Weird poops

[Zizor]

Rodger, my male, juvenile, veiled chameleon has been having weird poops for the past week or so. He eats mainly crickets and mealworms as a treat of if we run out of crickets, I dust them with calcium about twice a week. His enclosure is around mid seventies and mid eighties in his basking spot (it changes slightly depending on the weather outside). I know yellow poops can be a sign of dehydration. He gets misted 3 times a day for a minute each and it’s pretty humid where I live. I have only see. Him drink a few times when I first got him (almost a year ago), and the other day when I tried to get him to drink from a dropper. Other then this he’s fine, beautiful colors, great eater, moves around his enclosure lots, he finally is warming up to me, and he’s been getting some free range time on the plants right in front of my window
(Idk how old this poop is, 3 days at most)

 

[janjan20]

That looks like a urate to me and not the actual poop part. It looks pretty orange too. Do you have a bioactive set up? Maybe the poop part is hidden somewhere? IMO I would mist longer 2-3 mins 2-3 times a day depending on how it dries in between misting. I would also get some hornworms or silk worms to see if that will help with the orange urate.

 

[Beman]

So that is a urate not a fecal... And that is a sign of dehydration when it is mostly orange like that.

Mealworms should not be fed they are low in nutritional value.

Why are you only dusting twice a week? They should be supplemented at every feeding with the correct supplementation.

 

[kinyonga]

Is your chameleon eating anything in the cage...like substrate...fake plants, etc?

 

[Zizor]

Is your chameleon eating anything in the cage...like substrate...fake plants, etc?

I don’t have substrate, and he’s not eating any fake plants.

 

[Zizor]

So that is a urate not a fecal... And that is a sign of dehydration when it is mostly orange like that.

Mealworms should not be fed they are low in nutritional value.

Why are you only dusting twice a week? They should be supplemented at every feeding with the correct supplementation.

I know it’s urate (just said poop because it’s easier) I’m going to increase the misting frequency (maybe 6ish times a day). Again mealworms are only a treat and I’ll start dusting every day, is there any other supplements they need? I only have calcium.

 

[Beman]

I know it’s urate (just said poop because it’s easier) I’m going to increase the misting frequency (maybe 6ish times a day). Again mealworms are only a treat and I’ll start dusting every day, is there any other supplements they need? I only have calcium.

I would suggest filling this out with detail and pictures of the entire enclosure lights down and of the chameleon. Then we can give you real feedback based on your cham and your set up.

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.

 

[Zizor]

That looks like a urate to me and not the actual poop part. It looks pretty orange too. Do you have a bioactive set up? Maybe the poop part is hidden somewhere? IMO I would mist longer 2-3 mins 2-3 times a day depending on how it dries in between misting. I would also get some hornworms or silk worms to see if that will help with the orange urate.

I know it’s urate ( I said poop because it was easier). I do not have a bioactive setup, but sometimes the urate and poop will separate when they dry out, I also cleaned his enclosure the other day so I might have just missed the urate part. I’m gonna increase the misting frequency (6ish times a day) none of my local pet stores sell horn or silkworms, do you think some juicy fruits or veggies would help?

 

[janjan20]

I know it’s urate ( I said poop because it was easier). I do not have a bioactive setup, but sometimes the urate and poop will separate when they dry out, I also cleaned his enclosure the other day so I might have just missed the urate part. I’m gonna increase the misting frequency (6ish times a day) none of my local pet stores sell horn or silkworms, do you think some juicy fruits or veggies would help?

Oh ok, sometimes it does separate. Misting 6 times a day is too much. Something has changed I think for the urates to look that orange. You can get feeders online if that’s an option you are willing to take. I would stay away from fruits and veggies unless you are using it to gutload your crickets. Veileds are known to eat vegetation but it serves as roughage. I would fill out the help form posted above.

 

[Zizor]

I would suggest filling this out with detail and pictures of the entire enclosure lights down and of the chameleon. Then we can give you real feedback based on your cham and your set up.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, veiled, idk exact age but juvenile, almost a year
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Less than once a week
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Usually around 12 small crickets, in the morning, the crickets have a gut loading food thing
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium, used to be twice a week
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has an automatic mister, used to mist 3 times a day for a minute each, I hardly ever see him drink
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Fecal looks good, brown in color and a squishy texture, no
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No, I think it should be mentioned that I got him at pet smart, but he’s seemed very heathy

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 16x16x13 mesh cage
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I’m not sure what brand, lights are on from 7am to 9pm
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Mid seventies, mid eighties-ninety in basking spot, night temps are low seventies-high sixties, Temps are measured constantly
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is 40-50, 55-60 if just misted
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? He has live pothos
• 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? The cage is in my bedroom, it’s very close to the ground but the I’m hardly ever in there and he has never seemed stressed about it
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Pennsylvania

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Yellow urate
--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Zizor]

Oh ok, sometimes it does separate. Misting 6 times a day is too much. Something has changed I think for the urates to look that orange. You can get feeders online if that’s an option you are willing to take. I would stay away from fruits and veggies unless you are using it to gutload your crickets. Veileds are known to eat vegetation but it serves as roughage. I would fill out the help form posted above.

How often should I must him then? I’ll definitely try to gut load the crickets more

 

[janjan20]

Sorry trying to do this from my phone and having lots of technical difficulties! Please see my responses in black.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, veiled, idk exact age but juvenile, almost a year
  please post a current picture.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Less than once a week
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Usually around 12 small crickets, in the morning, the crickets have a gut loading food thing. Since he is almost a year you can go to every other day for feeding, 3-5 large feeders. What are you specifically gutloading with?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium, used to be twice a week. Can you post a picture of the calcium? It should be plain calcium and phosphorus free dusting with every feeding and then dusting with calcium+D3 twice a month for one feeding. Multivitamin twice a month one feeding (on the alternating weeks without Vit D3).
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has an automatic mister, used to mist 3 times a day for a minute each, I hardly ever see him drink
  Misting schedules can be tweaked. It typically takes a couple of minutes to trigger a drinking response so I would suggest misting 3 mins in the morning. 2 Mins in the afternoon and 2-3 in the evening. Or you can skip the afternoon misting session and get a dripper to drip for a couple of hrs. Nighttime fogging helps them retain moisture too and keeps them hydrated.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Fecal looks good, brown in color and a squishy texture, no
  Getting a fecal done since he hasn’t had one would be good since he is eating crickets. That insect can carry parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No, I think it should be mentioned that I got him at pet smart, but he’s seemed very heathy

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 16x16x13 mesh cage Need to upgrade to a minimum 2x2x4 or larger. The sooner the better.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What type of uvb are you using? This is very important. Take pictures please. From the lights down.
  What is your daily lighting schedule? I’m not sure what brand, lights are on from 7am to 9pm Typically should be a 12 hr on and off cycle.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Mid seventies, mid eighties-ninety in basking spot, night temps are low seventies-high sixties, Temps are measured constantly how are you measuring the temps? You should lower the basking temp to mid to high 80’s. How far is the basking branch?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is 40-50, 55-60 if just misted how are you measuring humidity? Daytime is ok at 40-50, fogging at night will help with hydration. I will leave links below.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? He has live pothos the more live plants the better it will maintain humidity.
• 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? The cage is in my bedroom, it’s very close to the ground but the I’m hardly ever in there and he has never seemed stressed about it
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Pennsylvania
• 
  https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...s-through-the-fog-without-dispelling-it.2400/
• https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/
  
  
  
  
  https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/new-chameleon-owner.177695/#lg=attachment276206&slide=0