Please help!

[gnocchi24]

I just got my first veiled male cham and hes 3-4 months old. I got him on Monday and I know its normal for them to not eat at first but its already wednesday and I feel like he needs to eat! He was pooping fine at first which u can see on the same lead but just about an hour ago it seems that he has diarreah? Is this normal? What should I do? Please help!

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I don't have much experience.
Someone with experience will help you. Complete the husbandry review and post lots of pics of the full enclosure, supplements (front and ingredient list) and pics of your little Cham. It seems as if your little one needs a fecal exam to rule out parasites.
Husbandry Review:
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 -

 

[Beman]

Hi Welcome to the forum. Besides copying and pasting the above info into your reply and filling it out may I see pics of the entire enclosure from the lighting down and clear pics of the chameleon?

 

[gnocchi24]

Thank you for responding!

The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Translucent veiled male vailed chameleon, 3-4 months old. Has been in my care for 3 days.

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I have only held him once which was to put him in his enclosure for the first time and get the photos of him.

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? So as i mentioned in the first post, he hasnt eaten yet, I have tried feeding him multiple times during the day including morning, mid day and evening. I have tried giving him crickets and superworms dusted in the zoomed repetivite with D3.

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has a DIY dripper of a gallon of water and I hand mist him whenever it starts drying up.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I dont think he has been ever tested for parasites. Hisdropping look normal to me as shown in the photos, until today he did seem to have diarreah.

History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. At the pet store I asked and he was doing fine and eating normally his crickets and superworms.

Cage Info: Zoomed repti breeze open air reptile screen cage
Cage Type - Screen
What are the dimensions? 2x2x4

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Day time 12 Hours on T5 uvb and Heat lamp of 75watts, Off at night

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Lowest overnight temp is 69F, cage floor is 75f and basking is 90f. Thermometer

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I do not have the device to measure humidity, I am misting him all day and making sure it is never dyr in the enclosure, and using a dripper.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes, Monstera

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? My cage is currently on the floor while I purchase a stand for it, it is in the corner of my room.

Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Florida.

Current Problem - Diarreah, will not eat, and sleeps early and wakes up late.

 

[Paradalis]

Hello congrats on your new chameleon and welcome to the forum! I too stressed out when I got my chameleon at first but I got some tips. Chameleons can take up to 2 weeks to settle into their enclosures. My cham, Loki, to about a week to get used to his new eating times, new sleeping schedule, and even just my face. So it’s normal for them to act this. You should consider getting a table (about 2 feet) to raise your enclosure because height is security for chams. Here are 2 video links that you should watch for when you get your new chameleon: Chameleon Academy Neptune the Chameleon I hope these help and keep us updated on your chameleon!

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Daily dusting should be with calcium without D3. The reptivite should be used 2 times a month say the 1st and 15th. The basking temp should not be higher than 85 degrees.

The diarrhea is concerning. I would suggest getting a fecal exam to rule out parasites. I would avoid superworms. They are fatty and Chams become addicted to them.

I'm tagging some experienced keepers to review your husbandry. @Beman, @MissSkittles

 

[MissSkittles]

Well, at least my insomia will have some purpose tonight. Breaking this into two parts because i talk a lot.
The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Translucent veiled male vailed chameleon, 3-4 months old. Age looks about right i think. Has been in my care for 3 days.

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I have only held him once which was to put him in his enclosure for the first time and get the photos of him. It’s always good to work on building trust with him. Give him some time to get better and settle in and then https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

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? So as i mentioned in the first post, he hasnt eaten yet, I have tried feeding him multiple times during the day including morning, mid day and evening. I have tried giving him crickets and superworms dusted in the zoomed repetivite with D3.Not good at all. Little chameleons lack resources to fall back on, so when they don’t eat, they can go downhill very fast. Info for when he does start eating - variety of staple feeders is best. Many on line vendors sell variety packs. A good Florida vendor is http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ Then you need to feed the bugs well and keep them healthy so that they will be nutritious. Graphics below. For supplements, you need to get a phosphorus free calcium without D3. You’ll lightly dust every feeding with that. One feeding every two weeks you’ll use the ReptiVite with D3. Feed once in the morning and at his age and taking into consideration his not eating, let him eat as much as he wants for about 20 minutes. In about a month, have him cut back to about 15+ feeders daily.

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has a DIY dripper of a gallon of water and I hand mist him whenever it starts drying up. It’s best to spray/mist for at least two minutes right before lights go on and off. At mid day if needed, you can use a dripper for about 30 minutes. You want the enclosure to dry in between.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I dont think he has been ever tested for parasites. Hisdropping look normal to me as shown in the photos, until today he did seem to have diarreah. Not good. He definitely needs to be seen by a vet and have a fecal for parasites and this can’t wait. The longer he goes without eating, the worse his ability to recover will be. I’m in Brevard and we are fortunate to have some good vets for chameleons in our area. My favorite and most experienced is Dr Bogoslavsky in Orlando https://myavho.com/ My second is Dr Brennan in Cocoa https://cocoaveterinary.com/ There is also https://www.orlandoexoticveterinarian.com/ and while they are experienced, they give the horrible advice of putting your chameleon in a closed bin of warm water and then sit that on a heating pad. NEVER EVER take that advice! That is NOT the way to hydrate a chameleon. Just smile & nod.

History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. At the pet store I asked and he was doing fine and eating normally his crickets and superworms. It’s very possible that the stress of the change of homes weakened his system and let parasites or whatever take over. If you got him from a chain pet store like Petco etc, they are not known for selling healthy animals.

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info: Zoomed repti breeze open air reptile screen cage
Cage Type - Screen
What are the dimensions? 2x2x4

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Day time 12 Hours on T5 uvb and Heat lamp of 75watts, Off at night It all sounds good, but what is the strength of your uvb? Also, you really need the 24” uvb. It needs to be as wide as the enclosure. In order for your little guy to get adequate uvb levels, you need to have the basking area the correct distance from the light. I can’t tell you what that is until i learn what strength your uvb is.

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Lowest overnight temp is 69F, cage floor is 75f and basking is 90f. 90 is way too hot! For little ones we don’t want to go above 80. For adult males we don’t go above 85. Your night temp is great. Thermometer What type - digital, analog, smart, etc?

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I do not have the device to measure humidity, I am misting him all day and making sure it is never dyr in the enclosure, and using a dripper. It’s super important to know your humidity. Humidity that is too high during the day when temps are hot are a big risk for respiratory infection. Improper humidity will also lead to bad shedding. The enclosure needs to dry out during the day. The ideal range during the day is between 30-50%. At night if you can consistently achieve a temp below 68, you can run a fogger and boost humidity all the way. That simulates the hydration chams get in the wild thru fog.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes, Monstera Definitely need to add some more. Stock up on pothos…it’s your new bff. You want to have plants up higher too and definitely many more branches and vines. It’s hard to hang things in a screen enclosure, but not impossible. There are https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ which are amazing! Some have made their own version with either metal or wood. I needed a quick set up and had to use what I had, which was scrap trellis. It worked so great that I bought a panel and am using it to set up new enclosures. I cut to size with a jigsaw, sanded the sharp edges. Drilled tiny holes on the ends where i needed to attach. Added a few screws to each side of the enclosure frame and then attached the trellis to the frame and screws with thin wire. Pics below.

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? My cage is currently on the floor while I purchase a stand for it, it is in the corner of my room. Height is safety, so get a good high stand for him.

Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Florida.

Current Problem - Diarreah, will not eat, and sleeps early and wakes up late. My first thought is parasites. I’ve no idea what his care was like at the store or if all of his needs were met. Make an appointment with Dr Bogoslavsky or Dr Brennan for the soonest you can get and take a fresh poo. FYI: both vets are pretty reasonably priced...of course labs, X-rays and stuff will run the bill up. Do keep us posted about your little beauty. Ask as many questions as you need. Do reply with the strength of your uvb so we can tell you the ideal distance for basking area.