Some Questions about My New Outsie Cham

[johncjb]

So I just received my Oustalet's Chameleon this morning (about 11 hours ago) and he hasn't eaten anything since. He did have some mealworms in the box with him so I assume he ate his fill on the way, no? Also, he rarely moves and stays as close to the back of the cage as possible, usually preferring to cling to the roof/walls rather than branches. His color also seems to be darker than it did a few hours ago. I have a 75W basking lamp at the top of the cage, and a 75w heat lamp for the night if temps drop below 75 degrees (which they always do). Could it be that he is cold, hungry, dehydrated, scared, or is this normal?

I can provide some pics if needed

 

[jajeanpierre]

Where did he come from?

 

[johncjb]

Where did he come from?

FLChams. He seemed fine when he came out of the box, though, and his color was nice and bright until a few hours ago

 

[Chase]

If they don't eat the first day, don't freak out. He is just settling in. But I do have a few questions. Under the heat lamp, what is the temperature? Also why does it have to stay 75 through the night, how cold does it get in the room where he is at?

Chase

 

[johncjb]

If they don't eat the first day, don't freak out. He is just settling in. But I do have a few questions. Under the heat lamp, what is the temperature? Also why does it have to stay 75 through the night, how cold does it get in the room where he is at?

Chase

Something I forgot to mention is that the night heat lamp is controlled by a zoo med hydrotherm, maintaining it at about 75 degrees at the very top of the cage. The room where he is in (which is the living room of the house) drops to about 62F at night (it's the lowest before the heating for the house comes on), and I believe their night time temperature should be in the high 60s or low 70s.
The strangest thing about this, is that his color is extremely light (as an outsie he stays grey all the time so I can't really say bright) so he isn't frightened or anything, but he still hasn't eaten anything or left the very back of the cage.

 

[Chase]

I do not think that you need that lamp on at night. Would you take a picture of him? Also, what is the temperature under the basking spot right now

Chase

 

[Carlton]

Something I forgot to mention is that the night heat lamp is controlled by a zoo med hydrotherm, maintaining it at about 75 degrees at the very top of the cage. The room where he is in (which is the living room of the house) drops to about 62F at night (it's the lowest before the heating for the house comes on), and I believe their night time temperature should be in the high 60s or low 70s.
The strangest thing about this, is that his color is extremely light (as an outsie he stays grey all the time so I can't really say bright) so he isn't frightened or anything, but he still hasn't eaten anything or left the very back of the cage.

You don't need heat at night for those temps, and as chams have very sensitive color vision, a heat source that emits light will interfere with sleep. I'm not that familiar with Ousties, but generally a lighter shade of color can indicate the cham is too warm. It could be he's trying to find a cooler area of the cage to rest in. It also sounds as if he wants more cover out of view until he gets used to his new surroundings.

 

[johncjb]

You don't need heat at night for those temps, and as chams have very sensitive color vision, a heat source that emits light will interfere with sleep. I'm not that familiar with Ousties, but generally a lighter shade of color can indicate the cham is too warm. It could be he's trying to find a cooler area of the cage to rest in. It also sounds as if he wants more cover out of view until he gets used to his new surroundings.

Do you think I should surround the cage with a sheet for his privacy? Also, lemme post a pic or two

 

[Carlton]

Do you think I should surround the cage with a sheet for his privacy? Also, lemme post a pic or two

Maybe temporarily, and remove it gradually. Chams are so visually oriented that changes in their "view" can really disturb them especially if there's house activity around the cage. They don't like changes!

 

[johncjb]

Maybe temporarily, and remove it gradually. Chams are so visually oriented that changes in their "view" can really disturb them especially if there's house activity around the cage. They don't like changes!

K, thanks for the help. I couldn't get any good pics, btw, because of his being in the back of the cage and all, just some blurry outside-in shots.

 

[Lizardguy1]

How old old is he? Juvenile? Adult? Coming from florida, the odds are high that it's wild caught. For a small juvenile that's not a big deal, adjustment will be similar to a captive bred baby, but an adult will take some patience and care. I agree with all above- no heat at night- they do fine with night time temps into the 50's. Ensure a basking spot in the mid-90s during the day for an adult, with lower temps lower in the cage so he can thermoregulate.

A quiet location in the house for 2-3 weeks with only minimal interaction, feeding and watering, is best. Offer a variety of insects, it may take a few days before he takes them, and he may prefer one or two types over others. Water at least once a day (warm misting) with a deep watering/shower once a week. Water a few times with a 50/50 pedialite/water mix, it helps with hydration during the stress of adjustment. I recommend natural sunlight as soon as the climate where you live is warm enough-

 

[johncjb]

He is about 5 months CB according to the store page. He is much more active and eating well. So far I haven't noticed any more problems

 

[Lizardguy1]

That's good news- I'm not familiar with Flchams, but if they are in south Florida, odds are good it's WC, mother was gravid WC, or 1st generation CB-

 

[Chase]

That's good news- I'm not familiar with Flchams, but if they are in south Florida, odds are good it's WC, mother was gravid WC, or 1st generation CB-

They are not WC, FlChams would not mislead their customers in any way. It is possible the mother was WC, but that does not necessarily mean from Florida. Even if it is the case with a WC mother, what difference does it nake, the baby is still captive and has lived its whole life captively.

Chase

 

[jajeanpierre]

They are not WC, FlChams would not mislead their customers in any way. It is possible the mother was WC, but that does not necessarily mean from Florida. Even if it is the case with a WC mother, what difference does it nake, the baby is still captive and has lived its whole life captively.

Chase

It might make a difference with the parasite load.

I don't know about chameleons specifically, but with dogs, the life cycle of a round worm actually goes from the gut, into the blood stream, dormancy in the muscles, into the lung, coughed up and swallowed to grow into an adult roundworm. Roundworms are encapsulated in the tissue of the dog, and pregnancy brings the dormant encapsulated round worms out of dormancy where they end up migrating into the puppies before they are born. A dog who has not been wormed as a very young puppy will produce puppies that are just loaded with roundworms. You can worm these first generation puppies and have completely white spaghetti poops. It takes generations to remove them. The first generation puppies will produce puppies that are born with less worms, until you finally get puppies born with no worms. I would think that some of the round worms that infect chameleons would have the same sort of life cycle.