Weird Behavior and colour

[ConnieCulmer]

So my Veiled Chameleon is about 4-5 months old, the pet shop we got him from didn't know how to look after him and I didn't do my research so he got really ill. He started shutting his eyes and stopped moving around his viv during the day and that's when I took him to the vets, the vet couldn't find anything immediately wrong with him so we sent a sample of his feces to be tested for parasites and we're still waiting for the results.

The vet gave him a shot of anti-biotics and I made some drastic changes to his environment and he has got better! But he's still displaying signs of illness.

Some days he will be moving around his viv and would seem completely fine but other days he just sits under his basking bulb (60W red light bulb) and goes a dark colour, he will sit there for most of the day or untill I feed him. I read somewhere that the dark colours could indicate stress? Either way I'm really worried about him still. He still shuts his eyes occasionally, but when he was ill he shut them like he was sleeping. Now he shuts them like they're irritated. Sometimes he will randomly puff himself up too which doesn't seem normal. I'm worried it may be a respiratory infection.

Also he had a shed last week, it took him three days to fully shed and he still has flaky skin attached to him a week and a half later. His first shed took him a day and he had no excess skin left. Is this something I should be worried about too?

Age: 4-5 months
Viv size: 46x44x59cm
Plants: Fake
Water: Constant misting sessions during the day plus dripping leaf, I use tap water (dripping leaf is left on all night)
Food: Gutloaded locusts, sometimes crickets, sometimes wax worms, Spinach leaves and apple sprayed with water to keep him hydrated (all feeders are gutloaded with spinach and apple)
Supplements: Arkvits used once or twice a month, Zolcal-D used once a day (recommended by the vet)
Bulbs: Basking bulb 60W red light, Other bulb is linear UVB 5.0 and there's just one of them, also has a heat matt which I put on during the night because my flat gets really cold at night.
Heat: Viv stays at around 30 degrees Celsius during the day, not sure on the temperature at night, basking bulb is around 8 inches from basking spot.

He is currently sat at the back of his viv under his basking bulb, he has gone a really dark colour and won't eat. (which is really unusual)

Please help, I really care about this little guy.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

So my Veiled Chameleon is about 4-5 months old, the pet shop we got him from didn't know how to look after him and I didn't do my research so he got really ill. He started shutting his eyes and stopped moving around his viv during the day and that's when I took him to the vets, the vet couldn't find anything immediately wrong with him so we sent a sample of his feces to be tested for parasites and we're still waiting for the results.

The vet gave him a shot of anti-biotics and I made some drastic changes to his environment and he has got better! But he's still displaying signs of illness.

Some days he will be moving around his viv and would seem completely fine but other days he just sits under his basking bulb (60W red light bulb) and goes a dark colour, he will sit there for most of the day or untill I feed him. I read somewhere that the dark colours could indicate stress? Either way I'm really worried about him still. He still shuts his eyes occasionally, but when he was ill he shut them like he was sleeping. Now he shuts them like they're irritated. Sometimes he will randomly puff himself up too which doesn't seem normal. I'm worried it may be a respiratory infection.

Also he had a shed last week, it took him three days to fully shed and he still has flaky skin attached to him a week and a half later. His first shed took him a day and he had no excess skin left. Is this something I should be worried about too?

Age: 4-5 months
Viv size: 46x44x59cm
Plants: Fake
Water: Constant misting sessions during the day plus dripping leaf, I use tap water (dripping leaf is left on all night)
Food: Gutloaded locusts, sometimes crickets, sometimes wax worms, Spinach leaves and apple sprayed with water to keep him hydrated (all feeders are gutloaded with spinach and apple)
Supplements: Arkvits used once or twice a month, Zolcal-D used once a day (recommended by the vet)
Bulbs: Basking bulb 60W red light, Other bulb is linear UVB 5.0 and there's just one of them, also has a heat matt which I put on during the night because my flat gets really cold at night.
Heat: Viv stays at around 30 degrees Celsius during the day, not sure on the temperature at night, basking bulb is around 8 inches from basking spot.

He is currently sat at the back of his viv under his basking bulb, he has gone a really dark colour and won't eat. (which is really unusual)

Please help, I really care about this little guy.

Spinach is not good, I think it absorbs calcium. Please post pictures.

 

[ConnieCulmer]

I only started feeding him spinach after we took him to the vets, I read somewhere that leafy greens were good for him. Could a couple of weeks feeding him spinach leaves make a big impact on his health? Will stop feeding them to him immediately, I feel so guilty.

Also this is the best picture I could get on my laptop, he is usually sat there most of the day and his colouring is literally black.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

I only started feeding him spinach after we took him to the vets, I read somewhere that leafy greens were good for him. Could a couple of weeks feeding him spinach leaves make a big impact on his health? Will stop feeding them to him immediately, I feel so guilty.

Also this is the best picture I could get on my laptop, he is usually sat there most of the day and his colouring is literally black.

He should have more branches and foliage. Look up spinach and reptiles, I don't know much about it.

 

[ConnieCulmer]

I looked it up, you're right! I don't want to take any chances anyway. This little man means the world to me.

I wasn't going to get any more foliage until I get him a bigger viv, it's hard to put more foliage in because it's already quite packed. I was planning on getting real plants too. He also has mesh stuck to the sides of his viv so he can climb. None of which is too close to the bulbs either.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

I looked it up, you're right! I don't want to take any chances anyway. This little man means the world to me.

I wasn't going to get any more foliage until I get him a bigger viv, it's hard to put more foliage in because it's already quite packed. I was planning on getting real plants too. He also has mesh stuck to the sides of his viv so he can climb. None of which is too close to the bulbs either.

Good, the red lights aren't as good either, because they tend to look unnatural, and I think chameleons perceive the light in different ways then they would white light.

 

[ConnieCulmer]

We do have a spare white light 60W bulb, I'll try putting that in and see if his colouring changes.
In the mean time, is there anything I can do about his eyes? He seems very agitated.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

We do have a spare white light 60W bulb, I'll try putting that in and see if his colouring changes.
In the mean time, is there anything I can do about his eyes? He seems very agitated.

I didn't mean his color changing, I meant the way he sees color.

 

[ConnieCulmer]

Yes but it seems like he only goes a dark colour when he sits under his basking bulb, so it may be causing him stress. Hence the dark colours.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Yes but it seems like he only goes a dark colour when he sits under his basking bulb, so it may be causing him stress. Hence the dark colours.

He might just be trying to absorb the heat.

 

[ConnieCulmer]

Either way, I'm not taking any chances. It's only since I changed the basking bulb to red light that he's started to go that colour when he basks.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Either way, I'm not taking any chances. It's only since I changed the basking bulb to red light that he's started to go that colour when he basks.

That's interesting.

 

[TonyStark]

Spinach is not good, I think it absorbs calcium. Please post pictures.

I highly recommend you to listen to this podcast:
http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/

It is awesome and you will learn almost everything you need to know about keeping your Cham. Also you should read the care sheet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

That´s all you need, good luck!

 

[zordtaz]

What is temperature in the viv? Dark color might mean that it is too cold for him too. I also notice that his eyes is puff and take time to shed. It might be the humid too. and do you have any way to drain water out or not since you leave the water drift all night.

Close eyes might cause by the temperature as well

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."basking bulb (60W red light bulb)"..you can use a regular white incandescent household bulb for a basking bulb in the future...it's cheap and works.

You said your plants are fake...I would recommend nontoxic well washed (both sides of the leaves) real plants because veileds often munch on greenery. You can feed them the same things I recommend you gutload/feed insects with.... dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, squash, zucchini, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, carrots, and a bit of fruit such as apples, melon, pears, berries.

You said..." Constant misting sessions during the day plus dripping leaf, I use tap water (dripping leaf is left on all night)" ....no need for water to been at night ...the cage should dry out.

You said..."gutloaded locusts, sometimes crickets, sometimes wax worms".....gutloaded with what. I gave you a list of good things to use above.

You said..."Arkvits used once or twice a month, Zolcal-D used once a day (recommended by the vet)"...dont know either since I live in Canada...but I recommend using a phosphorus-free calcium powder at almost every feeding, a phosphorus-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month lightly and a vitamin powder twice a month lightly.

You said you use "a heat matt which I put on during the night because my flat gets really cold at night"...it's better to use a ceramic heat emitting bulb at night but no heat is needed unless the temperature is below 60F.

You said..."it seems like he only goes a dark colour when he sits under his basking bulb, so it may be causing him stress. Hence the dark colours"....it could be.