Veiled chameleon basking a lot and seeming kind of inactive

[georg_the_cham]

Well thank you all for the insight, that is very interesting. If thats the case, I‘m pretty exited for spring/summer Hopefully I can bring Georg outside more when it‘s warmer.

@MissSkittles, damn, that hit hard. But I guess you‘re right

 

[georg_the_cham]

I talked to another reptile shop owner, who seems a bit more reliable than the guy i got Georg from. We spoke about parasites and such and he told me, he treats his chams kind of like you would with a cat or dog - that means, he‘ll treat them „regulary“ with „anti worm medicine“ (Sorry i don‘t know the proper english term for that), without doing a fecal test - His opinion is that animals and therefore also chameleons get worms either way so he will treat them once or twice while in his care (before they are sold) and be done with it.
I guess it‘s not recommend because it will stress the chameleons body - but is this something thats done more often or really not a good thing to do?

I really don‘t want to cheap out on vet appointments, but it‘s a bit hard to get there in time during opening hours while working full time. And having a prepared fresh fecal with me

Georg‘s smaller size is for real the only thing that makes me wonder if he has parasites, other than that he seems pretty healthy.

Thanks and as always, have a fantastic day!

 

[Sonny13]

It’s true, but not all parasites are harmful or need to be treated. If it was me I wouldn’t go for this approach, but this is something I’m not experienced with. Maybe someone else can give you a better answer.

I prefer more this method https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/how-to-do-your-own-fecal-float-video.810/

 

[georg_the_cham]

It’s true, but not all parasites are harmful or need to be treated. If it was me I wouldn’t go for this approach, but this is something I’m not experienced with. Maybe someone else can give you a better answer.

I prefer more this method https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/how-to-do-your-own-fecal-float-video.810/

Well, thats interesting… I‘m not sure how to get all the necessary equipment tho, or even if I‘m reliable enough to tell the right parasite
But it‘s good to know there are other options

 

[Sonny13]

And don't be shy spamming us with pictures of Georg

 

[georg_the_cham]

And don't be shy spamming us with pictures of Georg

Sure! I got a few good ones But not to many, because it seems Georg sees my red phone as threat

The one where he‘s on the enclosure wall and the one where he‘s standing upright in the corner - thats how he slept during these nights.

The one where he raises his head slightly kinda looks like he has a milk beard on his lip.

Then there‘s the majestic one where I‘m feeding him and he just looks so goofy

The first one (if the order is kept) is the most recent one from last saturday. Its interesting how his casque grew without me really realizing. I only noticed it by looking at older pictures of him.

 

[georg_the_cham]

Hey all, wanted to give a quick update on my boy Georg.

So I have the T5 UVB light since last november, recently I changed the basking bulb for a 50W one, which shouldnt emit any UVa (thinking that may be part of the problem) and because its about summer and usually warmer ambient temps.
I also got some LED plant lights about two weeks ago, to bring some more light to Georg‘s enclosure.
All in all, I made these changes because he didnt look very content with his world. I work from home a lot, and my pc is in his room, so I have an eye on him. I see, or better notice, him walking around on the bottom of the enclosure from time to time - which supposedly means he‘s either patroling his territory or looking for a way out. If I open the enclosure and offer him my hand, he usually climbs on it pretty fast. Which is weird.

Since some time I also have a small bird cage, in which I put some branches and plants so I can bring him outside-ish to get some real sun, and he is usually a beautiful color, when in this bird cage, even if he‘s not actively in the sun. This led me to believe something is not right with his enclosure, which is why i swapped the heat bulb (in the bird cage is no basking bulb, and, like i said, sometime not even direct sunlight - even if the bird cage is in the same room as his enclosure, he has a better color) and bought the plant lights, in hopes, that his enclosure just wasn’t bright enough.

Well fast forward to now, he still wears a darker color for most of the time, while in his enclosure. He still spends a lot of time under the basking bulb, even if the temps look good. I‘m really having a hard time figuring out what the problem is.
I tried to raise the UV light up a bit, and change the distance between the basking branch and the heat bulb, so see if anything changes, but to no success.
I tried to change the layout of the plants (and currently trying to find some more, but it‘s hard to find the right plants with the right size).

I noticed in the last few days, when the heat bulb is off in the evening, and only the LED and the UV is on, he is sitting on the upper most branch but with a fairly light and relaxed green. Then when he wants to sleep, he is going down to sit on a branch where is covered by some leafs. During the night he wears a nice and bright color.

Maybe I‘m overthinking it and thats just how he is, and if he‘s fine I‘m fine with all of it. But I just cant stop thinking about if he‘s really doing well. I want to keep him healthy and well but its so hard to read him. Is he darker because he‘s too cold, even if the temps should be fine, or is he darker because its too hot and he‘s feeling unwell. Is it the UV, is it too close/ too far away? Does he not feel safe in his enclosure, even if there is, IMO, more coverage than in the bird cage. Should there be even more light in his enclosure?

He is going through a shed currently, that started about two days ago. Maybe thats a reason, but then I‘m thinking what about the rest of the time, where he is not actively shedding.

I will upload some pictures of the current setup shortly.

Thanks all in advance and as always, have a great day!

Chris

 

[georg_the_cham]

The color tone he has in the last images, is the one he has most of the day, sometimes even darker than that

 

[Sonny13]

Got no direct advice, but I don’t think his colors are abnormal. @Tkrd69 it looks like your handsome boys the same coloring / darker green as well?

 

[Tkrd69]

Yeah. Mine was wild caught going on 2 years now. Don't know how old he is. was around 20 inches long when I received him. If I can get my hands to stop shaking for a little bit I'll try to get a picture today or get my daughter to take one if she comes over.

 

[Tkrd69]

Took 15 pix got 1 nice picture. Gojira is shedding again. He is about 24 inches long now.

 

[Nikkih08]

The color tone he has in the last images, is the one he has most of the day, sometimes even darker than that

I’m in your boat with my 6 month old veiled guy. He is always a darker “ugly” color… but from time to time during the day he is slightly lighter and when he sleeps beautiful colors. I’ve had his Andy reviewed an was all good. Temps good etc…

 

[Nikkih08]

I’m in your boat with my 6 month old veiled guy. He is always a darker “ugly” color… but from time to time during the day he is slightly lighter and when he sleeps beautiful colors. I’ve had his Andy reviewed an was all good. Temps good etc…

Maybe it is there way of blending in during the day? Pretty hard

 

[Tkrd69]

Mine only get pretty when he sleeping

 

[Nikkih08]

Mine only get pretty when he sleeping

Mine too. My panther is pretty all the time but not my veiled

 

[Tkrd69]

I think my veiled looks like a camouflage pattern during the day so he hides better but at night bright colors.

 

[Nikkih08]

I think my veiled looks like a camouflage pattern during the day so he hides better but at night bright colors.

Same..

 

[Tkrd69]

Just got another pic. He moved to the front

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Carmelo has a heart on his back! He loves his outdoor time. His colors a usually bold green unless he is absorbing outdoor sunshine.

 

[kinyonga]

You said…”I talked to another reptile shop owner, who seems a bit more reliable than the guy i got Georg from. We spoke about parasites and such and he told me, he treats his chams kind of like you would with a cat or dog - that means, he‘ll treat them „regulary“ with „anti worm medicine“ (Sorry i don‘t know the proper english term for that), without doing a fecal test - His opinion is that animals and therefore also chameleons get worms either way so he will treat them once or twice while in his care (before they are sold) and be done with it.”…
One medication does not treat all parasites, so without knowing what parasites the chameleon has at best he’s only killing the ones that particular medication works on. Some parasites don’t need to be treated, some are difficult to treat and if the load is too heavy, you have to go easy with the treatment. If you kill them all at once, the chameleons body has to much garbage to get rid of all at once and their system can’t handle it.


You said…”he is usually a beautiful color, when in this bird cage, even if he‘s not actively in the sun”…this may be an “I’m on guard for predators” thing.