Baby Veiled Chameleon Looks and Acts sick

[HClayton]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Name "Marvin"

Species - Veiled

Sex - I think its male.

Age - 5 months old (almost 6)

How long I've had him for - Since he was 2 weeks old

Handling - Every other day. Sometimes longer. I don't go 5 days without holding him

Feeding - Usually I feed him two mealworms every other day. I will put the mealworms out on a white plastic lid, let him notice them and wait a little bit for him to eat them. If he doesn't eat them, I will put the back in the container of mealworms and wait a little bit (hours of until the next day) for him to eat. Sometimes I will feed him by hand if he is up high on a leaf.

Supplements - I use Zilla Calcium supplement, I spray it on every other mealworm i feed Marvin.

Watering - I use a Reptile Mister Spray Bottle to mist his enclosure. I will mist his entire enclosure, and make sure the fake and real leaves are watered.

Fecal Description - Dark and wet. Small. He has not been tested for parasites.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Combo of glass and screen. Walls are glass and ceiling is screen. W: 8 inches L: 14 inches H: 11. I know its small for a regular sized chameleon, but he is very small, and I wouldn't want him to fall if he is up high. I will upgrade to a taller and more open enclosure when he is significantly larger

Lighting - Exo Terra 120v bulb. I turn it on first thing when I wake up, and off when it gets dark.

Temperature - High 70s Nothing greater than 81.

Plants - Ivy vine plant from supermarket

Placement - My cage is located on my desk about 3 feet from the ground.

Location - I live in the suburbs of South Eastern Massachusetts, USA.

Current Problem - Was walking irregularly. Was lying sideways flat down on my bed he was curled up. He hissed when i touched him anywhere but eventually stopped. He he was half dark green has bright green on his body. No signs of broken legs from pictures that I've seen on here in the resources. He is content and climbing around now. He was not eating or drinking when I was handling him. and he looked weak when walking around. He was sort of "dragging" himself. I am not worried about his current state, but rather any future occurrences of this instance. He is currently 5 months old and I think he should be larger than he is currently. He around 4 inches from mouth to the end of his tail. Is that normal?

 

[carol5208]

Need to know what kind if light that is. You MUST have a UVB bulb in order for him to thrive and survive. I cannot see his limbs, but it sounds as if he might be developing Metabolic Bone Disease. Males have little points on the back of their back heels. Females do not. That is how you tell their sex at that age. Your set up leaves much to be desired. It is not appropriate for a chameleon. You should be dusting your feeders with calcium( a powder) not a spray. Also, have you not fed him anything besides mealworms?. That is a very poor diet. He should be eating crickets, and other feeders such as silkworms. The lighting is critical. He should have a basking bulb and also a UVB bulb. Please read what the bulb says on it and tell us what it is. Take you chameleon out in the sun as much as you can. It is very beneficial for him. Do not take him out in that glass tank. You will fry him in that! Get a plant he can sit on and watch him carefully or get a screen cage for him to sun in. Here is a care sheet for you to read and what you will need to get so he has a proper set up.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[MamatoElvis]

You have many problems with your set up.
First of he needs to be out of that glass aquarium and into a tall screen cage.
The light you have isn't providing any uvb. If you have had him since two weeks old and he hasn't had any uvb he probably has MBD. Has he had any outdoor time in the sun?

I can't see him through the glass but by your description he does sound small.
2 mealworms every other day is starving him.
Mealworms are not a good food source. You said they were in a can, are they alive? Because chameleons need live bugs. They will not eat the freezedreied ones in a can. You need to try some other feeders crickets ( gut loaded on fresh fruits and veggies) hornworms, silkworms, blue bottle flies, roaches ( look on the feeder forum on this site to get some ideas )

You need to dust your feeders with powdered calcium with no d3 every feeding
Dust with calcium with d3. 2x per month and dust with a multivitamin 2x per month (stay away from brands like flukers you want to go with brands like rep cal)

 

[Quercus450]

What ivy plant do you have? Its difficult to tell from the photo, but english ivy plants are technically toxic to chameleons.

 

[carol5208]

I just noticed you are only feeding him two mealworms every other day! Oh my gosh you are starving the little fellow. No wonder he is not growing! Even if you have the proper lighting( and I am not sure you do), his diet is very, very poor and not enough. Please read the care sheet I gave you and make the necessary changes. He should be eating atleast a dozen or more feedeers a day at 5 months old! He needs way more variety and the bugs needs to be gutloaded. Veilds will also eat some frutis and vegetables. I have seen people feed them things like Kale and strawberries.

 

[JaniP]

I echo what everyone says. My veiled is only a month older and he looks like he is probably three times the size of your little guy. He eats 8-10 Phoenix worms, 2-3 silk worms and 6 or 7 crickets a day - that gives you an idea of what he should be eating at that age.

We have a lot of great resources here and some people with spectacular advice. Check out the care sheet because your little guy needs a major overhaul. He needs to be out of that glass aquarium stat!

 

[kinyonga]

Veileds are able to be sexed from the day they are born as a rule. Look on the heels of the back foot...If there is a spur or bump there its a male.
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/images/male.gif

Your chameleon needs exposure to the UVB light so that it can produce the D3 it needs to be able to use the calcium in its system. D3 provided from supplements can build up in the system and lead to overdoses but D3 from exposure to UVB won't likely build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB when it wants to.

Appropriate temperatures allow for proper digestion and thus play a part in nutrient absorption. The basking temperature for a young veiled chameleon should be in the low to mid 80's F.

They should be fed an assortment of appropriately sized well-fed/ gutloaded insects that have been dusted appropriately with the necessary supplements just before being fed to the chameleon.

A growing chameleon up until sexually maturity can be fed as much as it can eat in about five minutes at each feeding.

Crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms can be fed an assortment of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc. And veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

Mealworms should not be used as a staple diet IMHO. Your chameleon should be eating more.

Does your chameleon keep its eyes open all day?

Since most insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous its recommended that you dust with a phosphorous - free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for it.

Twice a month its recommended to dust with a phosphorous - free calcium / D3 powder to ensure that they get some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to UVB.

Twice a month its recommended that you dust with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed ) source of vitamin A. PrEformed vitamin A can build up in the system and lead to health issues while prOformed sources cant leaving you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.

I would remove the substrate so it can't be accidentally or intentionally ingested and lead to impaction.

If you're going to keep a water dish you need to make sure it's kept VERY clean although most people do not recommend them. You should also provide water in a drip and/or a spray/mist on the leaves.

Your cage could be bigger. If you are going to continue using an aquarium, you will need to place the lighting so it will create a chimney effect and be careful not to let water lay stagnant in the cage.