Your advise is needed

B

BigSlick

New Member
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Chameleon Info: Veild Chameleon
Your Chameleon -Male, 3months 2 weeks// 3months
Handling - Once a week to clean the cage.
Feeding - Gutloaded Crix. What amount?10 Crix a day. What is the schedule? Morning
How are you gut-loading your feeders? Orange Cubes/ Apples,carrots 24 hours prior to feeding
Supplements - Flukers. D3 and calcium with out. I daily Dust Calcium and only D3 once a week.
Watering - Hand Mister 3-4 times 5 min each And I use the little Dripper 3 times a day. The mister is a Home Depot Special works like a charm. I just bought the Dripper. I didint notice him before until now. He gets real close to it. I did notice that he was getting a little dehydrated (eyes sinking in and his stool was not normal. So I got the dripper and his eyes are now back to normal and I have not noticed his Fecal. So I am guessing he was dehydrated. I have to make a better mister. Self timer.
Fecal Description - Have not noticed his fecal in the last couple days.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - Well I mad the mistake ofbuying this lovely creature for my son who is 16 yrs old. He wants to hold it everyday, I have taken control since day 1. Its to much for him to handle,I have follen fir this animal Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screened What are the dimensions? 16" L X 16" W X 20" H
Lighting - SunGlow 50W basking Light/Repti Glo cant remember the walts. But I got the walts from my prior posting. Had it 3 months.
Temperature - What temp range have you created Floor temp unknown but basking temp is 89 degrees Lowest overnight temp? 72 Degrees. Didnt know I need to measure the floor temp/ I use a digital meter.
Humidity - I am having a issue with humidty. it ranges from30% to 80% after misting but i cant keep a level. After misting humidty goes up to 88-90% but after that it goes down to the 30-40%
Plants - Yes? If so, what kind? Please forgive me but its listed as a Safe one one your site. I also use Fake plants
Placement - Top of the cage is 8Ft off the floor in a low traffic area
Location - AZ

So here is my questions... Sorry.

#1 When gutloading Crix what else can i use beside Apples/ Carrits/
#2 How do I know the crix I gutload are getting the food. the day of the feeding do you seperate the day before.?
#3 Also I have been using a 10G tank for the Crixs do they need to be in dark?
#4 What fruit and Veggy can he have as a treat.
#5 I have heard bad things about Super meal worms.feeding your thoughts.
#6 How the heck do I keep the Humidty up?

Today I walked in to the room the mist one last time and i noticed his mouth open like he was gagging and he puked something up I picked it up and it looked like cricket parts. That made me very concerned. I am going to make a repitle Vet apt inthe mornig to get a health check. But your thoughts a greatful. Here are some pictures.

Please Click Below and let me know what you think... Thanks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/azspotters/4283570024/in/set-72157623108103273/
 
Hello

You can feed the crickets dandelion, carrot, squash, collards, bee pollen, spirulina, oranges, papaya, etc. Check this blog entry, where I've listed many of the things I use: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html Keep fresh food in with the crickets at all times, and this will ensure they stay well fed and thus well gutloaded.
The crickets do not need to be in the dark, but do give them some egg crate or paper rolls to hide in.

You dont want to use super-mealworms or giant-mealworms, as those are often just hormone treated mealworms, artificially grown large. But uou can offer small superworms/kingworms (their real name is Zophobas morio so just verify before you buy), silkworms, butterworms, roach nymphs, occassionally a regular mealworm, and more. I believe variety is good for your chameleon. Check this blog entry for a list of commonly used feeders and info about each:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

Do you use a vitamin supplement? If you feed the crickets and other insects well, a vitamin supplement is less of an issue. but most of us still use it once or twice a month (depending on the brand of supplement). Which brand of calcium with d3 are you using? Some brands you dont want to use too often. Check these blog entries for more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html and
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html

Its fine to hand mist a couple times a day and use a dripper to provide most of his hydration needs. Its okay for the humidity to vary somewhat. Try not to go below 40%, with spikes to80+% when misting. You can cover the back and one side of the cage with a solid surface or plastic, to help retain humidity. Branches should dry out between mistings. Check the fecal colour. A white urate is a sign of good hydration. Yellow or worse orange can be a sign of over supplementation or dehydration.

Basking temp of 89F is a little on the hot side for a young veiled. What is the temp of the lower/coolers parts of the cage?
For a young chameleon, I'd go with a daytime basking spot up to 81F/27C, day cooler spot / ambient range 70-75F /21 -23C
and night to a low of 68F/20C (no lights on at night).
when your veiled is older, if it is male, day basking spot 96.5F/36C, day cooler spot / ambient range 70-80F/21 -26C, night to a low of 60F/15.5C
 
Last edited:
I have read your articles.. That will keep me busy for awhile. But what do yo mean Wet Vs Dry gutload?

I use the following
Flukes Cricket quencher
Flukes Orange Cube
Flukes High Cal
Flukes W/ D3 (once a week)

I will check the temps again. He has several levels he can goto in the Home. Also did you look at the pics?
 
What part of AZ do you live in? Sprout's (Farmer's Market) is your best chance for finding organic greens and fruits. They're the only place I know of that even sells dandelion greens.
 
I live rather close to Sprouts. So that shouldnt be a problem.... There was a thread some time back that talked about a DIY Mister. I am trying to find it.
 
Humidity fluctuation is a good thing. You want a cycle. 40-50% when dry, 70-90+% when misting, and you want it to hang around 60-70% for an hour or two after misting.

He may have been opening his mouth because his basking temp is way too hot for a baby. Bring it down to 80-83.

a wet gutload would be veggies and fruits while a dry gutload would be more like grains, nuts, and seeds (there are a lot more than just grains nuts and seeds though.)
 
No I saw some cricket parts mixed in some kind of junk come out of his mouth. Also how about when its time to feed him how do iknowwhat crix eat me mix?
 
Pssh had commited on saying maybe his mouth was open becouse of the heat. And I was replying that When I came in the roomto mist before I went to work it looked like he was gagging and then like puke with cricket trimmings where in the vomit. Then he was acting normal. I filled that part out. That show my set up do you guys think its alright. Also about my questions.

Thanks
Jason
 
You've pretty much had evrything recommended to you that I can think of. Post a pic and we can tell you if you should add or remove anything.

One more question, is your UVB a coil bulb or a linear tube?
 
pssh said:
a wet gutload would be veggies and fruits while a dry gutload would be more like grains, nuts, and seeds (there are a lot more than just grains nuts and seeds though.)
Click to expand...

A wet gutload is what pssh has described....i take it to be anything that has moisture in it like oranges, apples, lettuce, kale, romaine or any high content water foods. Where a dry gutload is grains, nuts, seeds, bee pollen, spiralina, kelp or any premixed gutload mix or anything with a low moisture level :)
 
No, it is just stuff that has quite a bit if water content. Like veggies and fruits. They can be cut into small pieces or shredded, but they do not need to be blended in a blender. I use one or two different veggies or fruits every couple days - a week. I continue to switch them out and cycle back every so often.
 
Just incase the pictures are not working here they are....


The last pic is where I was cleaning cage. After it is cleaned the top of cage is like 8ft from the floor...
 

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That chameleon is a female. She has no tarsal spurs on the backs of her hind feet. I'm on my phone so I may be wrong, but it's an iPhone so I can zoom in. Can you get a better picture of the backs of her back feet tomorrow?
 
OMG what are you kidding... lol Yes first thing in the morning. I am at work. If He is a She what will I have to do diffrently. "it being only 3 months old.
 
Females need lower temps and to have their feeding monitored very carefull to try and prevent them from laying eggs. They also need a laying bin placed in the cage around 5 months old just in case.
 
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