uncomfortable cham?

[robski24]

Your Chameleon - 4month old veiled chameleon
Handling -never
Feeding -8-10 crickets a day one feeding
Supplements - calcium no d3 and vitamins
Watering - dripper, hand misting 5-6 times a day for about 1 minute
Fecal Description - brown with white
History -

Cage Info: reptibreeze
Cage Type - screen cage 16x16x30
Lighting - slimline UVB
Temperature - 77%...basking is 85%
Humidity - 70-80%
Plants - lipstick hibiscus
Placement -near window no vents
Location - LOS ANGELES



i recently changed my bulb to make the basking spot cooler
and my cham is still just staying near the bottom of his cage dark colored and
eating dead leaves i thought it was because of how hot the basking temp was but i guess not he's acting the same
he's eating well and finding crickets but won't go to the top or go back to the light green :/

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Could you be more specific about your supplementation schedule? What are feeding the crickets before you feed them to your Cham?

 

[robski24]

i give him calcium without d3 everyday
he is next to a large window so he gets plenty of sunlight
ive fed him calcium with d3 twice since ive got him
can you mix the herpative and calcium together in one feeding?
i made a gutload of beats potatoes spinach oranges romain lettuce and apples
i also have flukers dry calcium feeder and flukers cricket quencher

 

[carol5208]

i would remove the dead leaves before he can eat them.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

he is next to a large window so he gets plenty of sunlight

i made a gutload of beats potatoes spinach oranges romain lettuce and apples

The sunlight is only light as UVB is not passing through the glass. Just FYI, I know you have a UVB bulb.

Your gutloading leaves much to be desired.
Beats - high in oxalates (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium) and higher in phosphorus (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium) than calcium
Potatoes - high in starch, virtually no nutritional value for your cham
Spinach - high in oxalates (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium)
Oranges - good vitamin C (which chams dont need much of) and that's it, minimal nutritional value
Romaine - virtually no nutritional value and wrong phosphorus to calcium ratio
Apples - minimal nutrional value, good for hydration only really

You need to remove the beats, potatoes, spinach and romaine and replace them with collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelions, butternut squash, etc. which have high calcium content with less phosphorus and minimal oxalates.

Here is a quick and dirty guide to gutloading: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

Sandrachameleon's blogs on gutloading and extensive and a wonderful resource for more info!

I am worried that your young, growing chameleon at the peak of his calcium needs is starting to suffer from insufficient calcium in his diet. Dusting is not enough, it must be in the diet at high levels as well. This needs to be corrected asap.

 

[robski24]

thank you so much i will most def. change my ingredients

 

[Escalade]

The sunlight is only light as UVB is not passing through the glass. Just FYI, I know you have a UVB bulb.

Your gutloading leaves much to be desired.
Beats - high in oxalates (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium) and higher in phosphorus (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium) than calcium
Potatoes - high in starch, virtually no nutritional value for your cham
Spinach - high in oxalates (prevent your cham from absorbing calcium)
Oranges - good vitamin C (which chams dont need much of) and that's it, minimal nutritional value
Romaine - virtually no nutritional value and wrong phosphorus to calcium ratio
Apples - minimal nutrional value, good for hydration only really

You need to remove the beats, potatoes, spinach and romaine and replace them with collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelions, butternut squash, etc. which have high calcium content with less phosphorus and minimal oxalates.

Here is a quick and dirty guide to gutloading: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

Sandrachameleon's blogs on gutloading and extensive and a wonderful resource for more info!

I am worried that your young, growing chameleon at the peak of his calcium needs is starting to suffer from insufficient calcium in his diet. Dusting is not enough, it must be in the diet at high levels as well. This needs to be corrected asap.

there was a plastic cover on my uvb light fixture (I just took it off) does that mean my cham wasn't getting uvb?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

there was a plastic cover on my uvb light fixture (I just took it off) does that mean my cham wasn't getting uvb?

Yes, plastic significantly hinders UVB and can block it altogether. Definitely always take the plastic covers off your light fixtures everyone!

 

[robski24]

same thing happened to me and i just noticed it today...i screwed that thing off asap
he's a baby too
hopefully it didn't affect him much