Chameleon pulled out her claw and is now sleeping at the bottom of the cage please help!

[loonipper]

Yesterday my female veiled chameleon pulled out her claw on the screen mesh on the enclosure. Her claw seems to be fine and no sign of infection but now she has been at the bottom of the enclosure with her eyes closed. Should I be concerned? *this is also my first chameleon so any other tips on how to care for her properly would be great!

 

[GrannyK]

Yesterday my female veiled chameleon pulled out her claw on the screen mesh on the enclosure. Her claw seems to be fine and no sign of infection but now she has been at the bottom of the enclosure with her eyes closed. Should I be concerned? *this is also my first chameleon so any other tips on how to care for her properly would be great!

Hi! Welcome to the forum! Do you have any pics of the cham, the foot affected, his enclosure, lights? Separate pics is fine but sometimes pics are best for trouble shooting. I’d also advise filling out a husbandry form below by copy and pasting.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. You’re in good hands here with the experienced keepers. Online can be ruthless.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[GrannyK]

Do you have a laybin ready for her? In case your not aware she will lay eggs even with out a male. They are infertile but females still lay.

 

[GrannyK]

Here is a good set up for a lay in if you don’t already have one

 

[loonipper]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. You’re in good hands here with the experienced keepers. Online can be ruthless.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, about one year old, female, I've had her for around a month maybe 3 weeks
Handling - not at all sense i got her as she has been defensive
Feeding - I'm feeding her crickets, horn worms, and super worms. I just give her them straight from the store.
Supplements - I haven't given her any supplements but I'm going to start with zoo med repti calcium
Watering - I manually mist her for about 1-2 mins to where the cage is pretty wet and I do this 2 times a day, I see her drink right after I spray.
Fecal Description - White urate and normal poop, I haven't taken her for a test.
History - Got her from an exotic pet store with a good reputation.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen, 16x16x30in
Lighting - both are zoo med, I got the sunlight bulb and the blue bulb that projects white light.
Temperature - basking is about 82-84 and the bottom of the cage is around 72-75. At night probably around high 60's all through the cage.
Humidity - I don't know to be honest but about what a normal room in Florida would be.
Plants - No live plants
Placement - It is on my dresser in my room, about 6 and a half feet from the floor.
Location - South Florida.

 

[loonipper]

Do you have a laybin ready for her? In case your not aware she will lay eggs even with out a male. They are infertile but females still lay.

can she lay them without one or is it necessary?

 

[loonipper]

The Hi! Welcome to the forum! Do you have any pics of the cham, the foot affected, his enclosure, lights? Separate pics is fine but sometimes pics are best for trouble shooting. I’d also advise filling out a husbandry form below by copy and pasting.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. You’re in good hands here with the experienced keepers. Online can be ruthless.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Sorry your sweet girl isn’t doing well. I do see some obvious causes for that. It @GrannyK doesn’t go thru all of your husbandry, I will a bit later. In the meantime, here’s something you should read. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

 

[loonipper]

Hi. Sorry your sweet girl isn’t doing well. I do see some obvious causes for that. It @GrannyK doesn’t go thru all of your husbandry, I will a bit later. In the meantime, here’s something you should read. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

Thank you! I will get her a lay bin but can she lay them without?

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you! I will get her a lay bin but can she lay them without?

Not really. When a chameleon starts dropping her eggs, she is in distress already and should have immediate veterinary assessment and treatment.

 

[loonipper]

Not really. When a chameleon starts dropping her eggs, she is in distress already and should have immediate veterinary assessment and treatment.

Even with the lay bin?

 

[ERKleRose]

@GrannyK @MissSkittles I can take this one if y’all aren’t already working on it?

Even with the lay bin?

Yes

 

[loonipper]

@GrannyK @MissSkittles I can take this one if y’all aren’t already working on it?


Yes

ok, by the way, should I do anything about her sleeping on the floor during the day?

 

[ERKleRose]

ok, by the way, should I do anything about her sleeping on the floor during the day?

Give me some time, and I can go over your husbandry and add helpful links and care images. Is she moving/can she grip a branch/anything like that?

 

[loonipper]

Give me some time, and I can go over your husbandry and add helpful links and care images. Is she moving/can she grip a branch/anything like that?

Yes she is climbing all over the cage right now and she can grip onto things well, if you look at the picture of the enclosure above is there anythign I should do to make it better and prevent things like this happening?

 

[ERKleRose]

Yes she is climbing all over the cage right now and she can grip onto things well, if you look at the picture of the enclosure above is there anythign I should do to make it better and prevent things like this happening?

That’s good! I’ll go over everything now, there are improvements that need to be made ASAP. I’m about to throw a lot of info at you, so let us know if you need clarification, have any questions (there are no stupid ones), or anything like that; we’re here to help!

 

[loonipper]

That’s good! I’ll go over everything now, there are improvements that need to be made ASAP. I’m about to throw a lot of info at you, so let us know if you need clarification, have any questions (there are no stupid ones), or anything like that; we’re here to help!

ok let me here it

 

[MissSkittles]

@GrannyK @MissSkittles I can take this one if y’all aren’t already working on it?


Yes

Go wild!

 

[ERKleRose]

My feedback will be in red, and I’ve attached helpful links and care images below (@GrannyK has already attached the lay bin image, and @MissSkittles has already linked her laying blog, but I’m adding them both here again so everything is in one place):

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, about one year old, female, I've had her for around a month maybe 3 weeks
Handling - not at all sense i got her as she has been defensive As she settles in, you can hand feed her her favorite bugs to build trust and/or take her outside (to an outdoor cage or on your hand- beware of predators, they act quick) for enrichment and as a reward. I’ve attached a great blog entry on how to build trust below!
Feeding - I'm feeding her crickets, horn worms, and super worms. I just give her them straight from the store. Hornworms and superworms should only be fed as treats, or if she needs a hydration boost (only hornworms). Make sure to only hand feed or cup feed the hornworms, as they have a strong grip and can cause tongue issues if she tries to grab them but they won’t let go. Gutloading (feeding the bugs before feeding them off) is super important, as bugs are just empty vessels without it! It provides nutrients to your cham, and is essential. There are a few ways to gutload, but the easiest and most used version is just constantly feeding all of your bugs good gutload 24/7 (silkworms and hornworms have and come with their own special food). Since she is fully grown, you'll want to stick to a feeding schedule of 3 feeders 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), with the occasional treat. I’ve attached both a feeder variety chart (the more variety, the better!) and a gutload chart below to follow!
Supplements - I haven't given her any supplements but I'm going to start with zoo med repti calcium Supplements are also crucial, as they balance out the poor phosphorus to calcium ratio in commercial feeders and round out the missing vitamins needed that chams get in the wild from wild insects that are missing with the insects that we feed in captivity. Get theZoo Med ReptiCalcium Without D3 if you don’t already have it (it should’ve come in the Zoo Med Chameleon Kit, which I think is what you got). You’ll use it every feeding, except for once every two weeks, when you’ll use a multivitamin with D3. The kit came with a sample of Zoo Med Reptivite with D3, but once that’s used up, you can either replace it with a bigger container of that or get Repashy CalciumPlus LoD instead (it doesn’t contain phosphorus, so it’s the better choice). It has a jacksons chameleon on its label. When dusting with supplements, do it right before feeding the insects off, and they only need a light coating (no powdered donut looking feeders)
Watering - I manually mist her for about 1-2 mins to where the cage is pretty wet and I do this 2 times a day, I see her drink right after I spray. Make sure each misting is at least 2 minutes long (can be longer), and that you’re misting the cage/plants, not her (she can come into the mist if she wants). One misting around lights on and another around lights off is a good starting point, and based on day and night humidity levels, can go from there (adding more mistings). You can also add a dripper on top of her cage (a cup with a pinprick hole in it/ice cubes on top of the screen/a commercial reptile dripper/etc). Make sure it hits a plant/leaf at the top of her cage and hits multiple more plants/leaves on the way down. You can also look into automatic misting systems if you can afford it. Only get CliMist or MistKing if you decide to buy one
Fecal Description - White urate and normal poop, I haven't taken her for a test. Do you know of an experienced chameleon vet near you? If not, we can help you find one! When you bring her in, if possible, make sure you bring in a poop less than 24 hours old (you can keep it in the fridge until you leave for the appointment). If she doesn’t have a fresh poop, you can drop one off later. Make sure to drop off the next two poops in a row after to make sure she is free of parasites (3 consecutive clean fecals is what we use to fully make sure no parasites were missed). Make sure they also take x-rays and bloodwork (if she’s big enough to do it safely), too
History - Got her from an exotic pet store with a good reputation.

 

[ERKleRose]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen, 16x16x30in This is too small, the bare minimum is either 36”x18”x36” tall or 2’x2’x4’ tall for a veiled, but the recommended size is 4’x2’x4’ tall or bigger! Bigger is always better, so go as big as you can! You need to take out the reptile carpet (you need a bare bottom with a drainage system under the cage, and once she’s healthy and you have more experience, you can look into bioactive set ups), the bowl at the bottom, and all of the fake plants. Reptile carpets are a breeding ground of bacteria, and veileds will eat anything, so fake plants are an impaction risk that can lead to death. I’ve attached a diy drainage idea thread below. I’m guessing the bowl is her feeding dish? I also see loose crickets. Do you take any uneaten crickets out of her cage after feeding her? A better feeding container (that also contains the crickets) is a feeder run, I’ve linked a diy version and premade options below! You’ll place it near the top of the cage (around the height of her basking branch or a little lower). She needs lots of branches (a lot of them horizontal), real (veiled safe) plants, and vines in her cage. I’ve attached two cage set up links below! Safe branches include manzanita, birch, oak, maple, crepe myrtle, etc (any hardwood/non-toxic and non-sap producing tree). You can use real or fake vines, just no Exo Terra or moss vines (they can both cause health issues). I’ll go more into detail on the plants in the plant section below). She needs a proper lay bin in her cage ASAP, it will stay in her cage 24/7
Lighting - both are zoo med, I got the sunlight bulb and the blue bulb that projects white light. Both of those are incorrect and need to be fixed ASAP! You need a T5 high output linear uvb fixture and bulb that is at least the length of the biggest cage she’ll have or longer. The best is the Arcadia ProT5 kit with a 6% Arcadia bulb (replace the bulb yearly). You’ll place her basking branch 8-9” away from the uvb bulb. You need to get a plain white light incandescent heat bulb to replace the blue bulb, as well. That needs to be 9”+ away from her basking branch. The Exo Terra multipurpose daytime heat lamp bulb is good!
Temperature - basking is about 82-84 and the bottom of the cage is around 72-75. At night probably around high 60's all through the cage. With females, you want lower basking temperatures and smaller feeding amounts to limit how many eggs she’ll produce, therefore lowering the strain on her body and helping increase her lifespan. If you don’t have one already, get a digital thermometer with a probe, and place the probe where the top of your cham’s back is when she’s on her basking branch. That should be between 78-80*F, no higher. You can place a couple of digital thermometer/hygrometer combos near the top and bottom of the cage to get ambient temps and humidity levels, too.
Humidity - I don't know to be honest but about what a normal room in Florida would be. This, too, is important to know. Daytime levels should be between 30-50%. If you can get your temps 65*F or lower at night, you can use a cool-mist fogger to get humidity levels 80-100%!
Plants - No live plants Veileds need live, veiled tested plants only, as fake ones are dangerous. Make sure that before placing them in her cage, you’ve washed the entire plant (roots and all) in either Dawn dish soap or Physan (rinse very, very, very well!), repot the plant in organic potting soil, and place rocks too big for her to eat over the exposed soil. I’ve attached a safe plant list below, stick to only the veiled tested ones in that link
Placement - It is on my dresser in my room, about 6 and a half feet from the floor.
Location - South Florida.

Here are all of the links, along with two extra ones for the Chameleon Academy (they have the most up to date and accurate info available):
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ (egg laying blog)
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ (trust building blog)
https://dragonstrand.com/constructing-a-chameleon-feeder-run/ (diy feeder run- knitting mesh is a better option for the climbing surface)
https://tkchameleons.com/collections/accessories/products/shooting-gallery (Large or small; Rainbow Mealworms also sells these)
https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/feedercups (I’ve made a diy version of this with pvc pipe and knitting mesh)
https://sunsetchameleons.com/product/chameleon-feeder/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/drainage-systems-for-cages-get-creative.102038/ (drainage system ideas)
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html (cage set up link)
https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/ (cage set up link)
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ (safe plants link)
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ (read every module!)
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/ (most up to date veiled care sheet, though basking temps, humidity, and feeder amounts are wrong, stick to what I’ve said in those areas)