What's wrong with Kami? Please help!!

OliviaM

OliviaM

New Member
I'm not sure how old she is or what sex, but I think she's a sengal. I call her a girl whether she is or not im not sure. Her first shed while being in my care was around July 30th. I got her somewhere around June. A few days ago she started to shed again. I think maybe she is shedding again because I wasn't feeding her the right amount of meal worms, but I read some info the other day and I realized I shouldn't have fed her the amount I did. I thought maybe she was this color because she was shedding, the first time she shed I was away and didn't get to see it. For as long as i've had her she's never been this color for so long. Before she started shedding she was always a lime green color and when i held her she was calm and ok. But for a few days now she's looked like she's stressed. And she's pretty much through shedding so I figured it would be ok to hold her for a few minutes. But when i got her out she was jumpy and even hissed at me :( I was shocked because she's never done that to me before. If I moved too fast she would kind of jump back. Even in her cage though shes those colors. I've seen her lime green once since she's shed. But anyway she was always moving when I was holding her and normally she's chill. I just feel like somethings not right because she's never been this color for so long before and she's never hissed at me or acted like she was scared of me. :( I just hope someone can give me some advice as to why she's like she is. I hope its just a phase.

The attachments are a few photos of her.
 

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alright i will and i figured that, i just want to know why she's doing it now and never has before.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Senegal chameleon, don't know the sex but i call her a girl, not sure how old she is but probably not even a year old. she's been in my care for roughly 2 months
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Before she shed I held her often and she was calm and chill about it. Maybe every other day or something.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
I feed her large crickets she eats about 2 or 3 a day. No schedule she eats when shes hungry. I use the orange gut-load.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
I dust everything i feed her with calcium powder.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
I use a spray bottle, i spray her several times a day probably 5 or 6 times a day. I've seen her drink water on several occasions. I spray the top of her wire mesh like cage so it forms drops as well as the leaves.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Brown and white, the white has a yellow tint to it. I don't think she has ever been tested for parasites. But she is not fed any type of wild insect.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Before she shed she was always calm and lime green.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
It is screen, wire mesh type that I got from the store I bought her from. Hight: about 20" Length and width: about 15x15"
Lighting - What brand, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
All of the material i have for her is Fluker's. Her lights are always on. I have the UVB bulb and the other one that looks like a regular bulb. Cant member what its called. But one's purple and one's regular color.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
The bottom of her cage is cool and the top of her cage is warm. I don't measure the temps but she's always seemed pretty comfortable. She's always lime green so thats how i tell shes ok.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
I'm not sure about humidity, i'm always spraying her enviornment though so i think that help with humidity. Like i said though she hasn't ever looked uncomfortable.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
no live all fake fluker's plants
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?
My dad's always saying she needs to be higher but shes 5 feet and some inches from the floor to the top of her cage and she's comfortable. She's not near anything that would cause her stress, she's in my room where no one's at. i'm not even in my room most the time just at night when i sleep and when i take care of her. i keep my door closed and she's not bothered.
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
She's been acting and looking differently. She's normally always lime green but as you see in the pictures shes splotchy. She has currently shed so I thought that might have something to do with it. She's at the end of shedding with only one piece of skin left to shed. When I tried to hold her she was jumpy and scared. She was constantly moving trying to get away from me. Before she started shedding she was calm and not nervous or stressed when I held her or while she was in her cage. I'm just wondering what's causing her to be so stressed and scared/nervous. She wasn't like this previously.
 
OliviaM said:
alright i will and i figured that, i just want to know why she's doing it now and never has before.
Click to expand...

many chams seem nice as little ones, then develop tudes later. They arent cuddly fuzzy creatures. SOme can be handled, some cant. Nothing necessarily triggered her hissing.
 
well today is the only day she hasn't really wanted me to hold her, and she hissed at me cause i moved to fast and it scared her. or at least thats what i believe cause me handling her didnt make her hiss just when i moved to fast toward her with my hand. and you may be right she seems to be a little bit more angry towards me lately. even before she shed she would do the thing with her throat like she was gettin ready to hiss at me. but i dont think her getting and attitude explains why she's been so stressed and splotchy colored lately.
Thank you for your help anything helps.
 
What are you dusting with, as in the schedule? That can sometimes effect color I've seen, don't know about mood though, the schedule you're supposed to have is:

Calcium without d3 everyday,
Calcium with d3 twice a month,
Multivitamins twice a month.

You should get a schedule for her to eat, not just feed her when she's hungry.

Measuring the temperature and humidity is something you should do. Don't just guess it because "Oh look, she's green", she isn't now.

I noticed my cham was a little jumpy right before and after the earthquake, as were most of my pets, I don't know if chameleons can sense it like other animals do.
 
Can you go ahead and fill out the help form I previously posted? that way we can see your husbandry to see if there is something that coudl stress her out.
 
I see several things you need to check or change.

First, when you first get a new cham they are stressed from the move and don't have a sense of their new territory. Chams are territorial, so once they settle in, they tend to resent YOU more when you invade their space. If she's a juvenile, she's probably reaching that difficult "teen" age when hormones are starting to kick in. Many chams get touchy for a while.

The "orange gutload" is not very complete. It may be easy, but won't provide your cham with good nutrition over time. There are good commercial gutloads available...I like Cricket Crack, available from Tiki Tiki Reptiles, a forum sponsor. Check the ingredients and you'll see what you are missing.

You can overdo the calcium dusting if it's the wrong type. Dust with a plain calcium (no vitamin D-3) very lightly every other day, use a calcium that does have added D-3 once a week, and dust with a herp vitamin dust once a month.

Any cham can carry parasites regardless where the feeder insects come from (wild or not they all have some). They are so common you'll probably never see a cham without any. If her parasite load is light, no problem. You should take a fecal sample to a vet to test for parasites so you'll know what she does have and at what level.

The lights are ALWAYS on?? You should be turning off all lights at night. Chams need at least a 10 degree drop in temp at night, and they have full color vision so any visible light will keep them awake. If your room stays above 60 at night you don't need the heat either. The safest UVB light most of us use is the ReptiSun 5.0 and change it at 6 months. You need to know the type of UV light you have! It is really important! Check the tube for information on the type. You can use any regular incandescent house light bulb for basking. Doesn't need to be a fancy herp heat light.

You need to know the temperatures and humidity level in the cage! Don't guess and don't assume she is "comfortable" without this specific information. Chams are experts at hiding their problems and discomfort until they are really in trouble. Get a infrared temp gun ($30 from a place like ProExotics...really a great thing that lets you measure the surface temp of anything you point it at...like your cham, the basking perch, a cooler area of the cage). Get a humidity gauge or hygrometer to keep track of the cage humidity. This is also very important and you can't guess just by looking.

Live plants are usually a better idea than fakes. They help maintain humidity, help with air quality, provide better places for her to hide, etc. Fakes aren't terrible and you can leave them in the cage, but most of us need the live plants.
 
lets make sure you are using the correct lighting. Neither one of your lights should be purple. A ordinary white housebulb for basking, say a 40 watt or so(not sure what senegals bask at, so maybe research that). We need to make sure the UVB light you have is correct and not a desert series or something. See if you can find out exactly what you are using. Your UVB should be a white light also. So which one is purple?
 
You also shouldn't be feeding her many mealworms. They're a bad staple choice. They're low in nutrition and their shell can cause constipation, get crickets or dubia roaches.
 
KarmaChameleon1337 said:
What are you dusting with, as in the schedule? That can sometimes effect color I've seen, don't know about mood though, the schedule you're supposed to have is:

Calcium without d3 everyday,
Calcium with d3 twice a month,
Multivitamins twice a month.

You should get a schedule for her to eat, not just feed her when she's hungry.

Measuring the temperature and humidity is something you should do. Don't just guess it because "Oh look, she's green", she isn't now.

I noticed my cham was a little jumpy right before and after the earthquake, as were most of my pets, I don't know if chameleons can sense it like other animals do.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the schedule I wasn't following this but I will now. Calcium with d3 am I supposed to dust one cricket twice a month? And for the multivitamins whats the brand name? How do you check humidity and what should it be at? And thanks, I hope she's just jumpy cause of the earthquake.
 
You can usually find the multivitamins in pet stores, and you can get digital tempt and humidity gauges at Lowes or Home Depot. Don't forget to read everything else people said.
 
thanks for all the help i will get back with all of you later tonight will all the info on what material im using and all the other questions you had. thanks so much :)
 
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