Shaking behavior. Very concerned.

[MontyAndMelissa]

This just started today, I know this because I watch her constantly, I'm amazed by her. She started shaking. All four feet, or three at least holding a branch. Tail curled, but not around anything, she was shaking side to side. My husband read that it could be a calcium deficiency. She is eating great, DEFINATELY has an appetite, and is getting plenty of water from leaves. I haven't been dusting her crickets but am changing that today, I've been using a calcium spray. I've only had her two weeks. I rescued her from a pet shop. I am very concerned about her, and I'm hoping I caught whatever it is in time. She does it on and off. She did it for about 1 minute 30 seconds, then stopped and stood still. I put some crickets in her enclosure and she ate right away. She has uvb lighting and a 70w (?) heat bulb above her tank. Her favorite perching spot is 90-95 degrees during the day. When I got her I took her to the vet and got a great bill of health. Any suggestions?

 

[APailthorp]

Could she be seeing something that is causing stress? It is surprising how much they pay attention to anything in sight.

If you cut and paste a copy of the How to ask for help sticky in the Health Clinic forum, and fill out as much as you can as well as ideally post a picture of your enclosure, you are more likely to get useful advice.

I hope you figure out what is going on.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

Well, my ball and she are housed in the same room. I get my ball two days ago, but as far as I know nothing is different.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

I Fed my ball python two days ago, and they are housed in the same room but other than that nothing has changed.


The species, sex, and age of your chameleon : female Veiled chameleon, less than a year of age. I do not have a hatch date.

How long has it been in your care? I got her on April 6, 2015.

How often do you handle your chameleon? I currently do not handle her. She is still getting used to her environment.

What are you feeding your cham? Gut loaded medium crickets.

What amount? 8-10 a day. Any more than that she will not eat.

What is the schedule? I am currently feeding 4-5 in the morning and 4-5 in the afternoon.

How are you gut-loading your feeders? The feeders are gut loaded from the store.

What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I was using a calcium spray, but I am switching to Calcium Dust with D3, I will be dusting her food items on Saturday and Wednesday.

What kind of watering technique do you use? Misting.

How often and how long to you mist? Three to four times a day as needed. Not before bed time.

Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes. She drinks droplets off of the leaves of the fake plants.

Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings: Droppings have been brown and healthy looking. Not hard, but not diarrhea.

Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Yes, the tests came back negative.

Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you: She was being kept in a 1 foot cube enclosure with a red lamp and heating lamp. She was given a water bowl and not misted throughout the day, I do not know if she was given a calcium supplement.

Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Two feet in height by 1 foot square. It has a screen top, a screen vent on one side and an additional dial vent on the other for air flow. There is a 8 inch pane of glass next to the "vented" side, and the side with the dial vent is all glass with a hole for the dial.

What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? I am using one 70w uvb light and one 65 w heating bulb. They are all brand new, I don't remember the brand, but they are sold at petco.

What is your daily lighting schedule? Lights are turned on at 10am, and turned off at 10 pm.

What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Ambient temp is measured by a digital thermometer. Basking spot is 90-100 degrees during the day, floor temp is 70-75. Night time ambient is 60-65 degrees.

What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Humidity is being maintained at a 60-70% level, created by misting multiple times a day.

What do you use to measure humidity? A thermostat / hydrometer. Digital.

Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? None.

Where is your cage located? In my bedroom.

Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No. She is located in a separate room from people. And there are no fans or vets nearby.

At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Roughly five and a half to six feet up.

Where are you geographically located? Gilroy, California.

The current problem you are concerned about: shaking behaviour.

 

[kinyonga]

Can she see the ball? Assuming you mean python...snakes are predators so she might be worried about it.

Regarding supplements...D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause health issues.

I would not be relying on the store to properly feed/gutload your insects...crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts can be fed/gutloaded with a wide assortment of greens such as dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc. and veggies such as carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red peppers, zucchini, etc.

Its recommended that the insects be dusted just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium at most feedings, phos.-free calcium/D3 twice a month lightly and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A.

 

[Carlton]

This just started today, I know this because I watch her constantly, I'm amazed by her. She started shaking. All four feet, or three at least holding a branch. Tail curled, but not around anything, she was shaking side to side. My husband read that it could be a calcium deficiency. She is eating great, DEFINATELY has an appetite, and is getting plenty of water from leaves. I haven't been dusting her crickets but am changing that today, I've been using a calcium spray. I've only had her two weeks. I rescued her from a pet shop. I am very concerned about her, and I'm hoping I caught whatever it is in time. She does it on and off. She did it for about 1 minute 30 seconds, then stopped and stood still. I put some crickets in her enclosure and she ate right away. She has uvb lighting and a 70w (?) heat bulb above her tank. Her favorite perching spot is 90-95 degrees during the day. When I got her I took her to the vet and got a great bill of health. Any suggestions?

If she's swaying from side to side, moving along her perches in a jerking halting manner, reaching out and pulling back her feet instead of grasping the branch in front of her, she could be trying to "hide". Chams often sway to look more like a leaf in the breeze. The halting interrupted walk is their attempt to NOT look like a vulnerable animal. She has almost no visual cover so may be feeling very exposed to view (especially as you say you are watching her constantly ).

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

Well, I've been keeping an eye on her, no more weird movement. She can't see the ball python, the ball python is nocturnal and stays in her hide during the day, at night we wrap Charmas enclosure with a towel, so even when monty comes out at night, charma can't see her. It's not at all like the forward/back movement of mimicking leaves, though she does do that. It's more of a side by side shaking movement. The brand of powder I have is Reptocal. "includes calcium and vitamin D3" looking through the ingredients is not phosphate free, this is the only kind my local store carries, can I order the proper kind online? I have only done 2 calcium dusts, and only on half her prey when I do. How do I gutload the crickets myself? The reptile specialist at the petco near me is a friend. He feeds his veiled the crickets from there, and I know he does the gut loading personally, but you can never be too safe. I always dust just before feeding.

 

[Carlton]

It's not at all like the forward/back movement of mimicking leaves, though she does do that. It's more of a side by side shaking movement. The brand of powder I have is Reptocal. "includes calcium and vitamin D3" looking through the ingredients is not phosphate free, this is the only kind my local store carries, can I order the proper kind online? I have only done 2 calcium dusts, and only on half her prey when I do. How do I gutload the crickets myself? The reptile specialist at the petco near me is a friend. He feeds his veiled the crickets from there, and I know he does the gut loading personally, but you can never be too safe. I always dust just before feeding.

I still think her shaky movements are her attempts to "hide" and mimic something other than an animal.

If your pet store carries calcium blocks or cuttlebone for birds you can use that in a pinch. Just grate it to a powder. Check the forum sponsors for sources of plain calcium in future.

Gutloading insects is basically feeding them well for a few days before giving them to your cham. You can feed crickets cereal grains (I like using Total), pieces of fruit, salad trimmings, veggies. There are some great gutloads available from forum sponsors too.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

I still think her shaky movements are her attempts to "hide" and mimic something other than an animal.

If your pet store carries calcium blocks or cuttlebone for birds you can use that in a pinch. Just grate it to a powder. Check the forum sponsors for sources of plain calcium in future.

Gutloading insects is basically feeding them well for a few days before giving them to your cham. You can feed crickets cereal grains (I like using Total), pieces of fruit, salad trimmings, veggies. There are some great gutloads available from forum sponsors too.

I ordered some repticalcium from zoomed online. Without d3. Free of phosphates. Should be in before the next dusting. I have some kale and cabbage I got for Charma, but she won't eat it. I have apples and stuff. Can I just like put a slice in there and they will eat off it?

 

[Carlton]

I ordered some repticalcium from zoomed online. Without d3. Free of phosphates. Should be in before the next dusting. I have some kale and cabbage I got for Charma, but she won't eat it. I have apples and stuff. Can I just like put a slice in there and they will eat off it?

Yes. Just watch for moldy fruit/veggies and remove it. I like to use chunks of orange...the Vit C is a good thing.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

Oranges are a good idea. I know the acidity can be hard for chameleons to digest, but if it's gut loaded, the acidity will mostly be gone I'd assume. I placed some kale and a few chunks of Apple in their keeper today. So we will see. I also got her a Uva basking light today since she's vicious and won't let me touch her to bring her outside for natural sunlight. She already had the uvb.

 

[Carlton]

Oranges are a good idea. I know the acidity can be hard for chameleons to digest, but if it's gut loaded, the acidity will mostly be gone I'd assume. I placed some kale and a few chunks of Apple in their keeper today. So we will see. I also got her a Uva basking light today since she's vicious and won't let me touch her to bring her outside for natural sunlight. She already had the uvb.

Have you been using "regular" lightbulb for basking already? If so, it already provides UVA.

You can use a couple of hand held sticks to coax a nasty cham out of the cage. One to nudge them from behind and place the other in front of their nose for them to climb on. That way they avoid your hand.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

It was a "repti basking bulb" to be safe I bought the new one and am using the basking heat bulb for my ball python. (I love having multiple reptiles! Hand-me-downs!) I had purchased a dropper and a red night light, and couldn't find a use for either, so I brought them back to the store for a full refund to buy the new items. I picked up one of the sticks she was perched on today and once she was out of the tank she was fine. Until some brats ran up and scared her, then she fell onto the concrete. (I posted a thread about this) I've been keeping an eye on her.