Please help!!!

[cjcboardingdude]

I have a veiled chameleon that is almost a year old and I just got him a week ago. He is turning very dark colors almost black and stays so for long periods of time without any stressful situations. what could be causing this coloration?

 

[buzz]

just give him time he has to get use to his environment it took mine forever to get use to his new cage and stuff. he should be fine

 

[Elizadolots]

While I agree that they take time to adjust, it's never safe to assume that the environment is great. My suggestion is to fill out the "how to ask for help" form.

You can find it here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Just copy the "questions" there and paste them into a reply here, type in your responses.

That will help the folks here recognize anything in your set up that might be causing stress.

 

[cjcboardingdude]

thanks for the quick replies. Here is a more complete list of details.

Chameleon Info:

*I have a male, Veiled cham who is 10 months old that has only been in my care for 2 weeks.
* i have only handled it once and that was to add some branches inside the cage.
* I feed him 6-8 large crickets a day and he devours them. I have not started gut loading or dusting my crickts and i would like some more info on good methods of gut loading and good brands to dust with.
*I hand mist the cage 2-4 times daily and spray for 1-2 minutes each time. He drinks some of the time but recently he has not drank as much (may be in conjunction with his color change)
* fecal matter is moist and retains shape they have been getting larger since i have been feeding him more.


Cage Info:
* all screen cage that i made. it is 4 by 2.5 by 2.5
* all reptiglo lighting all with aluminum reflectors 1 150 watt sunglo spot lamp combined with a 27 watt 10.0 UVB for the day and a 75 watt blue night light. i try to make it a 12 12 cycle but without a day/night timer sometimes it is not 12 12.
*at the base of the basking spot it is 90 F. the floor temp is 73-75 F. the night time temperatures are in the 70's-low 80's
*I do not know the humidity levels as i do not yet have a hydrometer. i plan on getting one ASAP.
* in his cage he has a fake vine and an Umbrella plant. he has been taking nibbles out of the umbrella plant. it is located in the bottom half of the cage with the pot on the cage floor. its leaves do semi obstruct some the the climbing branches but he is able to get around them with ease.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* the cage is about 6 feet at its highest with the floor of the care about 2 fees off the ground.
* i am located in Spokane Washington

*and again the Current Problem is that his color is very dark.

 

[beardeds7587]

he could all so be showing very dark coloring cuz he is to hot , where is his cage located in your house??

 

[hun73r]

Drop the night light. Chams can tolerate a night temp drop and unless your house gets below mid 60's at night a heat source is not needed and is actually detrimental if it is a light because it does not allow them to sleep properly.

Gutload your crickets now. Start using fresh fruits and veggies and order a dry gutload like cricket crack. Avoid broccoli and spinach but greens like kale and mustard are great.

I would lower the wattage on the basking lamp to get the temp down slightly as 90 is on the high side and will really depend on what you are using to measure and its accuracy.

Light cycle should be 12 hours of basking light and UVB and 12 hours no light.

The color of the white part of the fecal will tell you if he is getting enough water. It should be white with very little to no orange or yellow in it.

 

[AESara]

A 5.0 is safer than a 10.0 UVB bulb. The UVB bulb is one of the fluorescent tubes, right (just verifying)?

How cold does your house get at night? It's possible that the blue light could keep him awake. I don't use any light at night for my veiled because the temps in my house at night are around 70 degrees F. They can handle down to 65, and they like their temps to drop at night.

Also, I would suggest a dripper. You can find them for about $6 at most pet stores or you could make one out of a clean milk jug.

Edit: too slow again

 

[cjcboardingdude]

i will drop the night light and see if that solves the problem. i will also try to down the wattage of the spot light to see if that helps. i am using the incandescent 10.0 UVB bulb. It is what was recommended to me. Is that to much?

 

[hun73r]

The only thing I could find that matched the wattage was this:

Is this the type of bulb you are using? If that is the case there are many out there that are known to cause eye issues with chameleons and it is best to avoid them. Go with the reptisun 5.0 linear flourescent in 15watts. They make them in different lengths but known to be safe and effective for your chameleon.

 

[cjcboardingdude]

It is that kind of light but it is by ripti glo. is it just that brand that causes eye problems or the incandescent light bulbs. Also is 10.0 to much for a veiled? Also he started shedding at the same time that he started turning black.

 

[cjcboardingdude]

sorry it is 26 watts. this is the description Repti-Glo Desert Terrarium Lamp 10 UVB 26 watts
http://www.arcatapet.com/fullsize/12517.jpg

 

[AESara]

ReptiGlo is fine, I have that too. It's just those bulbs shaped like coils that can be dangerous. You'll want a ReptiGlo or ReptiSun 5.0, not 10.0, that's tube-shaped.

 

[cjcboardingdude]

my house only gets down to 70 degrees at night so i will try turning off the night light and see if that gets him back to normal coloration. one more observation is that he gets lighter in color as he gets lower in the enclosure. when at the middle to the bottom he is his usual colorful self. i think that maybe the light is to hot for him or the UVB is to much. any suggestions?

 

[Eppler]

It is that kind of light but it is by ripti glo. is it just that brand that causes eye problems or the incandescent light bulbs. Also is 10.0 to much for a veiled? Also he started shedding at the same time that he started turning black.

No it was a Zoo Med bulb made in 2009 that had incorrect phosphorus formula and has been corrected. If you buy a Zoo Med Cfl make sure to check the date. Your bulb is fine except you need the 5.0 UVB and with all bulbs follows the directions and you will be fine. If you bought it from a local retail pet store you could probably exchange it.