jrjorgensen2519
New Member
Hello, I recently purchased a baby veiled chameleon about 2 days ago (Friday, the 24th of August) from petco. He doesn't really look unhealthy but I have yet to actually see him eat any of the tiny crickets I've been putting in his tank. I'm not sure if this is really an emergency situation, I'm just concerned and want to make sure I'm doing everything absolutely right because I care about my cham a lot! He also seems to be a tiny bit lethargic, when I pick him up and put him back down he doesn't seem to struggle moving around but once he gets back to his basking spot up there on the top of that vine (you can see in the photos) he moves very little from that spot all day...
Here are my known conditions:
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - A 10 gallon (all glass with a screen top) aquarium (for now, petco was unfortunately all out of wired cages and that's the only place near me that sells those kinds of accessories) There is a tiny amount of moss substrate on the ground but for the most part it's all just white paper towels.
* Lighting - I have a UVB light, "ESU Reptile Slimeline Reptile Fixture with Desert 7%UVB Lamp" I also have a heat lamp that is a 75watt "HGN Nightglo" light bulb. The schedule is that the lights are on for almost exactly twelve hours a day and then I turn both the heat lamp and the uvb light off at night and the temp only drops about ten degrees at night with no lights on.
* Temperature - Temp ranges from 80F during the day and around 70F during the night
* Humidity - Humidity levels are usually between 60% to 80%. I'm creating these humidity levels by misting with a hand bottle 3 to 4 times a day
* Plants - no, all of the plants you see are fake
* Location - the tank is located on top of my dresser, it's not near a very high traffic area, it's about ten feet away from a window, which is also where the air conditioner is (which is on very low)
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - I believe it's a male, veiled, and i'm not sure on age, less than a month old I believe.
* Feeding - I'm feeding him baby crickets, I throw 6 in every morning, but there are always more left in the tank from previous feedings so there are probably 10+ in there. My crickets are fed by potatoes that I replace every two days (granted I've only had them for two days so far...). I have half a potato cut into two smaller halves in my cricket cage, and the other half of the potato cut into two smaller halves in the cham cage.
* Supplements - I dust my crickets everytime I put them in the tank using ZooMed's Reptivite Reptile Vitamins. This particular mix contains the following vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes:
Vitamin's A, D-3, E, C, Folic Acid, Vitamin's B1, B2, Niacin, Vitamin's B6, B12, Biotin, and Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Sodium, Zinc, and Potassium. This formula also contains the following Amino Acids: L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, Isoleucine, Lysine, L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Cystine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Serine, L-Theronine, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine, Glycine, L-Methionine, L-Asparatic Acid, L-Glutamic Acid, and L-Histidine
* Watering - I mist the tank 4 - 5 times a day for an average of a minute. Covering every plant, the floor, the walls, and even himself in chlorine free water. I have never seen him drink but his eyes aren't deflated so I have my doubts about him being dehydrated. The blue thing in the center of the tank is a small dish of water that I have never seen him drink out of.
* Fecal Description - Brownish/Blackish and white, pretty solid feces, it's not runny or anything of the sort.
* History - He was at petco for an unknown amount of time, no previous owners, and they told me that they had started feeding him crickets (however, they did not say whether or not they had actually seen him eat any crickets)
* Current Problem - Several actually. First of all, I haven't seen him actually eating any crickets, I'm not sure if I'm feeding them to him right, and if I should feed him other things such as meal worms etc. If I should feed him meal worms as well, how should I present them to him (in a bowl, etc.) Also, what kind of feeding schedule should I put him on if not just putting half a dozen or so crickets in the tank every morning. I'm also curious about dripping systems, I have a small container of water in the tank that I never see him drink out of, should I rig a dripping system to drop water directly into this container of water, or should I drip the water somewhere else in the tank specifically? Also, plants, I only have fake plants, as a baby cham, should I give him any type of particular real plants? And I have also provided some photos (taken from a poor camera phone). Should I change my tank setup at all, and does my baby cham look healthy? I apologize for the long-winded post, and a sincere thank you very much to any body for any input, I have owned many reptiles in my past but never a chameleon and I've absolutely fallen in love with the guy so I want to do whatever is in my power to keep him not only a live but tip-top shape and health as well!
happy trails,
-jay
Here are my known conditions:
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - A 10 gallon (all glass with a screen top) aquarium (for now, petco was unfortunately all out of wired cages and that's the only place near me that sells those kinds of accessories) There is a tiny amount of moss substrate on the ground but for the most part it's all just white paper towels.
* Lighting - I have a UVB light, "ESU Reptile Slimeline Reptile Fixture with Desert 7%UVB Lamp" I also have a heat lamp that is a 75watt "HGN Nightglo" light bulb. The schedule is that the lights are on for almost exactly twelve hours a day and then I turn both the heat lamp and the uvb light off at night and the temp only drops about ten degrees at night with no lights on.
* Temperature - Temp ranges from 80F during the day and around 70F during the night
* Humidity - Humidity levels are usually between 60% to 80%. I'm creating these humidity levels by misting with a hand bottle 3 to 4 times a day
* Plants - no, all of the plants you see are fake
* Location - the tank is located on top of my dresser, it's not near a very high traffic area, it's about ten feet away from a window, which is also where the air conditioner is (which is on very low)
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - I believe it's a male, veiled, and i'm not sure on age, less than a month old I believe.
* Feeding - I'm feeding him baby crickets, I throw 6 in every morning, but there are always more left in the tank from previous feedings so there are probably 10+ in there. My crickets are fed by potatoes that I replace every two days (granted I've only had them for two days so far...). I have half a potato cut into two smaller halves in my cricket cage, and the other half of the potato cut into two smaller halves in the cham cage.
* Supplements - I dust my crickets everytime I put them in the tank using ZooMed's Reptivite Reptile Vitamins. This particular mix contains the following vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes:
Vitamin's A, D-3, E, C, Folic Acid, Vitamin's B1, B2, Niacin, Vitamin's B6, B12, Biotin, and Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Sodium, Zinc, and Potassium. This formula also contains the following Amino Acids: L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, Isoleucine, Lysine, L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Cystine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Serine, L-Theronine, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine, Glycine, L-Methionine, L-Asparatic Acid, L-Glutamic Acid, and L-Histidine
* Watering - I mist the tank 4 - 5 times a day for an average of a minute. Covering every plant, the floor, the walls, and even himself in chlorine free water. I have never seen him drink but his eyes aren't deflated so I have my doubts about him being dehydrated. The blue thing in the center of the tank is a small dish of water that I have never seen him drink out of.
* Fecal Description - Brownish/Blackish and white, pretty solid feces, it's not runny or anything of the sort.
* History - He was at petco for an unknown amount of time, no previous owners, and they told me that they had started feeding him crickets (however, they did not say whether or not they had actually seen him eat any crickets)
* Current Problem - Several actually. First of all, I haven't seen him actually eating any crickets, I'm not sure if I'm feeding them to him right, and if I should feed him other things such as meal worms etc. If I should feed him meal worms as well, how should I present them to him (in a bowl, etc.) Also, what kind of feeding schedule should I put him on if not just putting half a dozen or so crickets in the tank every morning. I'm also curious about dripping systems, I have a small container of water in the tank that I never see him drink out of, should I rig a dripping system to drop water directly into this container of water, or should I drip the water somewhere else in the tank specifically? Also, plants, I only have fake plants, as a baby cham, should I give him any type of particular real plants? And I have also provided some photos (taken from a poor camera phone). Should I change my tank setup at all, and does my baby cham look healthy? I apologize for the long-winded post, and a sincere thank you very much to any body for any input, I have owned many reptiles in my past but never a chameleon and I've absolutely fallen in love with the guy so I want to do whatever is in my power to keep him not only a live but tip-top shape and health as well!
happy trails,
-jay
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