small female veiled chami

[sebikun]

Does anyone have any idea why my chameleon is still the size of my pinky when she is six months old?

I saw some videos on youtube and everyones female chameleons are the size of their hand at six months.

She eats a lot and gets plenty of water.. She likes to be taken out sometimes.

anyone?

 

[jannb]

Are you sure that she's 6 months old? I have a little preemie Elly. If you'd like to see her and read her story just search Elly.

 

[VeiledChams]

Try posting some pictures

 

[VeiledChams]

Have you had her for 6 months or were you told she was 6 months? she looks to be like 3-4

not even 4..3 is about right

 

[jannb]

Have you had her for 6 months or were you told she was 6 months? she looks to be like 3-4

not even 4..3 is about right

I agree. Her casqued is not even formed.

 

[sebikun]

yeah I've had her for six months...

even if she was 3 to 4 months old. I've had her for 6 months though..

 

[jannb]

What are you feeding her? She looks skinny.

 

[VeiledChams]

That is very strange. you might want to fill out the "How to ask for help" form. maybe there is something in your husbandry that can help explain this.

very strange

 

[VeiledChams]

This is the form I mentioned:


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[sebikun]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, female (I think), I’ve had her for six months.

Handling – Every day unless she is grumpy.

Feeding – 6 crickets a day and then it doesn’t want anymore.

Supplements – I give the crickets flukers orange cubes.

Watering – I spray the enclosure 3 to 4 times a day. She comes up to me and opens her mouth to drink.

Fecal Description – The poops is blackish..

History – She has always been very healthy and active. Eats and drinks plenty and loves to explore.



Cage Info:

Cage Type – Its an all fishnet cage... 30 L X 16 W inches

Lighting – she has the regular zoo-med lights… a 26w uv light and a 75 w infrared.

Temperature – Its always room temp in my room. Probably slightly hotter.. the lights are about 4 inches from the cage. She moves around the cage to adjust how much heat she is getting.

Humidity – She used to be in an all glass cage with a ventilation area at the top… But it was way too humid and it started smelling very bad and I didn’t want her to get sick so I made her an all fishnet/mesh type of cage and I spray several times during the day.

Plants – no live plants.

Placement – in a well ventilated area on the floor.

Location – California, a desert area.

Current Problem – She is six months and she is so small.

 

[jannb]

There's a few things you need to change ASAP. I will attach my blog for you. She needs 3 different supplements and her feeders need to be very well gutloaded. You need to be feeding her small silkworms, hornworms and supers along with those crickets. She also needs allot of outside time for natural UV if your weather permits. I have been very successful raising my veileds and if you will follow my blog you might be able to turn this little one around.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[VeiledChams]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, female (I think), I’ve had her for six months.

Handling – Every day unless she is grumpy.
I wouldn't recommend handling. Chameleons are a pet better looked at than played with; they are easily stressed out. Then again, it is my opinion.
Feeding – 6 crickets a day and then it doesn’t want anymore.

Supplements – I give the crickets flukers orange cubes.
Many things wrong here. Do you have plain calcium? Calcium with D3? Multi-vitamins? These are to dust the crickets with.
Also, you have to gutload the crickets with something better. read this blog by one of the members on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
Watering – I spray the enclosure 3 to 4 times a day. She comes up to me and opens her mouth to drink.
Do you have a dripper?
Fecal Description – The poops is blackish..
What about the urate? (white part). if it isn't pearly-white, it is a sign of dehydration
History – She has always been very healthy and active. Eats and drinks plenty and loves to explore.



Cage Info:

Cage Type – Its an all fishnet cage... 30 L X 16 W inches
More importantly, how tall? post a pic of it please
Lighting – she has the regular zoo-med lights… a 26w uv light and a 75 w infrared.
Preferably, use the Reptisun 5.0 LINEAR tube.
Infrared? why? use a regular household bulb as a basking light (60watts should be good)
Temperature – Its always room temp in my room. Probably slightly hotter.. the lights are about 4 inches from the cage. She moves around the cage to adjust how much heat she is getting.
You need a temp and humidity gauge (digital, not analog)
For a female, the temp should be at around 80. Since she's so small, Jann could suggest something better

Humidity – She used to be in an all glass cage with a ventilation area at the top… But it was way too humid and it started smelling very bad and I didn’t want her to get sick so I made her an all fishnet/mesh type of cage and I spray several times during the day.

Plants – no live plants.
This is something very important, IMO. They help keep the humidity up. Also, veileds like to eat vegetation, so having a nice schefflera, pothos, or a ficus (at least 2 of those would be the best) would improve the enclosure
Placement – in a well ventilated area on the floor.
Chameleons are arboreal creatures. They like to be high up because it makes them feel safe. you should place her enclosure on something and raise her up a few feet.
Location – California, a desert area.
Another reason why keep her humidity inside the cage is so important. Get her some live plants
Current Problem – She is six months and she is so small.

Others will elaborate further

 

[sebikun]

I've tried countless times with worms but she doesn't like them.. she only ate one and never did she try to eat another...

Okay.. I will do the supplements then...

They had told me that the cubes were good enough but i guess they were wrong..

she is still so small... they had told me that they grow at different rates.. but i mean she is so small when others are quite big so it worries me..

I used to have live plants in there... but they kept rottin

i just checked her poop from today and its white

 

[jannb]

When you get her everything that she needs hopefully she will grow. To be honest the way that you have been keeping her I'm surprised that she doesn't have MBD. Keep offering her small silk worm and if you can get her to eat those they will put dome weight on her.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm surprised she hasn't got signs of MBD too.

Here is some information that I hope will help....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[sebikun]

I dont "play" with her.. I do that with my dog...

She wants to be out of her cage so I take her out lol

She is always bright green when Im handling her... she likes my dog and tries to climb on him lol... he just runs away from her and she chases him on the bed

Man.. I got her from pet smart and first they had said i was givin her too many crickets and they said 3 a day... when she would eat like 8 daily.

I also give her romaine lettuce but she prefers the crickets..

and then they also told me that the humidity was too high when its supposed to be above %50.. and thats how it was...

i mean she seems very healthy... its her size that im wtf about.

 

[VeiledChams]

NEEVER listen to pet stores... 99.9% of the time, the people there will not know what they are talking about. People here on the forum have kept chameleons for years and there are still things they learn.

I have no idea why she's so tiny..

 

[sebikun]

I figured lol

Well.. she is very healthy.. he poop is normal... she isnt dehydrated or anything..

she is a very happy chameleon that is very active, curious and eats a lot.

She is always bright green and wanting to be out of the cage...

She climbs everything with great strength and her limbs and spinal cord are fine..

her tail moves all over the place when she is exploring.....

*sigh* The only problem is her size... is she a dwarf chami or somethin? lol

 

[kinyonga]

Since you haven't been supplying her with calcium and other proper supplements, that could have something to do with her small size....improper nutrition can slow growth.

There are much better things to give her besides romaine lettuce....try dandelion greens, squash, collards, sweet red pepper, sweet potato (thin pieces), zucchini, carrot slivers, etc.

A hatchling chameleon should be fed as much as it will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding. If you were not doing this or she was not eating that many insects that could have contributed to her small size too.