Veiled Chameleon help

[Rav]

So I think I might be doing things wrong from what I have been reading so far and I don't like that at all. I am looking for advice on my three veils any and all help would be welcomed.

First off I want to ask about the best way to get weight on a chameleon. A while ago I was given a 2 year old male veiled after his owner could no longer keep him due to financial problems. When I got him, he was skinny compared to my other male and refused to eat for a week or two after getting him. After a while I finally got him to eat but still I have found it is rather difficult to even get him to eat. Right now he eats gut loaded crickets and super worms, I have silkworms on the way. With the high protein from the silkworms do you think that will help get him nice and fat? Or is there anything else you can think of that will help.

I also have a question about females. My female has laid her first clutch of eggs a few months ago but I am just wondering if I should expect any more from her after the first set or will she be good until next year?

Has anyone know of their chameleon's faces swelling up? My larger of the three, Charlie, had become very swollen over the summer. His face, crest and eventually his eye and after our large move to a new home I took him in to see the vet (I was living in an area with no Herp vet). The Vet told me that he had never seen a case like that in chameleons (only one other case on record) only iguanas and Charlie was put onto a medicine to help with any bacteria, I was also told to take them all off of any kind of vitamin because there was a chance that was what was the problem. After a few weeks the swelling went down and on his next check up he looked fine other than loosing a little bit of weight but there was a chance if it was the vitamins that his liver might be really hurt from it. I haven't put them back onto vitamins after that and just turned towards gut loading my crickets with everything that they need naturally. Well its been a few months and there hasn't been any swelling but I have noticed his personality has dramatically changed from always wanting out of his cage to just sitting in his basking spot with his head under a bunch of leaves and sleeping. He has a hard time catching anything with his tongue and misses most of the time, seems to be weak and doesn't hold himself proudly like he use to. I have noticed that when he does eat he makes a grinding sound as if his teeth are rubbing together. I am taking him to the vets to get him checked out soon but I need any ideas as to what might be wrong or things to help stop him from loosing any more weight.

As for my enclosures the two males are in 24"x24"x48" screen cages while my female is in 16.5"x16.5"x30". My one male Moses has 2 halogen spot UVA lights and two 10.0 UVB fluorescent, there is also a heat bulb but it doesn't come on until the winter. My female, Bean, at the moment only has one 5.0 UVB fluorescent bulb and a heat lamp which again only comes on at night unless the night is hot. Charlie on the other hand only has one basking UVA light, one 10.0 UVB fluorescent and a heat lamp, he likes his tank a lot hotter than the other two and will sit in his normal spot at 90F+ (He use to move away to cool down more often but now he just lays under it all day). I was reading about having too much light on them can be a problem but I was also told they need a good amount to stay healthy and I wonder if some of Charlie's behavior might be lack of cover from the light. Their humidity is only at 50% until I mist them because I have a hard time keeping it any higher than that. All of my chameleons have a large amount of vines, different sizes and angles. Moses has the most plants in his enclosure to keep him for getting upset by just seeing you and Charlie has only a few due to stressing out if you put too many in with him. Both boys have drip systems and Bean has a bowl of fresh water I am trying to figure out how to set up a drip system for her still.

I know live plants help with humidity and that was one of the questions I wanted to ask. Charlie is a bit plant eater, he will chow down on a plant until there is nothing left of it within a matter of weeks. I need some ideas what is large that he can eat as much as he wants without having to worry about getting sick from it.

 

[reptilover]

So I think I might be doing things wrong from what I have been reading so far and I don't like that at all. I am looking for advice on my three veils any and all help would be welcomed.

First off I want to ask about the best way to get weight on a chameleon. A while ago I was given a 2 year old male veiled after his owner could no longer keep him due to financial problems. When I got him, he was skinny compared to my other male and refused to eat for a week or two after getting him. After a while I finally got him to eat but still I have found it is rather difficult to even get him to eat. Right now he eats gut loaded crickets and super worms, I have silkworms on the way. With the high protein from the silkworms do you think that will help get him nice and fat? Or is there anything else you can think of that will help.

I also have a question about females. My female has laid her first clutch of eggs a few months ago but I am just wondering if I should expect any more from her after the first set or will she be good until next year?

Has anyone know of their chameleon's faces swelling up? My larger of the three, Charlie, had become very swollen over the summer. His face, crest and eventually his eye and after our large move to a new home I took him in to see the vet (I was living in an area with no Herp vet). The Vet told me that he had never seen a case like that in chameleons (only one other case on record) only iguanas and Charlie was put onto a medicine to help with any bacteria, I was also told to take them all off of any kind of vitamin because there was a chance that was what was the problem. After a few weeks the swelling went down and on his next check up he looked fine other than loosing a little bit of weight but there was a chance if it was the vitamins that his liver might be really hurt from it. I haven't put them back onto vitamins after that and just turned towards gut loading my crickets with everything that they need naturally. Well its been a few months and there hasn't been any swelling but I have noticed his personality has dramatically changed from always wanting out of his cage to just sitting in his basking spot with his head under a bunch of leaves and sleeping. He has a hard time catching anything with his tongue and misses most of the time, seems to be weak and doesn't hold himself proudly like he use to. I have noticed that when he does eat he makes a grinding sound as if his teeth are rubbing together. I am taking him to the vets to get him checked out soon but I need any ideas as to what might be wrong or things to help stop him from loosing any more weight.


As for my enclosures the two males are in 24"x24"x48" screen cages while my female is in 16.5"x16.5"x30". My one male Moses has 2 halogen spot UVA lights and two 10.0 UVB fluorescent, there is also a heat bulb but it doesn't come on until the winter. My female, Bean, at the moment only has one 5.0 UVB fluorescent bulb and a heat lamp which again only comes on at night unless the night is hot. Charlie on the other hand only has one basking UVA light, one 10.0 UVB fluorescent and a heat lamp, he likes his tank a lot hotter than the other two and will sit in his normal spot at 90F+ (He use to move away to cool down more often but now he just lays under it all day). I was reading about having too much light on them can be a problem but I was also told they need a good amount to stay healthy and I wonder if some of Charlie's behavior might be lack of cover from the light. Their humidity is only at 50% until I mist them because I have a hard time keeping it any higher than that. All of my chameleons have a large amount of vines, different sizes and angles. Moses has the most plants in his enclosure to keep him for getting upset by just seeing you and Charlie has only a few due to stressing out if you put too many in with him. Both boys have drip systems and Bean has a bowl of fresh water I am trying to figure out how to set up a drip system for her still.

I know live plants help with humidity and that was one of the questions I wanted to ask. Charlie is a bit plant eater, he will chow down on a plant until there is nothing left of it within a matter of weeks. I need some ideas what is large that he can eat as much as he wants without having to worry about getting sick from it.

I'm not a female expert so ill leave that one be..
As for lighting they need a hot spot of about 90 during the day and NO heat at night they need the coolness to fully shut down. and uva/uvb bulb all in one 5.0 is wats. Needed such as a reptisun. 10.0 may be to much. Pictures and the how to ask for help form would help considerably.

I woukdnt take them off vits wat is ur vitamin schedual.? Calcium with out d3 daily with d3 monthly and a multivit monthly? Something close to that.

It could be that its to warm at night and he's not sleeping causing sleep around the clock.. or an attempt.. is correct lighting IMMEDIATELY.

Other than that he seems to show MBD (METABOLIC. BONE DISEASE) symptoms. Keep a watchful eye plenty of misting and find a good vet.

Hornworms and silks good hydration mealies and wax worms super worms good fatty worms for weight.

Again pics how to ask for help

 

[reptilover]

How impolite of me... welcome to the forum . Ur really gonna love it here I promise!

 

[Rav]

I'm not a female expert so ill leave that one be..
As for lighting they need a hot spot of about 90 during the day and NO heat at night they need the coolness to fully shut down. and uva/uvb bulb all in one 5.0 is wats. Needed such as a reptisun. 10.0 may be to much. Pictures and the how to ask for help form would help considerably.

I woukdnt take them off vits wat is ur vitamin schedual.? Calcium with out d3 daily with d3 monthly and a multivit monthly? Something close to that.

It could be that its to warm at night and he's not sleeping causing sleep around the clock.. or an attempt.. is correct lighting IMMEDIATELY.

Other than that he seems to show MBD (METABOLIC. BONE DISEASE) symptoms. Keep a watchful eye plenty of misting and find a good vet.

Hornworms and silks good hydration mealies and wax worms super worms good fatty worms for weight.

Again pics how to ask for help

Hmm, I didn't realize they needed a drastic change to actually sleep properly, I think I need to go back and re-read my books to see if its in there and I just missed it. Their basking spot is rather hot I make sure of that. But I will correct his tank lights so that nothing is on at night.

When I was doing Vits, it was calcium every day and multivits once a week but like I said I have completely gone off vits and calcium. Taking them off calcium might have been a bad choice on my part and I might start dusting the crickets again. I am not going back onto vitamins simply because of how my doctor explained to me it is difficult to regulate the proper amount without hurting them so instead I feed my crickets more natural things. The problem with the swelling also went away only a week or so after I did take them off.

I just took a look at the MBD thread as I have never seen what it looks like for chameleons, I know that shaking is a sign in iguanas. His eye did look a little like that but not as intense and was only his one eye, it was mainly his face and crest that had swollen up. I don't have pictures of when he was like that because I was just working with my vet on the case and didn't think to take any. It has gone away and hasn't come back thankfully.

What kind of pictures would you like me to post?

Thank you for the welcome! I am happy to have found such a large community who have the same love for Chameleons as I do and are willing to help those in need.

 

[carol5208]

hi and welcome! first of all there is debate on whether one 10.0 is good as compared to the 5.0(which the marjority of us use successfully)and you are using two so I would say definitely get rid of the one atleast. Silkworms are not going to fatten him up. Supers are about three times as fatty as silks. Hornworms are a super large feeder but to my knowledge only contain about 3 grams of fat as compared to a super which is something like 18. Waxworms are very small but are basically little balls of fat which could put some weight on perhaps but you would have to feed so many as they are so small. Just curious what the bowl of water is for? Does Bean actually drink out of that? That is unusual for a chameleon to drink that way. No lights at night. It disrupts their sleep cycle and you do not want to be heating up the cage either. Unless your temps are dipping way down in the 50's I would not use any heat. If you need to use heat, get a little ceramic heater, but do not shine lights on in the cage. I would not have discontinued the calcium. How old are your uvb lights? They should be changed out periodically whether they burn out or not about every 6-9 months or so.And lastly, you will no longer need to be referring to books for info on chameleons now that you have found the forum. there is a wealth of knowledge on here from many experienced keepers who will get you on the right track.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum Silkworms are actually low fat, but they are an excellent food to give for hydration and protein as well as calcium. I agree that waxworms and mealworms would be more likely to fatten him up. Be careful not to feed him too many though, addiction sets in easy with waxworms and a hunger strike like the one I had isn't going to fatten anyone up. A nice balance is best You definitely should start dusting the crickets again.
I also think the 10.0 bulbs are probably too strong, but it does depend on how thick the mesh is, the distance from them and the foliage cover you have too.
If your female laid a few months ago and hasn't shown any kind of sign that she is gravid since then I think you are good for now at least
Here's a great basic caresheet I always recommend to new people on here with Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
And here's a safe plant list - http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp
Pothos vine has nice big leaves and is ok for a Cham to eat as much as he likes.
I have a couple of Schefflera that my guys really like to sit in, but won't eat.....

 

[reptilover]

This place has all the info immediately. U said tank. Does that signify all glass with screen top. They need a lot of fresh air. I want pics of ur setup and a pic if both sides of ur cham. I'm no medical expert. But i can help with husbandry. Most here prefer screen, kept humid 40% with 80% spikes wheb misted. Misting should be no less than 2 times a day 3 preferably with a dripper going most of the day. screeb cages really help with drainage.
Letting them cool down allows there body and mind to sleep deeper.
Most use a multivite with vit A monthly or even bi monthly. To get deeper Into tgat discussion search veiled cham supplementing on the forum here u will find more than u can read.
Handling should be kept to a minium especially at this stressful time.
Prosperous free calcium WITHOUT D3 is daily a light dust on every feeder. Very light.
Calcium with d3 monthly. some do 2wice a month. But no more u can over supplement and under. He's been off long enough make sure its without d3. The point of UVB bulbs is it allows the cham to obtain d3 from the rays as it would the sun. D3 is wat the cham uses to process the calcium. Some needs to be suppkemented via the calcium with d3 2 times a month. Be csreful I know in my area I have to order no d3 all they sell around me Is with d3. Crickets should be gutloaded a variety. Many posts on that topic. Crickets should be a staple diet with treats such as dubia Roaches silk worms meal worms super worms wax worms horn worms praying mantis these do not need to be dusted but should be fed in moderation..

 

[Rav]

hi and welcome! first of all there is debate on whether one 10.0 is good as compared to the 5.0(which the marjority of us use successfully)and you are using two so I would say definitely get rid of the one atleast. Silkworms are not going to fatten him up. Supers are about three times as fatty as silks. Hornworms are a super large feeder but to my knowledge only contain about 3 grams of fat as compared to a super which is something like 18. Waxworms are very small but are basically little balls of fat which could put some weight on perhaps but you would have to feed so many as they are so small. Just curious what the bowl of water is for? Does Bean actually drink out of that? That is unusual for a chameleon to drink that way. No lights at night. It disrupts their sleep cycle and you do not want to be heating up the cage either. Unless your temps are dipping way down in the 50's I would not use any heat. If you need to use heat, get a little ceramic heater, but do not shine lights on in the cage. I would not have discontinued the calcium. How old are your uvb lights? They should be changed out periodically whether they burn out or not about every 6-9 months or so.

Yea I saw that there are a few who say 10.0 or 5.0, the light fixture I have allows me to use two of the bulbs so I will just keep the one as extra. I change my bulbs every 6months even if it doesn't burn out because I know they stop generating the right rays after a while so no worries there, they are 4 months old at the moment. So basically when it comes to food for them, the diet I am giving him is good but I might want to up the amount that I give him? Waxworms are pretty expensive to get where I live even if I buy them directly or I would have gone with them over the Silk, I choose the silk because of their higher protein over hornworms. I will slowly start introducing them back onto calcium and see how that goes. I know it is unusual but both Bean and Charlie drink from bowls, actually Charlie preferred it but since he hasn't been moving as much I have created a drip higher up for him to get at.

Thank you for the welcome!

 

[Rav]

Hello, welcome to the forum Silkworms are actually low fat, but they are an excellent food to give for hydration and protein as well as calcium. I agree that waxworms and mealworms would be more likely to fatten him up. Be careful not to feed him too many though, addiction sets in easy with waxworms and a hunger strike like the one I had isn't going to fatten anyone up. A nice balance is best You definitely should start dusting the crickets again.
I also think the 10.0 bulbs are probably too strong, but it does depend on how thick the mesh is, the distance from them and the foliage cover you have too.
If your female laid a few months ago and hasn't shown any kind of sign that she is gravid since then I think you are good for now at least
Here's a great basic caresheet I always recommend to new people on here with Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
And here's a safe plant list - http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp
Pothos vine has nice big leaves and is ok for a Cham to eat as much as he likes.
I have a couple of Schefflera that my guys really like to sit in, but won't eat.....

If I am correct I haven't seen any signs that she is gravid, she eats, drinks, moves around and has her normal green color unless she is upset at me for misting or if she sees me in her cage cleaning.

Thanks for the links I will be sure to read it all and look over the plants. If the Pothos vine is as edible you say that might be a choice I will go with because of how much the darn guy eats when he is feeling good.

This place has all the info immediately. U said tank. Does that signify all glass with screen top. They need a lot of fresh air. I want pics of ur setup and a pic if both sides of ur cham. I'm no medical expert. But i can help with husbandry. Most here prefer screen, kept humid 40% with 80% spikes wheb misted. Misting should be no less than 2 times a day 3 preferably with a dripper going most of the day. screeb cages really help with drainage.
Letting them cool down allows there body and mind to sleep deeper.
Most use a multivite with vit A monthly or even bi monthly. To get deeper Into tgat discussion search veiled cham supplementing on the forum here u will find more than u can read.
Handling should be kept to a minium especially at this stressful time.
Prosperous free calcium WITHOUT D3 is daily a light dust on every feeder. Very light.
Calcium with d3 monthly. some do 2wice a month. But no more u can over supplement and under. He's been off long enough make sure its without d3. The point of UVB bulbs is it allows the cham to obtain d3 from the rays as it would the sun. D3 is wat the cham uses to process the calcium. Some needs to be suppkemented via the calcium with d3 2 times a month. Be csreful I know in my area I have to order no d3 all they sell around me Is with d3. Crickets should be gutloaded a variety. Many posts on that topic. Crickets should be a staple diet with treats such as dubia Roaches silk worms meal worms super worms wax worms horn worms praying mantis these do not need to be dusted but should be fed in moderation..

I was sure I had said cage and not tank but yes all of their cages are screen, I do know things about chameleons I am just making sure it is right haha. I will post images of all three of my enclosures and chameleons when I get a chance later tonight. Moses will be a problem to photograph due to his large temper and is known to lounge in defense.

I haven't held Charlie since he has gone in for his last vet check and I won't until I know he is 110 times better than he is now, so no worries there.

I will have to look at my calcium when I get home to see what kind it is and will make a note to check the D3.

My crickets are gutloaded different things each week, iguana food is main diet for them and I switch between different fruits and veggies that are high in different vitamins and are acceptable for chameleons to eat. Crickets are their staple diet and every second day are given super worms for the males and Bean gets mealworms. I will be sure to search around the forum for other threads for some good reading when I have more time.

 

[carol5208]

that would be phosphorus free calcium...not prosperous free!

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."My female has laid her first clutch of eggs a few months ago but I am just wondering if I should expect any more from her after the first set or will she be good until next year?"...they can lay eggs when not mated every 120 or so days...but that doesn't mean that they will.

Tongue issues can be due to injury, infection, nutrient imbalances/MBD and even dehydration.

Here's some information I hope will help you with supplementing, etc.....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[Rav]

Alright, I wasn't sure how many times they actually laid their eggs more than once after their first time that is good to know. I will have to keep an eye on her and have her sand handy when she needs it. Thank you for the information and links I will have to try and calculate how many vitamins my bugs have and go from there. I am still really on edge about giving vitamins but I am willing to go back to using calcium because I don't want to see my lizards getting MBD.


As requested I have attached images of my enclosures and also my two males.
First image is Charlie taken just a few hours ago before all of his lights turned off.
The cages go Bean, Moses and Charlie.
Moses is the one hanging onto the side of his cage and sleeping.

 

[kinyonga]

I always recommend leaving an opaque container at least 12" deep by 12" x 8" full of washed playsand in the female's cage at all times so you don't miss the often subtle indications that she needs to lay eggs.

 

[Rav]

The only problem I have is where her cage is located within my room. I am short on space and having the dirt in with her makes it difficult to actually get at her. She is really easy to read but I will see if I cant work something out for her. Thanks for the tip!

 

[carol5208]

In the secong to last pic, the cage-i would add more plants and get rid of the red light and replace with a white. Looks like you have three lights? you only really need two. A basking (uva) and a uvb bulb.

 

[Rav]

Yes three lights are on his cage, UVA, UVB and the heat because where I live it is really cold and the only way to get his basking spot at the right temperature is to have the extra light. I have heat lamps for all my chameleons I just didn't have the other two turned on because their tanks sometimes don't need it. Once the hotter temperatures outside return I will for sure turn the heat lamps off because they won't be needed.

I actually have a really hard time putting plants into Charlie's tank, I tried it once and he refused to eat and drink until I took them out again. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can introduce him to more plants without completely pissing him off? I do feel bad for him but he rather have it that way it seems, I am still looking into a type of tree that he can eat without worry of him eating too much and getting sick. I think if I find something like that I might be able to add more plants because he will be too busy eating to notice more plants in his space.

I have another question about my male Moses, I am 100% sure that something is upsetting him because I never see him with his pretty green and blue colors unless he is sleeping only dark browns and black. I always thought it was because I was looking at him and it could very well be but I have noticed a drop in the amount of food he has been eating (when he does) and it is getting to the point were I am worried he is becoming dehydrated and stressed. This is the one I was asking how to get more weight on him because he refuses to eat sometimes which is suppose to be normal for an adult but not how he looks. I will get pictures of him as best I can and post them so you get a better idea what I mean. For now I am asking for help. I cannot touch or get anywhere near without him attacking me and forcing him to eat is also out of the question he will just spit anything out and give me the finger (I tried that when I first got him and he didn't eat for 2 weeks).

Again thank you for everyone who has been helping me out with my questions.

 

[Rav]

Just an update on whats been going on. The past few days have become more and more stressful for me.

Moses has gone from eating to completely ignoring his food and hasn't eaten anything in the past few days and is becoming more de-hydrated. I have started giving him showers, upped my misting and he still has his drip. He moves around and seems fine other than his lack of eating. Maybe he has parasites and this is why he hasn't been gaining weight?

After putting my chameleons back onto calcium Charlie's eyes have started to swell again like the last time. I will take pictures to show you when I have time. He has also become less active and doesn't even move from his spot to drink or eat like he use to.

And Bean has a cold but other than that she is fine.

Vet appointment is two weeks away because my Chameleons decided they all wanted to get sick when Dr. Ray is on vacation.

 

[reptilover]

Just an update on whats been going on. The past few days have become more and more stressful for me.

Moses has gone from eating to completely ignoring his food and hasn't eaten anything in the past few days and is becoming more de-hydrated. I have started giving him showers, upped my misting and he still has his drip. He moves around and seems fine other than his lack of eating. Maybe he has parasites and this is why he hasn't been gaining weight?

After putting my chameleons back onto calcium Charlie's eyes have started to swell again like the last time. I will take pictures to show you when I have time. He has also become less active and doesn't even move from his spot to drink or eat like he use to.

And Bean has a cold but other than that she is fine.

Vet appointment is two weeks away because my Chameleons decided they all wanted to get sick when Dr. Ray is on vacation.

I'd have to suggest Fecal samples for everyone! And moving there cages apart for now so u dont get stucj with a cycle of sickness going from cage to cage. IMO.

hope everyone recovers well

I have never heard of calcium effecting eyes swelling. At least not with such quick results. I would do a very very light dusting on a few feeders a day u.til u get to a vet..
Try Different insects to get something into them.
also ask ur vet to give u a syringe so u can fill the OCCASIONAL Feeder with water, and try and hand feed that one.

 

[Rav]

I'd have to suggest Fecal samples for everyone! And moving there cages apart for now so u dont get stucj with a cycle of sickness going from cage to cage. IMO.

hope everyone recovers well

I have never heard of calcium effecting eyes swelling. At least not with such quick results. I would do a very very light dusting on a few feeders a day u.til u get to a vet..
Try Different insects to get something into them.
also ask ur vet to give u a syringe so u can fill the OCCASIONAL Feeder with water, and try and hand feed that one.

Thank you for helping me out so much. How far away do you think they should be? In a different room or a few feet away? I have made a note to bring samples of them all.

I do too, I don't know what I would do if I lost them this early in their lives.

Lighter dusting is a good idea, I am never too sure what is too much or too little so you are suggesting a small pinch? Luckily Charlie takes food right from my hand but the other two won't they just puff up and give me attitude. So I will go out and grab one of those as well.

 

[Rav]

So just an update on how my chameleons are doing.

I took Bean (my female) and Charlie (my male with the eye problems) to the vets on Monday. Bean is 110% healthy and maybe a little fat for her age (fat lizard is a happy lizard I always say), her cold that she had is completely gone but has left her with an abscess which may have been cause from lack of nutrition when she was in the petstore. Charlie on the other hand we are still not too sure about. He has started small shakes in his head which I know is a sign of MBD(I think that's the short form of it...) but we don't want to over do the supplements because of his reaction to to it, the vet told me to continue the way I am giving him calcium (small amounts every second day) and just him informed of any drastic change in temperament/behavior but other then that his bones, jaw and skin are fine. Charlie has also lost over 40g of body weight since the last time he was in the vets office which was another concern, so now the job is getting his weight back on, so lots of softer and high fat worms. I am now giving him a mixture of Butterworms, Horned worms, crickets, whatever greens/fruit he wants, along with the protein shake "Boost" which is giving him calcium in a different way (he loves it) and electrolyte water. All of my light bulbs have been changed just to be safe.

Now my other male Moses on the other hand still hasn't eaten anything, we are going on week two of his hunger strike and he is still causing me stress more then my other two. I have been giving him parasite drops (as recommended by the vet and was given to my other two once to clean out their systems), electrolyte water and "Boost" (also recommended). I have also introduced him to a hibiscus tree (which I am hoping didn't upset him more), give him shower once a day (work all day), has a constant drip and is misted twice if not three times a day. He is more alert then my other male, drinks everything I give him, moves around and he still refuses to eat. I tried laying out superworms, silkworms and crickets both in a cup and free range, I don't want to resort to force feeding but I will if I have to. He hasn't gone to the vet, both myself and the vet agree we'd rather not bring him in to stress him out more (plus he is a nasty little guy to handle).