Rescued a Male veiled.. he's very small for his age! HELP!

[HelpMyChamPlz]

Ok, ill try to make this short. Ive had some reptiles before so im not totally new, but still pretty new. Someone i know had 3 veiled chams, 2 females and 1 male. for some reason the male is growing a lot slower than the females and the previous owner wanted to get rid of him. i kinda took him in on impulse becuase the previous owner really needed to get rid of him. He is 7 moths old (we know this for sure, prev owner hatched him in september 2022). I dont have much info on how he was housed before, but now i have him in a glass bioactive with a screen top. i have a dripper for hydration but dont spray becuase the ambient moisture where i live is 70% (south florida). I am feeding him as much as he will eat which is around 10 mealworms and 5 medium crickets daily (dusted with d3 free calcium). I am taking him to the vet soon but would like to know whats up with his size and his general health. Thanks!!

**note** yes, i know he needs a bigger enclosure, and that it should be mesh. I am working on building one as we speak, this is temporary as like i said i kinda rescued him.. sorta. im trying to make his situation as best as possible for what i have.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!
Good of you to rescue him!

He looks reasonably healthy…so that’s good at least!

Was he kept in a separate cage from the two females?

Mealworms are not the best feeder insect for a chameleon. I would recommend silkworms, crickets, locusts, bsfl, roaches…all well fed/gut loaded and dusted appropriately.

Dusting should be at all feedings but two a month, lightly dusted in phos free calcium. The remaining two feedings should be two weeks apart and should be a vitamin powder with D3 and a prEformed source of vitamin A…lightly dusted.

What UVB and basking lights are you using? Long linear or short twisted/folded over UVB? White basking light? Did you test the basking light to make sure it’s not so hot that it will burn your chameleon at the closest place the chameleon can get to near the bulb Inside the cage?

 

[kinyonga]

If you provide photos of the cage and answer the questions in this thread, we can check your husbandry…
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[HelpMyChamPlz]

Thank you so much for helping me, i only want the best for him, and although my setup isnt perfect, its leaps better than his previous housing, so we are making strides.

***note*** i know my setup is very far from ideal, im working on getting everything he needs, and building him a custom mesh enclosure at the moment. I took him on from an owner who desperately needed to get rid of him. (i like to say i rescued him)

• Male veiled, 7 months old, been in my care for 2 days.
• Handling - 2 or 3 minutes a day
• Feeding - meal worms and medium sized crickets, dusted with d3 free calcium. gut loaded with asparagus stalks and apple slices. feeding as much as he is willing to eat, once daily, i leave one or 2 mealworms in his dish just incase he gets hungry later
• Supplements - Flukers calcium without d3, dust all bugs daily
• Watering - i have a dripper dripping at about one drop per second, dripping on a faux lechuguilla panel which i use as a background. I have yet to see him drink, although this may be hard as he tries to hide from me when I am nearby. i only mist twice daily with a spray bottle as the humidity where i live is 70% at the moment, and the enclosure is outside (protected under a porch roof thingy)
• Fecal Description - slightly shiny, brownish green, looks like a butterfly cocoon LOL, yet to be tested.
• History - he was hatched alongside 2 females, he was always petrified of the females so he was separated becuase he wouldnt even eat. previous owner had to syringe feed at one point because he wasnt eating. he is very small fro his age and that is the main reason why i am here asking for help.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - **TEMPORARY** 12''x12''x18'' glass with screen top.
• Lighting - this is the light i have at the moment, i use it on the white setting, i follow the sun schedule, sunrise, light goes on, sunset, light goes off.
• Temperature - my light doesn't give off heat, so i go by the ambient temp. currently its about 75 degrees where i live so thats the enclosure temp.
• Humidity -ambient humidity where i live is 70% at the moment, so i assume enclosure is around there, although i have a dropper and i mist, so its probably a bit higher.
• Plants - all faux plants at the moment.
• Placement - mid to low traffic area, not near fans or vents. enclosure is on my back porch under a roof so yes its protected
• Location - west palm beach florida. (Right by Trumps house if you know where that is)

Current Problem - He is very small for his age, the females he hatched alongside are already twice his size, or more.

i can upload more when i get home, but for right now these are all the images i have of the enclosure
https://streamable.com/9n2i9m
https://streamable.com/k3mwt1

 

[Beman]

@HelpMyChamPlz Hey there welcome to the forum. I am going to go through your husbandry form and post my feedback in red bold. Please let me know what questions you have. This will be a ton of info.

Thank you so much for helping me, i only want the best for him, and although my setup isnt perfect, its leaps better than his previous housing, so we are making strides.

***note*** i know my setup is very far from ideal, im working on getting everything he needs, and building him a custom mesh enclosure at the moment. I took him on from an owner who desperately needed to get rid of him. (i like to say i rescued him)

• Male veiled, 7 months old, been in my care for 2 days.
• Handling - 2 or 3 minutes a day
• Feeding - meal worms and medium sized crickets, dusted with d3 free calcium. gut loaded with asparagus stalks and apple slices. feeding as much as he is willing to eat, once daily, i leave one or 2 mealworms in his dish just incase he gets hungry later. No mealworms at all. We need him to gain weight and these are very low nutritionally. See feeder image and gutload image for feeders. Should easily be able to take down 1-2 dozen 1/2 inch sized crickets at this age. You want to feed in the morning so he has time to bask and digest during the day.
• Supplements - Flukers calcium without d3, dust all bugs daily. This is good but you also need a multivitamin with D3. You could use either reptivite with D3 or Repashy Calcium plus LoD version. This would be used 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Lightly dust supplements on all feeders then immediately give to the cham.
• Watering - i have a dripper dripping at about one drop per second, dripping on a faux lechuguilla panel which i use as a background. I have yet to see him drink, although this may be hard as he tries to hide from me when I am nearby. i only mist twice daily with a spray bottle as the humidity where i live is 70% at the moment, and the enclosure is outside (protected under a porch roof thingy) Be extremely careful about this. Temps in FL get high... Him being in a glass cage is going to turn into a hot box. They can easily dehydrate and die from heat exposure like this.
• Fecal Description - slightly shiny, brownish green, looks like a butterfly cocoon LOL, yet to be tested. You want to get a fecal test asap to rule out a parasite load. This is a very common reason for a chameleon not gaining weight or growing to the correct size.
• History - he was hatched alongside 2 females, he was always petrified of the females so he was separated becuase he wouldnt even eat. previous owner had to syringe feed at one point because he wasnt eating. he is very small fro his age and that is the main reason why i am here asking for help.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - **TEMPORARY** 12''x12''x18'' glass with screen top. I know you are building something but this would need to be switched out like today... He can not remain in a tiny glass enclosure based on his size and the environmental conditions. He could easily develop a respiratory infection with the high humidity and heat trapped in glass.
• Lighting - this is the light i have at the moment, i use it on the white setting, i follow the sun schedule, sunrise, light goes on, sunset, light goes off. You have to have a UVB light as well. You want a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb for it. This should run the width of the new cage so minimum 24 inches. This would be set on the top screen with the closest branches below it being 8-9 inches away to put him in the right UVB level. Please note if you are keeping him outside for the permanent set up he would have to have uvb lighting unless he gets sun at least a few hours a day.
• Temperature - my light doesn't give off heat, so i go by the ambient temp. currently its about 75 degrees where i live so thats the enclosure temp. This one is hard because you have him outside. Normally we recommend a basking fixture for indoor cages with a temp of 80 at the branch. Again if he will be outside then 75 is fine as long as it is the temp in sun. You have to have the permanant cage positioned so that the entire cage is not in full sun. He has to be able to get out of the sun to cool down or he can overheat.
• Humidity -ambient humidity where i live is 70% at the moment, so i assume enclosure is around there, although i have a dropper and i mist, so its probably a bit higher. This is where an all screen cage is going to be beneficial. With total airflow high humidity is ok. But without airflow it is a recipe for a respiratory infection along with other issues.
• Plants - all faux plants at the moment. Will need all real plants for the big cage. See image. Choose the veiled tested only because they eat their plants.
• Placement - mid to low traffic area, not near fans or vents. enclosure is on my back porch under a roof so yes its protected See above other referenced notes on outdoor cage and needs for set up.
• Location - west palm beach florida. (Right by Trumps house if you know where that is)

Current Problem - He is very small for his age, the females he hatched alongside are already twice his size, or more.



Start reading everything in this husbandry program and ask your questions here. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[kinyonga]

What are the dimensions of the glass cage?
Can you post some photos of it?