Sick Chameleon?

[FiKastro]

I am new to keeping chameleons. I have been worried about my guy for the past few days. I find him laying on the branches/not standing up during the day, and a lot of time one or both of his eyes are closed. I have some pictures of his eyes but I don’t know whats wrong or how I can fix it

 

[nightanole]

Looks good weight but might have some edema.

Could you fill out the form?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[FiKastro]

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon, not sure about his age. I have have him for two weeks
• Handling - Rarely/Never
• Feeding - Main diet is crickets and dubia roaches gut loaded with fruit and veggie ice cubes that I made. I feed him around 10 total per day. I have been feeding him once per day.
• Supplements - I dust bugs with zoomed repticalcium every feeding, I have only had him two weeks so I haven’t given him any calcium with d3 or any multivitamins yet. I feed once a day.
• Watering - Dripper once per day, misting twice a day before and after lights go off for a minute or two (manual misting). I saw him lick a drop one time.
• Fecal Description - I haven’t seen many of his poops, only one and it looked white?
• History - None really, I have had him for two weeks and got him from petco

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage that I put plastic wrap around the sides to help with humidity because its winter. I have a 16x16x30, it was what I had and I plan on upgrading him eventually.
• Lighting - I have a dual dome uvb and heat lamp which I know is not ideal, I am getting the linear uvb to replace it soon. Lights turn on at 8:30am and off at 8:30pm. I also have an led light for the plants.
• Temperature - basking spot is upper 80s to low 90s, lower down is from 68-72. Lowest overnight is 62. I have a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Humidity - Humidity is 18-22% at basking spot, general cage is from 50-65% during the day. I have a cool mist humidifier for the room during the day because the room has low humidity. I mist twice a day, in the morning before the lights turn on and at night after lights turn off for a minute or two. At night I run a fogger into his cage from the top of the cage. Night humidity is 70-85%. I measure with a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Plants - I have 2 pothos, a rubber tree, a rainbow crotus?, and a split leaf philodendron
• Placement - In a bedroom with low traffic, I have a heater in the room because the room has a lot of windows and it’s winter. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Western Pennsylvania

Current Problem - He seems a bit lethargic and his eyes are usually closed when I come to check in him. I was worried that his eyes seem a little sunken.

I have been worried about him since I got him because I just want to make sure he’s ok and I have been worried about making sure lights/humidity/temp/ect is ok. This is my first time having a chameleon so I am worried about getting things wrong

Thanks for the help!!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go thru your info.

 

[MissSkittles]

I talk a lot, so am breaking this into two sections.

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon, not sure about his age. I have have him for two weeks I’m going to take a guess that he’s maybe around 5 months or so, based on the size of his casque.
• Handling - Rarely/Never It’s always good to build and maintain trust with your guy. Being a veiled, he may develop an attitude as he matures, but he’ll still trust you…just won’t like you. This is a good blog. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Main diet is crickets and dubia roaches gut loaded with fruit and veggie ice cubes that I made. I feed him around 10 total per day. I have been feeding him once per day. Sounds very good. You can add a bit more variety. I’ll attach the graphic. Btw, grasshoppers are available at https://dragonhoppers.com/ or Kai Phan on Facebook.
• Supplements - I dust bugs with zoomed repticalcium every feeding, I have only had him two weeks so I haven’t given him any calcium with d3 or any multivitamins yet. I feed once a day. I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD for a great combo D3 and multivitamin (has a Jackson’s chameleon on the label). It’s given one feeding every other week. He is needing that now.
• Watering - Dripper once per day, misting twice a day before and after lights go off for a minute or two (manual misting). I saw him lick a drop one time. Usually mist for two full minutes, right before lights go on and off. Using a dripper for about 15-20 minutes per day is fine.
• Fecal Description - I haven’t seen many of his poops, only one and it looked white? The white is the urate (urine) and is what we look at to determine hydration status. White is great. A little yellow or even light orange on one tip is ok. All dark orange is not good. Coming from Petco, I do advise getting him checked for parasites, which does require a veterinary wellness visit.
• History - None really, I have had him for two weeks and got him from petco
• 

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage that I put plastic wrap around the sides to help with humidity because its winter. I am hoping that you have left the door, or at least the lower section of at least one screen panel without plastic for proper ventilation. I have a 16x16x30, it was what I had and I plan on upgrading him eventually. Please! I advocate for giving as much space as you can…combining 2 XL ReptiBreezes for a double wide is awesome if you can do it. If not, the minimum is at least a 2x2x4’ (XL ReptiBreeze)
• Lighting - I have a dual dome uvb and heat lamp which I know is not ideal, I am getting the linear uvb to replace it soon. This can not wait! Unless he has parasites or other serious issue, he is probably not doing well because he is lacking correct UVB and has not gotten any D3 or multivitamins lately. Young chameleons can go downhill very quickly as they have no bodily resources to fall back on, like the adults do. The dome uvb lamp puts out uvb only about 2” directly below it, and at that close with a dual dome (basking light in the other side) he is going to get burned. I recommend an 24” Arcadia Pro T5 with a 6% UVB bulb or ReptiSun T5 with a 5.0 UVB bulb. You will not find either of these at Petco or other chain pet stores. This is a fantastic place to get your lights from. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/arcadia-pro-t5-24-watt-fixture-22-5.html Lights turn on at 8:30am and off at 8:30pm. I also have a led light for the plants. Great schedule and good for the plants.
• Temperature - basking spot is upper 80s to low 90s, The latest standard is a basking temp for males around 85. I keep my boys at that and they all do great. lower down is from 68-72. Lowest overnight is 62. I have a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer Nice night time temp drop.
• Humidity - Humidity is 18-22% at basking spot, I’d expect basking spot to be dry from the heat. general cage is from 50-65% during the day. This is just a bit too high. The ideal range is between 30-50%. I have a cool mist humidifier for the room during the day because the room has low humidity. Even though it’s cool mist, only run humidifiers at night when the temp is below around 68. Heat (from basking) plus higher humidity increases risks for respiratory infection. I mist twice a day, in the morning before the lights turn on and at night after lights turn off for a minute or two. At night I run a fogger into his cage from the top of the cage. Night humidity is 70-85%. Perfect at night time I measure with a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Plants - I have 2 pothos, a rubber tree, a rainbow crotus?, *croton? and a split leaf philodendron I would suggest replacing the rubber tree with something else, like a ficus benjamina (weeping fig), money tree, schefflera (umbrella plant). I also advise to keep some extra plants…maybe start some pothos clippings into new plants as veileds do like to nibble their plants. This is a great guide for plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - In a bedroom with low traffic, I have a heater in the room because the room has a lot of windows and it’s winter. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Western Pennsylvania

Current Problem - He seems a bit lethargic and his eyes are usually closed when I come to check in him. I was worried that his eyes seem a little sunken.

I have been worried about him since I got him because I just want to make sure he’s ok and I have been worried about making sure lights/humidity/temp/ect is ok. This is my first time having a chameleon so I am worried about getting things wrong You’re on the right path, but just need to speed things up a bit and get that linear UVB light and proper supplements asap. While not a vet, I do think that once your guy has some proper D3 in him so that he can utilize the calcium you’ve been giving him, he should perk up and be okay. Without D3, whether from supplements or the sun/UVB, his body can’t convert the calcium into a usable form. FYI: putting him in front of a sunny window won’t work as UVB can’t pass thru glass and most substances. Getting that UVB light and the D3/multivitamin is your priority. A veterinary wellness check and fecal parasite check is next, and then give him more space. Attaching the list of vets who are known to be good with chameleons. Any exotics vet can do a welllness visit and feel though…just ignore when they tell you to soak him.

Thanks for the help!!
You’re very welcome! Do keep us posted on how he’s doing. Feel free to hang around too.

 

[FiKastro]

Thanks so much for the advice!

 

[courtschams]

Thanks so much for the advice!

I am not an expert, but I do want to emphasize what MissSkittles said about a linear t5! I also got a veiled from Petco (mine is female) and had similar characteristics and lethargy…within a week of a linear t5 she was good to go! I also have found an automated mister is great to have to control humidity levels and is great when you’re done for a day or two. You’ll be obsessed with your little guy! They’re the best!

 

[Beman]

You have already gotten excellent feedback from @MissSkittles. I also want to mention a vet visit with a good reptile vet would be warranted. your boy has a bump on the tip of the nose that should not be there. Should be examined by a vet to see exactly what is going on in case it is an infection.

 

[FiKastro]

Ok, thanks for the advice. I ordered the repashy calcium plus tod and the linear t5 HO 5.0 uvb light yesterday, they should come soon.
Someone said that the bump on his nose could be edema so I researched it a bit and it said it could be caused by too much calcium. I figured if he is not able to process calcium super well right now because of low uvb and no supplements maybe he has too much calcium built up in his body? Idk this is an assumptions

 

[Beman]

Ok, thanks for the advice. I ordered the repashy calcium plus tod and the linear t5 HO 5.0 uvb light yesterday, they should come soon.
Someone said that the bump on his nose could be edema so I researched it a bit and it said it could be caused by too much calcium. I figured if he is not able to process calcium super well right now because of low uvb and no supplements maybe he has too much calcium built up in his body? Idk this is an assumptions

The bump on the nose is not edema. Edema appears around the throat area. See this link https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-edema/

Bumps like that are typically filled with puss. Can be from an insect bite. But due to the location I would also be concerned with sinus infection as well. Possibly could be linked to a mouth infection due to the location. It would require a vet visit with a vet well versed in reptile care at a minimum if they do not have chameleon experience.

This would not be linked to a supplementation issue.

 

[FiKastro]

Ok good to know, I’ll start looking for vets in my area. Thanks for the help.

Here’s a picture of his cage setup if that helps anyone get a better idea of what I'm working with

 

[MissSkittles]

The bump on the nose is not edema. Edema appears around the throat area. See this link https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-edema/

Bumps like that are typically filled with puss. Can be from an insect bite. But due to the location I would also be concerned with sinus infection as well. Possibly could be linked to a mouth infection due to the location. It would require a vet visit with a vet well versed in reptile care at a minimum if they do not have chameleon experience.

This would not be linked to a supplementation issue.

You always have the best eyes! I completely missed that.
Checking our vet list, surprisingly there are none listed for anywhere in PA. This may help. https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661 You could also ask around anyone you know that has an exotic animal or even pet stores.
I must say that you’ve done a great job at improvising a way to hang branches and such. It’s always such a challenge to figure out.

 

[Beman]

Ok good to know, I’ll start looking for vets in my area. Thanks for the help.

Here’s a picture of his cage setup if that helps anyone get a better idea of what I'm working with

So just keep in mind with how high you have the branches placed... you will need to lift your T5HO fixture up off the top of the cage. AND your heat lamp (high risk of thermal burns).
For a T5HO with a 5.0 or 6% bulb you need a total of 8-9 inches between the bottom of the fixture and the branch below it. So if your branch is 4 inches from the screen top of the cage you want to raise the fixture 5 inches off the top of the cage so that total of both distances equal 9 inches.

I would personally pull the plant at the bottom of the cage. It is extremely dense so you are going to have issues finding fecals. Also it is not a veiled tested plant. This is a good site to learn accurate info from https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Then you can ask questions here.