Veiled Cham color
- Thread starter Camille1
- Start date
Camille1
New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, male, approx 4 months - 5 months? I've had him 3 weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Every other day approximately 15 minutes.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, meal worms, kale, carrots What I feed him? 12-15 medium crickets a day. How are you gut-loading your feeders? I put fluckers cricket quencher and cricket diet Flucker makes in box with crickets along with pieces of Kale. Do I do that Dailey? Everyday
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Exo Terra calcium without d3 everyday on all crickets.. Reptivite Multi Vitamin on all crickets twice a month
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I use a spray bottle 4 times a day. I do not see him drinking off leaves or tank only open his mouth when I spray. He get irritated when I spray in tank and on him.
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. His droppings are white and look like bird droppings. He has not been tested for pararSites.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 10 gallon vertical glass tank with screen top.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Exo terra uvb 150 13w desert bulb. 60 watt house bulb.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?
Temp stays around 80-85 during day.
Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 65 night. Use petco temp and humidity gauges.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
This is what I struggle with the most. The humidity goes up to 80%+ when I spray then shortly after drops significantly to around 30% within a hour or two. Petco said keep red light on 24 hours a day and white light on 12 hours a day. I have noticed keeping red light off now it helps keep humidity balanced but is the white light enough lighting for him?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No only plastic leaves and brush that stick on side of tank.
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? In living room next to window and tv. 5 ft to top of cage. It sits on book case. Knoxville, TN
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
I have been doing a lot of research on care for veiled chams and see that people do things different ways. I am a beginner at this and very determined to make sure that he gets the proper care. I just need some guidance to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. I have recently ordered a 24x24x48 cage. I'm getting the retisun 5.0 uvb tube this week plus a variety of branches and limbs. Concerned about his color and making sure doing everything correctly.
Thank you very much for the help!
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, male, approx 4 months - 5 months? I've had him 3 weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Every other day approximately 15 minutes.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, meal worms, kale, carrots What I feed him? 12-15 medium crickets a day. How are you gut-loading your feeders? I put fluckers cricket quencher and cricket diet Flucker makes in box with crickets along with pieces of Kale. Do I do that Dailey? Everyday
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Exo Terra calcium without d3 everyday on all crickets.. Reptivite Multi Vitamin on all crickets twice a month
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I use a spray bottle 4 times a day. I do not see him drinking off leaves or tank only open his mouth when I spray. He get irritated when I spray in tank and on him.
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. His droppings are white and look like bird droppings. He has not been tested for pararSites.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 10 gallon vertical glass tank with screen top.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Exo terra uvb 150 13w desert bulb. 60 watt house bulb.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?
Temp stays around 80-85 during day.
Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 65 night. Use petco temp and humidity gauges.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
This is what I struggle with the most. The humidity goes up to 80%+ when I spray then shortly after drops significantly to around 30% within a hour or two. Petco said keep red light on 24 hours a day and white light on 12 hours a day. I have noticed keeping red light off now it helps keep humidity balanced but is the white light enough lighting for him?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No only plastic leaves and brush that stick on side of tank.
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? In living room next to window and tv. 5 ft to top of cage. It sits on book case. Knoxville, TN
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
I have been doing a lot of research on care for veiled chams and see that people do things different ways. I am a beginner at this and very determined to make sure that he gets the proper care. I just need some guidance to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. I have recently ordered a 24x24x48 cage. I'm getting the retisun 5.0 uvb tube this week plus a variety of branches and limbs. Concerned about his color and making sure doing everything correctly.
Thank you very much for the help!
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have tried to help you in some of your past threads. https://www.chameleonforums.com/male-female-120372/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/spots-leg-foot-120285/
IMO your cham doesn't look to good. I see you still have not made any changes that were suggested in your thread last month. I believe we also determined your veiled to be female since there were no spurs on the back heels. This is what a healthy 5 month old looks like.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/mem...-5-3-4-months-old-67-2-grams-5-26-12-154.html
I hope that you do get your husbandry issues changed and that it want be to late for your Cham.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/spots-leg-foot-120285/
IMO your cham doesn't look to good. I see you still have not made any changes that were suggested in your thread last month. I believe we also determined your veiled to be female since there were no spurs on the back heels. This is what a healthy 5 month old looks like.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/mem...-5-3-4-months-old-67-2-grams-5-26-12-154.html
I hope that you do get your husbandry issues changed and that it want be to late for your Cham.
Camille1
New Member
There has been conflicting info given to me on the sex. There are very small spurs on back of foot but barely noticeable. I mentioned in the how to ask for help from that I have just ordered the cage that I need. If you recall I mentioned that I am working with what I have right now until the cage, lighting etc comes in. Can you be more specific on how he does not look good? Please be specific. Is it not standard for them to be like this for first few weeks until they adjust?
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Mine have always adjusted right out of the box but I've always has the correct husbandry for them. It could take them a few days to adjust but they are not going to adjust without the correct environment. Compare your Cham to these at 15 weeks old. https://www.chameleonforums.com/luie-camille-babies-15-weeks-today-43717/
And to these at 16 weeks (a little less than 4 months old) In both of these links you have male and female to compare to.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/luie-camille-babies-16-weeks-old-44083/
pssh
Avid Member
My first thought is that it could be dark because it does not feel secure in its cage (not enough foliage.) Perhaps for now, until you get your cage and supplies, you should cover 3 of the sides with some green/white paper and see if that helps at all. The temps could also be contributing to it, but I wouldn't suggest raising them at all until you have a better/bigger cage AND determine if it is a male or female for sure.
It doesn't really look bad to me, except the feet. It could be much younger than he was lead to believe, or it could just be growing slower than others do. Jann, what are you seeing specifically? Maybe I'm missing something. OP, if you feed it as much as it will eat within 5-10 minutes once a day, it might start growing faster. It would also be a good idea to gut load your insects better. What the insects eat, directly impacts the chameleon's nutrition/health. Kale and carrots are good, but male shouldn't be used all the time. Try some other fruits and veggies like mustard greens, dandelion greens (can be collected from a safe, pesticide free area,) squash, apples, oranges, berries, papaya, etc. Using three or so different veggies/fruits every 0.5 - 1 week would be a good idea. Or you can purchase everything all at once, blend them into a smoothie, freeze it in a nice cube tray, and then use a cube whenever you need it for gut loading.
If you post a picture of the back of the back feet, we can confirm the gender for you.
It doesn't really look bad to me, except the feet. It could be much younger than he was lead to believe, or it could just be growing slower than others do. Jann, what are you seeing specifically? Maybe I'm missing something. OP, if you feed it as much as it will eat within 5-10 minutes once a day, it might start growing faster. It would also be a good idea to gut load your insects better. What the insects eat, directly impacts the chameleon's nutrition/health. Kale and carrots are good, but male shouldn't be used all the time. Try some other fruits and veggies like mustard greens, dandelion greens (can be collected from a safe, pesticide free area,) squash, apples, oranges, berries, papaya, etc. Using three or so different veggies/fruits every 0.5 - 1 week would be a good idea. Or you can purchase everything all at once, blend them into a smoothie, freeze it in a nice cube tray, and then use a cube whenever you need it for gut loading.
If you post a picture of the back of the back feet, we can confirm the gender for you.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
hi
he looks a little bit like a she - are you sure of the sex? show us pictures of the back of the hind feet if you don't know with certainty.
the dark colour may be a sign of stress. yes, they can take a few days to settle into a new cage.
can you provide a picture that shows the entire cage? it could be you need more plants and branches, places to hide. Or it could be the temperature - you list a single temp but is that the basking temp or the overall ambient?
no red (or any) light at night.
what type of UVB light are you using right now?
you may find a dripper helps with providing drinking water. spray the sides of the cage and plant leaves, spraying top down more than from the side. Spray for at least 3 minutes each time, and as much as 10.
its good that you are going to get a proper cage.
do you offer any type of prey other than crickets and mealworms?
the FLukers stuff isn't very good - and kale should only be used in moderation. You will want to review gutloading on the care sheets.
the care sheet for a veiled chameleon on this site is good -if you follow that you are going to be fine.
any conflicting info you see on the forum will generally be related to nuances, minor differences in technique and will not typically vary a great deal from the care sheet. there are not hard and fast rules, but there are general guidelines that a newbie should follow, and those you can find in the care sheet here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
he looks a little bit like a she - are you sure of the sex? show us pictures of the back of the hind feet if you don't know with certainty.
the dark colour may be a sign of stress. yes, they can take a few days to settle into a new cage.
can you provide a picture that shows the entire cage? it could be you need more plants and branches, places to hide. Or it could be the temperature - you list a single temp but is that the basking temp or the overall ambient?
no red (or any) light at night.
what type of UVB light are you using right now?
you may find a dripper helps with providing drinking water. spray the sides of the cage and plant leaves, spraying top down more than from the side. Spray for at least 3 minutes each time, and as much as 10.
its good that you are going to get a proper cage.
do you offer any type of prey other than crickets and mealworms?
the FLukers stuff isn't very good - and kale should only be used in moderation. You will want to review gutloading on the care sheets.
the care sheet for a veiled chameleon on this site is good -if you follow that you are going to be fine.
any conflicting info you see on the forum will generally be related to nuances, minor differences in technique and will not typically vary a great deal from the care sheet. there are not hard and fast rules, but there are general guidelines that a newbie should follow, and those you can find in the care sheet here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Last edited:
RangoStar
New Member
I am a veiled owner, when comfortable, they turn a bright shade of green. My veiled does it all the time when he is content. When they are sleeping, they are content, that simple. Yours is male, mine is as well, expressed similar colors in his youth. That isn't how I know he is a boy though, I can clearly see his spurs in the first picture you uploaded. Nothing to worry about my good sir, he is just getting good sleep. If he is a darker green while awake, he is just soaking up heat.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Other than the spot on the leg, the dark color, skinny and hunched down in the pictures like she is weak. The OP did say in one of the threads that she/he wasn't eating very much. I guess I'm just use to seeing fat, healthy, happy babies that stand tall.
pssh
Avid Member
I see what you mean. I guess I was just thinking it was like some of the few I have had that will suck everything in and hunch down when they see me/camera (they've all grown out of it as they got bigger.) kind of like how some will pull their eyes in whenever you try to a take a picture of them, but they aren't actually dehydrated or have anything wrong.
