A lil help

[Chamelio Estevez]

So after about 5 years, I'm inadvertently back in the Chameleon game.

My last Chameleons (a veiled and a panther) were bought from a VERY shady reptile store here in Columbus, OH called Captive Born Reptiles. The veiled I had for about a year and a half, the panther 6 months.
After awhile I built the veiled a open air enclosure, 18in by 36in, 48in tall. He was fine for awhile, but eventually wouldnt eat, became cricket food, got a hemipen infection. I spent $800 on surgery to remove the infect hemipen, then medicated him according to my vet specialist, but he never bounced back and wouldn't eat.
The panther developed some sort of mouth infection, to where his mouth was always covered in a sort of slim.

I was never able to rehab either, and was forced to give them back to the bastards I bought them from, as it was that or kill them myself to end their misery. I have no idea what happened to the panther, they rehabbed the veiled and continued breeding him.

Just yesterday, I had to save my newest chameleon. His name is Chamelio Estevez, and he's (I'd guess) about a year, maybe older. He came to me in a glass aquarium, covered in decaying crickets and the whole floor of the cage was coated in mold, and with a regular 60 watt lightbulb for a basking light.

I've since cleaned his aquarium (I'm literally about to go buy materials to build an open air, as he is FREAKING out now that the glass is clean enough to see his reflection) and I've aquired proper lighting. I purchased a bag of ReptiBark for lining his cage, and a few dozen crickets.

Basically, I'm looking for any advice anyone has. Obviously I know a thing or two about Chameleons, and I'm reading up on them again, but I'd like some tips from active chameleon owners that I can communicate with.

As of now, I plan to build a cylinder cage about 36in tall, I have my basking light and UVB light, and a home made drip system, and will be purchasing some new sanitary plantlife for the little guy, and relining his new cage with the ReptiBark.
This time I'm going to house my crickets seperately, and gut load them, aswell as calcium coat them, so my guy can be healthy as possible.

Anything I should rethink or do differently? FYI, Chamelio is actually a female (I can help but call it a him) so I figure 36in is plenty big for the enclosure.

One last thing, and Ill post a pic later, but on his hind leg, it looks as if theres some kind of calcium deposit on the bone, or possibly it broke at some point and healed incorrectly? Either way, it isnt right. Is there anything to be done about this, or am I only able to just try and keep him as comfortable as possible given his situation?

Sorry for the rant, and if I did anything wrong or asked a stupid question. I love Chameleons and know the job it is to care for one, but I just couldnt let this guy suffer in that moldy aquarium anymore

Thanks again everyone

 

[carol5208]

The "calcium deposit" you speak of could be gout. Here is a link and a pic for you to view http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-f-gout_28.html

 

[carol5208]

Also, what type of UVB light will you be usin? As far as the substrate, you need to ditch that! As you said about the mold, well the substrate is going to breed bacteris. Not to mention that your cham may try to eat it intentionally or accidentally when shooting for prey. If she ingests the substrate that can lead to an impaction, which will again be leading you straight to the vet! You need three types of supplements. Calcium without d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month or so and a multi vitamin twice a month also.

 

[Chamelio Estevez]

what kind of lining/substrate would you recommend I use for the bottom of the cage?

 

[carol5208]

nothing. You are much better off just leaving it bare. you can put some paper towels down. I don't use anything.Most of us don't. I have a large plate underneath my main plant and it catches most of the water. I also use a small shallow tupperware container to catch some of the water from my dripper. If I see over flow, I just wipe it out with a towel. Some people drill holes in the bottom for drainage.

 

[Chamelio Estevez]

I like the drainage idea, thanks alot.

One more question, My cage I've made is made of Plastic coated Hardware Cloth, and the links are 1/2in apart, too big to let my crickets roam.
Aside from meal worms and whatnot, what can I put in a cup that he'll go for? If I use, say, a 3in tall tupperware, will that contain crickets or will I have to worry about them jumping out?
I looked at the thread with the milk jug dish, didnt really like the design. I just cant risk crickets rollin around here

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I use the tall plastic takeout containers that are about 8 inches tall because anything shorter than that the crickets can jump out of - I have a veiled with a tongue problem so I've tried a few different options. It has to be pretty slick so they can't crawl out but not clear because your cham will try to eat them through the plastic (sad but funny to watch). You might just have to experiement with a few things to find what works!

 

[carol5208]

Some people chose to pull of the back legs of the crickets so they cannot jump out of the cups. I for one could not bring myself to do this! I say "could" because right now my cham will not eat crickets! You can feed your chameleon a variety of other feeders. Some good ones are silkworms, hornworms, superworms, butterworms, phoenix worms, wax worms. Some feed dubias roaches in place of crickets. Supers and waxworms you can usually get at any pet store or reptile store. The silks and horns you can order online at Coastal Silkworms. Don't feed too heavy on the meal worms. They contain alot of Chitin(which is the hard exoskeleton) and they sometimes can lead to digestion problems. You are better off with superworms. Small ones if your cham is a juvenile. Any of the worms are good for cup feeding as long as you angle the cup so they cannot crawl up the sides.

 

[Michael Ryan]

The "calcium deposit" you speak of could be gout. Here is a link and a pic for you to view http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-f-gout_28.html

hmm i agree, do you mind posting a pic of this 'deposit'

 

[kinyonga]

You said your present chameleon is a female...do you have a suitable container of washed playsand in the cage for her to dig to show you when she needs to lay eggs? Some species can lay eggs without having been mated and can die eggbound if there is nowhere to lay them.

The hind leg could be MBD (which a vet can determine)...and if it is her calcium levels need to be brought back into line and kept there if you want her to do well. If its MBD, you can correct the imbalance but the leg will remain damaged. If you want the leg to be fixed it will require a vet. The best way to correct the calcium imbalance if it is MBD is to have the vet give the chameleon injections of calcium followed by a shot of calcitonin when the blood calcium levels are high enough to do it. The calcitonin draws the calcium rapidly back into the bones.

Here's some information I often post for newbies...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. For a young panther or veiled, I keep the temperatures in the low 80's. Their small bodies can dehydrate, cool and warm up more quickly than the adults will.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Some people chose to pull of the back legs of the crickets so they cannot jump out of the cups.

I did this for over a year for mine until I found a cup tall enough that they couldn't jump out. It was gross (cricket juice leaks on you and occasionally they tear in half) and time consuming. It got really old really fast so I would highly recommend getting a tall cup to not have to worry about that hassle.

 

[carol5208]

I did this for over a year for mine until I found a cup tall enough that they couldn't jump out. It was gross (cricket juice leaks on you and occasionally they tear in half) and time consuming. It got really old really fast so I would highly recommend getting a tall cup to not have to worry about that hassle.

oooh gross! Like I said I never did it! The tall cup sounds like a much better idea

 

[Chamelio Estevez]

Ok, so here's the new cage.

Made of Hardware cloth, plastic coated, and 2 18in. Plant saucers.
I rolled the cloth around the saucer to a tight fit, then using plant tie, tied it in a couple places to hold the shape. Then I wove plant tie through, and around, each rung to form a cylinder. Used a lil liquid nail to bond'em together, 24hrs later I got a nice solid cage. Obviously I didn't seal the top, just used a few plant ties over the top.
Next I used the plant ties to secure all his branches into place so he doesn't fall, and to suspend a cup which I filled with the remaining crickets.
Also, I used a curtain extension rod, and tied it to the side, to allow the mounting of his basking light, and other lights (although only the basking light is pictured.)

Since being put in his new home he's been a very bright, and seems VERY relaxed compared to being in his tank. I even caught him hangin by his tail eating crickets out of the cup, so I'm feelin pretty good about the whole thing.
Total cost: $22 for everything, except the cup and plant tie which I already had.

^The last pic is the potential bone issue. See the lil bump, knee lookin thing on his leg? thats not his knee. Im sorry I dont have a better picture, I forgot to grab one while I was transfering him earlier, and he spent a good time runnin around while I set up his cage so I didnt want to take him out again.

 

[ricardo velthuizen]

If i were you i should build a bigger cage for the cham.

In holland were doing it a bit different. we use a substrate on the ground we call humus.but if you have a female want i cant tell about the pic ive seenyou neet a pot with sand so she can lay off her eggs.
and you need more branches to climb for her.

If you want to see the whole build you need to visit this cham site in holland.
sorry there's almost no english but look at the pics they say enough.


http://www.de-kvn.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=7923

 

[Chamelio Estevez]

yea I saw that right up when considering housing options. But I already had the cylinder cage in mind, and then found a write up basically along the same lines, so I went with that because money is a factor. Im only 23 and pretty broke.

I plan to get more branches and what not, just havent had time (and I've only had the guy for 4 days)

So I just lay a dish on the bottom of the cage with regular sand for the eggs?

 

[carol5208]

For what eggs, he is a male isn't he???

 

[kinyonga]

Carol5208...Chamelio Estevez said "Chamelio is actually a female" in the first (?) post.

 

[Chamelio Estevez]

Yes sorry for the confusion. It IS a female. I just say him because its a boys name.

 

[Manik6]

idk if anyone even noticed but that sure as hell looks like a spur in that last pic of his leg. its a male. pls chamelio do your reasearch man. im really worried. look up the site sponsors. they have really good cages for cheap.

 

[kinyonga]

You're absolutely right Manik6! I was too busy looking at the bump to notice.
Good catch!

Can you post a couple more pictures of the bone and the chameleon please Chamelio Estevez?