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

ERKleRose said:
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)
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ok thank you so much the problem is I don't have a ton of money to spare when it comes to this and I don't really have the space as of now to get a big cage like that. I really enjoy her and all but I'm wondering if I should give her back as I don't want to kill her but don't have all the resources for her. Everyone that I talked to at both shows and the store said that what I have now was fine but clearly not now. Also I didn't anticipate vet visits when I was researching about them so I don't know if it would be better to give her back.
 
loonipper said:
ok thank you so much the problem is I don't have a ton of money to spare when it comes to this and I don't really have the space as of now to get a big cage like that. I really enjoy her and all but I'm wondering if I should give her back as I don't want to kill her but don't have all the resources for her. Everyone that I talked to at both shows and the store said that what I have now was fine but clearly not now. Also I didn't anticipate vet visits when I was researching about them so I don't know if it would be better to give her back.
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I also feel bad too cause my grandparents got me the cage for my birthday and I'm still in school so I wouldn't have enough money or space in my small room to house a larger cage or also pay vet bills every so often
 
Do your grandparents live close to you? Perhaps if you explained it all to them, they may be willing to help you out a bit more. You could learn more about keeping chameleons and make your sweet girl’s upgrades together. You can either both learn from https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ or Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube. It could be a fun family project and fantastic way to build more great memories with your grandparents.
 
MissSkittles said:
Do your grandparents live close to you? Perhaps if you explained it all to them, they may be willing to help you out a bit more. You could learn more about keeping chameleons and make your sweet girl’s upgrades together. You can either both learn from https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ or Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube. It could be a fun family project and fantastic way to build more great memories with your grandparents.
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they actually live with us but the problem is they don't really know anything and as far as my parents are concerned, it is my responsibility to take care of it. So either way I just don't really have the space for the 2x4x4 cage
 
loonipper said:
they actually live with us but the problem is they don't really know anything and as far as my parents are concerned, it is my responsibility to take care of it. So either way I just don't really have the space for the 2x4x4 cage
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and I could get stuff like lights and all that but the problem would be drainage and live plants and of course the cage as well
 
It is extremely important to learn about the needs of any animal that you might get before actually getting it. This will save you any heartbreak in the future.
 
MissSkittles said:
There are some gecko forums and forums for just about any other animal. Those that I’ve been to aren’t nearly as active as we are here. Many of us do have more than just chameleons too and might be able to help with other creatures if you need. https://www.chameleonforums.com/forums/other-reptiles-and-pets.38/ I wish you the very best. 💗
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and ofc if it would work without live plants and drainage, I actually found a cage for a decent price and it might fit
 
ERKleRose said:
Because she is a veiled, it will only work with live plants, and all cages need drainage. You can make your own drainage solution like the ones on here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/drainage-systems-for-cages-get-creative.102038/ or buy a premade one here: https://dragonstrand.com/alternative-cage-manufaturers/

If you do give her up, there are also chameleon rescues that will take her if the pet store won’t
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ok well i was reading and it said I can place paper towels at the bottom so I would do that. also is one tall live plant enough and I can place some sticks?
 
Drainage is something that we all have to kind of figure out what works best for us, but….there are many who place the whole enclosure in a large enough plastic bin and then use a wet vac to empty it. Some put tons of plants on the floor to absorb the drainage. Makes it a bit tough to clean though. Another way is putting the enclosure on a wire shelf, drilling a hole in the floor and putting a bucket below to catch the drainage. Those are just a few ideas. For plants, if you can get a decent sized schefflera and a pothos or two, that would be perfect for now. This is what I did with a smaller sized enclosure. There’s the big schefflera at the center, a pothos in the back and a type of dracanae in the front. This was before adding lights.
IMG_2718.jpeg
This was after I started learning what my girl needed and making a lot of improvements. (You’d hate to see what I started with)
20190627_083955.jpeg
A couple more improvements.
IMG_0068.jpeg
The difference between the smaller sized enclosure (from the chameleon kit) and the 2x2x4’.
20190721_070852.jpeg
 
loonipper said:
ok well i was reading and it said I can place paper towels at the bottom so I would do that. also is one tall live plant enough and I can place some sticks?
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That isn’t sufficient enough and can breed bacteria. You can do it at minimum with either one umbrella plant and a couple of pothos or 4-6 pothos throughout the cage
 
loonipper said:
and ofc if it would work without live plants and drainage, I actually found a cage for a decent price and it might fit
Click to expand...
I use a tray at the bottom of the enclosure to fit the size and shop vac the water daily out of the enclosure. My guy needs a lot of water and I don’t have a drainage system in place yet.
 
Even though it was a bit smaller than ideal and my girl wasn’t even fully mature yet, I did provide a lay bin as soon as I learned she would need one. I didn’t know better and bought a 14” T5 5.0 uvb and later had to upgrade that to a 24” one. (My turtle now has the 14” one).
 
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