Baby Showing Colors

[cstocke]

Hey guys,

My baby (about 4ish weeks old) veiled cham has been starting to change colors. I notice that sometimes when I go to turn his lights on in the morning that his pattern is showing. Once the lights are on though and he wakes up the color goes back to the normal light blue-ish green with no pattern.

Is this normal for these little guys?

Also, at what age will they start to show their colors and patterns on a consistent basis?

Henry

• cstocke
• Aug 8, 2017

 

[jannb]

Congrats on your baby. I keep veileds and they are awesome chameleons. That's pretty normal for them to show a pattern sometime. Around 4 to 5 months he will show more colors. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers for you below to help you keep him healthy. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/

 

[cstocke]

Since you know a lot about veileds maybe you can help us out. We got him about 2 weeks ago and were told he wasn't doing to well. We took him home and so far he's been okay except his eating and drinking habjits aren't the best. We have tried crickets, worms, and baby sub is roaches but he won't typically eat. One day he ate 5 but another he won't eat at all. He does drink when we spray the enclosure down. Is this normal behavior? He was also sleeping during the day. He doesn't seem to do this too much now though. Any thoughts?

 

[jannb]

The signs you mentioned above are not good. He could have parasites or a number of other things. I highly recommend you get a fecal and a vet check up by a vet experienced with chameleons would be a good idea. At his size he should be eating a dozen or more appropriate size feeders a day. If you need help finding a vet, I might be able to help if you tell me where you live. In the mean time please fill out the attached form with as many details as possiably. Maybe we can find something in the way you are keeping him that could be causing the problems.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[cstocke]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Baby Veiled, Male, roughly 4 weeks. About 2 weeks in our care.
• Handling - We handle him every other day sometimes every couple of days.
• Feeding - Small Crickets, Baby Hornworms, and Baby Dubia Roaches. We try daily to feed but he never seems to takes them. We try to feed in the morning hours. Gut-loading feeders by using Nature Zone Total Bites for crickets and feeder insects.
• Supplements - We dust the feeders in Repti-Calcium w/out D3 every couple of days.
• Watering - we spray the enclosure multiple times a day with a water bottle. We spray for about 2-3 minutes straight each time. We see him drinking every once in a while.
• Fecal Description - Droppings appear normal. Drak in color and then white in color. He has never been tested for parasites.
• History - We were told when we got him roughly 2 weeks ago that he wasn't doing that well. He was the only male and by far the smallest of his group. They did say that he was eating less than normal but he was eating and drinking.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - He is in a screen enclosure apprx 10x10x10
• Lighting - We use a Zoo Med Mini Deep Dome Lamp Fixture w/ the ZooMed ReptiBasking Spot Lamp 50W Bulb and a regular coil bulb for the uvb. Daily lighting schedule from 7a-7p
• Temperature - 80-85F w/ overnight temps in the 70's. We measure the temp with a ZooMed digital thermometer.
• Humidity - We haven't measure the humidity but we spray multiple times a day and keep warm temps up.
• Plants - We have a live plant in there. Its a small plant but I forget the name. We did look it up before we got it and it was okay.
• Placement - The cage is located on a desk against the wall in our living room. It is right before we enter our hallway next to our other jackson cham's enclosure. They currently can't see each other and the jackson cham is thriving in this location. The top of the enclosure is about 3 1/2 feet from the floor.
• Location - We are located in Central AZ

Current Problem -
We got him about 2 weeks ago and were told he wasn't doing to well. We took him home and so far he's been okay except his eating and drinking habits aren't the best. We have tried crickets, worms, and baby dubia roaches but he won't typically eat. One day he ate 5 but another he won't eat at all. He does drink when we spray the enclosure down most times. He is also sleeping during the day. He doesn't seem to do this too much now though but he still does it.