veiled chameleon and mouth open
- Thread starter Miracle85
- Start date
kenya
Avid Member
Hey, welcome to the forums! Could you fill this out? It will help us tell you what may be going on with your cham.
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.
Pictures are helpful
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.
Pictures are helpful
BocaJan
New Member
The blue spots indicate that she is receptive. Is your enclosure glass? Please answer the questions on the form above. Chameleons are tree dwellers and need to have height in their enclosure and lots of plants and sticks to climb on. Also, the leaves of the plants will give them a place to hide from the heat if the basking spot is on top. They don't need to have a heat bulb. For basking you just need an ordinary light bulb.
Anyway, we await for your answers to the questionaire.
Anyway, we await for your answers to the questionaire.
Miracle85
New Member
well the reason i have a heat bulb now is because the enclourse is close to a window its winter time here and it gets cold. The place where it is suppose to be has a christmas tree so that is why i had to move it but i turn on the solar light during the day withthe UVB/UVA rating she is about 4-8 months old, how many times should i feed it on average
Dan
New Member
It would help if you answered the questions posted before. But from the photos you posted it seems that the cage is glass, and it should be screen. It also seems a little small. I would think you want a cage at least 3ft high. My guess is that if you dont have those things right, than there is probably other things wrong as well with your setup. Filling out the basic info sheet will probably provide the members of the forum with the info needed to figure out whats wrong.
alhickabee
New Member
Those pictures show a lot of things wrong with the set-up. All of the correct care information for veileds can be found at:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
This is the bible for veileds and will answer most keeper's questions.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
This is the bible for veileds and will answer most keeper's questions.
kenya
Avid Member
Hey, it would really help if you could fill the questionnaire out.
Also, just from what I am seeing now, there are several key things in your husbandry that need to change for the well being of your cham. Pet stores often tell us the wrong information to make a sale or sometimes because they don't know the correct care requirements of chameleons. We aren't being harsh on you; we want to help you get your set up correct so that your cham does well.
You will need to get a screen cage that is taller rather than wider. You can get them from lllreptile.com for a decent price- the aluminum screen cages that are 24"x24"x26" are pretty nice and will be a good size for your female veiled.
You will also need to get a fluorescent tube style UVB bulb- the best is the Reptisun 5.0 tube from ZooMed which is also available on lllreptile.com for an unbeatable price. Avoid compact style bulbs. This bulb should be replaced every six months and you shouldn't have anything between it and the cham other than screen. Plastic and glass will filter out the UVB which is the entire point of the bulb.
I see you have a waterfall. Though waterfalls seem like a good idea, they are really just a harbor for the bacteria soup that they are sure to make. They are impossible to clean and will make your cham sick. To water your cham, try setting up a dripper by poking a hole in the bottom of a deli cup and letting warm water drip out at one-two drops per second onto a leaf in the enclosure. Your cham will be attracted by the movement and will come drink. You should also mist your cham with warm water at the very least twice a day for five minutes or so until she starts drinking. Her eyes should be round and full and the urates (white part of her poo) should be pure white with no orange or yellow. If there is yellow, this means that she is dehydrated. You can fix this by "showering" her. More on showering later.
You should ditch the substrate. Wood chips, eco earth, soil, etc will cause impactions and kill your cham. They do best with nothing on the bottom of the cage- it you have to have something, paper towel is fine.
You might want to also get some live plants- ficus benjamina, schefflera and pothos are favorites. Hibiscus is fantastic if you can find it and manage to keep it alive. These are all non toxic and strong enough for chams to climb on. Live plants will provide a snack for your veiled and also raise the humidity in your cage.
If you don't know about gutloading crickets, try the using the "search" function at the top to find good gutload recipes. If you don't gutload your feeder insects, then you are basically just feeding your cham empty wrappers.
I hope this helps. Read Brad Ramsey's site... I think it is raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com
Ask any questions that you have. We are all here to learn, and in turn, teach.
Also, just from what I am seeing now, there are several key things in your husbandry that need to change for the well being of your cham. Pet stores often tell us the wrong information to make a sale or sometimes because they don't know the correct care requirements of chameleons. We aren't being harsh on you; we want to help you get your set up correct so that your cham does well.
You will need to get a screen cage that is taller rather than wider. You can get them from lllreptile.com for a decent price- the aluminum screen cages that are 24"x24"x26" are pretty nice and will be a good size for your female veiled.
You will also need to get a fluorescent tube style UVB bulb- the best is the Reptisun 5.0 tube from ZooMed which is also available on lllreptile.com for an unbeatable price. Avoid compact style bulbs. This bulb should be replaced every six months and you shouldn't have anything between it and the cham other than screen. Plastic and glass will filter out the UVB which is the entire point of the bulb.
I see you have a waterfall. Though waterfalls seem like a good idea, they are really just a harbor for the bacteria soup that they are sure to make. They are impossible to clean and will make your cham sick. To water your cham, try setting up a dripper by poking a hole in the bottom of a deli cup and letting warm water drip out at one-two drops per second onto a leaf in the enclosure. Your cham will be attracted by the movement and will come drink. You should also mist your cham with warm water at the very least twice a day for five minutes or so until she starts drinking. Her eyes should be round and full and the urates (white part of her poo) should be pure white with no orange or yellow. If there is yellow, this means that she is dehydrated. You can fix this by "showering" her. More on showering later.
You should ditch the substrate. Wood chips, eco earth, soil, etc will cause impactions and kill your cham. They do best with nothing on the bottom of the cage- it you have to have something, paper towel is fine.
You might want to also get some live plants- ficus benjamina, schefflera and pothos are favorites. Hibiscus is fantastic if you can find it and manage to keep it alive. These are all non toxic and strong enough for chams to climb on. Live plants will provide a snack for your veiled and also raise the humidity in your cage.
If you don't know about gutloading crickets, try the using the "search" function at the top to find good gutload recipes. If you don't gutload your feeder insects, then you are basically just feeding your cham empty wrappers.
I hope this helps. Read Brad Ramsey's site... I think it is raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com
Ask any questions that you have.
We are all here to learn, and in turn, teach.
Welcome to the forum! Its definitely a good place to learn about chameleons!
IMHO, keeping a chameleon's cage near the window in a cold climate is asking for either a respiratory infection of a fungal infection.
A chameleon will gape if its too hot, has a respiratory infection, is having health issues...and a number of other reasons.
I'm not a fan of waterfalls, substrates, or of UVB lights that are not the long linear fluorescent type bulbs.
IMHO, keeping a chameleon's cage near the window in a cold climate is asking for either a respiratory infection of a fungal infection.
A chameleon will gape if its too hot, has a respiratory infection, is having health issues...and a number of other reasons.
I'm not a fan of waterfalls, substrates, or of UVB lights that are not the long linear fluorescent type bulbs.
