Chameleon just took a bite out of his plant....

bombadillo2

bombadillo2

Member
Hi, my chameleon just took a big ol' bite out of one of the plants in his enclosure, a pothos plant. All of the plants in his enclosure are safe and cham-friendly, I made sure of that before putting it together. But as far as I know.... Veiled Chams eating plants isn't normal! He has been eating crickets and worms as normal. Pooping fine. Literally everything else normal.



Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled, ~3 months old, Male, been in my care for 2.5 months.
  • Handling - I handle Miles about 3-7 a week. I put my finger in front of him and let him climb on, and then I sit and do something while he climbs on me or hides under my hair. Usually I approach him, but sometimes when I open his front doors he comes over and reaches out to me! If I go a few days without handling, he'll be a bit puffy and anxious when I approach, so I try to handle him a little every day now. Other than that, he never puffs or hisses.
  • Feeding - I feed my cham small crickets, small roaches, and lately waxworms and mealworms. Usually free range. Sometimes eats from a stick on my hand. One small dish where I put worms.
  • Supplements - At the store I was given two supplements. Both Rep-Cal I think :[] One was Calcium + D3. The other was something like Herptavite with multivitamin. The store employee (it's a vivarium -- reptile-only house) told me to put calcium on the cricks EVERY TIME that I feed him. However, he had some calcium buildup on his nostrils and after research I realized that that's way too much. So I took a break for a few days from any supplements, and started again with a light dusting of the calcium + d3 1-2x per week. Multi-vitamin maybe 1x per week or per week and a half. At least while he's a baby.
  • Watering - Misting system. Usually turn on in the morning for several minutes, then it's on a timer to spray 3-4 times throughout the day for 2 minutes. Also hand spray him sometimes.
  • Fecal Description - Cham has never been tested. Droppings are white and black/ white or black.
  • History - He's been healthy and happy and is growing quickly!

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Carolina Custom Cages Terrarium, Extra-Tall Medium 24Lx18Dx36H Glass sides with a screen top. When I'm home I keep the front doors open. I live in very temperate weather. Never snows, never gets above 90 degrees outside (and those days are very rare - maybe 2 weeks out of the year). The cage is next to the window, so there is a little extra air flow.
  • Lighting - 18in Acadia UV bulb. I have it on a timer which goes on at 8:30 AM and goes off at 9:00 PM. Also next to a window so natural light gets in as well.
  • Temperature - Basking spot is ~85, terrarium at between 64-85 depending on time of day. Two heat bulbs, one that's dark that stays on through the night unless it's hot.
  • Humidity - 50-70%, 90s right after misting...
  • Plants - Dracaena variation and a Pothos; I got all of my plants off of this Cham-safe list. Babies Tears. Light fern. I used volcanic pumice as a lower layer for drainage, and then organic soil, and on top an organic locally made earthworm compost soil. The plants drink up the water from misting.
  • Placement - In my bedroom. It is on top of a dresser thing which is about just below hip-height on me... then the cage is tall so the top of it is about a foot above my head, I'd say. Definitely not high traffic area. He's alone most of the day and I hang around him at night and for an hour in the morning. No air vents or noise or movement in general. Next to a window (full height of cage) and there are two other windows in the room.
  • Other Enclosure Stuff - He has a bird bridge thing made of sticks, fake vines throughout, mossy sticks, vertical logs.
  • Free Range - Large pot with 4 Dracaena next to each other
  • Location - San Francisco
 
There are some aspects of your husbandry that should be adjusted. No waxworms or mealworms... they're not nutritious options. D3 calc 2x a month, multivitamin with preformed vitamin A(retinol) 2x a month OR 1 drop of a retinol gel cap on a feeder 1x a month. Alternate the vitamin with the calc d3. Calc with no D3 every feeding. This is important for a growing chameleon.
 
Matt Vanilla Gorilla said:
If it is truely what he ate he should be fine. That plant is not poisonous. Any pictures of the plant? Just to be sure, please.
Click to expand...

Yeah a pothos, not worried about the plant. Just didn’t realize my breed ate plants!
236735
 
jamest0o0 said:
There are some aspects of your husbandry that should be adjusted. No waxworms or mealworms... they're not nutritious options. D3 calc 2x a month, multivitamin with preformed vitamin A(retinol) 2x a month OR 1 drop of a retinol gel cap on a feeder 1x a month. Alternate the vitamin with the calc d3. Calc with no D3 every feeding. This is important for a growing chameleon.
Click to expand...
What do you recommend in their place? They’re mostly just snacks. The bulk of what he eats is gutloaded crickets.
 

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bombadillo2 said:
Thanks! I’ve tried silkworms and hornworms but he didn’t try them. Then tried the other kinds. I’ll reintroduce them and see.
Click to expand...
yeah, I have noticed it takes awhile for my little guy to "accept change" lol.... he'll eventually eat a hornworm, then go off and digest awhile before coming back for the silkworm...and just when you think you've got them pegged they change it up.
 
I see a few things I just want to point out. Some have been previously mentioned... These should be corrected. Please see feed back in red bold. :)

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled, ~3 months old, Male, been in my care for 2.5 months.
  • Handling - I handle Miles about 3-7 a week. I put my finger in front of him and let him climb on, and then I sit and do something while he climbs on me or hides under my hair. Usually I approach him, but sometimes when I open his front doors he comes over and reaches out to me! If I go a few days without handling, he'll be a bit puffy and anxious when I approach, so I try to handle him a little every day now. Other than that, he never puffs or hisses.
  • Feeding - I feed my cham small crickets, small roaches, and lately waxworms and mealworms. Usually free range. Sometimes eats from a stick on my hand. One small dish where I put worms. Do away with the waxworms they are all fat. Do away with the mealworms they are very low in nutritional value. crickets and roaches are good. How are you gutloading your feeders?
  • Supplements - At the store I was given two supplements. Both Rep-Cal I think :[] One was Calcium + D3. The other was something like Herptavite with multivitamin. The store employee (it's a vivarium -- reptile-only house) told me to put calcium on the cricks EVERY TIME that I feed him. However, he had some calcium buildup on his nostrils and after research I realized that that's way too much. So I took a break for a few days from any supplements, and started again with a light dusting of the calcium + d3 1-2x per week. Multi-vitamin maybe 1x per week or per week and a half. At least while he's a baby. So this does need to be corrected... He should have calcium Without D3 at every feeding. Calcium with D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month. These two should be rotated each week. This is very important to have the supplementation on point especially while he is growing so rapidly.
  • Watering - Misting system. Usually turn on in the morning for several minutes, then it's on a timer to spray 3-4 times throughout the day for 2 minutes. Also hand spray him sometimes.
  • Fecal Description - Cham has never been tested. Droppings are white and black/ white or black.
  • History - He's been healthy and happy and is growing quickly!
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Carolina Custom Cages Terrarium, Extra-Tall Medium 24Lx18Dx36H Glass sides with a screen top. When I'm home I keep the front doors open. I live in very temperate weather. Never snows, never gets above 90 degrees outside (and those days are very rare - maybe 2 weeks out of the year). The cage is next to the window, so there is a little extra air flow. You will need to upgrade his cage size. Males need a minimum of 24x24x48.
  • Lighting - 18in Acadia UV bulb. I have it on a timer which goes on at 8:30 AM and goes off at 9:00 PM. Also next to a window so natural light gets in as well. This is a T5HO bulb correct? What UVB strength is it?
  • Temperature - Basking spot is ~85, terrarium at between 64-85 depending on time of day. Two heat bulbs, one that's dark that stays on through the night unless it's hot. So you should not be providing any heat during the night unless it is below 50 degrees. They need to be able to cool down.
  • Humidity - 50-70%, 90s right after misting... Humidity for a veiled during the day should be 3-50% It can be 80-100% at night when the cage is cool. Hot moist air creates a situation for the cham to develope a respiratory infection (RI)
  • Plants - Dracaena variation and a Pothos; I got all of my plants off of this Cham-safe list. Babies Tears. Light fern. I used volcanic pumice as a lower layer for drainage, and then organic soil, and on top an organic locally made earthworm compost soil. The plants drink up the water from misting. I can not comment on the bio active aspect but please make sure that this is done correctly with CUC for clean up. Also ensure that your dirt does not have any of the white styrofoam type pieces in it that the cham can ingest.
  • Placement - In my bedroom. It is on top of a dresser thing which is about just below hip-height on me... then the cage is tall so the top of it is about a foot above my head, I'd say. Definitely not high traffic area. He's alone most of the day and I hang around him at night and for an hour in the morning. No air vents or noise or movement in general. Next to a window (full height of cage) and there are two other windows in the room.
  • Other Enclosure Stuff - He has a bird bridge thing made of sticks, fake vines throughout, mossy sticks, vertical logs.
  • Free Range - Large pot with 4 Dracaena next to each other
  • Location - San Francisco


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Beman said:
I see a few things I just want to point out. Some have been previously mentioned... These should be corrected. Please see feed back in red bold. :)

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled, ~3 months old, Male, been in my care for 2.5 months.
  • Handling - I handle Miles about 3-7 a week. I put my finger in front of him and let him climb on, and then I sit and do something while he climbs on me or hides under my hair. Usually I approach him, but sometimes when I open his front doors he comes over and reaches out to me! If I go a few days without handling, he'll be a bit puffy and anxious when I approach, so I try to handle him a little every day now. Other than that, he never puffs or hisses.
  • Feeding - I feed my cham small crickets, small roaches, and lately waxworms and mealworms. Usually free range. Sometimes eats from a stick on my hand. One small dish where I put worms. Do away with the waxworms they are all fat. Do away with the mealworms they are very low in nutritional value. crickets and roaches are good. How are you gutloading your feeders?
  • Supplements - At the store I was given two supplements. Both Rep-Cal I think :[] One was Calcium + D3. The other was something like Herptavite with multivitamin. The store employee (it's a vivarium -- reptile-only house) told me to put calcium on the cricks EVERY TIME that I feed him. However, he had some calcium buildup on his nostrils and after research I realized that that's way too much. So I took a break for a few days from any supplements, and started again with a light dusting of the calcium + d3 1-2x per week. Multi-vitamin maybe 1x per week or per week and a half. At least while he's a baby. So this does need to be corrected... He should have calcium Without D3 at every feeding. Calcium with D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month. These two should be rotated each week. This is very important to have the supplementation on point especially while he is growing so rapidly.
  • Watering - Misting system. Usually turn on in the morning for several minutes, then it's on a timer to spray 3-4 times throughout the day for 2 minutes. Also hand spray him sometimes.
  • Fecal Description - Cham has never been tested. Droppings are white and black/ white or black.
  • History - He's been healthy and happy and is growing quickly!
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Carolina Custom Cages Terrarium, Extra-Tall Medium 24Lx18Dx36H Glass sides with a screen top. When I'm home I keep the front doors open. I live in very temperate weather. Never snows, never gets above 90 degrees outside (and those days are very rare - maybe 2 weeks out of the year). The cage is next to the window, so there is a little extra air flow. You will need to upgrade his cage size. Males need a minimum of 24x24x48.
  • Lighting - 18in Acadia UV bulb. I have it on a timer which goes on at 8:30 AM and goes off at 9:00 PM. Also next to a window so natural light gets in as well. This is a T5HO bulb correct? What UVB strength is it?
  • Temperature - Basking spot is ~85, terrarium at between 64-85 depending on time of day. Two heat bulbs, one that's dark that stays on through the night unless it's hot. So you should not be providing any heat during the night unless it is below 50 degrees. They need to be able to cool down.
  • Humidity - 50-70%, 90s right after misting... Humidity for a veiled during the day should be 3-50% It can be 80-100% at night when the cage is cool. Hot moist air creates a situation for the cham to develope a respiratory infection (RI)
  • Plants - Dracaena variation and a Pothos; I got all of my plants off of this Cham-safe list. Babies Tears. Light fern. I used volcanic pumice as a lower layer for drainage, and then organic soil, and on top an organic locally made earthworm compost soil. The plants drink up the water from misting. I can not comment on the bio active aspect but please make sure that this is done correctly with CUC for clean up. Also ensure that your dirt does not have any of the white styrofoam type pieces in it that the cham can ingest.
  • Placement - In my bedroom. It is on top of a dresser thing which is about just below hip-height on me... then the cage is tall so the top of it is about a foot above my head, I'd say. Definitely not high traffic area. He's alone most of the day and I hang around him at night and for an hour in the morning. No air vents or noise or movement in general. Next to a window (full height of cage) and there are two other windows in the room.
  • Other Enclosure Stuff - He has a bird bridge thing made of sticks, fake vines throughout, mossy sticks, vertical logs.
  • Free Range - Large pot with 4 Dracaena next to each other
  • Location - San Francisco


Like Quote Reply
Report
Click to expand...
Oops sorry I missed this response. Thanks so much!! Appreciate the advice.
 
Beman said:
I see a few things I just want to point out. Some have been previously mentioned... These should be corrected. Please see feed back in red bold. :)

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled, ~3 months old, Male, been in my care for 2.5 months.
  • Handling - I handle Miles about 3-7 a week. I put my finger in front of him and let him climb on, and then I sit and do something while he climbs on me or hides under my hair. Usually I approach him, but sometimes when I open his front doors he comes over and reaches out to me! If I go a few days without handling, he'll be a bit puffy and anxious when I approach, so I try to handle him a little every day now. Other than that, he never puffs or hisses.
  • Feeding - I feed my cham small crickets, small roaches, and lately waxworms and mealworms. Usually free range. Sometimes eats from a stick on my hand. One small dish where I put worms. Do away with the waxworms they are all fat. Do away with the mealworms they are very low in nutritional value. crickets and roaches are good. How are you gutloading your feeders?
  • Supplements - At the store I was given two supplements. Both Rep-Cal I think :[] One was Calcium + D3. The other was something like Herptavite with multivitamin. The store employee (it's a vivarium -- reptile-only house) told me to put calcium on the cricks EVERY TIME that I feed him. However, he had some calcium buildup on his nostrils and after research I realized that that's way too much. So I took a break for a few days from any supplements, and started again with a light dusting of the calcium + d3 1-2x per week. Multi-vitamin maybe 1x per week or per week and a half. At least while he's a baby. So this does need to be corrected... He should have calcium Without D3 at every feeding. Calcium with D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month. These two should be rotated each week. This is very important to have the supplementation on point especially while he is growing so rapidly.
  • Watering - Misting system. Usually turn on in the morning for several minutes, then it's on a timer to spray 3-4 times throughout the day for 2 minutes. Also hand spray him sometimes.
  • Fecal Description - Cham has never been tested. Droppings are white and black/ white or black.
  • History - He's been healthy and happy and is growing quickly!
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Carolina Custom Cages Terrarium, Extra-Tall Medium 24Lx18Dx36H Glass sides with a screen top. When I'm home I keep the front doors open. I live in very temperate weather. Never snows, never gets above 90 degrees outside (and those days are very rare - maybe 2 weeks out of the year). The cage is next to the window, so there is a little extra air flow. You will need to upgrade his cage size. Males need a minimum of 24x24x48.
  • Lighting - 18in Acadia UV bulb. I have it on a timer which goes on at 8:30 AM and goes off at 9:00 PM. Also next to a window so natural light gets in as well. This is a T5HO bulb correct? What UVB strength is it?
  • Temperature - Basking spot is ~85, terrarium at between 64-85 depending on time of day. Two heat bulbs, one that's dark that stays on through the night unless it's hot. So you should not be providing any heat during the night unless it is below 50 degrees. They need to be able to cool down.
  • Humidity - 50-70%, 90s right after misting... Humidity for a veiled during the day should be 3-50% It can be 80-100% at night when the cage is cool. Hot moist air creates a situation for the cham to develope a respiratory infection (RI)
  • Plants - Dracaena variation and a Pothos; I got all of my plants off of this Cham-safe list. Babies Tears. Light fern. I used volcanic pumice as a lower layer for drainage, and then organic soil, and on top an organic locally made earthworm compost soil. The plants drink up the water from misting. I can not comment on the bio active aspect but please make sure that this is done correctly with CUC for clean up. Also ensure that your dirt does not have any of the white styrofoam type pieces in it that the cham can ingest.
  • Placement - In my bedroom. It is on top of a dresser thing which is about just below hip-height on me... then the cage is tall so the top of it is about a foot above my head, I'd say. Definitely not high traffic area. He's alone most of the day and I hang around him at night and for an hour in the morning. No air vents or noise or movement in general. Next to a window (full height of cage) and there are two other windows in the room.
  • Other Enclosure Stuff - He has a bird bridge thing made of sticks, fake vines throughout, mossy sticks, vertical logs.
  • Free Range - Large pot with 4 Dracaena next to each other
  • Location - San Francisco


Like Quote Reply
Report
Click to expand...
To answer your questions:
-I just ordered some Calcium without D3, and will dust on every feeding. "Calcium with D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month" Okay I will do this too. Thanks!
-The bulk of feeders are crickets. He's more interested in those than any worms, but he does like worms sometimes. I'll continue to feed mostly crickets and roaches. The roaches seem to get away and hide more easily, but I'll try.
-I gutload my crickets with this: Fluker Labs High Calcium Cricket Feed, and Fluker Labs Fluker Cricket Quencher Gel, with an occasional piece of fruit thrown in. I don't love doing the fruit because it gets moldy REALLY easily. Should I do fruit and veggies more often?
-I get all my worms from Josh's Frogs, and don't usually feed them anything. They come in packaging which either has food (like hornworms -- but they grow way too fast for my baby cham to eat them; he's never eaten a hornworm yet), or they get eaten fast enough not to need additional feed. Do I need to gutload them a different way?
-I plan to upgrade his enclosure when he gets bigger.
-Light was recommended to me by someone on the forum: Arcadia 12% UVB Desert T8 Reptile Bulb 18"
-Temperature: it gets pretty chilly at night. With the dark bulb on, the terrarium falls to 56 degrees. I can turn it off if needed...
-"Hot moist air creates a situation for the cham to develope a respiratory infection (RI)" okay, I did not know this. I can bring down the humidity during the day. Thanks for letting me know!
-For the bioactive, I do have a cleanup crew in there, and there are no styrofoam pieces, the top layer is an organic earthworm compost from a local composter. It's rich and delicious! I also have lots of plants on the bottom to soak up any extra water, and to eventually make it less likely that his tongue would come into contact with the soil at all. (ferns, babies tears, etc).

Thanks so much!! Appreciate ALL of the advice. Let me know if you think of anything else.
 
bombadillo2 said:
To answer your questions:
-I just ordered some Calcium without D3, and will dust on every feeding. "Calcium with D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month" Okay I will do this too. Thanks!
-The bulk of feeders are crickets. He's more interested in those than any worms, but he does like worms sometimes. I'll continue to feed mostly crickets and roaches. The roaches seem to get away and hide more easily, but I'll try.
-I gutload my crickets with this: Fluker Labs High Calcium Cricket Feed, and Fluker Labs Fluker Cricket Quencher Gel, with an occasional piece of fruit thrown in. I don't love doing the fruit because it gets moldy REALLY easily. Should I do fruit and veggies more often?
-I get all my worms from Josh's Frogs, and don't usually feed them anything. They come in packaging which either has food (like hornworms -- but they grow way too fast for my baby cham to eat them; he's never eaten a hornworm yet), or they get eaten fast enough not to need additional feed. Do I need to gutload them a different way?
-I plan to upgrade his enclosure when he gets bigger.
-Light was recommended to me by someone on the forum: Arcadia 12% UVB Desert T8 Reptile Bulb 18"
-Temperature: it gets pretty chilly at night. With the dark bulb on, the terrarium falls to 56 degrees. I can turn it off if needed...
-"Hot moist air creates a situation for the cham to develope a respiratory infection (RI)" okay, I did not know this. I can bring down the humidity during the day. Thanks for letting me know!
-For the bioactive, I do have a cleanup crew in there, and there are no styrofoam pieces, the top layer is an organic earthworm compost from a local composter. It's rich and delicious! I also have lots of plants on the bottom to soak up any extra water, and to eventually make it less likely that his tongue would come into contact with the soil at all. (ferns, babies tears, etc).

Thanks so much!! Appreciate ALL of the advice. Let me know if you think of anything else.
Click to expand...
Can you post a picture of your enclosure? I love to see different bioactive setups :)
 
Sorry none of these are perfect.... some are at various stages. I move the basking spot further down as he grows, etc. The plants are really thriving! It's only been a few weeks though. I have the pothos in a pot on a stand so that it's high up. He loves to hang out in, on, and around there most of the time. He always sleeps on it :) He'll go to the lower plants to hunt his crickets if they're hanging out around vines, or if he wants to adjust his temperature. When I'm home, the doors are open.
 

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bombadillo2 said:
Sorry none of these are perfect.... some are at various stages. I move the basking spot further down as he grows, etc. The plants are really thriving! It's only been a few weeks though. I have the pothos in a pot on a stand so that it's high up. He loves to hang out in, on, and around there most of the time. He always sleeps on it :) He'll go to the lower plants to hunt his crickets if they're hanging out around vines, or if he wants to adjust his temperature. When I'm home, the doors are open.
Click to expand...
You have a beautiful setup. Have you been in communication with some of our more experienced bioactive members to make sure you've crossed all your Ts and dotted your Is??
 
Daesie11 said:
You have a beautiful setup. Have you been in communication with some of our more experienced bioactive members to make sure you've crossed all your Ts and dotted your Is??
Click to expand...
Yep I've read a ton on here about bioactive setups and gotten lots of advice :) Most likely when he's bigger I will end up moving him into a simpler screen enclosure, maybe just keep this as a terrarium, or who knows. Still seeing!
 
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