shedding twice a month

[Grizz]

my cham has shed 3 times in the last 40 days. is this common? he is about 6months old. he is also growing very fast. he doubled in size in last month,5" to 10" body length. is this common? He is male veiled, i feed him 25-30 large crickets a day. he would eat more if i let him, should i cut back? his cage is plenty large 2'x3'x4'. he poops every day, same time like clockwork. no yellow nice and dark. he is a good at chewing, i switched to large crickets he didnt notice diff. should i still feed him medium crickets? he would prob eat 50 of those a day. he looks proportional to many pic's posted, is it safe for him to eat that many a day?

 

[jannb]

They will shed every time they out grow their skin, which is often when they are young. As they get older, they will not eat as much nor grow as much and will not shed nearly often. Jann

 

[dodolah]

my cham has shed 3 times in the last 40 days. is this common? he is about 6months old. he is also growing very fast. he doubled in size in last month,5" to 10" body length. is this common? He is male veiled, i feed him 25-30 large crickets a day. he would eat more if i let him, should i cut back? his cage is plenty large 2'x3'x4'. he poops every day, same time like clockwork. no yellow nice and dark. he is a good at chewing, i switched to large crickets he didnt notice diff. should i still feed him medium crickets? he would prob eat 50 of those a day. he looks proportional to many pic's posted, is it safe for him to eat that many a day?

is it possible for you to weigh him?
How sure are you about his age?
30 large crix a day is a bit excessive imho.
You don't want your cham to be obese.

 

[Grizz]

exact age is unknown. I got him at pet store with idiots. they got him when he was 3" long is all they could come up with. from reading I esimated based on his size. If i give him any less he go beserker on the plants eating whole sections at a time. weighing him would be hard he is very active. he only sits in one spot when basking. most of the time he is patroling and he is fast for a cham. is it possible he eats so much because pet store didn't feed him enough? I will remove plants and scale him down on crickets. I don't want him to get over weight. also is it allright to gut load crickets all the time. we have a lot of left over veggies and fruit. i usually put in fresh stuff twice a day. I also give them calcium enriched quencher and powdered gut load. does this effect the amount of calcium sup i need to give him? our water is also very high in calcium, i use a conditioner but i don't know if it effects calcium. should i supplement him less? i do 3 of fifteen twice a day now. and give him reptive multi vitamin twice a week on three crickets.

 

[dodolah]

see my answer below:

1. is it possible he eats so much because pet store didn't feed him enough?
I doubt it.

2. I will remove plants and scale him down on crickets.
What plants do you have in the enclosure? Have you tried hibiscus?
You will not need to worry at all if he munch that plants. As it is perfectly safe for him to eat.

I think you should not bother rearranging his furnitures.


3. is it allright to gut load crickets all the time. we have a lot of left over veggies and fruit. i usually put in fresh stuff twice a day. I also give them calcium enriched quencher and powdered gut load. does this effect the amount of calcium sup i need to give him?
it is perfectly fine to gutload your crickets all the time.

4. our water is also very high in calcium, i use a conditioner but i don't know if it effects calcium. should i supplement him less? i do 3 of fifteen twice a day now. and give him reptive multi vitamin twice a week on three crickets.
What supplements do you give? Do you have calcium with D3 and calcium without D3?

 

[Grizz]

i have 4 supplements two without d3 calcium and vitamin, 2 with d3 calcium and vitamin. i use the d3 once per week each calcium-vitamin. the rest of time no d3. reptical calcium, reptive multi vitamin.

 

[Grizz]

my plants are hibiscus rosa and schefflera arboriacola.

 

[jannb]

Veileds like to eat fruits and vegtables. Try some Kale, grapes (cut up) and strawberries. I would cut back on the crickets and maybe order 1/4 grown for him instead of the large ones. Jann

 

[dodolah]

i have 4 supplements two without d3 calcium and vitamin, 2 with d3 calcium and vitamin. i use the d3 once per week each calcium-vitamin. the rest of time no d3. reptical calcium, reptive multi vitamin.

Correct me if i got it wrong.

so, you have:
1. reptical calcium no D3
2. reptivite multivitamin
3. Calcium with D3.
4. Vitamin with D3?

What exactly the #4 is?
and you did #3 and #4 each once a week (meaning that you supply D3 2 days a week).
and #1 and #2 pretty much 5 days a week?

 

[dodolah]

my plants are hibiscus rosa and schefflera arboriacola.

In this case, you do not need to move the plants. Hibiscus Rosa is perfectly safe to be munch. I would pay attention if he's munching schefflera excessively. If your chameleon love munching veggies, try giving him vegetables (like JannB suggested).

 

[Grizz]

reptical calcium with d3 once a week on 3of15.reptical calcium without d3 every day on 3of15 twice a day. reptive vitamin with d3 once a week on 3of15. reptive vitamin with out d3 once per week 3of15. reptive vitamin with d3 once per week 3of 15. on days when i give vitamin i dont do calcium, reptive has calcium. also on days i give vitamins second feeding of day no supplements at all. 3of15 means 3 0f 15 crix. I feed twice per day, at 6:30 in morning, again at 3:30pm. so that means 6 of 25-30 supplemented crix on average a day. Im over doing it right?

 

[Grizz]

ive tried putting fruits and veggies in his habitat but he ignores them totaly. mabey if they moved, cause he will eat any thing that moves. plant eating started when i switched him to drip system. he would mouth water off plants, then when water was gone he would eat plant. i upped his crix count and he stopped eating plants. he deleafed a 14" hibiscus plant in 1 week. he doesn't eat that much schefflera any more. do chams get tape worms?

 

[dodolah]

reptical calcium with d3 once a week on 3of15.reptical calcium without d3 every day on 3of15 twice a day. reptive vitamin with d3 once a week on 3of15. reptive vitamin with out d3 once per week 3of15. reptive vitamin with d3 once per week 3of 15. on days when i give vitamin i dont do calcium, reptive has calcium. also on days i give vitamins second feeding of day no supplements at all. 3of15 means 3 0f 15 crix. I feed twice per day, at 6:30 in morning, again at 3:30pm. so that means 6 of 25-30 supplemented crix on average a day. Im over doing it right?

AHAHAHA sorry Grizz, this confuses me even more.
Let simplify this thing..

Here is my supplementation schedule that i found work for me (off course, it is NOT the absolute way to supplement):

Multivitamin (I used herptivite) on Monday and Thursday
Calcium with D3 (I used Repcal) on Tuesday and Friday
Calcium without D3 (I used MinerAll 0) on Wed and Saturday
On sunday I give my cham crix without dusting supplements.

I do think that you are over feeding him.. 30 adult crix/ day is a lot. I would slowly cut back to 15 adult crix/ day.
can you post a picture of your chameleon in here?
Parasites can certainly be a factor of excessive eating habit, but usually not followed by growth as most of the nutrients are gobbled up by the parasites.
But, better safe than sorry, i guess.
When is the last time he has a fecal check?

 

[Grizz]

I new that was coming. I live in colorado springs and the only vet that knows chams is in denver. he charges 350.00 a visit. is there a place i can send poop to? i know i need to check him for parasites, i got him at pet store. i have heard the stories about large time breeders. if i could send poop to be tested it might be cheaper. I know I should be prepared to pay doctors fee. but Morken seems healthy. he is active, has GI joe kungfu grip, eats, drinks,poops and only sleeps when i turn out lights. I would like to get a float test. My health ins covers pets but you have to have them for 6 months at least. Im on month 2, he wil be covered eventualy.

 

[Grizz]

i have pic's but my camera is only a 4 megapix. might as well be a cell phone cam.

 

[Grizz]

This is the best i can do for pics.

he is a little pissed, but not too bad.

 

[Grizz]

1 month ago. Notice plastic mesh, different cage, same mesh. but you can still use as reference. his arm in 2nd pic is 3 sections, in first pic his arm is 4.5 sections. (sections refering to mesh squares. .5x.5in.) showing a growth of 50% in one month.

 

[dodolah]

honestly, he does not looked overweight at all.
If you can weigh him, that will be great.

I think you should definitely have his fecal checked.
If he constantly hungry like that, I would wonder too...

the vet near my area charge about 30 dollars for the test.

check this link to find one near your area:
www.herpvetconnection.com

 

[Grizz]

yes thank you. I have taken my iguana to vet listed. lena is not totaly comfortable with chams. i didnt think to ask if she could do a float. I bet she can. if he comes up positive i will have to take one for the team and go to engelwood(rich suburb of denver.)and fork the 350.00. he says he has delt with many. I think one of our forum goes to him.

 

[dodolah]

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