GraceZimmermann
New Member
Hi there, if anyone could help me, I would really appreciate it.
My boyfriend and I got a new baby Chameleon exactly one month ago. While observing him in the cage with the other babies, he was very green and active. We bought him from a pet store who refused to let us take him home right away because he was still 'too young' and the manager wanted to make sure he was properly eating and was stable before letting them go to their new homes. This seemed like a good thing to me at the time. We went back ten days later to pick him up. For the first 2 weeks or so, everything was great. Now, I find him with a slightly darker colouration most of the time and he sleeps most of the day. I am very worried, as I read this is not healthy or normal. I filled out the form, so if anyone has any answers, please tell me.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, and I am not quite sure of his age, as I don't know what age he was when given to the pet store. I am guessing 2-2 and a half months. He has been in my care for exactly one month.
Handling - We take him out of the cage very rarely -- perhaps twice a week for less than five minutes. We never move very far from the cage when handling him. He has clearly gotten used to us because in the beginning he would scurry away and show his 'mean' pattern, but now he walks all over my hand like its a branch, and I can touch his feet or tail without him freaking out, or even seeming to care.
Feeding - I feed him pin-head crickets. Just last week I moved up to 'smalls'. For the amount, I used to put about 8-12 or so in a shallow container and let him eat from there (and truthfully he's always seemed to eat less than what I'd expect) and now, since it seems like his eating has decreased even more, I will just take one of the egg cartons from my cricket camp and put it in the cage hoping he'll want to eat. Also, in the beginning he would eat from tweezers if we offered. Now he never does. I hardly ever see him eat. I saw him eat one cricket yesterday and nothing else.
Schedule-wise, I feed him at about 7:20am. Just before I leave for work. I dust all his crickets with calcium and leave them in the shallow container for him. During the night, I offer the crickets a gut-load pureed mix of kale, red pepper, carrot, apple, and mango. They seem to like the mush a lot. Sometimes I offer just a simple piece of lettuce, or carrot, or apple. I also feed him again at night, usually when I get home around 5:30pm.
Supplements - Repti-Calcium without D3 is what I used to dust the crickets. I haven't dusted them with Calcium with D3 yet, or a multivitamin. I plan on purchasing both of these things tomorrow. I'm doubting this is the issue as these vitamins aren't (from what I've researched) needed as often, but I just hadn't picked them up yet.
Watering - I have a water bottle that I use to mist the cage. It's more of a mist when I use the bottle, less of a squirt. We mist the cage about three times a day -- once early in the morning right when I turn the light on and feed him, once before my boyfriend leaves for work at about 3pm, and once about an hour before we turn off his light at about 8pm. I do my best to make sure the cage is pretty wet. Droplets form on all his plants and the sides of the cage. But, I hardly EVER see him drink. I've seen it once since I have had him. He could be drinking while I am not watching, I don't know...
Fecal Description - Brown with a little bit of white. It seems consistent and holds its shape. He has not been tested for parasites.
History - I don't have much information in the way of history. I noted that the babies were being held in a glass enclosure in the store, but since they were only there for a short amount of time, there seemed to be no consequences.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Repti-breeze, mesh cage. 16Lx16Dx30H. It's pretty big for him.
We were worried that maybe there wasn't enough humidity, so we wrapped a clear garbage bag around the sides and back. The front and the top are both completely open so there is lots of circulation still.
Lighting - We have a 5.0 UVB, and we initially had a 60w in the cage (both came with the chameleon starter kit we bought) but since I live in Canada and our apartment is chilly a lot of the time, we recently put in a 100w. I know that seems high for a baby, and I've debated switching it back, but our apartment is very cold sometimes and I worry 60w isn't enough to keep him comfortable.
Temperature - The temperature range goes from about 72 (bottom of cage) to about 88 - 90 degrees closest to his basking spot. Overnight temps are about 70 - 71 degrees.
Humidity - I actually don't have anything to measure the humidity levels. If it seems dry, I mist it a bit. Whether it’s on schedule or not.
Plants - He has an assortment of dry and real plants. There is currently a money tree growing in the corner of his cage, as well as a ficus tree. They're both small at the moment and since he spends so much time at the top of the cage he doesn't climb on them often but they're there for humidity. I also have a large, fake ficus tree branch, many dried bamboo sticks for him to walk on, two dried driftwood-like pieces that he sits on most of the time and some fake hanging vines.
Placement - The cage is located at the back of my apartment, as far away from the door as I could go so that he's not exposed to drafts in the winter with the door opening and closing. It is in a quiet, secluded spot with little traffic. I am 5'3, and the top of the cage comes to about my nose.
Problem - He sleeps way too often to be normal. He doesn't eat as much as he should be at this age. I hardly ever see him drink. As I went over to take the pictures of his enclosure and of him, he woke up, moved around a bit and then as I continued to take pictures, he closed his eyes again and stayed like that. Maybe it's not sleep, but he certainly seems like he is 'resting' a lot. I am worried he is too thin, and that this could steadily get worse if I don't act now. I've done so much research, but I really have no idea what's going on. Please help!
My boyfriend and I got a new baby Chameleon exactly one month ago. While observing him in the cage with the other babies, he was very green and active. We bought him from a pet store who refused to let us take him home right away because he was still 'too young' and the manager wanted to make sure he was properly eating and was stable before letting them go to their new homes. This seemed like a good thing to me at the time. We went back ten days later to pick him up. For the first 2 weeks or so, everything was great. Now, I find him with a slightly darker colouration most of the time and he sleeps most of the day. I am very worried, as I read this is not healthy or normal. I filled out the form, so if anyone has any answers, please tell me.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, and I am not quite sure of his age, as I don't know what age he was when given to the pet store. I am guessing 2-2 and a half months. He has been in my care for exactly one month.
Handling - We take him out of the cage very rarely -- perhaps twice a week for less than five minutes. We never move very far from the cage when handling him. He has clearly gotten used to us because in the beginning he would scurry away and show his 'mean' pattern, but now he walks all over my hand like its a branch, and I can touch his feet or tail without him freaking out, or even seeming to care.
Feeding - I feed him pin-head crickets. Just last week I moved up to 'smalls'. For the amount, I used to put about 8-12 or so in a shallow container and let him eat from there (and truthfully he's always seemed to eat less than what I'd expect) and now, since it seems like his eating has decreased even more, I will just take one of the egg cartons from my cricket camp and put it in the cage hoping he'll want to eat. Also, in the beginning he would eat from tweezers if we offered. Now he never does. I hardly ever see him eat. I saw him eat one cricket yesterday and nothing else.
Schedule-wise, I feed him at about 7:20am. Just before I leave for work. I dust all his crickets with calcium and leave them in the shallow container for him. During the night, I offer the crickets a gut-load pureed mix of kale, red pepper, carrot, apple, and mango. They seem to like the mush a lot. Sometimes I offer just a simple piece of lettuce, or carrot, or apple. I also feed him again at night, usually when I get home around 5:30pm.
Supplements - Repti-Calcium without D3 is what I used to dust the crickets. I haven't dusted them with Calcium with D3 yet, or a multivitamin. I plan on purchasing both of these things tomorrow. I'm doubting this is the issue as these vitamins aren't (from what I've researched) needed as often, but I just hadn't picked them up yet.
Watering - I have a water bottle that I use to mist the cage. It's more of a mist when I use the bottle, less of a squirt. We mist the cage about three times a day -- once early in the morning right when I turn the light on and feed him, once before my boyfriend leaves for work at about 3pm, and once about an hour before we turn off his light at about 8pm. I do my best to make sure the cage is pretty wet. Droplets form on all his plants and the sides of the cage. But, I hardly EVER see him drink. I've seen it once since I have had him. He could be drinking while I am not watching, I don't know...
Fecal Description - Brown with a little bit of white. It seems consistent and holds its shape. He has not been tested for parasites.
History - I don't have much information in the way of history. I noted that the babies were being held in a glass enclosure in the store, but since they were only there for a short amount of time, there seemed to be no consequences.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Repti-breeze, mesh cage. 16Lx16Dx30H. It's pretty big for him.
We were worried that maybe there wasn't enough humidity, so we wrapped a clear garbage bag around the sides and back. The front and the top are both completely open so there is lots of circulation still.
Lighting - We have a 5.0 UVB, and we initially had a 60w in the cage (both came with the chameleon starter kit we bought) but since I live in Canada and our apartment is chilly a lot of the time, we recently put in a 100w. I know that seems high for a baby, and I've debated switching it back, but our apartment is very cold sometimes and I worry 60w isn't enough to keep him comfortable.
Temperature - The temperature range goes from about 72 (bottom of cage) to about 88 - 90 degrees closest to his basking spot. Overnight temps are about 70 - 71 degrees.
Humidity - I actually don't have anything to measure the humidity levels. If it seems dry, I mist it a bit. Whether it’s on schedule or not.
Plants - He has an assortment of dry and real plants. There is currently a money tree growing in the corner of his cage, as well as a ficus tree. They're both small at the moment and since he spends so much time at the top of the cage he doesn't climb on them often but they're there for humidity. I also have a large, fake ficus tree branch, many dried bamboo sticks for him to walk on, two dried driftwood-like pieces that he sits on most of the time and some fake hanging vines.
Placement - The cage is located at the back of my apartment, as far away from the door as I could go so that he's not exposed to drafts in the winter with the door opening and closing. It is in a quiet, secluded spot with little traffic. I am 5'3, and the top of the cage comes to about my nose.
Problem - He sleeps way too often to be normal. He doesn't eat as much as he should be at this age. I hardly ever see him drink. As I went over to take the pictures of his enclosure and of him, he woke up, moved around a bit and then as I continued to take pictures, he closed his eyes again and stayed like that. Maybe it's not sleep, but he certainly seems like he is 'resting' a lot. I am worried he is too thin, and that this could steadily get worse if I don't act now. I've done so much research, but I really have no idea what's going on. Please help!
