Not sure if my little veiled is well...:(

stephga

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled, not sure of age. I have had him almost 2 wks.
Handling - daily, whenever he storms the door
Feeding - crickets (large size from the petstore). gutloaded with collards, carrots, and apples. I see him eat about 4 in the morning, but I leave some more in his cage, then I offer about 3-4 more in the afternoon.
Supplements - Flukers calcium w/d3 no phosphorus. I dust his crickets each morning
Watering - He will not drink during mistings, I tried the shower today and he didn't drink then either. He has taken a few drops from a syringe, but that is it (ever, as far as I know!).
Fecal Description - poops daily, and the urate is mostly white with a bit of an orange tip. Not tested for parasites.
History - He came from Petsmart

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 18x18x36 reptibreeze (but he has only been it it for several days-before that he was in an ExoTerro glass terrarium for about 4 days
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 for uvb and 100w basking bulb in a deep dome on top of screen cage for last 4 days-before that he had a coil uvb bulb
Temperature - room temp at night is around 68, and during the day his basking spot ranges in the low 80s to 85, measuring with digital probe thermometer. I need another thermometer for the other parts of the cage...room temp runs in the low 70s
Humidity - I mist 2-3 times per day with a hand sprayer. I think the humidity ranges from 40%-80% if my little gauge is correct.
Plants -I have an umbrella plant and a pothos plant in his cage and a ficus and some hibiscus he climbs on when he is out of the cage.
Placement - The cage is in the foyer (no fans, and only one vent up high and about 20 ft away) All of the areas in my house are high traffic. The top of the cage is about 6'
Location -South east US

Current Problem - I am concerned that my little guy is not doing well. His eyes are beginning to look sunken, and he just seems "off" today. This evening when I was getting ready to turn off his lights, he had his mouth open. Of course he clamped it shut when I came with the syringe! I feel like he is becoming dehydrated, and that I may be doing something wrong and inadvertently causing him harm. I am a first time chameleon owner. :eek:

Attached are a few pics from today
his cage (i hang a towel on the back when I mist)
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How long do you mist him for? It takes me like 2 minutes before my chameleon will start licking the water. Also you only had him for 2 weeks, so he may still be getting comfortable. Your setup looks great though!
 
Also, you should only use Calcium with D3 twice a month.

You need a Calcium without D3 to dust almost every feeding!
 
I try to mist for at least 3 or 4 minutes, and he usually hides the entire time. The last two times I tried to put his hibiscus in the shower, he tried to high dive off of it. So today I tried again, but instead of running the shower, I stood there and misted from the top of the plant with the big pump/wand type mister for at least 10 minutes. Still hid and never drank a drop. I have tried every few hours today to syringe some drips, but he doesn't open his mouth! I have an Aquazamp rain dome on the way and hope to have that up and running in the next several days. I hope that he will get used to drinking before it gets any worse!
 
Also, you should only use Calcium with D3 twice a month.

You need a Calcium without D3 to dust almost every feeding!

I have looked for this everywhere locally and can't find it, so I will order some right now online. Is there a recommended brand/seller?
 
I have looked for this everywhere locally and can't find it, so I will order some right now online. Is there a recommended brand/seller?

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/reptile-calcium-and-vitamins/-/repashy-calcium-plus-3oz-jar/ This is an all-in-one supplement that you use every feeding instead of what you already have. Or you can just get this for plain calcium without D3 for every feeding and then use the calcium with D3 that you already have twice a month. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/reptile-calcium-and-vitamins/-/rep-cal-calcium-without-d3/
 
Okay, just ordered some, thanks!

Also I feel bad that I am not varying his diet. He only get crickets and the occasional superworm or calci-worm. Each time I look at ordering some hornworms or silkworms, I get a bit overwhelmed.
 
Normal, except for the orangey tip to his urate. Kinda like this usually.
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Here he is this morning, hiding from the $@#% rain again
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Having his mouth open does seem he is a little hot. You could probably use a 60 watt bulb and get the correct temperatures.
 
I tried the 60w bulb and was barely getting 80, so I picked up a 75w today and will give that a try. Thanks!
 
...and I am noticing white around his nostrils since last night. I have read that is normal and not to worry about it. But, of course being a new cham owner, I am worried.
 
If your having problems with the basking spot reaching the correct temps just try and back the fixture off the screen a bit. The gaping usually means they are becoming to hot. I use a 100 Watt bulb and its fine for my Guy but I don't have it sitting on the screen like it looks like you may have yours. You definitely can get the right temps with a 100 w bulb, you just have to play with it. Also his curates look great a lot of times there will be a little bit of darker yellow like that. As long as most of it is white like the one in your pic
 
Wishing you the best for your little veiled....you're doing the right thing by asking all the questions to the very informative and experienced people on this forum.
 
Honestly your set up looks great and your Cham (does the little guy have a name?) looks fairly good to me! You can always tell by the urates if dehydration is occurring. White urates means hydrated, yellow...not so much! Your guys urates look fairly good, so I wouldn't worry too much about the water. Please know that you may not actually see your Cham drinking - they like to lick the water off leaves and vines and failing that will absorb water into their bodies through their skin. Also, when the water hits the line of their mouth, some will always seep in, so if you are spraying & showering he is getting the water!

One thing I would point out is, if you've only had him a couple weeks he may be acting different because he hasn't had a chance to get used to his surroundings or you! You also mentioned that you've put him in a different cage so that's two environments that he's had to deal with since leaving the pet store, and a new human, so his behaviour could be due to stress.

If I were you I would keep misting & feeding him but otherwise leave him 100% alone to get used to all the changes. I'm betting you'll see some changes in him for the good in the next little while! Good luck!
 
Just an update on my little guy. He seems to have a good appetite. Still haven't seen him drink. Here is a pic from today. Do his eyes look sunken? He has the white stuff in his nostrils. He occasionally does a large yawn type thing where he opens his mouth... This is a pic of his urate from today:
I have not had him tested for parasites, and I wonder if I should. I'm not sure what normal poop is supposed to look like but there seems to be some variation from mucous/wet poo to firm poo, and then I'm not sure what the little thingy by his urate in the pic is...



 
I would up your mistings to about 8 times per day. Also try a 60 watt regular house bulb. 100 watt is too hot! :\
 
Oh, and his name is Lief :)

Okay, so 8 times a day for how long each time? Should it vary? I have just hooked up the aquazamp rain dome and am setting the timer in the morning, so let me know what you think!
I tried a 60w bulb and couldn't get the temp up to 85, so I put the 100w back in. I have it raised up off of the screen a bit now, so I am getting a range of 83.5-84.8 now in his basking spot. This is okay right?
 
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