Chameleon stays on the ground and doesn’t eats

[andyarroyave]

Hello everybody, i own a male veiled chameleon about who is about 3 months old, since yesterday he has passed a lot of time on the ground and sometimes pushing his head against the metal mesh that covers his terrarium. Hi is also not eating since yesterday (2 days now) and is very aggressive when I try to grab him to put him on top of the feeding container. There are no vets for this kind of pets in my country so I was hoping you could help me. The followings are the details about his food and habitat:
Food: Small dubia cockroaches “Blaptica dubia” which i dust with calcium and vitamins 3 to 4 days a week.
Water supply: drip system that falls over the plant leaves
Terrarium size: 56 cm x 56 cm x 125 cm
Plants: The plants are all natural (one small guava tree, one local climbing plant, and one interior plant with light green big leaves)
Substrate: black earth (on which the plants are planted) and some plain rocks
UVB Light: Exo Terra Reptile UVB 150 (former repti glo 10.0 compact)
Heat light: 100 what heat light
Regular temperature on cold days: 70-75 F
Regular temperature on hot days: 80-90 F
Humidity: From 60 -70 %
Previous events: He shedded two days ago and he did it fast and easy.

Terrarium

Ramon (chamaleon)

Looking foward to your comments and advice

Thanks

Andres

 

[ridgebax1]

Here is a link to the care sheet for a veiled https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/.
I think you may have too much UVB for him 10.0 are OK but I think he would need more foliage at the top of the enclosure. He may be hanging out at the bottom to try to get away from the light. Also I think your temps may be a little too high as well. He should have a temp gradient throughout the cage, with the basking spot hitting no more than 85 degrees for the little guy. Here is a link to the page how to ask for help https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/. If you fill this out and repost it with your answers it will give the folks here a better idea all around about what may be going on with your chameleon. Your supplementation may be off as well. They only need vitamins twice a month.

 

[Kath44]

Are you sure he's a he?
Kath.

 

[Defianceofexistence]

I'm no expert but "he" looks like a "she" I don't see any little spurs....regardless he is beautiful...even when he is super angry hehe

 

[Iluvheidi]

like others say we are not experts but I think you will need a wider cage in the next 3-5 months the heat lamp is a little much. in a cage that size depending what the ambient temp in your house is, a 60watt-75watt bulb would be fine for direct heat. you might want to run mesh across the top of the cage so that he cannot reach the bulbs when he gets bigger. He will crawl on the sides of the cage and get up there. he is to hot that is why he is crawling down to the bottom. IMO

*edit* i agree with the statement of him actually being a girl. could you take better pics of his back feet? also if you are grabing him he will be pissed. you have to take time and let them crawl onto you. When my guy was that young i used food as encuragement to get him to crawl onto my hand. always slide your hand under his chin then under his feet he will crawl onto you.

 

[ChrisZ]

Hello! Welcome to the forums!

No mather what the sex of your chameleon is, I think you dont need to worry about the problem of being on the floor of the cage.

If i see your setup I would change the coil UVB to Reptisun UV. Also; coil UVB should be placed horizonatally.

Oh, I think it's a male. Hard to tell on the picture but there seems to be the dorsal spurs.

 

[Adashek123]

you really should switch the 10.0 uvb to a 5.0 and get a linear (tube) light instead... these can cause blindness.. 10.0 is for desert animals 5.0 is tropical

 

[andyarroyave]

My Chameleon Info

Hello Guys, thanks a lot for your help! I already changed the light again for a 5.0 UVB from zoomed and ill change the heat lamp for a 75 watt lamp (is it ok if is a black light?) I have a few questions:
Is the 5.0 light ok for him? (I can’t get an horizontal light here in my country and I bought 3 5.0 vertical lights over the internet, however, if they can get him blind ill throw them away and buy a best one)
Is it ok if I feed him only with dubia roaches? Crickets are harder to get here and I don’t have the time to catch them, what else can replace the crickets?
For feeding him should I keep grabbing him and putting him next to the feeding container or should I just put the food in the container and let him go and get it?

PS: He does have little spurs on the back of his feet but im not sure if is a he or a she..

The following is the info that you may need to help me figure out the problem:

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? : Is a 3 months old male veiled chameleon. He has been in my care for a month now.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Every day I grab him and put him on one side of the cup where I throw the Small dubia cockroaches which I feed him with.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed him with small dubia cockroaches (“Blaptica dubia” ) mostly in the morning and in the afternoon. He usually eats around 6 roaches daily (sometimes more, sometimes less) The roaches are feed with carrot and cats food.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? The calcium that I use is repti calcium from zoomed and also use herptivite with beta carotene which is a product from Rep-cal.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist the terrarium 3 or 4 times a day (depending on how hot the day is) and I have a drip system on the top of the terrarium that wets the leaves under it constantly. I don’t see the chameleon drink water very often really but I can’t stay looking at him much for my work, so I’m not sure if he is not drinking enough water.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? The color of the chameleons poop is black and it is hard (it sticks to the leaves) I have never tested him for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He sheeded 2 days ago for the second time and it happened fast and easily.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It is a wood cage covered with metal screen and the dimensions are: 56 cm x 56 cm x 125 cm
• Substrate: black earth (on which the plants are planted) and some plain rocks
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Initially I used a zoomed 5.0 UVB light and then I changed to a Exo Terra Reptile UVB 150 (former repti glo 10.0 compact) and a 100 watt heat lamp. I turn them on at 8 am and turn them off at 7 pm.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a thermometer on the back wall of the terrarium that marks from 75 to 80 F at day and 65 to 70 during night and/or cold days. I haven’t measure the temp in the basking spot but it is at a distance of 30 cm from the 100 watt heat lamp.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I measure the humidity with a hygrometer which is integrated with the thermometer, and I have a terrarium humidifier spreading water vapor all the time during the day.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? The plants are all natural (one small guava tree, one local climbing plant, and one interior plant with light green big leaves)
• 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? The cage is next to a window inside my office (no traffic at all or air vents but I turn on the air conditioner in hot days) the top of the cage is at 165 cm from the floor of my office.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in Medellin-Colombia.

Looking forward to your comments

Thanks a lot!