Part 2
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- screen , 4ftx2ft Very good!
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- zoo med , hooded 100watt basking light and and reptisun 10.0 uvb You do not have the correct uvb. The screw in uvb is unable to provide the levels needed any farther than 2-3” away. The standard is a linear T5 ho fixture with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. Then basking area should be about 8-9” down from the light for ideal uvb level. I like the Arcadia as the bulbs are good for 12 months vs 6 months for ReptiSun. It’s been difficult to find the Arcadia Pro T5 in 24”. This is where I just bought one from. https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures/arcadia-prot5-uvb-kit-24-with-bulb/
- 12 hr lights , 12 darkness
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- basking 85-110 Way too hot!!! Basking temps for young chams and girls should stay around and no higher than 80. floor 72-68 This is good.
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- 50-70 Too high! Ideal is between 30-50% during the day. High humidity plus high temps greatly increase the risks for respiratory infection. spraying different temp water depending on my needs . Why? You should only be using room temp water. Water that we think is lukewarm can actually be scalding hot for a chameleon.
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- golden pothos , a money tree , hibiscus plant ( not floweing yet ) , orange shard , dracena Good selection. Your hibiscus will be needing a super strong plant light, like the Arcadia Jungle Dawn. Basically all plants except pothos need additional lighting to grow and thrive. The chard may also need as much sun as a hibiscus.
- 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?
- in my room , near an always closed double pained window , and my tv . im the only real traffic . the cage is about 2.5 ft off the floor I take that to mean it is sitting on something that is 2.5‘ high. Chams feel safest when they are able to get higher than us.
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
- Los Angeles Ca .
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
I don’t see that her eyes are sunken in. I do see that she has a small bulge at the inner corner of her eye that is not normal. She could have something in her eye, it could be swelling from too much of vitamin D3 and preformed A or something else - I don’t know.
Your pretty girl will be laying eggs even if she’s never even seen a boy. Veileds mature quickly and she can start producing eggs as young as 5-6 months old. We do get a warning though. She will change from her almost solid green coloring to her big girl colors of teal, orange or mustard yellow and get patterns. Then she’ll become receptive to mating and become very restless, constantly roaming all over her enclosure looking for a boy. Hopefully by this time, you’ll have prepared a lay bin for her and put it in her enclosure. I’ve found my girls prefer opaque bins that are at least 12” long and wide and are filled to about 6” deep with play sand. The sand needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Since this is something that is best to keep permanently in her enclosure, you’ll want to drill some tiny drain holes in the bottom of it and try to place it in a spot that she doesn’t tend to poo.
thank you all so much , ...
i will add photos of her near a ruler for size once she settles at the top after waking up , ...
im just going to go thru and answer the questions you asked and pose a few from what i read in your assessment .
different temp water for humidity : i called petco about a week into owning her while having issues keeping temps and humibity and was instructed to use hot water to create humidity in the enclosure when its off .
they also informed me that the basking area should be hotter than i had perviously had it so i got a higher watt basking light to match the temps the suggested , as well as humidity . but will quickly readjust both the temps and humidity .
im searching for a place that sellsthe correct lightening fixture and bulbs so that i can possibly pick those up today , along w different feeders , like the ones shown above , .... i was suggested Pheonix worms by a reptile pet store , do you all know anything about them and if they are adequate feeders ?
its been at least 3 weeks since i gave her the reptivite w d3 as i was instructed i should only give it to her once a month , .. will be changing that up immediately as well .
i have to search a chameleon vet in los angeles , ive only seen one but im sure there has to be more . so that i can get her checked for parasites .
---xx
i dnt think i fully understand the concept of a lay : could used a more in depth explanation of how to build one , but i will do some research on that while im out shopping for supplies for Cayenne (which is my chams name btw )
also , i initially bought the chameleon kit by zoomed and have come to realize that , nothing in that kit actually works correctly for my cham to thrive .
she seems to have decided she should use the bathroom right above and sometimes directly inside of the food bowl , is there anyway to correct the behavior or should i just move the bowl ??
am i to understand that she is less likely dehydrated and more likely that its a problem w lighting and feeding that has her eyes not as burged as ive seen other chams ??
oh , and to address that bump and redness near her eye , she has a piece of wayward rope fabric stuck in the fold of her little eye for a while but would run whenever i came w the tweezers , i finally got it though , ...
@Beman @MissSkittles
