Orange Color

Jin

New Member
I am having problems with my chameleon, since I am new here I thought I posted this on the right place but I’m slowly learning.

My problem is that my veiled chameleon is orange on the sides, I don’t remember how long it’s been there but when he changes colors and goes back to green the orange hue still remains on his body. I am a first time chameleon owner so I am not sure if this is normal or if I need to take my Ranpo to the vet.

3BDBAFF8-0F2A-410B-AF6A-A5D42DCCFCA6.jpeg

I also noticed that there are lines on his body and I don’t know if this is normal or not
image.jpg

This is a picture of the orange hue im talking about but it was a bit more orange and was extended over 2/3 of his body
image.jpg

Ive had him since around September 6, 2021. When I got him I didn’t get his age so I’m also hoping to see if I can get an estimate on his age.


This next photo is about a week and a half old
841AFF1B-03CF-4D02-8ECF-7DE84ABD46FA.jpeg

Hopefully I can get help and support from the Forums
 
I am having problems with my chameleon, since I am new here I thought I posted this on the right place but I’m slowly learning.

My problem is that my veiled chameleon is orange on the sides, I don’t remember how long it’s been there but when he changes colors and goes back to green the orange hue still remains on his body. I am a first time chameleon owner so I am not sure if this is normal or if I need to take my Ranpo to the vet.

View attachment 311986
I also noticed that there are lines on his body and I don’t know if this is normal or not
View attachment 311987
This is a picture of the orange hue im talking about but it was a bit more orange and was extended over 2/3 of his body
View attachment 311988
Ive had him since around September 6, 2021. When I got him I didn’t get his age so I’m also hoping to see if I can get an estimate on his age.


This next photo is about a week and a half old
View attachment 311989
Hopefully I can get help and support from the Forums
The last photo I realized I didn’t specify, I took the picture about a week or two ago.
 
JMO Your little boy looks pretty good and the colors your experiencing are hard to see in the pics or my eyes don't work well. (y)
Maybe a shot on a plant outside in the sun would help... Natural as can be..

I always suggest taking a chameleon to a vet even if it is a wellness check. From there the Vet will find something or not but you will have a baseline for his growth and other issues he might be experiencing while he grows..

Males go through many changes but I would check lighting, foods, temps, and the possibility of stressors he can see.

Others should chime in soon but this will get you going. I would look at him when he is sleeping and see if the orangish tint goes away- it usually does unless something else is up..

The last picture looks pretty good.

I am sure the more experienced keepers will have other question since there is a list of valuable information that will help.
Thanks for caring!
 
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JMO Your little boy looks pretty good and the colors your experiencing are hard to see in the pics or my eyes don't work well. (y)
Maybe a shot on a plant outside in the sun would help... Natural as can be..

I always suggest taking a chameleon to a vet even if it is a wellness check. From there the Vet will find something or not but you will have a baseline for his growth and other issues he might be experiencing while he grows..

Males go through many changes but I would check lighting, foods, temps, and the possibility of stresses he can see.

Others should chime in soon but this will get you going. I would look at him when he is sleeping and see if the orangish tint goes away- it usually does unless something else is up..
Thank you for the information and your time. Tomorrow I will see if I can take a picture of my Chameleon outside in the sun.
Thanks once again for taking your time to respond and I will get back to you with a New Clear picture as soon as I can.
 
My first time posting this so others can help too and check everything out. If I remember correctly the instructions are to answer the questions in RED.
Thanks!
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
My first time posting this so others can help too and check everything out. If I remember correctly the instructions are to answer the questions in RED.
Thanks!
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
The Species a Veiled Chameleon, He is a Guy I Believe he has spurs on the back of his hind feet. He has been in my care for almost a month now.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I Handle him when I need to so about 3 times a Week
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
I feed him Mealworms and Crickets, I feed him about 8-13 worms and about 4-6 crickets every day
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
I dust my feeders with Zoo Med repti calcium, it is the Green one with D3 I believe I usually feed him towards the middle of the day
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I manually use a spray bottle to water I go thoroughly through the bottom and work my way up as to not disturb my chameleon as much, I then use a leaf as cover for him when I am spraying towards where he is as I believe spraying can stress Him out
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
His recent feces have been brownish/black and humid with some white, his feces had a yellow color until a while ago. He has not been tested for parasites
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
I got him from a very crowded area and he was in a small container about the size of my hand, I bought a bigger container and Another bigger one which is his current place. He has also been digging when I had some coconut husk layer out

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
It is glass on the sides except top(screen) and opens through the front.
the dimensions are I believe 12x12x18


Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
I actually don’t know which lamp is being used but I know that one is a clamp lamp and one came with the enclosure. One bulb is 50watt heat and white UVb and the other bulbs I got are the night light and daylight combo from ZooMed. I don’t use the red night.



  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
I actually don’t know what the temperature is for bottom but the little thermometer I have says that the top is around the middle of desert and tropical
lines, more towards the bottom is where it goes to tropical 70%


Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
the humidity says it is at Tropical and I maintain this by keeping the plants fresh and watering daily



  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
I use live plants and I will have to check what they are. I also cut some branches from a tree to use in the enclosure.

  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
the location is in my room and I don’t do much and I am relaxed. I’d have to kneel to get to where my chameleon usually hangs out, I am planning on buying something to make it higher for making my chameleon feel secure. Almost nobody passes by where I have the enclosure and when I do something I pass by a distance as to not frighten or shock the chameleon.


  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
I actually don’t know much about geography but Id have to say North America in California

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
My current problem is that my chameleon has had a transparent Orange Tint or Hue around 2/3rds of his body and I’m not sure id

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
When I got him around September 4 he hasn’t shed since then
  1. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Hi and welcome. I honestly don’t know about the orange coloring, but it does concern me, so I’ve tagged a very experienced member for her input. I will go thru your care, but it will take me a bit. I can tell you that you will need to make a lot of changes and it may seem overwhelming, but I’ll try to prioritize for you. We all started at the beginning. :)
 
redhorse said:
My first time posting this so others can help too and check everything out. If I remember correctly the instructions are to answer the questions in RED.
Thanks!
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
The Species a Veiled Chameleon, He is a Guy I Believe he has spurs on the back of his hind feet. He has been in my care for almost a month now. I see little spurs. It’s hard to determine age other than maybe around 3 months old…maybe? For lack of anything better, that is the age I’ll go by.
redhorse said:
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I Handle him when I need to so about 3 times a Week
redhorse said:
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
I feed him Mealworms and Crickets, I feed him about 8-13 worms and about 4-6 crickets every day I’m attaching feeder and gutloading graphics below. Going by age of 3 months, your amount is correct, but mealworms are not a good feeder to use. You’ll also need to care for your feeders well and feed them nutritious foods. The healthier your feeders are, the more nutrition they’ll provide your chameleon.
redhorse said:
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
I dust my feeders with Zoo Med repti calcium, it is the Green one with D3 I believe I usually feed him towards the middle of the day You should be using a calcium WITHOUT D3 at every feeding except one per week. Then one feeding every other week you’ll use the calcium WITH D3. On the other weeks, you’ll use a multivitamin for that one feeding.
redhorse said:
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I manually use a spray bottle to water I go thoroughly through the bottom and work my way up as to not disturb my chameleon as much, I then use a leaf as cover for him when I am spraying towards where he is as I believe spraying can stress Him out You should be misting for about 2 minutes 2-3 times a day. You want to mist the plants around him.
redhorse said:
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
His recent feces have been brownish/black and humid with some white, his feces had a yellow color until a while ago. He has not been tested for parasites Vet wellness checks with a fecal are always a good idea.
redhorse said:
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
I got him from a very crowded area and he was in a small container about the size of my hand, I bought a bigger container and Another bigger one which is his current place. He has also been digging when I had some coconut husk layer out It is not normal for male or baby chams of any gender to dig. He is unhappy and looking to get out for more space. You also don’t want anything on the floor of your enclosure.

redhorse said:
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
It is glass on the sides except top(screen) and opens through the front.
the dimensions are I believe 12x12x18 This is way too small, even for a baby. He will be needing at least a 2x2x4’ enclosure for when he is full grown and he would be very happy to have one that size from now.
While glass enclosures are ok, I think it best for new keepers to have either all screen or screen hybrid. Glass limits your ability to fine tune humidity.


Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
I actually don’t know which lamp is being used but I know that one is a clamp lamp and one came with the enclosure. One bulb is 50watt heat and white UVb and the other bulbs I got are the night light and daylight combo from ZooMed. I don’t use the red night. Lighting is very important. First, no lights at night. They need total darkness at night. No red or colored bulbs as they can damage sensitive chameleon eyes. The screw in uvb bulb is not able to provide adequate uvb levels except for a very narrow area 2-3” directly below. You need a linear T5 fixture with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. Then you need to have all lights about 8-9” away from where the back of your chameleon is in the basking area.


redhorse said:
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
I actually don’t know what the temperature is for bottom but the little thermometer I have says that the top is around the middle of desert and tropical
lines, more towards the bottom is where it goes to tropical 70% Temperature is very important. Your temps at basking area shouldn’t be above 80. You need a digital thermometer with a probe end.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
the humidity says it is at Tropical and I maintain this by keeping the plants fresh and watering daily Humidity is just as important. I have no idea what ‘tropical’ means for temp or humidity and neither do you it seems. Again, a digital hygrometer with a probe end is one of the better ways to measure humidity.



redhorse said:
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
I use live plants and I will have to check what they are. I also cut some branches from a tree to use in the enclosure. Very good, but do check what they are and make sure they are safe. Veileds nibble their plants, so they need to be safe. Make sure not to use branches from any trees that have sap, like pine.

redhorse said:
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
the location is in my room and I don’t do much and I am relaxed. I’d have to kneel to get to where my chameleon usually hangs out, Chameleons live up high in trees and the higher they are, the safer they feel. Regardless of traffic, your chameleon is not happy and doesn’t not feel safe. I am planning on buying something to make it higher for making my chameleon feel secure. Almost nobody passes by where I have the enclosure and when I do something I pass by a distance as to not frighten or shock the chameleon.
I’m going to end this here, but will add more in a separate reply.

redhorse said:
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
I actually don’t know much about geography but Id have to say North America in California

redhorse said:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
My current problem is that my chameleon has had a transparent Orange Tint or Hue around 2/3rds of his body and I’m not sure id

redhorse said:
--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
When I got him around September 4 he hasn’t shed since then
DA1C9268-9DD0-42BB-8A0D-4FCA8F54CA5D.jpeg
91631C28-A284-41E7-A812-A4F5A9071B27.jpeg
 
Not quite sure where to begin. I do want you to know that whatever I say, I am saying with all kindness and wanting to help. It’s very hard to convey emotion thru text.
After seeing all, my concerns may be for either a burn to your chameleon or possibly a fungal or other infection of his scales. If you could post some clearer pics, it would help greatly.
I said I would prioritize the changes, but this isn’t easy as there are many that are crucial to be made as soon as possible…like last month. Usually, enclosure is lower on the list of priorities, but the one you have is completely wrong for your chameleon and actually puts him at risk for illness. It’s way too small to be able to make the other needed changes properly and is chronically stressing him. More on stress in a bit.
He is getting too much vitamin D3, which will build up in his body and can reach toxic levels. You need to get the plain calcium without D3 asap.
I fear that even though you have a 50w heat bulb, it is too much and is baking him in such a small enclosure. With it being glass, it is holding all of the heat and humidity in, and not knowing the measurements of either, you could be inadvertently placing him at high risk for a respiratory infection.
Correct uvb is essential. Without it, he can’t convert the calcium into a usable form and can get metabolic bone disease.
You need to get his enclosure raised as high as possible. This too is a source of chronic stress, as it’s unnatural for chameleons to be on the ground.
Again, I am not being mean…just trying to help by explaining what you need to change and why. With your current set up, just about everything is either going to lead to a serious and potentially fatal health condition or is a source of chronic stress, which will increase his risks of becoming sick. I know that you love your little guy and have been doing what you believed to be correct. There is a massive amount of misinformation out there on keeping chameleons and you are not the first to fall victim to it. I want you to check this out…read thru all of the modules and then check out species specific info for veileds. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
You can also check out Neptune the chameleon on YouTube for more correct info. Do ask as many questions as you need and we will do our best to answer and help. For now, I would suggest making a vet appointment for a wellness check, fecal for parasites and perhaps check out the orange spot.
 
Hello, welcome. You have alot of people here who gave you plenty of great info. So I won't apply more. Just wanna say he's a cutie & I agree, would say around 3 months. ♡♡
 
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I just went to buy calcium without D3. I’m realized there was a difference in the supplements. I am going to work on getting him a bigger enclosure and UVB better suited for him.
I also bought hornworms and Waxworms, I don’t know if these will be good but hopefully they are better than mealworms, I will try to find better worms to replace mealworms for my chameleon.
After Reading the responses I will try to improve my mistakes.
I thank everyone for their time and help about how I am currently caring for my chameleon.
 
How are you feeding/gutloading the insects?

To me, the orange color looks like old leftover shed. Is he getting any prEformed vitamin A at all? No vitamins at all?
 
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How are you feeding/gutloading the insects?

To me, the orange solos looks like old leftover shed. Is he getting any prEformed vitamin A at all? No vitamins at all?
I feed the insects Carrots most of the time, I Don’t know what if he is getting any vitamins, Do Supplements count?
 
@MissSkittles has given you some information on feeding/gutloading the insects. Carrots are not enough.

If you've only been giving him calcium with D3 then you haven't been giving him vitamins except for what is naturally in the carrots...and that not good enough.

Preformed Vitamin A helps with skin issues....but it's a. Fat soluble vitamin so you have to be careful not to overdose it.....just like you have to be careful with D3.
Also D3 and vitamin A need to be in a proper balances I that their aren't health issues.
 
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