New chameleon shedding

[cutie1978]

Hello , we had our new veiled chameleon delivered yesterday from Fl we are in Mass and he hid on the bottom of tank most of day was a brownish color..He is supposed to be a blue green veiled eventually. He is a tiny baby. He is now shedding today green and white.. is that nornal.. humidy is about 80 percent and temp is 85 shut off basking lamp as he was sort of hiding from it I felt. He is in a 55 gallon glass tank top.is screen tons of live plants and vines and clay balls on bottom to hold moisture..any suggestion to help him shed poor little guy. He has eaten and drank water already

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

To have a color change after shedding for a juvenile chamleon is normal. Watching chameleons grow and change colors as they grow is amazing to watch.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[MissSkittles]

Hello , we had our new veiled chameleon delivered yesterday from Fl we are in Mass and he hid on the bottom of tank most of day was a brownish color..He is supposed to be a blue green veiled eventually. He is a tiny baby. He is now shedding today green and white.. is that nornal.. humidy is about 80 percent and temp is 85 shut off basking lamp as he was sort of hiding from it I felt. He is in a 55 gallon glass tank top.is screen tons of live plants and vines and clay balls on bottom to hold moisture..any suggestion to help him shed poor little guy. He has eaten and drank water already

Hi and welcome! When they are little, their colors can kind of be all over the place and for varied reasons. I’m afraid I am having to rain a bit on your parade. However, please keep in mind that my criticism comes from a kind place and I only want for you and your little one to have many happy and healthy years together. Just from the scant info you’ve given and your pic, I can tell that your husbandry is very incorrect to the point of potentially being life threatening. Let me explain why and go from there. Your pic shows your cutie walking amongst a little forest of moss. Moss is not something you want to use, especially with a veiled. If accidentally eaten, it can cause a bowel obstruction. Veileds do like to nibble at their plants and could mistakenly intentionally eat some. You say he’s a tiny baby and from the pic, my guess is he’s maybe 2 months old, if that. The younger the chameleon, the more fragile they are and can decline quickly if any of their husbandry is wrong. You say your humidity is at 80% and temp is at 85. This combined with having a glass enclosure is a recipe for a respiratory infection. For veileds during the day, the humidity needs to be between 30-50%. For babies and girls, we don’t give them temps above 80. Your cutie would do just fine at temps in the mid to high 70’s even. That you are measuring the size of his enclosure in gallons, makes me believe it is an aquarium type tank, which is not appropriate for chameleons due to lack of proper ventilation (not to mention size, but that we can talk about later). The glass tanks that have the front opening doors have an area just below them that is a vent for air to enter and then thru the chimney effect, it gets drawn upwards thru the screen top. Again, not having proper ventilation is a risk for respiratory infection. Also, unless you are doing a true bioactive set up, you want to keep the enclosure floor bare…is more hygienic.
So, I’ve risked being a and told you what is wrong, from just the little bit of info you’ve provided and I am going even further into turd-dom by assuming the rest of your husbandry is wrong. I probably should identify myself as a born/bred Masshole (western mass), now in Floriduh. Now let me help you to make it all right. The very best places to learn what you need to do and have for your sweet little baby are https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ and on YouTube, Neptune the Chameleon. Since I’m guessing you’ll need to buy just about everything needed for proper care, Neptune has partnered with Panga Reptile in creating a chameleon kit that not only is everything needed to start, but at a really good price. Do avoid the ZooMed chameleon kit as those have almost nothing useful and are responsible for the sickness and death of far too many animals. If you are needing to buy things piece-meal, the most important items to have would be an enclosure with proper ventilation (might as well get the size needed for adults, which is 2x2x4’) a linear T5HO uvb with either an Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0 uvb bulb (off brands are not trustworthy) and correct supplements - a phosphorus free calcium without D3 to be lightly dusted at every feeding and then a quality combination D3/multivitamin, like Repashy calcium Plus LoD to be used at one feeding either twice a month or every other week. You can use natural branches you collect and give a little wash and rinse to. Avoid the black Exo Terra vine (sheds tiny particles), wooden dowels and grape wood (they mold easily). For eating, your little one should be getting as many feeders as he can eat in a 15-20 minute period, twice a day. The feeders need to be smaller than the space between his eyes. My guess would be crickets that are somewhere between pinhead and 1/8” and itty bitty baby dubia. You’ll probably need to order the right size on line. There are several who sponsor the forums who are fantastic. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food https://joshsfrogs.com/ is also a good source for feeders as well as other items. https://framschams.com/ is in Mass and sells silkworms. Just let them know how tiny your baby is.
I’m really glad that you’ve found your way here and do hope that you will take my words to heart and get started on the needed changes asap. So very much more that I could say. Just know that we all started at the beginning and are here to help however we can.

 

[MzLaurie]

Wow MissSkittles gave you a lot of info to deal with but let me assure you she is one of the best. First off when they molt it can be stressful. The good thing is molting when they are young is a very quick ordeal. The are dry shedders so too much humidity or helping them with water can result in issues. The only places where you are supposed to help is if there is any stuck shed at the tip of their little tail and around their leg joints like ankles and knees. A band of stuck shed can result in cutting off circulation and causing necropsy so keep an eye on that if it’s a band, you just have to use your fingernail and break the band so it’s not a tight rubber band cutting off circulation if it’s on the tip of the tail, you’ll just have to remove that gently and completely. When veilds are that young their colors are usually green but can go all over the place, but with each molt, their colors may change and depending on if they’re male or female, the changes could be quite significant. While you are trying to get a set up that is correct. I suggest getting a little fan Like one of those personal fans for work and maybe clipping it on the side so it will create some ventilation in the tank. This is just a temporary solution until you get a proper reptile set up going please go to the sites that Miss recommended as there is a ton of great information Specific to your needs. Please keep us updated because the color of your little baby is not quite right to me even with having to molt. Post pics after the mulch is complete. If they’re at the bottom of the cage and dark, it could be for many reasons hunting., scared, they’re sick. It’s just too many reasons to go over. It’s a way of not just blending in, but really communicating to the rest of the natural environment
What’s going on with them Anyway, Best of luck to you and hope you can get your husbandry right so your little one will have a great life.