Veiled Chameleon not drinking water and moving slow

laurananne

laurananne

New Member
I have a male veiled chameleon, I am a first time reptile owner and I am afraid that I am not giving him the best life he should have. I got him from an exotic reptile shop, and the owner said he had him for about 2 weeks before me. I've had him since august so he should be about 4 months old. I am a college student so I do try to buy more things with each paycheck but I am limited on what I can buy. I do not have a mister but I do spray his enclosure as much as possible, at first I would see him go to the ground and drink the puddles of water that dripped off the leaves but I haven't seen him do that lately. I am worried his eyes are becoming sunken, he is moving kinda slow and I am not sure if that's because his cage is too cold or what.
 
laurananne said:
I have a male veiled chameleon, I am a first time reptile owner and I am afraid that I am not giving him the best life he should have. I got him from an exotic reptile shop, and the owner said he had him for about 2 weeks before me. I've had him since august so he should be about 4 months old. I am a college student so I do try to buy more things with each paycheck but I am limited on what I can buy. I do not have a mister but I do spray his enclosure as much as possible, at first I would see him go to the ground and drink the puddles of water that dripped off the leaves but I haven't seen him do that lately. I am worried his eyes are becoming sunken, he is moving kinda slow and I am not sure if that's because his cage is too cold or what.
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Can you upload a picture of him and his enclosure? How big is his enclosure? Do you have a 6% UV light, heat lamp, and grow light? Does he have a lot of plants to hide in and branches to chill on? Also, his eyes are sunken because he is dehydrated. Has he been closing his eyes during the day, putting his head up in the air, and gaping? What bugs are you feeding him currently? Do you have a dripper for him so he has constant access to water? These things are very important, and crucial if you want to maintain a healthy chameleon. Do you already have an exotic vet set up near your area? If you are really worried, I would take him in and see what's up. Here is a care sheet and a basic list of supplies you will need by Neptune the Chameleon:
  • Extra Large Zoo Med Reptibreeze
  • 24" Pangea T5 HO Fixture
  • Zoo Med 22" T5 HO 5.0
  • 50W Pangea Halogen Heat Bulb
  • Zoo Med Deep Dome
  • Zoo Med Terrarium Controller
  • Exo Terra Pressure Sprayer
  • Pangea Temp & Humidity Gauge
  • PangeaCal without D3
  • Reptivite w/D3 2 oz
  • Pangea Rubber Tipped Tweezers
  • Mistking Mister system (I added this one)
Veiled chameleon caresheet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
 
Hello and welcome :)
definitely post some pictures of him please, it will help a lot. I would get a fecal test done, his sunken eyes could be due to parasites. put some ice cubes on his enclosure, once they melt, he can lick them of the leaves, my chameleon will only drink water that is dripping from a leaf. if you have time, Neptune the chameleon https://www.youtube.com/@NeptunetheChameleon and chameleon academy https://www.youtube.com/@ChameleonAcademy videos are an amazing way to find the things you need to make your boy thrive.
 
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okay, so the main thing right now is the light, you want a long skinny one, I use the Reptisun T5 HO hood with 5.0 lighting fixture, there is also the Arcadia 6% T5 light fixture, the bulb lasts longer than the Reptisun.
If you could, I would get live plants, Veiled chameleons seem to munch on plants more than others.
Here is the Neptune the Chameleon website, everything you need should be on there.
https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/plants
 
Sherbertsmysunshine said:
okay, so the main thing right now is the light, you want a long skinny one, I use the Reptisun T5 HO hood with 5.0 lighting fixture, there is also the Arcadia 6% T5 light fixture, the bulb lasts longer than the Reptisun.
If you could, I would get live plants, Veiled chameleons seem to munch on plants more than others.
Here is the Neptune the Chameleon website, everything you need should be on there.
https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/plants
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thank you so much
 
When you have time, filling this out would be very helpful.


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.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types 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?
  • 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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
It look like there not much branches or live plants. The vines and fake plants are not enough. Nix out the fake plants for at least two pothos vine. Plus a larger tree. You can pick ficus tree or any suitable house plants in Lowe’s or Home Depot.
 
Hi Laurananne and welcome to the forums! I too have a male veiled chameleon and he’s a pain in the butt with drinking. I removed his mister because he hated it so I hand mist with one of these…. $10.00 at Lowes or Home Depot. It produces a very fine mist and your hand won’t get tired like with the small spray bottles.

Get a linear T5 UVB bulb as stated earlier and some real branches like birch. I take a hike and gather good branches and zip tie them together like scaffolding. If you want some examples I’ll be happy to send pics and a how to.

For hydration, order some horn worms. They’re essentially bags of water and will hydrate him real quick. My veiled won’t drink but he eats horn worms and silk worms and that’s all the water he needs. Veiled chameleons are from Yemen which is a hot and dry desert hell hole most of the year, aside from a short rainy season. Veiled chams are tough and can be drought resistant but they do need water to survive. Hornworms are your key to success.
 

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Don’t handle him until he’s well hydrated and you get the husbandry sorted out. You’ll need live plants and plenty of real branches situated in a way that he can hide and feel secure. Handling him now unnecessarily could stress him to death. I would move him to another location while you redecorate his enclosure. Adjusting their new environment while they’re in it is a terrifying experience for a chameleon.
 
Last edited:
Andrew1283 said:
Hi Laurananne and welcome to the forums! I too have a male veiled chameleon and he’s a pain in the butt with drinking. I removed his mister because he hated it so I hand mist with one of these…. $10.00 at Lowes or Home Depot. It produces a very fine mist and your hand won’t get tired like with the small spray bottles.

Get a linear T5 UVB bulb as stated earlier and some real branches like birch. I take a hike and gather good branches and zip tie them together like scaffolding. If you want some examples I’ll be happy to send pics and a how to.

For hydration, order some horn worms. They’re essentially bags of water and will hydrate him real quick. My veiled won’t drink but he eats horn worms and silk worms and that’s all the water he needs. Veiled chameleons are from Yemen which is a hot and dry desert hell hole most of the year, aside from a short rainy season. Veiled chams are tough and can be drought resistant but they do need water to survive. Hornworms are your key to success.
Click to expand...
I do feed him horn worms, because I read that they are a good source of hydration. And I hand mist his cage as well, but I am not sure that's enough hydration.
 
BleuSaphir said:
It look like there not much branches or live plants. The vines and fake plants are not enough. Nix out the fake plants for at least two pothos vine. Plus a larger tree. You can pick ficus tree or any suitable house plants in Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Click to expand...
thank you for telling me
 
laurananne said:
I do feed him horn worms, because I read that they are a good source of hydration. And I hand mist his cage as well, but I am not sure that's enough hydration.
Click to expand...
I feed my chameleons grasshoppers, superworms, and silk worms. Once in a while I get hornworms but they’re so dirty I really try not to. Sooo much poop. But they’re just big water balloons so for a veiled cham eating a large hornworm the size of your thumb, that’s plenty of water each week. Keep up your misting. Make sure you mist heavily before lights go on and right after lights go out. Misting when it’s cool like they helps the moisture stay in the enclosure and helps avoid upper respiratory infection.
 
You won’t believe how fun they are when they have hiding places within live plants and branches. That’s when they really show their character. He probably won’t ever be content with handling. Veiled makes can be stinkers. But he will be content in his enclosure and may be interested in watching you and what you’re doing. And that’s adorable
 
What colour are the urates? White? Orange? Partly orange?

Whats the temperature in the basking area?

it would really help if you could answer the husbandry questions with as much detail as possible…especially about the lights and the supplements and how often you use each.. Do you gutload the insects?
 
Hi. :) You’ve got a lot of people giving you great help so far and I don’t want to add a different voice and make things confusing. I just want to say that it will greatly help those who are helping you if you answer the husbandry questions and post more pics of your entire enclosure.
 
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