Veiled chameleon

Lilmissbitty

New Member
I got a juvenile veiled chameleon 4 days ago and he won't eat the black fly larva we have. I saw him rubbing his face on a branch today. Could he not be eating because he is going to shed? Or is there something else I don't know. We find him on the bottom of the cage a lot and I don't know why. Any suggestions?
 
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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.

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Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
I got a juvenile veiled chameleon 4 days ago and he won't eat the black fly larva we have. I saw him rubbing his face on a branch today. Could he not be eating because he is going to shed? Or is there something else I don't know. We find him on the bottom of the cage a lot and I don't know why. Any suggestions?
Hi and welcome! :) It’s possible he’s not eating because of getting ready to shed. It’s not good for him to spend any amount of time on the enclosure floor. If you could fill out the help form provided already, someone can review your husbandry and make sure all is correct for your sweet little guy.
 
  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, male, and juvenile. 4 days
  • Handling - daily
  • Feeding - he's not eating but we are trying black for larva.
  • Supplements - flukers vitamin supplement
  • Watering - We have a fogger and we hand mist 3 to 4 times a day and we see him drink.
  • Fecal Description - black chuck and white liquid. Kids line bust poop but wetter. He had not been tested
  • History - got him from cbreptile

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting - t5ho uvb and day and night heat lights
  • Temperature - low 90s for his hot spot. 70s at bottom over night. A temp and hydrometer
  • Humidity - 60 in the fogger spot. A hydrometer
  • Plants - reptivines
  • Placement - cage is in high traffic area. Only place in our apartment for our. It's colors are looking good
  • Location - minnesota
 
  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, male, and juvenile. 4 days
  • Handling - daily
  • Feeding - he's not eating but we are trying black for larva.
  • Supplements - flukers vitamin supplement
  • Watering - We have a fogger and we hand mist 3 to 4 times a day and we see him drink.
  • Fecal Description - black chuck and white liquid. Kids line bust poop but wetter. He had not been tested
  • History - got him from cbreptile

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting - t5ho uvb and day and night heat lights
  • Temperature - low 90s for his hot spot. 70s at bottom over night. A temp and hydrometer
  • Humidity - 60 in the fogger spot. A hydrometer
  • Plants - reptivines
  • Placement - cage is in high traffic area. Only place in our apartment for our. It's colors are looking good
  • Location - minnesota

20201203_165818.jpg
 
  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, male, and juvenile. 4 days
  • Handling - daily. Does he goes on your hand by himself or you take him out? If he is not getting on you by himself you should not touch him!
  • Feeding - he's not eating but we are trying black for larva. You should try crickets, dubia, superworms( not often) and hornworms
  • Supplements - flukers vitamin supplement. Are you using pure calcium and calcium with d3? You should dust your bugs with pure calcium every time you feed or at least every 2nd time. Calcium with d3 twice a month.
  • Watering - We have a fogger and we hand mist 3 to 4 times a day and we see him drink.
  • Fecal Description - black chuck and white liquid. Kids line bust poop but wetter. He had not been tested
  • History - got him from cbreptile

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting - t5ho uvb and day and night heat lights. No lights at nigh the temp should get down and it should be a total dark! What percentage of uvb are on your t5ho light?
  • Temperature - low 90s for his hot spot. 70s at bottom over night. A temp and hydrometer
  • Humidity - 60 in the fogger spot. A hydrometer
  • Plants - reptivines. You need to get a lot more branches and leafs. The cham needs to be able to hide at every spot in the enclosure and to walk in lower part if he feels to hot.
  • Placement - cage is in high traffic area. Only place in our apartment for our. It's colors are looking good
  • Location - minnesota
  • I hope I helped you at least a little bit! Good luck 😁
 
  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, male, and juvenile. 4 days
  • Handling - daily. Does he goes on your hand by himself or you take him out? If he is not getting on you by himself you should not touch him!
  • Feeding - he's not eating but we are trying black for larva. You should try crickets, dubia, superworms( not often) and hornworms
  • Supplements - flukers vitamin supplement. Are you using pure calcium and calcium with d3? You should dust your bugs with pure calcium every time you feed or at least every 2nd time. Calcium with d3 twice a month.
  • Watering - We have a fogger and we hand mist 3 to 4 times a day and we see him drink.
  • Fecal Description - black chuck and white liquid. Kids line bust poop but wetter. He had not been tested
  • History - got him from cbreptile

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting - t5ho uvb and day and night heat lights. No lights at nigh the temp should get down and it should be a total dark! What percentage of uvb are on your t5ho light?
  • Temperature - low 90s for his hot spot. 70s at bottom over night. A temp and hydrometer
  • Humidity - 60 in the fogger spot. A hydrometer
  • Plants - reptivines. You need to get a lot more branches and leafs. The cham needs to be able to hide at every spot in the enclosure and to walk in lower part if he feels to hot.
  • Placement - cage is in high traffic area. Only place in our apartment for our. It's colors are looking good
  • Location - minnesota
  • I hope I helped you at least a little bit! Good luck 😁
He does climb on our hand by himself. We will turn the lights off at night. More vines and leaves after on the way! 10 t5ho. Just calcium. We got black fly larva because they are high in calcium and from what I read crickets have too much chitin.
 
He does climb on our hand by himself. We will turn the lights off at night. More vines and leaves after on the way! 10 t5ho. Just calcium. We got black fly larva because they are high in calcium and from what I read crickets have too much chitin.
Everything's awesome! Just need to say this: you need to feed your cham with variety of bugs, best are crickets( they are totally safe), dubias, hornworms( for hidration), silkworms( hard to get and expensive), and superworms( treat). You should gut load them too and that is important because you cant gut load bsf larva. Also its better to take 5% or 6% but I would include @Beman in this conversation about percentage because she knows better!
 
Additionally you will not want to run the fogger during the day at all. This increases risk of developing an RI due to the hot temps from light... You only should run this at night when your cage has cooled below 68 degrees.

No lights at night at all they need to have a 12 hour period of total darkness and drop in temps.

Basking is way too hot... 80-85 max...

No red bulbs at all either it is bad for their eyes...

This husbandry program will help you learn very quickly. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
 
He does climb on our hand by himself. We will turn the lights off at night. More vines and leaves after on the way! 10 t5ho. Just calcium. We got black fly larva because they are high in calcium and from what I read crickets have too much chitin.
Crickets are safe, but variety is best. Is that a red heat lamp?
 
Wow I didn't know we were making so many mistakes. Thank you so much for all your advice!
I hope you don't mind my 2 cents. I like to encourage people here. Don't feel bad about asking questions and don't beat yourself up about making mistakes. It's a great thing you're doing by asking questions and learning. It means you care about your Cham and it's quality of life and are doing all the things you can to provide that. We all started at the bottom and we are all at various stages of expertise but we these things in common. We love our Chams, we love the hobby and we'll continue to provide the best knowledge we can. Anyway, enjoy. :)
 
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