Please help!!

gnoakes

New Member
I have a female translucent veiled chameleon and she is about a year and a half old. She has never had this bump before and I just noticed it. I am concerned with how large it is and don’t know what to do. I am new to chameleons as she is my first. Please let me know what this is and how I can fix it. Thank you!
 

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Hello and welcome! I have not seen anything like this before. Will you copy and fill out this form regarding husbandry and care while I get some experienced keepers over here to help you out.

It would also be helpful to share pictures of your enclosure set up as well :)

@Beman @kinyonga

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 do 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 -
 
  • Your Chameleon - Translucent Veiled Chameleon, Female, Year and a half old, got her when she was a small baby
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?- I handle her a lot. I know I have seen that you shouldn’t handle them but she doesn’t hiss or get angry when I do. I normally will handle her only when I am seated or place her by the window/ outside with me to get sunlight.
  • Feeding - her diet consists of mainly crickets, hornworms once every two weeks (I feed her about 5-8), and meal worms. I have tried giving her veggies which she will not eat. I have even tried hiding them with the worms and she still won’t eat veggies.
  • Supplements - I give her Calcium with VITAMIN D and herptivite multivitamins. I give this to her with her food.
  • Watering - I mist the cage twice a day.
  • Fecal Description - her poo is normal white and dark brown equally.
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It is a large wide screened tank. It also has natural wood with it instead of metal or plastic.
  • Lighting - I do not know the specifics of the lightbulbs but I did purchase them at the store I get her from. I have a regular looking light which stays on all day and a red light to keep the heat. I turn off the regular looking light around 10pm and turn it back on when I get up. She is also located by a window to absorb natural lighting.
  • Plants - All of her plants are fake.
 
Ok, my feedback for you is in red, please note that I am

  • Your Chameleon - Translucent Veiled Chameleon, Female, Year and a half old, got her when she was a small baby
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?- I handle her a lot. I know I have seen that you shouldn’t handle them but she doesn’t hiss or get angry when I do. I normally will handle her only when I am seated or place her by the window/ outside with me to get sunlight. I know you mentioned that handling her isn't stressful but I would still caution from handling her often. Some chameleons may have less prominent ways of showing they are stressed and its easy to miss those.
  • Feeding - her diet consists of mainly crickets, hornworms once every two weeks (I feed her about 5-8), and meal worms. I have tried giving her veggies which she will not eat. I have even tried hiding them with the worms and she still won’t eat veggies. Crickets and hornworms are great! Mealworms are not recommended due to their low nutritional content. You could also use BSLF, dubia roaches and silkworms if you want to expand on her options. Obesity is very common in chameleons in captivity, I would recommend feeding her 3-4 feeders every other day because she is an adult chameleon now. Especially with female veiled chameleons, if they are exposed to high temperatures and are overfed, it will supercharge their body and they will run the risk of being eggbound, which is fatal. Chameleons are insectivores, meaning they only eat insects. You will want to gut-load all of your bugs with veggies to give them the vitamins they need to make your chameleon healthy. (check out the attached photo for gut-loading your bugs)
  • Supplements - I give her Calcium with VITAMIN D and herptivite multivitamins. I give this to her with her food. This MIGHT be where the bump came from, Vitamin D should only be given 2x a month because it is a vitamin that is not water-soluable, meaning it builds up in their body and can become toxic at high levels. What I would recommend is dusting your bugs with calcium WITHOUT vitamin D on every feeding (this is the one I use). Then, dusting your bugs with Repashy LoD on the 1st and 15th of every month. The Repashy has vitamin D and other multivitamins that your girl will need.
  • Watering - I mist the cage twice a day. What are your humidity levels during the day and during the night?
  • Fecal Description - her poo is normal white and dark brown equally. Fantastic!!
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It is a large wide screened tank. It also has natural wood with it instead of metal or plastic. That sounds great, you want to have some form of air flow. The chimney effect is the best for airflow so there isn't stagnant air in your enclosure. Send me the measurements of the enclosure when you are able to :). Your sweet girl should be in an enclosure that is at least 24x24x48 big.
  • Lighting - I do not know the specifics of the lightbulbs but I did purchase them at the store I get her from. I have a regular looking light which stays on all day and a red light to keep the heat. I turn off the regular looking light around 10pm and turn it back on when I get up. She is also located by a window to absorb natural lighting. Be sure to share pictures of her lights when you are able to. Without proper lighting she may get MBD, or have other health problems. The regular looking light sounds like it is your heat light? Do you know the temperatures this light is at? The red light will bother her sweet little eyes, please remove that right away. Chameleons should be on a 12 hr schedule. For example, my chameleon's lights are on at 8 am every day and turn off at 8 pm every night. They need a regular schedule. I have timers that I purchased at Walmart to make this automatic for me. You can find a link to some here.
  • What are your day and night time temperatures at?
  • Plants - All of her plants are fake. I highly recommend switching these out to all live plants. Not only will the soil with the live plants help hold in the proper humidity levels but our sweet veiled chameleons have a tendency to eat plants. Fake plants, if injested will cause an impaction issue which is fatal. I got all of my plants from Home Depot. Below are some excellent videos on live plants for your girls enclosure.
What is the best plant to use for a chameleon?
How to set up live plants for a chameleon

I also attached a list of known safe plants for the enclosure as well.

Lastly, do you have a lay bin for your sweet girl to lay her eggs in? Just in case, I attached a photo with this information as well.

Some great places to get info on great chameleon care is The Chameleon Academy website and Neptune the Chameleon YouTube channel. This is where I get all of my stuff and it's been SUPER helpful for me!

Let me know what other questions you have!
 

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