Veiled Chameleon Issues? Help!

chan_cham

New Member
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, about 8 months old? I've had him around 5 or 6 of those.
  • Handling - About 3 times a week for a max of 30 minutes, he has a very large indoor tree to roam on and enjoys the window.
  • Feeding - Crickets, superworms, waxworms, dubias, hornworms. Gutloaded mostly with carrots, celery, strawberries. Using repti-cal with and without d3 powder, without is about 4 times a week, with has only recently started sadly :( I also have flukers liquid vitamin
  • Supplements - answered that above, oops
  • Watering - thrive spray bottle, a misting bottle, about twice a day. he drinks directly from the stream
  • Fecal Description - white urates and healthy poops
  • History - this was my sisters chameleon, which i believe was an uneducated impulse christmas gift? bought from petsmart. he sadly didnt get the best care, i tried to fix as much as i could about the set up as soon as i got it but i sadly dont have the funds to completely rehaul like it needs. i've never owned a chameleon (nor have i really wanted to (still dont)) but i've had reptiles before. just not ones as sensitive as this.
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen cage, i think its the one from the common starter (death) kit
  • Lighting - double domed lamp, our previous lamps broke. the bulb is a 100 watt thrive basking bulb, and the uvb is sadly the same one that came with the kit. i plan on getting him the better long uvb ASAP! and would like y'all's advice on which one to grab
  • Temperature - His hot temp is 90-95, about 6 inches away from the top of the cage. the ambient is closer to high 70s, and the room temp is 69-70
  • Humidity - unsure, the humidity gauge got stuck at 60 and i havent gotten a new one. his sheds are healthy and his eyes are far from sunken, from what i've seen though
  • Plants - fake plants in the enclosure, but he has free game over the house plants that are safe for him, which he enjoys munching on.
  • Placement - about 4 feet from a southern window, far from the ceiling vent in my bedroom.
  • Location - south texas

so! i'm making another post about my chameleon aspen, i was hoping i could stick to just browsing the forums casually but that's sadly not the case. he had a casque burn, which recently sloughed. i've been putting polysporin (w/o painkillers) on the area about twice a day, at first he didnt react kindly but recently he's okay with me getting closer and only puffs a little. i'm worried about that because it means he's probably getting more lethargic. he also isn't getting sprayed down with water since i want to avoid any infection, and i've been giving him hornworms to hopefully make up for that. i'm worried that the prolonged use of poor uvb could be affecting him now, and i plan to find a way to get him a better light as soon as i possibly am able to, within a week at most. he's been growing a little lower energy gradually, but is still eating fine, besides ignoring crickets and dubias, which he's done before, because he's a brat. i would really like to take him to the vet, but sadly that would mean keeping him in a car, stressed out in a carrier for likely 2+ hours one way, and for care that i'm not sure would even be optimal since reptile vets in my area are extremely scarce. i'm aware his set up is incredibly sub par, and i hope to build his custom cage soon, which will be 5x2x2 (at the minimum). if anyone could point me in the right direction with this information, i would greatly appreciate it. i can't add any pictures at the moment but i can tomorrow if they would help. thank you so much to anyone who's read this!!
 
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, about 8 months old? I've had him around 5 or 6 of those.
  • Handling - About 3 times a week for a max of 30 minutes, he has a very large indoor tree to roam on and enjoys the window.
  • Feeding - Crickets, superworms, waxworms, dubias, hornworms. Gutloaded mostly with carrots, celery, strawberries. Using repti-cal with and without d3 powder, without is about 4 times a week, with has only recently started sadly :( I also have flukers liquid vitamin
  • Supplements - answered that above, oops
  • Watering - thrive spray bottle, a misting bottle, about twice a day. he drinks directly from the stream
  • Fecal Description - white urates and healthy poops
  • History - this was my sisters chameleon, which i believe was an uneducated impulse christmas gift? bought from petsmart. he sadly didnt get the best care, i tried to fix as much as i could about the set up as soon as i got it but i sadly dont have the funds to completely rehaul like it needs. i've never owned a chameleon (nor have i really wanted to (still dont)) but i've had reptiles before. just not ones as sensitive as this.
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen cage, i think its the one from the common starter (death) kit
  • Lighting - double domed lamp, our previous lamps broke. the bulb is a 100 watt thrive basking bulb, and the uvb is sadly the same one that came with the kit. i plan on getting him the better long uvb ASAP! and would like y'all's advice on which one to grab
  • Temperature - His hot temp is 90-95, about 6 inches away from the top of the cage. the ambient is closer to high 70s, and the room temp is 69-70
  • Humidity - unsure, the humidity gauge got stuck at 60 and i havent gotten a new one. his sheds are healthy and his eyes are far from sunken, from what i've seen though
  • Plants - fake plants in the enclosure, but he has free game over the house plants that are safe for him, which he enjoys munching on.
  • Placement - about 4 feet from a southern window, far from the ceiling vent in my bedroom.
  • Location - south texas

so! i'm making another post about my chameleon aspen, i was hoping i could stick to just browsing the forums casually but that's sadly not the case. he had a casque burn, which recently sloughed. i've been putting polysporin (w/o painkillers) on the area about twice a day, at first he didnt react kindly but recently he's okay with me getting closer and only puffs a little. i'm worried about that because it means he's probably getting more lethargic. he also isn't getting sprayed down with water since i want to avoid any infection, and i've been giving him hornworms to hopefully make up for that. i'm worried that the prolonged use of poor uvb could be affecting him now, and i plan to find a way to get him a better light as soon as i possibly am able to, within a week at most. he's been growing a little lower energy gradually, but is still eating fine, besides ignoring crickets and dubias, which he's done before, because he's a brat. i would really like to take him to the vet, but sadly that would mean keeping him in a car, stressed out in a carrier for likely 2+ hours one way, and for care that i'm not sure would even be optimal since reptile vets in my area are extremely scarce. i'm aware his set up is incredibly sub par, and i hope to build his custom cage soon, which will be 5x2x2 (at the minimum). if anyone could point me in the right direction with this information, i would greatly appreciate it. i can't add any pictures at the moment but i can tomorrow if they would help. thank you so much to anyone who's read this!!
I will go through your help form and give feedback but pictures really help us a great deal to identify issues.
 
@chan_cham See my feedback in red bold.

  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, about 8 months old? I've had him around 5 or 6 of those.
  • Handling - About 3 times a week for a max of 30 minutes, he has a very large indoor tree to roam on and enjoys the window.
  • Feeding - Crickets, superworms, waxworms, dubias, hornworms. Gutloaded mostly with carrots, celery, strawberries. Using repti-cal with and without d3 powder, without is about 4 times a week, with has only recently started sadly :( I also have flukers liquid vitamin How many feeders are you giving and how often? Wax worms and super worms are treats only like 1 per feeding. Gutload is not good enough. You can switch to something like repashy bug burger if getting a diverse variety of greens is not an option. I will post the gutload image below. Liquid vitamin needs to be tossed. You want to buy reptivite without D3. He should be getting Calcium without D3 at all feedings and then 2 times a month Calcium with D3 and two times a month the reptivite no D3 Multivitamin. These two get rotated week to week at one feeding only.
  • Supplements - answered that above, oops
  • Watering - thrive spray bottle, a misting bottle, about twice a day. he drinks directly from the stream. How long are you misting for?
  • Fecal Description - white urates and healthy poops
  • History - this was my sisters chameleon, which i believe was an uneducated impulse christmas gift? bought from petsmart. he sadly didnt get the best care, i tried to fix as much as i could about the set up as soon as i got it but i sadly dont have the funds to completely rehaul like it needs. i've never owned a chameleon (nor have i really wanted to (still dont)) but i've had reptiles before. just not ones as sensitive as this.
Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - screen cage, i think its the one from the common starter (death) kit. This is way too small. He needs a 2x2x4 enclosure.
  • Lighting - double domed lamp, our previous lamps broke. the bulb is a 100 watt thrive basking bulb, and the uvb is sadly the same one that came with the kit. i plan on getting him the better long uvb ASAP! and would like y'all's advice on which one to grab. This really is not ok. The lack of proper UVB lighting and lack of correct supplementation can and does lead to MBD. You need asap a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 bulb then basking should be 9 inches below this fixture to get the correct UVB level. 100 watt bulb is too strong and will have too high of a heat output. Drop this back in wattage.
  • Temperature - His hot temp is 90-95, about 6 inches away from the top of the cage. the ambient is closer to high 70s, and the room temp is 69-70. Way to hot temps should be at basking no hotter then 85max. 80-85 is the basking temp range your looking for. 6 inches away is too close this is why he got the thermal burn. He will get another one if this is not remedied.
  • Humidity - unsure, the humidity gauge got stuck at 60 and i havent gotten a new one. his sheds are healthy and his eyes are far from sunken, from what i've seen though. This really is something that is important to know. Digital gauges are recommended for heat and humidity.
  • Plants - fake plants in the enclosure, but he has free game over the house plants that are safe for him, which he enjoys munching on. Fake plants in a Veileds cage is very dangerous. If he chews on them then it is an impaction risk. Plus you can not stabilize humidity levels with fake plants. Here is a link to veiled tested plants for the cage. Put 1 inch or larger rock over the top of the soil to keep him out of them. https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf
  • Placement - about 4 feet from a southern window, far from the ceiling vent in my bedroom.
  • Location - south texas
so! i'm making another post about my chameleon aspen, i was hoping i could stick to just browsing the forums casually but that's sadly not the case. he had a casque burn, which recently sloughed. i've been putting polysporin (w/o painkillers) on the area about twice a day, at first he didnt react kindly but recently he's okay with me getting closer and only puffs a little. i'm worried about that because it means he's probably getting more lethargic. he also isn't getting sprayed down with water since i want to avoid any infection, and i've been giving him hornworms to hopefully make up for that. i'm worried that the prolonged use of poor uvb could be affecting him now, and i plan to find a way to get him a better light as soon as i possibly am able to, within a week at most. he's been growing a little lower energy gradually, but is still eating fine, besides ignoring crickets and dubias, which he's done before, because he's a brat. i would really like to take him to the vet, but sadly that would mean keeping him in a car, stressed out in a carrier for likely 2+ hours one way, and for care that i'm not sure would even be optimal since reptile vets in my area are extremely scarce. i'm aware his set up is incredibly sub par, and i hope to build his custom cage soon, which will be 5x2x2 (at the minimum). if anyone could point me in the right direction with this information, i would greatly appreciate it. i can't add any pictures at the moment but i can tomorrow if they would help. thank you so much to anyone who's read this!!

There are so many husbandry issues that are incorrect here that really are vital for them. The polysporin may help but it is not the solution for the thermal burn. he needs silver sulfadiazine cream and this typically has to be prescribed by a vet.

He is lethargic due to incorrect UVB and supplementation. MBD risk is extremely high. I am sure the thermal burn has not helped. Now his body is fighting off the infection without help.

If you can post pictures of not only the cage but the chameleon that would be very helpful. Pics of the burn as well.

This would be a good resource for you and I would read through the entire husbandry link there. https://chameleonacademy.com/

chameleon-gutload.jpg


chameleon-food(1).jpg
 
You said..." he drinks directly from the stream"...is it spraying directly in his mouth? If so, I hope your not causing him to aspirate it.
 
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