Ksauber
New Member
I just wanted to post this. I purchased a baby veiled cham less than 2 weeks ago from LLL Reptile at the reptile show in Tucson, AZ. I have posted a few threads on here since about health concerns and listed my husbandry, which I will list again at the bottom of this post. According to all of the replies I had gotten, my husbandry and setup was completely fine. I noticed this morning that he was clutching a leaf that he uses every day to drink from, but now really moving very much to climb vines. I picked him up to clean out his cage and make sure his urates from the day before were white, which they were. I put a couple dusted crickets in with him, and left for work.
When I came home, none of the crix were gone, the temps were great and the humidity was at 50%, but my little guy was laying on the floor of his cage, sprawled out with his eyes barely open. I picked him up and help him for a couple of minutes while he gasped, and then spit out half of his tongue, and died.
I don't know what I did wrong, or if he was sick when I bought him and it just came to a head tonight, but I am very sad. I wanted to know if anyone has any opinions on this. I really feel like I did everything right for him, and my husband is very upset, and thinks that he was sick when we got him. Just a few days ago, another user was posting about getting a cham from the same dealer, same cage, same show, and his cham was acting the same way mine was since I got him. Always basking, regardless of temp, and not eating more than a few crickets.
Please give me your advice... And don't worry, if I did something to cause this, I wll never be getting another cham. I only had this little guy for two weeks and my heart is breaking for him. If I truly am just a terrible pet owner, I will listen to you, and give up on this.
Thanks in advance.
Husbandry:
Chameleon Info:
1. Veiled Chameleon, male, 2-3 months old. Has been in my care for 4 days
2. I handle him once a day, to get him used to it. and to clean out his cage. He is on my hand for maybe 2 minutes a day.
3. He is eating small crickets, gutloaded with a mixture of collard greens and butternut squash. I have been putting about 8 crickets in his cage a day, about 20 minutes after lights on, but I have only seen him eating 1-2 a day. Today, they have been in for 10 hours, and about 5 are still there. He is however shedding right now.
4. I am dusting the crickets with Rep-Cal Calcium without D3 every day, and plan on dusting with Rep-Cal Herptivite, and Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 on alternating Saturdays.
5. I use a fogger for about half the day in 2 hour increments to boost the humidity, as well as give him drinking water, as the mist condenses on the top of the screen and drips onto leaves. I also spray 3-4 times per day, for about 2 minutes each, after the plants have dried fully. I have seen him drinking almost every day.
6. On the first day his poop was firm, black, and his urates were yellow. Ever day since, his poop has been firm and black, and his urates are white/cream colored. I have not had him tested for parasites, however I do not know if the breeder (LLL Reptiles) did.
7. The past few days he has spent most of his time basking. I have since gotten a different wattage light and upped the basking temp, and he is slightly more active.
Cage Info:
1. The cage is an all screen cage, similar to a reptibreeze. Unsure of the brand. It is 16" wide, 16" deep, and 18" tall
2. For Heat I use a 60 watt household bulb about 10" away from the basking spot. For UVB I use a Reptisun 5.0 coil light in a reflective dome. Lights are on at 6am and off at 7-8pm
3. Basking spot is 83 degrees, I am unsure of the bottom of the cage. At night I am not sure of the lowest temp, but my home gets to about 70 degrees, and with the humidity in the cage, I would assume it is around 60-65 degrees. I use a digital probe thermometer/hygrometer to measure temp.
4. Humidity varies from about 30% to 70%. I maintain this with hand spraying, and a fogger. I use a digital probe thermometer/hygrometer to measure humidity.
5. The enclosure has a pothos in it that takes up a large portion of the cage, as well as some fake vines.
6. The cage is in my office where I work 8 hours a day. It is not near fans or vents, but it is near a window that does not get opened. The top of the cage is about 4 ft off the ground.
7. I live in Tucson AZ.
When I came home, none of the crix were gone, the temps were great and the humidity was at 50%, but my little guy was laying on the floor of his cage, sprawled out with his eyes barely open. I picked him up and help him for a couple of minutes while he gasped, and then spit out half of his tongue, and died.
I don't know what I did wrong, or if he was sick when I bought him and it just came to a head tonight, but I am very sad. I wanted to know if anyone has any opinions on this. I really feel like I did everything right for him, and my husband is very upset, and thinks that he was sick when we got him. Just a few days ago, another user was posting about getting a cham from the same dealer, same cage, same show, and his cham was acting the same way mine was since I got him. Always basking, regardless of temp, and not eating more than a few crickets.
Please give me your advice... And don't worry, if I did something to cause this, I wll never be getting another cham. I only had this little guy for two weeks and my heart is breaking for him. If I truly am just a terrible pet owner, I will listen to you, and give up on this.
Thanks in advance.
Husbandry:
Chameleon Info:
1. Veiled Chameleon, male, 2-3 months old. Has been in my care for 4 days
2. I handle him once a day, to get him used to it. and to clean out his cage. He is on my hand for maybe 2 minutes a day.
3. He is eating small crickets, gutloaded with a mixture of collard greens and butternut squash. I have been putting about 8 crickets in his cage a day, about 20 minutes after lights on, but I have only seen him eating 1-2 a day. Today, they have been in for 10 hours, and about 5 are still there. He is however shedding right now.
4. I am dusting the crickets with Rep-Cal Calcium without D3 every day, and plan on dusting with Rep-Cal Herptivite, and Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 on alternating Saturdays.
5. I use a fogger for about half the day in 2 hour increments to boost the humidity, as well as give him drinking water, as the mist condenses on the top of the screen and drips onto leaves. I also spray 3-4 times per day, for about 2 minutes each, after the plants have dried fully. I have seen him drinking almost every day.
6. On the first day his poop was firm, black, and his urates were yellow. Ever day since, his poop has been firm and black, and his urates are white/cream colored. I have not had him tested for parasites, however I do not know if the breeder (LLL Reptiles) did.
7. The past few days he has spent most of his time basking. I have since gotten a different wattage light and upped the basking temp, and he is slightly more active.
Cage Info:
1. The cage is an all screen cage, similar to a reptibreeze. Unsure of the brand. It is 16" wide, 16" deep, and 18" tall
2. For Heat I use a 60 watt household bulb about 10" away from the basking spot. For UVB I use a Reptisun 5.0 coil light in a reflective dome. Lights are on at 6am and off at 7-8pm
3. Basking spot is 83 degrees, I am unsure of the bottom of the cage. At night I am not sure of the lowest temp, but my home gets to about 70 degrees, and with the humidity in the cage, I would assume it is around 60-65 degrees. I use a digital probe thermometer/hygrometer to measure temp.
4. Humidity varies from about 30% to 70%. I maintain this with hand spraying, and a fogger. I use a digital probe thermometer/hygrometer to measure humidity.
5. The enclosure has a pothos in it that takes up a large portion of the cage, as well as some fake vines.
6. The cage is in my office where I work 8 hours a day. It is not near fans or vents, but it is near a window that does not get opened. The top of the cage is about 4 ft off the ground.
7. I live in Tucson AZ.
