My wife recieved a juvenile male for Christmas. We have him in a 45 gallon tank with plants, vines, and logs to climb on. During the day, we use a 65 watt heat lamp, USB light, and a light strip. At night, we have a 100 wat ceramic heat lamp for him. We have a misting system and a drip waterer. Although I have only seen him eat one cricket, they seem to be disappearing from the tank. The floor is a reptile substrate. While sleeping, he turns a light green with yellow stripes. In the day, he's a dusty gray with some rust color. I'm worried about him. Any advice is appreciated.
New Owner of Veiled Chamelon
- Thread starter Realite06
- Start date
Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
It sounds like you put a lot of work into the enclosure but there are a few things that need adjustment.
Please post some pictures.
You will want to move him into a screened enclosure. Also “he” may be a she so please post some pics of your chameleon too, paying attention to take pics of the head and back feet.
I suggest you get a XL Reptibreeze and a wired probe to measure the heat on his/her basking branch. And get rid of the ceramic heater for night. They like a temp drop at night while sleeping.
Drop the heat lamp to 40 watt.
Please post some pictures.
You will want to move him into a screened enclosure. Also “he” may be a she so please post some pics of your chameleon too, paying attention to take pics of the head and back feet.
I suggest you get a XL Reptibreeze and a wired probe to measure the heat on his/her basking branch. And get rid of the ceramic heater for night. They like a temp drop at night while sleeping.
Drop the heat lamp to 40 watt.
Stlcards514
Member
Glad you made your way here…you will get tons of great advice and no judgements here. Congratulations on the new baby and a great start, are you dusting your crickets with any supplementation ?
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Im a veiled owner. This is something you can do immediately to improve your husbandry. Veileds are muchers. You should remove the substrate. If the Cham eats the substrate, it will cause the Cham to be impacted (can't poop) causing illness/death. Also because they are muchers you should only use live plants. Flukers or Pangea vines are suggested for climbing. Stay away from moss and black coated vines. One of the experienced keepers will assist you with fine tuning supplements, heat, uvb and very important care information.
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your little one might be too hot. It is suggested to keep handling to a minimum but with that daytime color, I would take him outside for some natural sunlight. This might not be possible depending on your current weather. Anything I suggest will only make a minor impact but might make your little one a bit more pleasant until the experienced keepers respond.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi and welcome. 
I’m a bit at a loss of how best to approach this as I want to help you and your chameleon, but you may initially think I’m being a mean jerk. So, let me first give you these resources to learn from. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/
It’s very difficult to know how to care for a chameleon properly as there is so very much bad info out there, including from many big box pet stores. Chameleons are arboreal and need tall enclosures with lots of excellent ventilation. They need correct uvb light, basking light, supplements, etc. To be totally blunt, you are needing to start over fresh and get a completely different set up for your guy. I won’t lie…this can be expensive. However, there is this https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...sca_ref=2120335.Dn9y03RxpN&sca_source=website This is a great price for all that you’re getting and (unlike Zoo Meds chameleon kit), everything included is correct. Add some natural branches of oak or other non-sappy or aromatic tree and some safe live plants and your guy will be living his best life. Right now, he’s at high risk for respiratory infection (heat + poor air circulation + high humidity of using a fogger during the day), metabolic bone disease (I’m assuming no or improper uvb and supplements) and chronic stress (being in the wrong enclosure/environment). The sooner you get your big guy in a proper set up, the happier and healthier he will be. We are here and can absolutely help you however we can during the process. Below are pics of one of my enclosures to give you an idea of what he needs and some pics of one of my veiled guys so you can see what he should be looking like.
I’m very happy that you’ve found your way here.
I’m a bit at a loss of how best to approach this as I want to help you and your chameleon, but you may initially think I’m being a mean jerk. So, let me first give you these resources to learn from. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/It’s very difficult to know how to care for a chameleon properly as there is so very much bad info out there, including from many big box pet stores. Chameleons are arboreal and need tall enclosures with lots of excellent ventilation. They need correct uvb light, basking light, supplements, etc. To be totally blunt, you are needing to start over fresh and get a completely different set up for your guy. I won’t lie…this can be expensive. However, there is this https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...sca_ref=2120335.Dn9y03RxpN&sca_source=website This is a great price for all that you’re getting and (unlike Zoo Meds chameleon kit), everything included is correct. Add some natural branches of oak or other non-sappy or aromatic tree and some safe live plants and your guy will be living his best life. Right now, he’s at high risk for respiratory infection (heat + poor air circulation + high humidity of using a fogger during the day), metabolic bone disease (I’m assuming no or improper uvb and supplements) and chronic stress (being in the wrong enclosure/environment). The sooner you get your big guy in a proper set up, the happier and healthier he will be. We are here and can absolutely help you however we can during the process. Below are pics of one of my enclosures to give you an idea of what he needs and some pics of one of my veiled guys so you can see what he should be looking like.
I’m very happy that you’ve found your way here.
Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
Do this:
Buy a Reptibreeze XL screen cage and put it on a small table or a wire rack. The enclosure should be high enough that the chameleon is above your eye level while he’s on his basking branch.
Hang some pothos plants . I can give advice on that.
Get hardwood branches from outside and zip tie them together like scaffolding. They’re free and easily replaceable! Make sure the bark is healthy looking and without fungi or lichen.
Get an Arcadia 6% UVB fixture or a Reptisun 5.0 UVB
Get a heat dome with a 40 watt incandescent bulb. Make sure there’s a branch 8” below that light and use your heat probe to measure the heat a couple inches above the branch, where their head sits. Burns do occur with high temps
Have a bare floor. It’s easy to wipe clean
If you need to keep humidity in, cover the sides in coroplast sheets. Just cut them 24” x 48” and use Velcro. I cover 2 sides and sometimes all 3 (aside from the front of course)
Get an outlet timer so your lights turn on and off the same time every day
Get a hand mister and mist before your lights come on at 7AM and before they turn off at 7PM.
Get a plastic water bottle and poke a hole in the bottom with a pin. That’s your dripper and they will drink the drops that hit the pothos leaves if they’re thirst
Get crickets and the right supplementation to dust them. The link was already provided
Buy a Reptibreeze XL screen cage and put it on a small table or a wire rack. The enclosure should be high enough that the chameleon is above your eye level while he’s on his basking branch.
Hang some pothos plants . I can give advice on that.
Get hardwood branches from outside and zip tie them together like scaffolding. They’re free and easily replaceable! Make sure the bark is healthy looking and without fungi or lichen.
Get an Arcadia 6% UVB fixture or a Reptisun 5.0 UVB
Get a heat dome with a 40 watt incandescent bulb. Make sure there’s a branch 8” below that light and use your heat probe to measure the heat a couple inches above the branch, where their head sits. Burns do occur with high temps
Have a bare floor. It’s easy to wipe clean
If you need to keep humidity in, cover the sides in coroplast sheets. Just cut them 24” x 48” and use Velcro. I cover 2 sides and sometimes all 3 (aside from the front of course)
Get an outlet timer so your lights turn on and off the same time every day
Get a hand mister and mist before your lights come on at 7AM and before they turn off at 7PM.
Get a plastic water bottle and poke a hole in the bottom with a pin. That’s your dripper and they will drink the drops that hit the pothos leaves if they’re thirst
Get crickets and the right supplementation to dust them. The link was already provided
Thank you all for the input. We began making changes such as getting rid of the substrate, measuring And adjusting the temperature, and controlling humidity levels. For a bit, his color began looking better and becoming significantly more active. Yesterday things changed. He looked to be sitting with his back legs splayed out. By today, he is moving a bit but appears to be dragging his rear legs around. I am trying to get him to drink from the mist. He does not look good.
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would collect a fecal sample to check for parasites and get him to the vet asap.
Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
You‘ve been giving some great advice, but everyone missed this. Heat lamp is killing your sweet cham. They don’t need any heat lights at night unless temps go under 50. Even ceramic heat they‘ll notice and be sleeping. They need at least a temp difference of 10F between day and night to get a deep sleep and night rest. Without their sleep, they’ll eventually sick due a messed-up immune system.
Paradalis
Avid Member
Congrats! 
I hope you have a great time with your cham. If you need any help just holler. What’s his/her name?
Here are some links if you need help with husbandry: Chameleon Academy ~ YouTube ~ Neptune The Chameleon ~ YouTube
Here are some links for food and supplies: Food ~ Food as well ~ Leap Supplies ~ Arcadia
And here is a link for some discounts: Neptune the Chameleon Discount
Enjoy your new chameleon!
It could take up to 2 weeks for a new chameleon to get settled into their new home. During that time you want to give your cham space, no handling, and you don’t really want he. To see you just staring at them. You want them to have a good first impression in their new home. I did this with my cham and he has settled in perfectly. Here are 2 video links that you should watch for when you get your new chameleon: Chameleon Academy Neptune the Chameleon
I hope you have a great time with your cham. If you need any help just holler. What’s his/her name? Here are some links if you need help with husbandry: Chameleon Academy ~ YouTube ~ Neptune The Chameleon ~ YouTube
Here are some links for food and supplies: Food ~ Food as well ~ Leap Supplies ~ Arcadia
And here is a link for some discounts: Neptune the Chameleon Discount
Enjoy your new chameleon!
It could take up to 2 weeks for a new chameleon to get settled into their new home. During that time you want to give your cham space, no handling, and you don’t really want he. To see you just staring at them. You want them to have a good first impression in their new home. I did this with my cham and he has settled in perfectly. Here are 2 video links that you should watch for when you get your new chameleon: Chameleon Academy Neptune the Chameleon
Similar threads
