Chameleon

[ERKleRose]

What would you recommend for the heat bulb/fixture? I’m sorry, I really appreciate all this and feel bad for bombarding with these questions but I’m ordering this stuff as we speak, this Cham WILL SURVIVE! I hope

No problem, ask away, we're all here to help! The Fluker's Sun Dome that was in your cart screen shot is perfect! A plain white light household incandescent bulb from the hardware store is cheap and works great!

Can someone give me some feedback on this? Pls

I don't have time to go over that tonight, but I did give you partial feedback on the previous page, along with helpful links and images; hopefully that's enough for right now until someone responds!

 

[Evensen0316]

No problem, ask away, we're all here to help! The Fluker's Sun Dome that was in your cart screen shot is perfect! A plain white light household incandescent bulb from the hardware store is cheap and works great!

I don't have time to go over that tonight, but I did give you partial feedback on the previous page, along with helpful links and images; hopefully that's enough for right now until someone responds!

Yes you were extremely helpful, hopefully this new cage arrives soon so I can load it up with LIVE plants and much more for this guy to climb around on instead of my jimmy-rigged setup I have now! I will go to my local shop and see what light fixtures they have, I may have some store credit so may get it even cheaper! I really appreciate these comments and hopefully I can figure out if my Cham is healthy or not.. unfortunately I’m not sure if there are any reptile veterinarians close by... he eats, drinks well stool seems the same as usual and white urine. I just thought he looked skinny since you can see his rib cage in a pic I posted earlier, maybe this is due to not being gut-load fed properly?

 

[ERKleRose]

Yes you were extremely helpful, hopefully this new cage arrives soon so I can load it up with LIVE plants and much more for this guy to climb around on instead of my jimmy-rigged setup I have now! I will go to my local shop and see what light fixtures they have, I may have some store credit so may get it even cheaper! I really appreciate these comments and hopefully I can figure out if my Cham is healthy or not.. unfortunately I’m not sure if there are any reptile veterinarians close by... he eats, drinks well stool seems the same as usual and white urine. I just thought he looked skinny since you can see his rib cage in a pic I posted earlier, maybe this is due to not being gut-load fed properly?

Thanks, and that's great! The not gutloading is an issue, but it could also be parasites or something. Where in Wisconsin do you live? We can try to help you find a vet!

 

[Evensen0316]

Thanks, and that's great! The not gutloading is an issue, but it could also be parasites or something. Where in Wisconsin do you live? We can try to help you find a vet!

I live in crandon wi.

 

[ERKleRose]

@jannb Do you know of any good vets near there?

 

[Evensen0316]

@jannb Do you know of any good vets near there?

I just looked up reptile vet and closest would be about 2 hrs away and is actually the same area where I bought him.

 

[Evensen0316]

I just looked up reptile vet and closest would be about 2 hrs away and is actually the same area where I bought him.

Honestly I may call my local veterinarian (dog/cat) and see if they know of a place anywhere around that deals with reptiles!

 

[Evensen0316]

Thanks, and that's great! The not gutloading is an issue, but it could also be parasites or something. Where in Wisconsin do you live? We can try to help you find a vet!

Also when I get the crickets from the shop they come with some red food thing not sure what it is but the crickets definitely eat it, not sure what it is but I’m hoping it’s helping with gut-load. It was much larger when I got the crickets as well, would you have any idea what it may be?

 

[jannb]

@jannb Do you know of any good vets near there?

I’m not sure how close this is but it might be worth the drive.
https://uwveterinarycare.wisc.edu/small-animal/exotic-species/

 

[Evensen0316]

I’m not sure how close this is but it might be worth the drive.
https://uwveterinarycare.wisc.edu/small-animal/exotic-species/

This is nearly 4hrs from me and if I ever had to travel with my Cham that long I’m not sure how I’d manage

 

[jannb]

This is nearly 4hrs from me and if I ever had to travel with my Cham that long I’m not sure how I’d manage

My vet use to be 4 hours away until be moved to get closer. There is an Exotic vet in Green Bay. Is that closer for you?
https://www.packerlandvet.com/services/exotic-pets/

 

[Evensen0316]

My vet use to be 4 hours away until be moved to get closer. There is an Exotic vet in Green Bay. Is that closer for you?
https://www.packerlandvet.com/services/exotic-pets/

Yes that’s where I was thinking of going! Would I have to bring my Cham in or just bring in fecal so they can test? And work from there?

 

[jannb]

Yes that’s where I was thinking of going! Would I have to bring my Cham in or just bring in fecal so they can test? And work from there?

You would need to call and ask the vet that question. They may want to see your chameleon. A check up is a good idea anyway.

 

[Evensen0316]

You would need to call and ask the vet that question. They may want to see your chameleon. A check up is a good idea anyway.

Thank you!! As my cham is eating and drinking well and stools still look normal, is it urgent for me to get him in ASAP? I am fairly busy with work and have a new cage on the way and wouldn’t want to stress him out too much!

 

[Evensen0316]

Chameleon Info: Last pic is from day I got him, other pics of him today.

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, Male, 2 weeks
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not often maybe once every other day.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets and super worms What amount? 3 supers a week and roughly 10-12 crickets a day What is the schedule? Feed usually right when I wake up. How are you gut-loading your feeders? In pictures below
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? In pictures below and calcium w/d3 daily and calcium with d3 and vitamin twice a month.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? I have water dripping onto fake plant, I see him drink daily. How often and how long to you mist? I spray him twice a day and will most as much As I need to keep humidity. Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  Not that I know of and will post pic of droppings below.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Got him from petsmart so nope

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Currently have a 20g glass tank connected to a16x16x30 screen cage.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? I have 2 of the same fixtures over each tank (glass and screen) both with 5.0 uvb reptisun.
• What is your daily lighting schedule? 9am to 9 pm
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 70° floor,85° basking. Use temp gun.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 50-70% day and 60-80% night, keep up for misting but honestly if you guys say 30-50% day I think that’s around the avg humidity in my room and then I’ve been misting far too much keeping humidity that high.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Fake plants..
• 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? Is on top of my dresser, top of tank is just below ceiling. Tank is under vent but can close/open if need be. Do have ceiling fan in my room.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Wisconsin, usa
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. What exactly are your concerns? I do see some errors that need correcting.
He looks quite young. You could feed him as much as he can eat in a 15 minute period. Crickets are okay, but variety is best. Roaches and silkworms are great additions. You need to feed your bugs healthy foods so that they offer more nutrition to your cham. Attaching both feeder and gutloading sheets.
So, your supplements are a bit off and you’re giving too much vitamin D3. This can build up to toxic levels, so you need to stop using the calcium with D3. The Repashy calcium plus LoD is a combination of multivitamin and D3. You’ll use that one feeding every other week. Continue the calcium without D3 at every feeding.
Your guy is tiny now, but they grow quick and he’ll be needing a minimum of a 2x2x4’ enclosure.
Looks like your uvb is the screw in bulbs. Sad to say, those aren’t able to provide adequate levels of uvb any farther than 2“ away. You need to get a linear T5HO fixture with a 5.0 uvb bulb. Like this one. https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/arcadia-prot5-uvb-kit.html It needs to be 8-9” above your basking area. As babies like to screen climb, you should suspend all of your lights above the top of your enclosure to prevent risk of burns.
A temp of 85 is too hot for a baby. Try to bring that down to around 78-80. At night there should be a temp drop.
Humidity is a bit high. It needs to be between 30-50% during the day. The glass tank is most likely keeping your humidity too high. I would definitely just use the screen enclosure.
Yes, you need to get all of the fake plants out and replace them with real ones. Attaching 2 safe plant lists for you. All it takes is one nibble of a fake leaf and your little one can get impacted. The mossy vine needs to go too. I hang my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures for extra privacy. You can use branches from outside…just avoid pine and other trees with sap. Give a scrub with some dish soap, blast with the hose and dry in the sun. A great way to hang plants, branches and vines are Dragon Ledges, if they can be budgeted in. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Some have made their own.
Of course, feel free to ask as many questions as you need.

 

[Evensen0316]

Thank you!! I have a 24x24x48 cage ordered along with a t5 ho 6% Arcadia 22” uvb fixture/light also ordered. I also have a new heat lamp on the way! I was just worried as it seems his eyes may be inverted but I’m new to owning a chameleon, I can post some more pics of him tomorrow as I’m not completely sure I just want to be on the safe side and get your guys views on what I should do.

 

[Evensen0316]

 

[Evensen0316]

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Here are some more pics of my Cham, is it normal for them to lay on side like that? Maybe my vine is small and he turns to gather more heat? Also why may he close his left eye las seen in pic? Last pic is of him drinking! I wasn’t sure if he had closed that eye because the light is bright while laying on his side??

 

[MissSkittles]

Here are some more pics of my Cham, is it normal for them to lay on side like that? Maybe my vine is small and he turns to gather more heat? Also why may he close his left eye las seen in pic? Last pic is of him drinking! I wasn’t sure if he had closed that eye because the light is bright while laying on his side??

Yes, they will sometimes turn and expose one side for more heat and uvb. It is not at all normal for a cham to have one or both eyes closed during the day. That is a huge warning sign that something is wrong. Baby chameleons are quite fragile and even the smallest error in husbandry can cause them to perish. Coming from a chain pet store, he could have something wrong with him. They aren’t known for selling healthy animals. Make the corrections I suggested and a vet visit with a fecal check for parasites is a good idea.