thin casque

[stupidcat2y]

any reasonings why my chameleons casque is thin? I should probably just amp up the water eh?

 

[Syn]

Please fill this out:

How to ask for Help...

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and type 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?
• Location - 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?

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.
• Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

As for his casque being thin it could be a variety of problems - not enough calcium, younger cham, female, or you just THINK it's small.

GET SOME PICTURES!!!

 

[stupidcat2y]

 

[veiledchamguy]

I see nothing wrong with his casque its just the way he are

 

[Syn]

It does look a little thin. Hm. Well, please fill out that form.

 

[BocaJan]

How old is your cham? Casques are filled with fat, and I would guess that your cham needs a little beefing up. The last pic shows his legs to be very skinny also. Fill out the "How to Ask For Help" form so we can check your husbandry.

 

[stupidcat2y]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 100g flexarium. 16x36x48 im sure
Lighting - I have two 75w basking lights, usually only one is on. they are reptiglo, they are not in the cage. i also have two uv lights, the long ones, 10.0 one resting on the top of the cage with out the plastic cover on the light and one in the cage with the plastic cover..
Temperature - i notice the cage around 85-90 in the basking spot and around 80 at the bottom. I turn off all the lights at night it gets no cooler than 60
Humidity - it stay at around 25, when i spray it it gets up around 55%. i measure it with a electric thermometer/hydrometer.
Plants - i would use live plants if i could.. but i have the worst luck with plants ever..
Location - the cage is in a reletivleyl calm area.. i have a roommate and we work fulltime. the cage is about 2.5 feet off the floor and the top goes up the maybe 6 feet

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male, Veiled, probably about a year or so.. (I got it off a friend who didn't want to take care of it) Hes been in my care maybe 8 months
Handling - I handle him often, I'd say he's very social - to me
Feeding - I feed him about 10-15 3 week crickets a day. The crickets eat cricket food along with the liquid.
Supplements - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sun = Ca Tues = Multi Fri = CaD3
Watering - I Spray him with warm water when ever I am around his cage.. often. When I wake up, when I get something to drink.. when I leave... I recently looked into a small misting system but they only had the water bottle, none of the hoses or attachments. I also have a open water dish at the bottom of his cage, I change and wash is every second day. I DO see him drinking from this almost every day.
Fecal Description - His crap looks normal, he has never been tested - the vets here are VERY hard to deal with.
History - no real problems to be noted
Current Problem - he casque is thin, how do I beef it up? with out loading him up with protien?

Which bug is safely high in fat.. low in protien

 

[NewOwner]

What do you mean its thin? CAn you post pics..

 

[NewOwner]

Sorry, lol missed the pics part..

 

[Syn]

I believe butterworms, hornworms and waxworms should be good - if not someone correct me.

 

[jojackson]

the humidity is a bit too low mate, should normally be around 40-50% mark, and be boosted into the 70's after a misting. Live plants are really the best, dont give up on them yet.
You can find a list of suitable safe plants here

https://www.chameleonforums.com/plants/

Most are really hardy and you have to try hard to kill them. I reccomend ficus benjamin, shefflerra arboricola, and Epiprenum Aureum (pothos), hibiscus sinensis is good too.

You could boost humidity artificially in the meantime byplacing some kind of container, filled with water in the bottom. Make sure its covered! That is, if you cut out most of the lid (not the edges) and put some flyscreen over before replacing the lid, itll keep, crickets and the cham out, and boost the humidity. You could even snake some airline tubing in there and put an aquarium airstone in the water to 'bubble it' via an aquarium pump if you wanted to, this will increase the air/water exchange and boost the humidity.

His casque does look a little thin from the pics, I suggest being really generous how you gutload /feed your insects, lots of high quality food, greens, will keep the crix hydrated
and hence your cham when he eats them.
Folk here can advise all kinds nutritious foods for feeder insects and all kinds of good quality bugs to feed.

 

[gregdabender]

It does look a bit thin to me as well. It also appears to have a slight bend in it too in picutre #1....not suggesting he has MBD but due to his improver care as you stated from the previous owner this could be the cause of the thin and bent casque.

 

[chaMELeon012409]

Do chams have different metabolisms like humans? More of a curiosity question that popped into my head looking at the pics. (I'm sure for that casque he would have to be a HIGH metabolism)

 

[jojackson]

Do chams have different metabolisms like humans? More of a curiosity question that popped into my head looking at the pics. (I'm sure for that casque he would have to be a HIGH metabolism)

A reptiles metabolism depends on its IBT (internal body temperature) which ofcourse inturn, relys on the reptiles ability to thermoregulate.
The lower the IBT, the slower the metabolism, the higher the IBT, the faster the metabolism.

If a reptile is kept at constantly higher than ideal ambient temps, then its metabolism will increase, it will eat more and be more active.
If this was the case, yet not enough food were avail, then yes, it would lose weight more rapidly.

In this case (imo) the bottom of the cage could be cooler the 80f, its not too bad, but with any reptile, the larger the thermal gradient provided (cooler to warmer) the better where possible.

The only thing I can see thats a bit off is that the cham is large and 3week crickets are small. Id personally feed larger insects.

 

[BocaJan]

Please don't have any electrical fixtures in the cage. You only need one linear UV bulb and it should be placed on the top of the cage not inside it. I still think your guy needs more food.

 

[jojackson]

Please don't have any electrical fixtures in the cage. You only need one linear UV bulb and it should be placed on the top of the cage not inside it.

Holy smoke yes, I agree! I must have skimmed past that bit, what I took in is in bold below.
Jan is right, fixtures inside the cage is asking for trouble, electicity and water dont mix, neither do chams and red hot surfaces!

Lighting - I have two 75w basking lights, usually only one is on. they are reptiglo, they are not in the cage. i also have two uv lights, the long ones, 10.0 one resting on the top of the cage with out the plastic cover on the light and one in the cage with the plastic cover..

Im curious about this bit too..

I have two 75w basking lights, usually only one is on.

You really only need one, Are you turning on both when its cooler? or is it controlled by a thermostat? If your cham has a basking spot beneath one, it will maintain itself just fine, it will simply bask longer when the room is cooler. Two is unnessesary, and will put out too much heat, possibly causing the cham to avoid basking. note: your cham should have perches at various levels all the way down the cage.

 

[stupidcat2y]

It does look a bit thin to me as well. It also appears to have a slight bend in it too in picutre #1....not suggesting he has MBD but due to his improver care as you stated from the previous owner this could be the cause of the thin and bent casque.

When I took him off my friends hands.. I had had a previous cham and I was concerned because they were NOT giving him all he needed. He was in a very small cage since he was a baby - I'm assuming thats why its bent, its developed when they had him. I moved him into a bigger cage and he loved it.

 

[stupidcat2y]

jojackson your concerns about lighting are legit. usually only one is turned on.. i only turn the second one on when i open the patio door or something. remember it is winter here in canada As for the UV inside the cage its covered by the plastic gaurd.. and he loves perching by it. But true that - electricity and water down mix.

Thanks for the ideas on raising the humididty with the fish bubblers I'll go check that out today. I went to go buy a misting system, but all they had was the water jug and no hoses or connections - the store wasnt authorized or something to carry them. And I picked up some butter worm last night, he didnt seem to interested but i mixed them with supers so that should help

 

[jojackson]

jojackson your concerns about lighting are legit. usually only one is turned on.. i only turn the second one on when i open the patio door or something. remember it is winter here in canada

Ahhh, fair enough, I know it gets COLD there, I have a freind from Sarnia, Ontario
As long your maintaining the required basking/ambient temps (at a safe distance) it dosent really matter what/how much heat source is required to do that.
I assume the door isnt opened for long periods blowing freezing air through the viv, since even with sufficient heating this could leadto an unexpected RTI.

Goodluck with the new worms, let us know how you go mate.

 

[BocaJan]

As for the UV inside the cage its covered by the plastic gaurd.. and he loves perching by it.

UV can not penetrate plastic covers or glass windows/doors. Please put all fixtures outside the cage and remove the plastic covers. Your cham isn't getting any UV with the cover on. You sure don't want to deal with MBV.