chameleon always dark

[maggiec]

i got a veiled chameleon about 2 months ago and up until a few days ago, he has been fine. usually when i open his cage he will come right up to me and want to come out, but recently every time i open it to feed him or mist his cage he hisses at me. now he's always dark and looks stressed. is there any reason why this has been happening recently and is there anything i can do to make him feel better?
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, about 5 months old, i've had him for 2 months
• Handling - used to be around 10-15 mins a day but lately not at all
• Feeding - i feed him 8-10 crickets a day and sometimes half a superworm as a treat
• Supplements - fluker's calcium without D3 everyday, zoo med reptivite vitamins once every other week, fluker's calcium with D3 once every other week (not same week as vitamins)
• Watering - i have an automatic mister that i'm trying to figure out how to work but for now i mist him by hand 5 times a day
• Fecal Description - brown with white at the end
• History - i got him from a pet store

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - its a mesh cage a little bigger than the zoo med ones... i'll be upgrading / adding on to his cage as he gets bigger
• Lighting - i have a linear zilla tropical 25 uvb t8 bulb and 2 heat lamps (it wasn't getting hot enough thats why i have 2)
• Temperature - basking temp is 90-95
• Humidity - it stays around 60, when i spray it goes to 80, sometimes drops to 50
• Plants - no live plants, but i do have a fake vine with leaves (he doesn't eat the leaves tho)
• Placement - on a basket/box thing
• Location - east coast

Current Problem - flynn has been really dark and stressed recently

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go thru your husbandry.

 

[ERKleRose]

i got a veiled chameleon about 2 months ago and up until a few days ago, he has been fine. usually when i open his cage he will come right up to me and want to come out, but recently every time i open it to feed him or mist his cage he hisses at me. now he's always dark and looks stressed. is there any reason why this has been happening recently and is there anything i can do to make him feel better?
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, about 5 months old, i've had him for 2 months
• Handling - used to be around 10-15 mins a day but lately not at all Why that often?
• Feeding - i feed him 8-10 crickets a day and sometimes half a superworm as a treat What do you gutload with? You'll want to start weaning him off of that much food
• Supplements - fluker's calcium without D3 everyday, zoo med reptivite vitamins once every other week, fluker's calcium with D3 once every other week (not same week as vitamins) Is the Reptivite with or without D3?
• Watering - i have an automatic mister that i'm trying to figure out how to work but for now i mist him by hand 5 times a day How long is each misting session?
• Fecal Description - brown with white at the end
• History - i got him from a pet store

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - its a mesh cage a little bigger than the zoo med ones... i'll be upgrading / adding on to his cage as he gets bigger What are the exact dimensions? Could you post a pic of his entire cage, please?
• Lighting - i have a linear zilla tropical 25 uvb t8 bulb and 2 heat lamps (it wasn't getting hot enough thats why i have 2) Do you have the Zilla T8 fixture with it? If so, did you remove the plastic part that covers the bulb? Either an Arcadia 12% or Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 (replace very 6 months) T8 bulb of the matching size would be a better bulb brand. How far away from his basking branch is his UVB bulb?
• Temperature - basking temp is 90-95 His basking spot should be between 80-85*F. What are your ambient and nighttime temps, and how do you measure them?
• Humidity - it stays around 60, when i spray it goes to 80, sometimes drops to 50 It needs to be between 30-50% during the day, preferably on the lower end of that. At night, if there's enough airflow and it's at or below 65*F, the humidiity can go up to 100%>
• Plants - no live plants, but i do have a fake vine with leaves (he doesn't eat the leaves tho) He needs all veiled-tested live plants only, as fake ones are an impaction risk and can lead to death. Even if you think he'll never eat them, he'll probably try, and it's better to be safe than sorry.
• Placement - on a basket/box thing How high up is his cage from the floor?
• Location - east coast

Current Problem - flynn has been really dark and stressed recentlyc He might be going through puberty or it could be an environmental factor.

Here's some helpful links and care images, as well:

• https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html
• https://www.chameleons.info/en/
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/

 

[MissSkittles]

@ERKleRose ya beat me!

 

[ERKleRose]

Sorry!

 

[maggiec]

@ERKleRose i gutload with leafy greens, carrots and apple slices. the reptivite is with D3. each misting session is about 2-3 minutes. i'm not home right now so i don't know the exact dimensions and can't send a picture of the cage but maybe later i can. i don't have the zilla t8 fixture i'm using one that came with the cage ( i got it from someone who used to have chameleons). as for how far away the basking branch is, i would guess around 5 inches but i'm not sure. should i remove one of the heat lamps? i did a lot of research and i thought for veileds the basking was supposed to be in the 90s. my room temp is around 75 during the day and 70 ish at night. i also read that humidity was supposed to stay around 60? what can i do to lower it? i've never seen it as low as 30 or even 40. i'll be sure to remove the fake plants and replace them with real plants asap. his cage sits up a little over a foot off the ground. i didn't know chameleon puberty was a thing how long does that last? i don't like him being grumpy.

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

Sorry!

I'm starting to think your a hacker

 

[ERKleRose]

@ERKleRose i gutload with leafy greens, carrots and apple slices. the reptivite is with D3. each misting session is about 2-3 minutes. i'm not home right now so i don't know the exact dimensions and can't send a picture of the cage but maybe later i can. i don't have the zilla t8 fixture i'm using one that came with the cage ( i got it from someone who used to have chameleons). as for how far away the basking branch is, i would guess around 5 inches but i'm not sure. should i remove one of the heat lamps? i did a lot of research and i thought for veileds the basking was supposed to be in the 90s. my room temp is around 75 during the day and 70 ish at night. i also read that humidity was supposed to stay around 60? what can i do to lower it? i've never seen it as low as 30 or even 40. i'll be sure to remove the fake plants and replace them with real plants asap. his cage sits up a little over a foot off the ground. i didn't know chameleon puberty was a thing how long does that last? i don't like him being grumpy.

Just make sure the leafy greens you use are safe, like the ones on the gutload chart. Since you have the Reptivite With D3, don't use the Fluker's Calcium With D3 at all, just use calcium without D3 every feeding and Reptivite With D3 once every two weeks. 5" from UVB bulb to basking branch is perfect! Yes, just one heat bulb is needed. As more chameleon research is done, the husbandry changes, so now basking temps (measured at the top of your chameleon's back when he's on his basking branch) are recommended to be between 80-85*F. Can you get the nighttime temps to be at 68*F, or preferably lower? 60% humidity is in a panther chameleon's range. Sadly, there is a lot of bad info on the internet about chameleons, but you're doing great, wanting to learn and change! Awesome for the plants! Just make sure the plants get properly cleaned off beforehand, repotted in organic soil, and to put rocks too big for him to eat over the soil in the pots. Can you get his cage up any higher? The higher up a chameleon is, the safer he feels. Hahaha, yeah, veileds are especially notorious for it! It could be a phase or it could stay like this forever, every chameleon is different.

 

[ERKleRose]

I'm starting to think your a hacker

Oh, gosh, no, I can barely work my computer!

 

[maggiec]

@ERKleRose okay thank you so much for the advice! i'll make sure to do those things and see if that helps at all. thank you

 

[ERKleRose]

Great, keep us updated!