spots,not eating, and weird behavior? help!

C

Chvyfan

New Member
Recently purchased a Senegal Chameleon from local petstore. First time having a chameloen. Not that read up about the specifics of their care.

He's in a 10 Gallon with screen lid. 2 60 watt dome lights(1 red, 1blue), both are rarely on together with thermometer on cool side of tank typically reading 75-80, no thermometer under light. spends majority of time under light when not being held.

recently been displaying small spots over body on an almost regular basis.

Believe he ate some "jungle mix" substrate while we were away from house, came home to dirty face and dirt in front feet. as far as i can tell he isn't or is barely eating. can see ribs(?) defined in skin most of the time. dumped 18 dusted crickets in the tank, think theres about 7 left. week ago.

spraying tank with water very often, going through almost a bottle a day to keep it at 60% meter in same location as thermometer

Green male Senegal

worried about him. thinkin this isn't normal behavior

Hi Everybody, yes new to these forums
 
If he is in a fish tank remove him and a 10 gallon is not large enough. If he injested substrate that dose not sound good at all. Remove the substrate.He also needs a uvb bulb. I think he needs a vet but im not as experienced as some with the matter of the spots so wait to hear from others.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Senegal Chameleon, Male(as informed by pet store clerk), Unknown Age, purchased on 8/10/11 $40.00 was told was the biggest 1 out of 4, he was the last one
Handling - almost everyday multiple times
Feeding - Dusted 18 chrickets and put into tank on 8/11/11, 3 alive 4 dead in tank as I type, left in tank. just ate one
Supplements - Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene powder
Watering - Mist with Dollar tree spray bottle and tap water. Constantly thoughout day, Humidity mostly around 60 occasionally at 70 percent, 2 shallow bowls in tank as well
Fecal Description-defecated once since purchase, yellowish white
History - What you are reading is all i can give you

Cage Info:
Cage Type - glass 10 gallon with screen lid
Lighting - Zoo Med 60 watt blue, goes on when i wake up, Zoo Med 60 red when i go to sleep
Temperature - Thermometer on cool side of tank is almost always right on 80, no thermometer on hot side with lamp. Occasion will drop to 70(at war with scheduling my ac system)
Humidity - Aggrometer in same location as thermomter, spray constantly throught the day to keep humidity at 60% occasionaly get it up to 70%
Plants - 2 fake bendee branches, 1 fake sucktion cup branch/leaf thing
Placement - tanks on a dresser at the foot of my bed. room over the garage no fan, house has dual ac systems, room shares it with garage, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. room has always been warm, why most of the guys are downstairs in the reptile room(not any room at the moment)
Location - Tidewater (southeast VA)

Current Problem - may have had a bite of dirt, doesnt seem to be eating as much as i would expect, can see ribs in his side

thank you for your help
 
Definitely fill out the form (just copy it and paste it into a reply, type in your info...you might want to copy the result into a document file and save it. If you need to ask for help later, you can start with that and just make the appropriate changes.)

In my experience, strong patterns that aren't there normally are a sign of stress.

Unfortunately, chameleons are a lot like human babies. They only have one distress signal and it's up to you to guess what the cause is.

That's why the form is important, it can help the experts here (and there are some really expert people here, not me, but others) point to stressful things in your set up.

Please note that when the form asks for a fecal description, we really want to know that the poop looks like ("normal" is not a good answer). If you can post a picture of the poop, that would be extremely helpful.

**edited to add**

You filled out the form while I was posting.....PICTURES!!!!

Again, making the comparison to human babies: sometimes, all you have to go by is "is that poop normal?"

Pictures can help us help you.
 
You do not need a heat light at night unless it gets below 65 degrees in your house at night. Needs uvb bulb,tank is too small?
 
Okay, you're going to get grief because of the 10 gallon aquarium.

Honestly, if you do that just right, you can make it work. However, it does need to be done right. That means putting the heat source off to one side to create a funnel effect where the cool air from one side is pulled across the cage to exit on the side with the heat.

Hopefully, you are doing it right.

You just recently got this chameleon, so some adjustment period is in order. It's hard to say something is a problem in the first week because often the first week is the chameleon utterly traumatized from the move/new environment.

I stand by the statement that unusual displays are a sign of stress, so I think we need to find out what that stress is.
 
I don't not think that a Senegal Chameleon can live in a fish tank? Correct me if wrong please and a ten gallon is too small i think the minimum is 2x2x2..
 
alright, let him adjust, check. light bulb at night is in fact needed. what size tank would you recommend, Supposed to meeting someone to buy the screened in cage 36" tall(used) tomorrow, hopefully that doesnt fall through. have numerous size tanks, so shoot me a recommended gallon size and i'm sure i got it.

any one have recommendations on uvb brands? I tend to have bad luck with them
 
well if you could get that screen cage that would be great and i would not use a fish take but if you want a glass tank they make them specifically for chameleons. Reptiglo and reptisun are great uvb bulbs i use reptiglo because it is cheaper but both work the same and i like reptiglo better. Remove the substrate.
 
I have a Senegal, you need alot bigger of a mesh cage, and you do NOT need a light bulb at night, you can get bulbs that transmit heat without light, lights keep them awake, they eat FOUR crickets a day, substrate is a no no, put paper towels at the bottom. Take out the bowls at the bottom, it's also a no no, they will not drink out of it and they view it as a toilet, it gets dirty and can harm them, you shouldn't handle your chameleon so much, it can stress it and the oils from your skin can harm it if they're not clean. You need ALOT of plants, real plants keep humidity up, try hibiscus, pothos, ficus, etc, plants that are safe for a chameleon, they need places to hide. Post pictures of the cage and him.
 
I live in Ontario and I over the last 20 years I have had quite a few Senegals. I have kept them all in glass cages with screen lids or glass cages with screen lids and doors....and they have usually done well. (Being that they were all WC's the odd one was not healthy enough when it arrived and it died.)

I kept them similarly to a veiled but kept the basking temperature in the mid 80'sF. They need to be well-watered. Most of them don't have a huge appetite compared to veileds or panthers...but I would feed them about 10 to 15 crickets (or equal amount of other insects) every 2 days supplemented and gutloaded/fed the same way I do for veileds.

KarmaChameleon1337 said..."the oils from your skin can harm it if they're not clean"...first time I've ever heard that said. Do you have a paper that you've read that talks about that? I do agree with not handling them often but not for that reason.
 
Here's the thing with Chameleons (and Chameleon keepers) - they are all different.............some things do stay the same.
Heating is important - the cooler corner should be 70F for a young Panther, basking spot up to 85 (you do need to keep a close eye on these temps). A gradient is required between them, so the Cham gets to choose............this is part of the reason that you need more space. If you are getting a bigger mesh Vivarium soon then that's great - don't let the minor apparent disagreements fool you, there is loads of good inspiration on this forum for getting the new setup just right.
Lighting - you absolutely do not need any light at night. It can cause problems with sleeping :rolleyes:. Whoever told you that they need a nightlight is wrong (even if they work in a petstore, or a vets or a zoo). You will not need any heating at night unless the temps are getting below 65F. A nighttime drop in temp is normal.........
You do need a uv bulb. Best is the strip Reptisun 5.0 version. They are totally foolproof. Second best are Reptiglo (which is what I have, but in a couple of months will upgrade to Reptisun). Compact uv bulbs have in the past been known to cause eye problems. I'm not sure about this 100%, and have never seen compacts for sale in the Uk - I wouldn't risk it. The only one I recommend is the Reptisun tube 5.0 uv bulb.
You need a Phosphorous free Calcium vitamin powder for everyday dusting, and a high d3 conc. one for twice a month. (schedules can vary depending on concentrations of d3 so check up on your brand).
Plenty of small branches and live plants so there is enough space to stay hidden from view if the Cham feels like it, then he will settle in a lot quicker........the feeding schedule will settle down into a rhythm too, but all Chams are different for this. There are actually very few hard and fast rules when it comes to these critters, experience is the key. Any question you can ask will be comprehensively answered for you on here though.......
So, anyway, welcome to the forum :)- there is still loads to tell you about gutloading and feeding variety of insects..........
 
The screen cage would be excellent. If economics are an issue, there are mesh cages that are significantly less expensive. They have some down sides and a lot of people hate them, but it might be a way to get started.

If not, think big on the tank. They are vertical climbers so a taller tank will let you give him some room.
 
ok idk if anyone said this yet but you should mist the encloser with a pray bottle a few times a day (MUST BE NEW OR 100% clean) glass does not allow for ventaltion like screen does. you should try to get him onto a SAFE PLANT check flchams.com for a full list and put him in your shower with luke warm water so he might drink. most chams dont recconize water that doesnt move. your ganna wanna get a 5.0 UVB BULB they go about $18-$30. CHAMELEONS ARE SENSATIVE AND WILL DIE EASILY THE CAGE YOU HAVE HIM IN IS COMPLETELY WRONG FOR ANY CHAMELEON! hope this doesnt sound to mean but like i was told b4 people on this forum could careless about you we just all want the best for these pets.
 
yeah thats true. especilly with frogs. but human skin actually has oils in it that are slightly toxic. thats why everyone says wash hands before touching a animals and wash hands after to avoid anything they could have (ex: salamina) plus everyone who knows anything about chams no handleing is stressful even if you have a cham that tolerates it.
 
Chvyfan said:
alright, let him adjust, check. light bulb at night is in fact needed. what size tank would you recommend, Supposed to meeting someone to buy the screened in cage 36" tall(used) tomorrow, hopefully that doesnt fall through. have numerous size tanks, so shoot me a recommended gallon size and i'm sure i got it.

any one have recommendations on uvb brands? I tend to have bad luck with them
Click to expand...

Ok lights at night are NOT needed. heres why. Chams need darkness to sleep, If your temps are dropping at night, to below 50, I would suggest getting a ceramic heater, lke a space heater. this way the temps stay good, but there is no light.
Second- If you want to use a glass TERRARIUM, thats fine. however, a GLASS FISH TANK, is not the same thing.
If you can get the screen cage, DO IT. these allow for more air flow.

Also, for UVB bulbs, reptisun or reptiglo 5.0 is what most people here use.
 
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