New chameleon unhappy?

[Cherami]

Hi everyone,

We just adopted a 3 month old veiled chameleon. He was bright green when we got him and even when we brought him home. Now he is pretty much always brown. I went back to the pet store for more crickets to find that the friend he shared a cage with was also not bright green anymore, so I’m wondering if maybe they miss each other? His friend, though, was a muted green while he is mostly dark brown.

We have not been handling him and plan to wait until he’s been with us for a couple weeks. He was ok with handling at the pet store.

Any ideas of what I can do to make him feel happier at his new home?
TIA!

 

[The Wild One]

Pictures please. They very well could be basking

 

[Lennoncham]

Welcome to the forums. Bright colours can be a sign of stress. Darker colours could mean he’s more relaxed. But I agree with @The Wild One pics and help form please.


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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Cherami]

Pics at the pet store & his new enclosure

 

[Cherami]

To answer your questions:
3 month old veiled male
75 watt bulb - 85 basking area - 72 cool area. 65 at night. Bulbs on for 12 hours.
Feeding gut loaded crickets daily and meal worms every other day.
He’s been in our care for 5 days.
No handling yet.
Enclosure in a low traffic area, not near any fans or vents.
Not monitoring humidity, but hand-spraying 3x a day.
No live plants yet, but we plan to add pathos & hibiscus.

 

[Dbash44]

Hey there congrats on your new babe.

First off, PLEASE be careful with that outlet on the right side of the cage when you mist. Maybe cover it with something if that's the only good spot for him.

Which leads me to this. How long are your mist sessions? Do you see him drinking? How many crickets are you feeding him daily? Are you using supplements to dust the feeders with?

What UVB are you using if any? What are you using to measure the basking spot and ambient temp?

Please get plants ASAP. This can drastically change their mood and help with humidity. Also look up what plants are good for veilds. Some can be toxic if ingested and veilds are known to much on them.

It would help us give you the best advice if you copy, paste and fill out that questionnaire @Lennoncham sent in his message.

 

[Lennoncham]

Pics at the pet store & his new enclosure

it looks like he’s trying to bask in that pic. Is he only dark when under the light like that or all the time? What are you using to measure temps?

one thing I noticed it looks like you have a coil uvb bulb? You will want to upgrade that to a linear t5 ho 5.0 uvb.

 

[MissSkittles]

When I got my female veiled Stella, she was always the color of mud. I figured that was just her natural coloring. Once I upgraded her to a much larger enclosure and she got settled in, she let her true colors show and is a beautiful lime green now. Do answer all of the help form questions as others have pointed out, you do have some husbandry that needs correcting.

 

[Cherami]

Hey there congrats on your new babe.

First off, PLEASE be careful with that outlet on the right side of the cage when you mist. Maybe cover it with something if that's the only good spot for him.

Which leads me to this. How long are your mist sessions? Do you see him drinking? How many crickets are you feeding him daily? Are you using supplements to dust the feeders with?

What UVB are you using if any? What are you using to measure the basking spot and ambient temp?

Please get plants ASAP. This can drastically change their mood and help with humidity. Also look up what plants are good for veilds. Some can be toxic if ingested and veilds are known to much on them.

It would help us give you the best advice if you copy, paste and fill out that questionnaire @Lennoncham sent in his message.

Thank you! I plan to add a misting system and will set the whole thing up in a more permanent way soon, but until then I will definitely be careful misting around the outlet I’ve been doing it 3x a day for about 3 min each time and I’ve seen him drinking.

I feed 5 calcium dusted crickets in the morning and throw in a couple more in the afternoon if they’re all gone. I’ve thrown in graded carrots and apples with his mealworms, but so far not interested

I’m using the UVB and temp gage that came with the enclosure kit. The screen enclosure is 2x2x4.

The plants I plan to put in are pathos & hibiscus.

He is my first reptile. Your help/advice is so very much appreciated!!

 

[Cherami]

it looks like he’s trying to bask in that pic. Is he only dark when under the light like that or all the time? What are you using to measure temps?

one thing I noticed it looks like you have a coil uvb bulb? You will want to upgrade that to a linear t5 ho 5.0 uvb.

Thank you! I will take your advice and upgrade the UVB. The last time he was that beautiful lime green color was the first day we brought him home. Since then he has been mostly brown, even when he’s not basking. He also seem grumpy, when before he was friendly.

 

[Cherami]

When I got my female veiled Stella, she was always the color of mud. I figured that was just her natural coloring. Once I upgraded her to a much larger enclosure and she got settled in, she let her true colors show and is a beautiful lime green now. Do answer all of the help form questions as others have pointed out, you do have some husbandry that needs correcting.

Yes, I’m sure there is something not quite right since he was a happy, playful, lime green chameleon each time I saw him at the pet store. Just need to figure out what it is!