New Set-Up

[kirekameleon]

Besides not being a tall enough cage, I rehomed this guy and all he had was two sticks. I got fake vines and he moves around from vine to vine. Threw some rope in their for some detail and the possibility he will use it. I have some pothos growing at the bottom. I started a wooden platform for detail but I am out of zip ties and I need wood glue, also some more dowrods. I am also using wooden skewers with the point cut off I use a plastic cup as my dripper now, and have a mister with plenty too drip off of. Any suggestions or critiqueing would be appreciated. I have heat lamp (I can place a thermometer right where his back is and I am at 94-95 degrees and just got the Reptisun 5.0 18". My humidity right now is at 54 % (Do I want about 60%) It is night and no lights on and it is 75 degrees. Where is the best place to put my humidity sensor( I have it 6 inches off the floor). I know he has it better now; it appears that he may have been burned with vet care attention. Veiled possibly burned but looks nice and straight just sunken in, and the spikes along the back are missing and only begin where the tail begins. I think his leg problems are not as noticeable are some swelling is not as noticeable. The first urate I seen was great and all white, but the last two had some yellow in it. I now have bottled water and treated water drops so should be good to work with the dehydration. His stool was hard and rolled up and I separated it and still seen some crickets legs, is this okay are should you notice know insect bodies? Do Chameleons yawn? Had to ask, he was not in the area of the basking light (could he been thermoregulating, he was on doing it for 3 seconds). This is my first Chameleon, any suggestions, critiquing, ideas will be appreciated.

1.0 Chamaeleo Calyptratus (Ol' Chauncy)

 

[carol5208]

So you are at 94 degrees with the basking area. I would say that is still too warm for basking. I would shoot more for like high 80's and 90 being the maximum. There should not be any undigested food in the stool. Are you feeding him late at night? Have you had him checked for parasites? I would get a nice big live plant in there. They like lots of foilage to hide and crawl around in. Also REMOVE the bark substrate and leave the cage floor bare. Cannot stress on this enough as we had just had someone the other day believe their chameleon injested bark chip while shooting for cricket and died. I have my humidity gauge towards the top of the cage, but that is just me. Your humidity is good where it is at and when you mist, it should rise and then fall back down. and yes they do yawn!!! That is normal so don't worry about that. Do you know about supplementing? How are you going to provide hydration, dripper? misting? both?

 

[tyo182]

probably give him more horizontal/diagonal branches or string out the rope so they are not loopy

 

[kirekameleon]

Thank you

Okay, I will raise the heat lamp, starting with a half inch and go from there. Good looking out! Misting, i have a dripper cup, and I mist twice a day and spray it on the top of the screen as well so it drips down. I have placed him in the shower with the sprayer at the wall and noticed him drinking more than I ever have. The water here sucks though so I dont want to use anything but bottled or treatment drops. When I get more cages I will have the pump spray DIY system. Yes I want to get a ficus benjamina, unfortunately I like that substrate and have pothos growing in it. I have a feeding dish to mount and usually feed him up high, I have mine packed down pretty good. Also, I have the Reptisun 5.0 18", my screening does not seem that small but should I try to figure out how to get my light inside the screening or cut out the screening, $20 bulb I want to use the most of it. I have a Zilla 13Watt UVB bulb that I was using, can you offer to much UVB/UVA; I thought I have read that before? Supplement I have ZooMec ReptiCalcium w/o D3 which I use most of the time weather heavy dusting or light dusting every other feeding. I have Rep-Cal Herpivite Multivitamins w/ Beta Carotene; have not used it yet but was planning on using it on the 1st and the 15th of the month. I have Rep-Cal Phos Free Calcium with D3 (the young man told me he gave him this every other feeding, and my Cham appears to have some swelling in the legs, so I was not going to give him any of this for at least a month or two???) It appears he would have been intaking too much. Gutloading, I have crickets; a small colony then a 1 week and 2 week containers for feeding collard greens , carrots, higher calcium small potatoes. I am gutloading the crickets two weeks before feeding. I have a dubia colony and separate some for gutloading with the same foods. I have a meal worm colony started and just started producing beetles to lay eggs so it will be a while yet. I just purchased 50 superworms and 50 wax worms, not sure how to introduce these into a weekly diet or how many, I was told the wax worms should be nothing more than a snack due to fat, I do not know much about the superworms or C ratio, or for the meal worms either. The superworm got him to feed out of my hand for the first time. What is the latest feeding time. I have a time set from 7 to 7 (12hours with lighting and heat); how does temps assist in digestion? Sorry so many questions, I can read all day but I want to hear it from someone with experience.

Maybe next you can help me set up a good weekly diet.

1.0 Calyptratus (Ol' Chauncy)

 

[kirekameleon]

forgot

I have a vet tech teacher for a friend and she goes back to school July 5, so she will check his stool samples for me, I know of coccida and I will look into the others to understand them and how they derive.

kire

1.0 Calyptratus (Ol' Chauncy)

 

[allencg101]

IMO you should have your vine or rope 6" under the basking light and what watt type of bulb are you using it should only be 60-65 for basking. if its a high watt thats why the temp might be so high.

 

[kirekameleon]

Temp?

IMO you should have your vine or rope 6" under the basking light and what watt type of bulb are you using it should only be 60-65 for basking. if its a high watt thats why the temp might be so high.

60-65 degrees or 80-85 degrees??? It is only warm where the rope is in reference to the heat lamp, the lamp is set back some and the rope is forward in the cage. It is a Flukers 75 Watt and I now have where his back is closet to the lamp at 85 degrees. He seems more active with his new tube Reptisun 5.0 light.

kire

 

[kirekameleon]

probably give him more horizontal/diagonal branches or string out the rope so they are not loopy

I agree, I going to work that out someway and make them tight so he can walk on them easily, just not sure, I will get everything else done first then figure out the best way to run the rope so he can use it. Soon he will have a bigger cage and I can put something new in this one.

kire

 

[kirekameleon]

Good Eye

IMO you should have your vine or rope 6" under the basking light and what watt type of bulb are you using it should only be 60-65 for basking. if its a high watt thats why the temp might be so high.

Good Eye, the one vine could have have place him next to 90 degrees, I have it where he cannot cross the path of the heat lamp exposing him to direct hotter temperatures. I am moving that one!

kire