New keeper

[Gloriawood]

Hi! I am new to this, so please don’t be too harsh! I have wanted a chameleon for quite some time. A student of mine was rehoming hers and I got him. I have had him about a month and have done research previously and I continue to do so. I know his cage is too small and I have a larger one in the works. There were some other issues that I deemed to be more important that I was taking care of first. He was kept with a compact uvb bulb, did not have supplements and was fed mostly meal worms. I have changed all of this already.

He was starting to shed on his casque when I got him and it seemed to be taking a very long time. The past day or so he has shed his tail and his face.

Basically what I am wanting to know is if I am doing things correctly and what I need to change.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - male veiled will be 2 in august. I have had him about a month.
• Handling - not often at all. I have handled him once, maybe twice.
• Feeding - Dubia roaches, hornworms, occasionally wax worms. He was previously fed everyday but I am working on switching to every other day.
• Supplements - calcium without d3 every feeding and multivitamin twice a month. See photos.
• Watering - misting twice a day and a dripper
• Fecal Description - was watery when I first got him. Has gotten firm and dark with mostly white urates. Occasionally some orange.
• See above.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen, I am aware it is too small
• Lighting - 60 wt heat bulb and t5 5.0. Both 12 hours on 12 hours off basking branch 8 inches below bulbs.
• Temperature - 70-80 daytime with about 85 basking. 60 lowest overnight.
• Humidity - this on place where I know I’m having trouble. Humidity stays around 30% I have added plastic to the sides of the cage to help at night but it doesn’t seem to be doing much.
• Plants - all fake plants. Plan on getting live ones soon.
• Placement - off the floor. Top of cage is around 6 foot from the ground.
• Location - southern Missouri

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. You’ve got a lot right so far, but give me a bit and I’ll go over any changes needed.

 

[Gloriawood]

Hi and welcome. You’ve got a lot right so far, but give me a bit and I’ll go over any changes needed.

Thank you so much!

 

[MissSkittles]

• Your Chameleon - male veiled will be 2 in august. I have had him about a month.
• Handling - not often at all. I have handled him once, maybe twice. It’s important to work on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Dubia roaches, hornworms, occasionally wax worms. He was previously fed everyday but I am working on switching to every other day. Very good on both, but you can add more staples to his diet. Then you need to make and keep your feeder insects as healthy as possible so that they’ll be more nutritious. Graphics below.
• Supplements - calcium without d3 every feeding and multivitamin twice a month. See photos. I only see the calcium, which is perfect. What is your multivitamin and does it contain D3?
• Watering - misting twice a day and a dripper Perfect. How long are you misting for? Two minutes is the suggested minimum to allow time to trigger drinking urge.
• Fecal Description - was watery when I first got him. Has gotten firm and dark with mostly white urates. Occasionally some orange. Is always a good idea for a vet wellness visit and have a fecal parasite check done.
• See above.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen, I am aware it is too small The minimum size for an adult veiled is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. If you can do larger, your handsome guy will use all of the space as he performa his regular patrols.
• Lighting - 60 wt heat bulb and t5 5.0. Both 12 hours on 12 hours off basking branch 8 inches below bulbs. Excellent
• Temperature - 70-80 daytime with about 85 basking. 60 lowest overnight. Also excellent
• Humidity - this on place where I know I’m having trouble. Humidity stays around 30% I have added plastic to the sides of the cage to help at night but it doesn’t seem to be doing much. 30% is perfect for daytime. At night since you have such a great temp drop, you can boost humidity all the way. Yes, covering the sides and back of a screen enclosure helps greatly. For a tidy look, you could use shrink to fit insulating window film. Many use shower curtains. Using a cool mist humidifier/fogger or if you have an automatic mister, adding additional mistings at night will boost humidity. Live plants greatly enhance humidity too.
• Plants - all fake plants. Plan on getting live ones soon. Veileds love to nibble their plants, so it’s important that they are live, safe and clean. This may be of help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Many plants will require an additional plant light. I like the Sansi lights and use both the 36w screw in ones and the big 70w box. However, pothos is an awesome plant for chameleons and does okay without special lighting.
• Placement - off the floor. Top of cage is around 6 foot from the ground. Perfect.
• Location - southern Missouri

From the way his casque is pulled down towards the back (looks almost folded at one part) I’ll guess he does have some mbd. However, from the pics I don’t see any limb or mouth deformities, which is good. Do be careful with any handling until his bones have had some decent time to recover strength and density. While whatever damage that has already occurred can’t be undone, with proper care it will be stopped and he’ll recover.
I do suggest adding many more branches and vines for him to travel on. It is a challenge to attach things to screen, but there are solutions. Some use garden trellis secured to the frame or build out their own little support scaffold, also attached to the frame. That is basically the key - attach whatever you will be using to the frame and not the screen. If you don’t want to have to think that hard about it, there are Dragon Ledges, which are awesome and can take the weight of plants with no problem. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/
You’re off to a great start with your beautiful fella and giving him his best life. Very happy to have you both here. If you answer the couple of questions I asked, we can address those items.

• 
  

 

[Gloriawood]

I have been cup feeding him to work on building trust. He isn’t scared of me and usually comes right up when he sees I have his cup. He was previously tong fed, which I stopped immediately. He has come around quite a bit to me since I have gotten him.

I do gutload with veggies, and have some bug burger on the way. I need a good place to order feeders if you have suggestions. The pet store here is pretty crappy and doesn’t always have Dubias even.

I am misting for 2 minutes. Right now I am using a hand mister but working on an automated system when I get his bigger cage.

I was concerned about mbd and figured he had some from the wrong lighting and no supplements. I’ll post another picture of his casque (this photo is from the end of February). It does have a slight bend in it and the multivitamin which does have d3. He was a little shaky when walking when I first got him and that does seem to be improving. I knew he wasn’t in the best shape but he seems to slowly be getting better. How long can I expect for his bones to recover? I know it can take some time.

Should I be concerned if his shedding is taking a while?

I live in such a small town and there is no reptile vet near me that I know of. This is my biggest concern.

I plan on giving him a cage larger than 2x2x4. I also plan on getting a pathos and some other plants. I’ve been keeping an eye out at my local stores which are just now getting plants in. I will get some more branches and vines this week.

 

[elizaann2]

Welcome! You have a beautiful boy!

 

[Gloriawood]

Welcome! You have a beautiful boy!

Thank you!

 

[MissSkittles]

Excellent to use the ReptiVite with D3. Also excellent that you have bug burger on the way. Usually local pet stores lack variety of feeders and some lack quality. For variety, try https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/ https://dubiaroaches.com/ or http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ The last one is not a forum sponsor and being from Florida, has discoid roaches and not dubia. Josh’s frogs usually has a nice variety of feeders too. All of these I believe sell variety packs too, which is a bonus if you have only one insectivore.
Adult chameleons don’t have that instant ‘proof’ all over shedding like babies do. They shed a little slower and body part by body part. Chams are dry shedders, so if he gets wet while shedding or humidity is too high, he may not have a clean or complete shed.
I’m not sure exactly how long it will take him to make a full recovery. From my own experience, I’ll say maybe 3 - 6 months, depending on the severity of the mbd. Of course, I’m sure he’s already feeling so much better and gaining strength every day under your great care.

 

[Gloriawood]

Excellent to use the ReptiVite with D3. Also excellent that you have bug burger on the way. Usually local pet stores lack variety of feeders and some lack quality. For variety, try https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/ https://dubiaroaches.com/ or http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ The last one is not a forum sponsor and being from Florida, has discoid roaches and not dubia. Josh’s frogs usually has a nice variety of feeders too. All of these I believe sell variety packs too, which is a bonus if you have only one insectivore.
Adult chameleons don’t have that instant ‘proof’ all over shedding like babies do. They shed a little slower and body part by body part. Chams are dry shedders, so if he gets wet while shedding or humidity is too high, he may not have a clean or complete shed.
I’m not sure exactly how long it will take him to make a full recovery. From my own experience, I’ll say maybe 3 - 6 months, depending on the severity of the mbd. Of course, I’m sure he’s already feeling so much better and gaining strength every day under your great care.

Thank you so much for all your help! I will check those sites out and order him some more variety I’ll also work on building more trust with him.

I was so worried about him and worried I was messing something up badly

I seriously can’t thank you enough for your help!

 

[MissSkittles]

It’s truly my pleasure to help.

 

[Beman]

Hey there. If you can please post a picture of him straight on? I want to see the face from the front to determine how much fat storage he has going on in his casque and cheeks.

How much have you been feeding him so far and how often?

 

[Gloriawood]

Hey there. If you can please post a picture of him straight on? I want to see the face from the front to determine how much fat storage he has going on in his casque and cheeks.

How much have you been feeding him so far and how often?

This is the best I have at the moment, and it is from the end of last month not long after I got him. I am not at home right now but will take one this afternoon for you.

He was previously on a diet of only mealworms. And was fed everyday. When I got him I switched to dubias, hornworms and occasionally wax worms as a treat. He eats 3-4 bugs at at time. I dust them with calcium at every feeding. I was feeding him everyday, but the past week or so I have switched to every other day.

 

[Beman]

This is the best I have at the moment, and it is from the end of last month not long after I got him. I am not at home right now but will take one this afternoon for you.

He was previously on a diet of only mealworms. And was fed everyday. When I got him I switched to dubias, hornworms and occasionally wax worms as a treat. He eats 3-4 bugs at at time. I dust them with calcium at every feeding. I was feeding him everyday, but the past week or so I have switched to every other day.

Ok great I will check the pic when you upload it. I am just trying to really see the girth to the casque on both sides. In the other pics he looks very slender which for me would indicate an every day feeding of 3-4 good feeders. Especially since your trying to improve calcium levels to combat the MBD. I just want to make sure the reduction to every other day is warranted based on his size. It is one of those we do not want them to be fat but we do not want too thin either when your trying to rehab.

 

[Gloriawood]

Ok great I will check the pic when you upload it. I am just trying to really see the girth to the casque on both sides. In the other pics he looks very slender which for me would indicate an every day feeding of 3-4 good feeders. Especially since your trying to improve calcium levels to combat the MBD. I just want to make sure the reduction to every other day is warranted based on his size. It is one of those we do not want them to be fat but we do not want too thin either when your trying to rehab.

Awesome. I really appreciate all the advice you all are giving me. I just really want to give this guy the best life possible and make sure he is healthy.

 

[Beppo]

I have been cup feeding him to work on building trust. He isn’t scared of me and usually comes right up when he sees I have his cup. He was previously tong fed, which I stopped immediately. He has come around quite a bit to me since I have gotten him.

I do gutload with veggies, and have some bug burger on the way. I need a good place to order feeders if you have suggestions. The pet store here is pretty crappy and doesn’t always have Dubias even.

I am misting for 2 minutes. Right now I am using a hand mister but working on an automated system when I get his bigger cage.

I was concerned about mbd and figured he had some from the wrong lighting and no supplements. I’ll post another picture of his casque (this photo is from the end of February). It does have a slight bend in it and the multivitamin which does have d3. He was a little shaky when walking when I first got him and that does seem to be improving. I knew he wasn’t in the best shape but he seems to slowly be getting better. How long can I expect for his bones to recover? I know it can take some time.

Should I be concerned if his shedding is taking a while?

I live in such a small town and there is no reptile vet near me that I know of. This is my biggest concern.

I plan on giving him a cage larger than 2x2x4. I also plan on getting a pathos and some other plants. I’ve been keeping an eye out at my local stores which are just now getting plants in. I will get some more branches and vines this week.

What a cutie! Welcome!

 

[Gloriawood]

What a cutie! Welcome!

Thank you!

 

[dinomom]

Thank you so much for all your help! I will check those sites out and order him some more variety I’ll also work on building more trust with him.

I was so worried about him and worried I was messing something up badly

I seriously can’t thank you enough for your help!

He's a lucky little guy

 

[Gloriawood]

Ok great I will check the pic when you upload it. I am just trying to really see the girth to the casque on both sides. In the other pics he looks very slender which for me would indicate an every day feeding of 3-4 good feeders. Especially since you’re trying to improve calcium levels to combat the MBD. I just want to make sure the reduction to every other day is warranted based on his size. It is one of those we do not want them to be fat but we do not want too thin either when you’re trying to rehab.

Will these work? I can take more if not.

 

[Beman]

Will these work? I can take more if not.

Ok good he is not as thin as I thought. The bend int he casque was hiding the bulk on the side of it. You should be good if you want to take him to every other day feeding.

 

[Gloriawood]

Ok good he is not as thin as I thought. The bend int he casque was hiding the bulk on the side of it. You should be good if you want to take him to every other day feeding.

Awesome I appreciate your help! Thanks so much