A few random questions!

[DjangoLeon35]

Hi,

I am new here! I adopted my first chameleon, a veiled named Django, in June of this year and have some random questions for all of you experts out there. I also want to make sure he looks healthy to you guys. He eats a ton and seems to be doing well from what I can tell. So if anyone has answers to any or all of these, post away and thanks!

First of all, I am wanting to know if anyone could tell me how old he is?

This is a picture of when I first got him - I think June 16th or so.




This is him about a week ago:



Question #2: Does anyone know what this plant is and if so is it chameleon safe? He absolutely loves this plant and tries to climb to it whenever he is out but I want to make sure it is not poisonous before I let him go on it anymore.



Question #3: Is it weird/bad if he sometimes lays like this while he is basking under his heat light?



Question #4: Is it ok to let him eat house flies? His cage is near a window and when he comes out he loves catching them. Not sure if that is a good thing or not?

I think that is all for now. Thanks for putting up with all of my newbie questions!

 

[pigglett79]

Hello,

His arms look a little round to me. Can you fill out this form so that we can be sure everything is ok?

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

 

[DjangoLeon35]

Also here is this if it helps any

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon male. Age - Unknown - In my care since June 2013

Handling - Pretty much everyday. He seems to enjoy coming out/eating out of my hand

Feeding - about 8 crickets a day dusted with calcium w/o d3 - Reptivite once a month, Crickets gutloaded with veggies ( carrots, spinach, fruit, squash etc.) Wax worms and meal worms as treats

Supplements - Reptivite with d3 once a month, Reptical w/o d3 every to everyother feeding.

Watering - Spray bottle misting 2-3 times daily, Also just made a dripper for him. I do see him drink often.

Fecal Description -dark brown/ white

History - I bought him from petco.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass 55 gallon with screen top - I live where it is very dry and cold in the winter.

Lighting - Reptile blue heat light ( not sure of brand) and UVB. These
are on for probably 10 hrs a day.

Temperature - 85-90 basking, 75-80 away from light.

Plants - Pothos and spider plant

Placement - Near window, quiet living room.

Location - Colorado, USA

 

[DjangoLeon35]

Hello,

His arms look a little round to me. Can you fill out this form so that we can be sure everything is ok?

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

Does this mean that I am feeding him too much?
I've thought that he might be a little chunky... hehe.

 

[pigglett79]

Is the 55 gallon tank the type that is long horizontally or is it a vertically tall tank? Glass isnt a bad thing necessarily, it just needs to be tall vertically and built for ventilation.

 

[luvbug237]

The roundness looks like the start of MDB which is causes by lack of calcium. You say you give him calcium with no D3 daily so we'll see what the experts say

 

[DjangoLeon35]

It is horizontal - It was given to me and so I am just using it until I can save enough to build him a big tall one.

 

[pigglett79]

MBD could also be from improper UV lighting and other nutritional deficiencies. Is the UVB bulb you are using new? Most are only good for about 6 months.

 

[DjangoLeon35]

And I hope that he is not getting MBD.
Yes the bulb is brand new. However, he did not have one for the first week or two I had him
because the store I got him from didn't know anything about their care and didn't tell me. I didn't know
he needed one until I started doing my own care research.

 

[pigglett79]

ok, does the UVB bulb span the whole tank or only one side of it? Does he spend a lot of time under it?

I see that you already know you need a different cage for him so I wont go there, now we just need to figure out why he has rounded arms.

 

[DjangoLeon35]

It is mostly on one side - I have the bulb hanging over the area near his basking bulb which is where he usually spends most of his time. It is probably about 4 inches or so from the cage. Is that too far away? On the box it said that it is good up to about a foot away. Should I put it more in the middle of the cage?

 

[pigglett79]

If he is spending several hours under it, that should be fine. It is good that you have it in the same area as his basking bulb. You do need to work on making a new cage as soon as possible as you have him in a set up that is not optimal. He really wants to climb and be up high. He would appreciate a cage that is 4 feet tall. You do need to be sure he has plain calcium at every feeding and you should probably research a reptile vet in your area to have him evaluated.

The more variety in feeders you can offer the better, read through all the care sheets here and search as much as you can to learn about care and feeding.

 

[pigglett79]

oh, and dont use the spinach, instead use things like mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens etc. search for sandrachameleon and read through her blog on nutrition and gutloading, you will learn a lot about what is good and bad for your boy.

 

[DjangoLeon35]

Ok thanks so much for the help!

Do you have any idea about how old he looks?