage in her digestive tract?

Also, what position or area of the enclosure would she go to? Would she move toward the bottom, or just go wherever?

Thank you all for your help!

 

[Ferrah88]

Your chameleon's poop should certainly consist of both parts. (Poop and urates) If you can only find the poop, but no urate... well.. today I did notice one of the urates of my new veiled missing (I have to check every day as they were very yellow when I got her, and have to make sure she's hydrated) and I was worried that something was up... Turns out that, during a misting session, the urate slid off the leaf while the poop stayed. Perhaps this is what happened? Since you've only had her for 3 days, my bet is a similar thing happened... but this is by no means expert advice!

My veiled goes anywhere at the moment.. she usually uses a leaf to "wipe her butt".. well nto really wipe, more like stick her poop to. I'm not sure if all chams do it, but both of mine do! Seems logical at the very least. Some chams have their places to poop though!

Good luck with your new chameleon

 

[donatella]

Thank you so much! How often should she be pooping? She's still really young and I make sure she had food and water... I just already love her and want to make sure she's healthy.

 

[Ferrah88]

Thank you so much! How often should she be pooping? She's still really young and I make sure she had food and water... I just already love her and want to make sure she's healthy.

That I am not entirely sure (I'm still a fairly new chameleon owner myself actually) but mine seem to poop once a day. They're both fairly young too, one being 4 months, and the other being anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months old apparently, no one could give me a definite date at the store!

I'm sure someone lots more experience could and will answer your questions with more certainty though

One thing I can say though: People here love pictures! From the setup to your little cham herself

 

[Decadancin]

Quite often the urate will not stay with the rest of the dropping. They consist of two distinct parts and can easily separate from each other. And she will go almost anywhere. You will have lots of fun cleaning up after your new girl! A good idea is to take a fresh dropping to your vet to do a fecal exam so you can make sure she is healthy and did not arrive with any parasites. I would suggest doing this at least once a year. Good luck with her, and welcome to the forums!
Here is a great blog on egg laying bins.https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html Your girl will need this at some point, and some keep one available all the time. Females will develop eggs even without a male present.
Here is a great care sheet for your girl. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
Good luck with her, and we'd love to see some pictures!

 

[DrRhymes]

Hi and welcome to the forums,

As long as she seems to be acting normally there is no cause for immediate concern I would keep an close eye on her and make sure isn't acting strangely.

Here is a thread that should be helpful when you set up your laying bin
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

Good Luck

Regards,
Nate

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum I guess you are not certain of her age? The links posted already include really good advice.....any other questions just ask away

 

[donatella]

Hopefully this will work... here's pics of my beautiful girl!

 

[Ferrah88]

She's a pretty chameleon! Also a load bigger than mine.. no idea how old she is, do you? I won't mention anything about the laying bin, since everyone has done such a good job already... I'm no expert on when chameleons start laying, but she seems too young for that yet - However you can't be too prepared! It's always better to start thinking ahead!

 

[DavidBuchan]

She looks lovely They grow at different rates so it's not possible to be exact on the age. If you want my guess....depending on how big your hands are.....she's about 2-3 months old

 

[donatella]

Thank you My hands are really small, so she's probably only 2 months or so. I have only had her for a few days, but she is content to eat from my hands an doesn't hesitate to snag a cricket out of my fingers, though she refuses to eat fruit so far.

After holding her last night I tried to put her to bed but she resisted, preferring to try to climb back up my arm. I took that as a good sign, that she didn't mind being with me. Is that a safe assumption?

She also climbed my hair and perched herself on the top of my head, and she likes my shoulder, too. Overall she seems more sociable than what I generally hear about chameleons. Is it just because she's young?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Even Veiled chams don't usually eat fruit or veg as youngsters. As long as the insect gutload is good it doesn't really matter - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html. My chams hardly ever get fruit directly, even though my girl will eat anything that might possibly be food.....
Once they are out of their cage they will usually just want to go up, so shoulders and heads are popular places . It sounds like she is comfortable enough being handled, but it is usually recommended to give them a week or so with no handling to let them settle in properly. You might get lucky, but once they grow up they do often change attitude.