New Chameleon Owner having problems already

[AReptile]

Hello everyone I have been dying for a chameleon for as long as I can remember and I finally went out and got one yesterday. It's a baby veiled chameleon and i am unsure of the gender at this point but it's about 3-5 inches head to tail. I picked this one out yesterday because he appeared to be healthy but i notice that since I got him his eyes are closed way too much for my liking. I just took the top of the cage off (where he was hanging) and tried to get a response out of him by lightly spraying him. He does respond but he moves around with his eyes closed! He was also doing this last night not too long after i brought him home moving along the leaves in similiar fashion ( but it was already dark out). He is able to change colors and I have gotten him to drink from the plants a couple of times since yesterday. I am not sure what to do at this point because I know the closed eyes are a bad sign. As I am typing this he is under the bulb I got him with his head pointed up towards it. I'm gonna try and see if he is interested in food next. But other than that I think I need some help =(

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

How old where did u get him whats the enclosure like temp humidity got any pics

 

[pssh]

There is a a form in a sticky in the health clinic forum Ina thread titled how to ask for help. Fill it out and post it here.

 

[AReptile]

I really don't have enough info to fill that out adequately on the chameleon just yet. I'm going back to the pet store where I got it tomorrow to get crickets, and to ask some questions so I can fill this out. Is it possible that the bulb i'm using is too bright for the chameleon though?

 

[pssh]

It's possible that the UVB light you are using is blinding him, and not temporarily. You need to fill out that form to the best of your knowledge or your Cham could die very soon. Closed eyes means it is sick or something else is wrong, and chams hide sickness until they no longer can...

 

[jojackson]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[thealissa]

These are just general things to know for starters. Number 1 might be your issue though.

1. If you're using a coil-style bulb, you are best advised to throw it out. Make sure you're using a tube-style bulb, like the Repti-Sun 5.0.
2. Make sure you're supplementing him/her properly (use the search function to find out more about this)
3. The crickets/worms you feed your cham need to be gut-loaded (fed prior to feeding to your cham) with things like carrots, dandelion greens, or potatoes. This can also be searched for further info.
4. Are you using substrate in your cage? Most suggest removing this completely.
5. Do you have something to properly measure temperature and humidity with? (Don't buy the cheap stick on ones as they are often inaccurate, digital is preferred) Humidity needs to be in the 50-60% range. Temperatures should be in the upper 70's to low 80's (I think) for a young chameleon (with the basking spot being about 83 or so, no higher)

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions and/or search for them.

 

[lietf001]

Yes. Same as above....we need to know what light, temputure, humdity, environment setting before we can suggest a way to help ur dude out....sometime if it dun move much with closing both eyes that's mean it sick. If it's active but with one eye close, it may cause by humdity.

 

[AReptile]

Basically the guy who sold me the cham set my tank up for me exactly the way the cham was set up in the store. He gave me the same bulb (100 watt daylight blue reptile bulb) and the same lamp that they were using for the chams in the store. It is a 5.5" Clamp Lamp and it rests on the top of the cover of the tank and is very bright with the blue bulb. At night I switch it for my red infra red bulb that I used to use for my frogs/newts. The chameleon moves about with his eyes closed and well periodically he has opened his eyes. I really wasn't home today until it was dark here though so I don't know if his eyes were open at all during the day. I just decided to switch the lamps I use to heat the cham from the one i bought to the normal lamp i used with my other pets. Does it matter how close the bulb is in respect to the chameleon? The current lamp it hangs about 9 or so inches above the top of the tank. Would the cham be getting adequate heat from this lamp or would the one that just lays on top of the tank be better? The weird thing about this whole thing is that when I was observing all of the chameleons before i picked this one out they were all healthy looking and this one's eyes were open for sure.

 

[Cainschams]

Personally I would take it back. Those signs are not good and the set up is totally wrong. You are headed for disaster in buying a young chameleon who has been housed totally wrong for however long. Take it back, read the link I am going to post, get your set up running smoothly then buy from one of the site sponsors or in the classifieds.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[AReptile]

Hmm I'm not sure he would even take it back.... those chams in the first pics are 2-3 months old?! They're pretty big looking, this one is like i said about 3-5 inches from head to tail. How long do healthy chameleons take to start adapting to their new home where they'll eat food?

 

[jojackson]

Each one is different. Give a week or so and if its still not settled and eating, then revise your setup.

As I am typing this he is under the bulb I got him with his head pointed up towards it.

This concerns me some. Please fill out the information.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."he is under the bulb I got him with his head pointed up towards it"...this coupled with the fact that it is walking around with its eyes shut....you need to get this solved now.

You said...(100 watt daylight blue reptile bulb) and the same lamp that they were using for the chams in the store. It is a 5.5" Clamp Lamp and it rests on the top of the cover of the tank and is very bright with the blue bulb. At night I switch it for my red infra red bulb that I used to use for my frogs/newts"....what is the temperature where the chameleon sits? 100 watt sounds high, but I don't know your cage size or how close the chameleon can sit to this bulb. Your blue light doesn't produce UVB which your chameleon needs...nor will the infra red bulb. There is no need to have heat on the cage at night unless the temperatures are lower than 60F. All you need to provide heat is a regular incandescent household light bulb that puts the basking temperature in the low 80's. You don't mention a UVB light...if this chameleon was without one in the store (you said your setup was the same as the store's). The long linear UVB fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 is most often recommended. I would take off the blue and red lights and try a regular household bulb...and get a UVB....but I don't think this chameleon is going to live long at this rate so it needs to be done now IMHO....sorry to have to say that.

You said..."The weird thing about this whole thing is that when I was observing all of the chameleons before i picked this one out they were all healthy looking and this one's eyes were open for sure"....have you seen the ones at the store since you got this one? How long were they all in the store?

 

[AReptile]

Um it says on the box that it provides UVA yet you say UVB and that it can be used with the Reptisum 5.0 everyone keeps mentioning. Uh on the clamp lamp i would say when the cham is at the very top of the screen he is about 2-3 inches away from the bulb. On the normal lamp It's more like 8-9 inches away. I got the chameleon on Tuesday and that's when i saw the other ones. I have no idea how long they were there for but it can't have been long because they're small. I'm going back to the store tomorrow for more information.

 

[pssh]

A chameleon needs UVB light to help make vitamin D to absorb calcium into their bones without UVB a chameleon develops serious bone disorders that can be fatal. I suggest taking the chameleon back setting up your screen cage right then buying a new one once your husbandry is correct. It likely already has a bone disorder or some other sickness and may die soon.

A reptisun 5.0 is a bulb that produces UVB rays for the chameleon/lizard.

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

Buying from pet stores is the worse thing you can do in the first place, they only focus on selling not raising. They think a chameleon lives like every reptile to them a chameleon is no diffrent than a gecko. You buy from a pet store all that dose is fund them to put more chameleons through a brutal death. I would get my money back and spend it at a known breeder like the ones that are on here giving us great advise all the time.

 

[AReptile]

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, had it since Tuesday evening. I don't really know the gender yet.
* Handling - Few times earlier today
* Feeding - I plan on feeding him crickets, and I gutload them with potatoes atm.
* Supplements - Hmm I dont have supplements yet need recommendations.
* Watering - Currently using a spray bottle with warm water as I don't have a mister or w/e it is and I have gotten him to drink with this method
* Fecal Description - Can't say for description just yet and no hasn't been tested for parasites.
* History - The chameleon seemed fine when I got it, and I knew that walking around with it's eyes closed when it got to its new home wasn't normal behavior. Also I have seen him open his mouth 3-4 times but that's about it.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - 10 Gallon glass tank with a screen top. It's about a foot tall and 20 inches long.
* Lighting - 100 watt Daylight Blue Reptile Bulb, says it can be used with Reptisum 5.0 lamp, and an infra red heating bulb that I used several years ago fro my amphibians. I don't remember the statistics.
* Temperature - I don't have anything to measure the temperature atm, house temperature is at least 65 at all times though with no heating bulbs on the tank.
* Humidity - Help needed in this area
* Plants - Fake plants
* Placement - There's a radiator 3-4 feet away from it. It's 4 feet off the ground because I got the tank on a stand.
* Location - NY

 

[pssh]

You should be using a screen cage, he needs a linear UVB light (reptisun 5.0) with a bulb at that watt you are likely 'cooking' him alive. He needs calcium without d3 on most feedings, calcium with d3 2-4 times a month and a multivitamin once or twice a month. You also need to gutload with fresh leafy greens like kale and collard greens, fruits like oranges and apples, and other veggies like yams and carrots.

These are the immediate changes you need to make. You also need to get him to a chameleon experienced vet ASAP or take him back. It sounds like he is dying.

 

[AReptile]

I can't do anything drastic for it right now it's almost 1 AM here and there is absolutely no place that would be open at this time. If 100 watt is too much what watt bulb should be used? I'm wondering why would these bulbs cook the chameleon as well. Like i said already I've used the red one for virtually every frog and newt I've owned and I never cooked one of them with this bulb and their skin is more sensitive to the heat. Though when I do have the lamp on I put a towel on the top of the other side of the tank so if it is too hot for the cham he can go to the shade. As for the vet part I would like to get him to one but I'm not sure if the vet that my family takes my other animals to handle chameleons... If I knew that a chameleon would have so many health problems right off the bat I would have found a viable vet before I bought one from anywhere store or breeder.

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

A CHAMELEON IS NOT A FROG OR NEWT. Chameleons clime towards a light they dont always know if its too hot kinda like us we go into the sun with out sunscreen the next day we look like a lobster. The pet store should have told u that a glass tank is very bad once it gets up to temp the heat has nowhere to flow so in return the tank gets the same temp as the basking temp. What light are u useing at night?