Worried about our new Veiled

[eliteski2]

Hey all,

We just got a veiled chameleon about a week ago, from an aunt. He is about 1 1/2 yrs old . She gave us all of the enclosure and care things she had. At first, he was fairly active, and seemed happy, but over the last couple of days, he just hides in the corner and doesn't move much at all. Nothing really has changed, but we're worried. Is this normal? or should we be concerned? Is it worth taking him to the vet?

 

[vgaines]

Please fill this out so that members can better help. Also, if you can post pictures of you cham and his home that would be a big help.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

This is a great place to get good information on how to keep your cham happy and healthy.

You should look at the veiled chameleon care sheet which can be found under the Resources tab at the top of the home page.

Hope this helps..

PS Here is the link to the care sheet for veiled chameleons....

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[eliteski2]

Sorry about that.
Again, he is a veiled chameleon, about 1 1/2 years old. We have had him about a week.
At first we were handling him for about 10-15 mins every-every other day, and he seemed to enjoy it. I understand they're not very social, so, when he started to seem upset by it, we cut back, and have not held him barely at all since then.
We feed him 10-15 crickets per day.
We have not been dusting his feed. The expert at Petsmart told us that if we are feeding the crickets the vitamin rich cricket food (Fluker's Cricket Quencher and Orange Cube), that we didn't want to double up on vitamins.
We mist 3-4 times per day but I don't see him drinking. The aunt we got him from gave him water from a dish, but I have read that they don't like that. It is still in his enclosure, and we have seen him in it a few times.
Not sure how to best describe his droppings. There are wet, brown turd style, and mostly white/yellowish puddles...?

His enclosure is glass, 18x18x24. Screen top.
He has a 75 watt heat lamp in the back corner, and two Reptisun 5.0 lights across the front top.
His cage is about 75-80 at the bottom, and 85-90 at the top. Lowest overnight is probably around 70 lately.
The hygrometer in the enclosure registers between 35-50% throughout the day.
All of his plants are synthetic.
The cage is in our living room, on a table, in the corner. It is about 3 feet from an in-wall AC, but it is below the level of his cage and blows by it.
We are in Davis, in Northern California.

 

[vgaines]

We have not been dusting his feed. The expert at Petsmart told us that if we are feeding the crickets the vitamin rich cricket food (Fluker's Cricket Quencher and Orange Cube), that we didn't want to double up on vitamins.

Most employees there are not experts... Fluker's cricket stuff is not good. There are much better gut loads that you can make at home. Gut loading food items does not replace the need for supplements.

Here is the link for feeding etc. It talks about gut loading etc. for your cham.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

Water dishes are not a good idea. Feeders drown in them and chameleons poop in them. You don't want your cham drinking nasty water. In nature they do not drink from standing water. They drink dew, mist, and rain off of leaves. My veiled was drinking from a water fountain when I purchased him but had no problem switching over to drinking from mist in his cage. I also have a dripper on top. Super easy to make. Get a cup or other container that will hold water. Put a tiny hole in the bottom and place on top of the cage so that the water drips onto some leaves. I have a dripper and I mist 2-3 times a day and my boy is well hydrated.

It may take him some time to settle in after the move. Make sure he is drinking. His poop should be brown/black with white at one end. If the white part is yellowish or orange your cham is dehydrated.

Hope this helps.

 

[eliteski2]

Thanks for that. Would a couple of days missed supplements affect his behavior that much?

 

[eliteski2]

Here is an image of his enclosure and of one of him.

 

[eliteski2]

I have set up a dripper for him. Is dehydration my only concern right now?

 

[carol5208]

That enclosure is way too small for an adult veild. You should have something like 24 X 24 X48 which is preferred. That would be an all screen cage. Also, you do not need two reptisun 5.0, especially in that size. What are you going to do with the excess water from the dripper? If you get it too damp and humid in there you are going to create mold and bacteria which can lead to a respiratory infection. Bottom line is, you need to get him in the proper size enclosure. Missing a couple of days of supplements will do no harm at all. Go into the Care Resources on the home page and click on care sheets and then Veilds. It will give you all the info you need to keep this guy healthy.