new owner

whereswaldo

whereswaldo

New Member
Hi guys im a new owner literally about almost 2 weeks. waldo is very young altho i don't know how young would love to tho.I have a few questions ive been convincing myself theres something wrong with my little guy cause he winks sometimes and his eyes do a funny thing when he blinks occasionally, but i think it was him just cleaning them. he started to shed today and is barely eating. was glad to see some skin come off because at first this morning he just looked dried out and a little wrinkled. he is going to get back to his plump self soon isnt he? the wrinkles arent dehydration starting is it. i havent really ever seen him drink weather from the leaves or the glass or a dish. i went and got a small air pump and put it in the bottom of a bowl today with a air stone so maybe the water will look better. should i be concerned or is everything a OK. also any random advice is welcome.
 
ive been using ice cubes too in a drip cup too along with misting. im just desperate to get him drinking im sure im a worry wart. and yes david he is a veiled do you have any ideas on age??? i do know right now hes in the wrong enclosture im getting with a friend with tools tuesday or wendsday to build him his mac daddy home thanks to petsmart i got all the wrong things to start with. thank you for the care sheet.
 
Congratulations on your new little buddy!

Chams do not drink standing water, they usually get it from the rain. We mist for humidity, but also to get water droplets on things in the cage for them to drink.

I would be concerned with the water bowl because if he ever ends up in it, that could be disastrous. :(

That care sheet will help you a lot and answer questions you did not know you had! Welcome to the forums :D

( You are not the first and will not be the last to come here with the wrong information given to you! You are in the right place to learn how to have wonderful healthy Chams)
 
after readying the care sheet you suggested which i deffinatly the best ive seen yet i got a few more questions. im feeding waldo once a day 6 crickets the 1/4 inch ones and 2 or 3 small mealworms... i need to step it up on crickets its not enough? and also how often should i give him the mealworms? im thinking hes about 2 months or so. but not sure. one more thing is it ok to sorta assume and i do know what that means... that if he is shedding hes fairly healthy? one more thing how often should he poop? oh and the night light should i just get rid of it... my house is 68 to 75 f most all the time. k lol thats it. for now. i do like this forum ive had alot of general questions and no live ppl to ask lol. so thanks and let the tips roll in.
 
Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects (crickets, locusts, silkworms, superworms, tomato worms, phoenix worms, butter worms, once in a while waxworms, etc.) that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
 
if im buying crickets from a pet store that gets theirs in gut loaded is it ok to just use the flukers cricket food stuff? just been riding down once a week stores only 20 mins away. also i took the water bowl out since everyone said it wouldnt work im still at odds on how to ensure hes drinking enough like i said iv never really seen him drink. on another note i did see him be something other then green tonight when i accidently disturbed his sleep getting the bowl he was something terrific looking! funny he didnt even wake all the way up. must mean hes pretty comfy with me since hes never been upset enough at me for a show like that. by the way thanks for the greetings yall know how to make a gal feel welcome.
 
Don't ever trust petstores gutloading - here's a good link - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

to check on his drinking - his poop should have a brown section and a white urate section. If the white goes yellow then he's a little dehydrated, if it goes orange at all you may have a problem.....I very rarely see my guys drink. You do not need the night light at all....

It's a little picture, and guessing the age is always problematic. You are probably right at 2 months (ish). Mealworms aren't a great feeder, they are high fat and have little in the way of nutritional value, plus they are high chitin.
They do look particularly good when sleeping don't they? Like they are glowing :)...
 
Looks to me like you are getting off to a great start now. Its amazing how many questions you get after reading the care sheets. You start to think I will never learn all this or they will hate all these new questions.

Glad you are here and learning about your Cham.

Relax, enjoy your little one, ask away and follow the care sheets to a wonderful, healthy Cham:)
 
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