Constant Shedding / Not Eating Much

LizardMomx2

LizardMomx2

New Member
Hi there,

I've been a proud chameleon owner for almost two weeks now. We have a male and female. They are both still babies but the male is eating well (well-ish - 8 crickets a day maybe) and the female only eats one. She is significantly smaller than the male but I understand that's normal. After a day or two with us, she started shedding. For a few days, she didn't eat at all. After she shed most of her skin, she's eating again but only 1-2 crickets a day. I've also put out tiny meal worms for them (he swoops on them, she doesn't care) and also tiny dubia roaches (neither seems to like those either).

Here's the info that you'll need...

  • Male & Female chameleon - they're considered babies but I don't know the exact age. I've had them for about 12 days.
  • Handling - I try not to handle them much. Just a few times.
  • Feeding - Small crickets. I give them 5-6 in a run feeder for breakfast and again for dinner. He eats 3-4 each meal and she might have one. Typically, she just hangs on the feeder and looks at them for 2 hours. I feed the crickets leafy greens and orange cube cricket feed.
  • Supplements - I dust all the crickets in calcium w/o D3.
  • Watering - I use a chargeable, personal humidifier in their cage during the day. I also spray water on their plants 2-3 times a day. I have not seen them drink off the leaves.
  • Fecal Description - I just see white/brown droppings. They look normal. No vet visit yet.
  • History - I bought them from a breeder son

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Repti Breeze - Small - 18x18x30
  • Lighting - 60w daylight blue reptile bulb; Reptisun 5 UVB mini 13-watt tropical - lights go off at night and they sleep from 8pm-8am
  • Temperature - Basking is about 85 degrees; House temp at night is about 74.
  • Humidity - I have not measured humidity yet.
  • Plants - I just have one plant but I don't know the name. I'll attach a picture. They recommended it at the reptile place.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Cage is in the living room about 2 feet off the ground.
  • Location - Independence, Missouri (very humid)

Current Problem - I'm concerned about the female. She doesn't seem to be growing. She acts fine except that she doesn't eat much. The chameleons typically stay apart from one another. It was just once that they got close and that's when I snapped the attached picture. Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be any aggression that I can tell.

**Don't mind the cat in this pic. He only did this the first day/two. ;-)

I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thank you!

Darlene :)
 

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Excellent point! Our breeder said it should be fine to house them together until puberty. Maybe he was wrong in this case? I'll be setting up two big cages for them for when we separate them but maybe I should do it sooner than later.
 
I know you don't think the cat is a concern but this should never be allowed. This is a predator that is sitting right on top of them. While it may seem cute this causes them extreme stress...
The smaller one does not look good at all. This is why we do not house chams together. One will take a dominant role and the other suffers and declines until it dies.
@MissSkittles will go over your husbandry form with you. But you have many things that will cause health issues besides the cat and housing them together.
 
Beman said:
I know you don't think the cat is a concern but this should never be allowed. This is a predator that is sitting right on top of them. While it may seem cute this causes them extreme stress...
The smaller one does not look good at all. This is why we do not house chams together. One will take a dominant role and the other suffers and declines until it dies.
@MissSkittles will go over your husbandry form with you. But you have many things that will cause health issues besides the cat and housing them together.
Click to expand...

Good to know! I was told that the cat probably didn't concern them at all so I didn't really think it'd be an issue. I'll also start prepping to get them separated ASAP. Thank you!
 
Putting my responses in red. Please do take note that if I sound mean or harsh, that is not my intent. I do want to help you and your chameleons to enjoy many happy healthy years together. :)
  • Male & Female chameleon - they're considered babies but I don't know the exact age. I've had them for about 12 days. I am not a good judge of age, but I would guess they are around 3-4 months old.
  • Handling - I try not to handle them much. Just a few times.
  • Feeding - Small crickets. I give them 5-6 in a run feeder for breakfast and again for dinner. He eats 3-4 each meal and she might have one. Typically, she just hangs on the feeder and looks at them for 2 hours. It is better to feed early in the day so that they have time to bask and digest. This quantity is not enough for either of them. They each should be getting approx 15+ feeders daily. I feed the crickets leafy greens and orange cube cricket feed. Pretty much the orange cubes aren’t good for anything. The greens are good, but you could add more. Attaching feeder and gutload graphics for you. Variety in both is important.
  • Supplements - I dust all the crickets in calcium w/o D3. This is good, but you’ll need to add a couple of other supplements. Basic schedule is phosphorus free calcium on every feeding except one per week. That one weekly feeding you want to give a calcium with D3 and the next week a multivitamin. You may find it easier to use ReptiVite with D3 and instead of juggling the D3 and multivitamin every week, you’d use the calcium without D3 at every feeding except twice a month, where you’d use the ReptiVite with D3.
  • Watering - I use a chargeable, personal humidifier in their cage during the day. No humidifier during the day. High humidity + high heat = respiratory infection. I also spray water on their plants 2-3 times a day. I have not seen them drink off the leaves. Many chameleons are secret drinkers. The hydration schedule suggested by a leader in chams is to use a humidifier at night for several hours when it is cool. Mist/spray for at least 2-3 minutes twice daily - before lights go on and after they go off. During mid day, use a dripper for about 20 minutes.
  • Fecal Description - I just see white/brown droppings. They look normal. No vet visit yet. The white is the urine, called urate. This is a great indicator of how hydrated your cham is. A little yellow or pale orange on one end is ok, but if all is dark your cham is dehydrated.
  • History - I bought them from a breeder son

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Repti Breeze - Small - 18x18x30 First, this is way too small. Second, regardless of what the breeder told you, they each need their own enclosure. More about this at the end. The minimum size for Yemen chams is 2x2x4’, so you’ll be needing two of those. You can maybe get away with using your current one for another couple of months for your female, but eventually they’ll both need much bigger.
  • Lighting - 60w daylight blue reptile bulb; Reptisun 5 UVB mini 13-watt tropical - lights go off at night and they sleep from 8pm-8am For uvb, you need a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 (or Arcadia 6%) uvb bulb. It needs to be as long as the width of the enclosure. Reptisun makes a pretty good 24” one that includes the bulb. The uvb bulbs (5.0 one) will need to be replaced every 6 months. Colored bulbs aren’t recommended as chams have sensitive eyes.
  • Temperature - Basking is about 85 degrees; Too hot. Temps need to be no higher than 80* at basking spot. House temp at night is about 74. This is fine. At night they can handle temp drops as low as the 50’s and some coolness at night is desired.
  • Humidity - I have not measured humidity yet. This is super important. Ideal humidity is between 30-50% during the day. At night when it’s cool, it can go all the way to 100%.
  • Plants - I just have one plant but I don't know the name. I'll attach a picture. They recommended it at the reptile place. Looks like you have a schefflera, or umbrella plant. This is safe. Pothos is always a great plant for chams. Yemen chams will nibble/eat their plants so it needs to be safe. Here is the list that I go by. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Fake plants may be easy, but if your cham eats a fake leaf, it could easily become impacted. Leave the fake plants on the outside of the enclosure.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Cage is in the living room about 2 feet off the ground. Too low. Chams feel safest up high and when they can look down upon their world.
  • Location - Independence, Missouri (very humid)

Current Problem - I'm concerned about the female. She doesn't seem to be growing. She acts fine except that she doesn't eat much. The chameleons typically stay apart from one another. It was just once that they got close and that's when I snapped the attached picture. Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be any aggression that I can tell. From your pic, it looks like her eyes are closed, which is a bad sign. She is either extremely stressed to the point of shutting down or she is ill. Keeping them both together is highly stressful. Chameleons are true loners and only ever come together for mating. They don’t even like to see another cham in the same room. However, even if your chams were separate, the presence of your cat is also highly stressful, whether the cat gets up and looks at them or not. Adding to all of this stress is further stress that the enclosure is very lacking in branches and vines and they have limited traveling opportunities and no hiding places from anything.
So, this is a lot to digest and you have many big changes ahead of you. I know it may seem overwhelming...I and many others here have been in the same position as you. The most urgent changes you need to make is separating your chameleons into their own enclosures, getting the correct uvb and correct supplements. The rest you can go a bit more paced at.
Some great resources to learn all about chams: https://chameleonacademy.com/ and look up Neptune the chameleon on YouTube. She is a forum member and has a video for just about everything and is always making more. And of course, don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as needed. We are here and enjoy helping. :)
AC2F5A9F-ABF0-400D-90BF-AFA3FBCBDAE3.jpeg
0C3A06FA-07DD-437A-98C5-669CBED63541.jpeg
 
I forgot to add that you need to remove the moss at the bottom. Again, if eaten it is an impaction risk. While not as pretty, a bare floor is best and easiest to keep clean.
Eventually, your female will lay eggs whether mated or not. She’ll be needing a lay bin, which is easiest to just make a permanent part of her enclosure. You won’t need to worry about that for a few months though.
 
MissSkittles said:
I forgot to add that you need to remove the moss at the bottom. Again, if eaten it is an impaction risk. While not as pretty, a bare floor is best and easiest to keep clean.
Eventually, your female will lay eggs whether mated or not. She’ll be needing a lay bin, which is easiest to just make a permanent part of her enclosure. You won’t need to worry about that for a few months though.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the detailed advice on everything! I'm in the process of getting a new cage right now and will work on the lighting ASAP. My pet store didn't even have the lighting you recommended so I'll be looking online for that. Do you recommend a particular site for reptile supplies and live plants?
 
The reptile supply place that I’ve gotten a lot of stuff from, I can no longer recommend. I have gotten a lot of stuff off of Amazon. Here’s a link for the uvb that you’ll need that includes the bulb. https://www.amazon.com/Reptisun-T5-...599176767&sprefix=Repti+sun+t5,aps,206&sr=8-1
I’ve gotten a couple of things from https://www.bigalspets.com/. Many shop from http://www.lllreptile.com/ but I never have, so can’t give an opinion.
For plants, usually places like Home Depot and Lowe’s have a good selection. Sometimes you can find some nice plants at Walmart too. I like to buy the bushiest plants I can find and then split them up into 2-3 smaller plants. Avoid fake plants.
For branches, myself and many just scavenge from outside. Avoid pine and other trees with sap. Give a wash with some Dawn and a good rinse from a hose. Let them dry in the sun and you’ve got nice branches.
For vines, there is one that crumbles easily but I can’t recall which it is...Exo Terra I think. I use Fluker’s vines and they hold up pretty well and are inexpensive. Avoid those with moss and fake leaves.
For a dripper, a plastic solo cup is the easiest. Poke a hole in the bottom with a thumb tack and there ya go.
Supplements again, Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-Calc...qid=1599178020&sprefix=Repti+,aps,193&sr=8-40
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...d=1599177951&sprefix=Reptivite,aps,185&sr=8-5
 
I have noticed that the XL 2x2x4’ screen enclosures have been hard to find lately on line. Repti Breeze is perhaps the most common one (not necessarily a great quality though - but I use them). There is a model that comes with LED lights, which to me serve little purpose, but it does come with a clear acrylic door.
Maybe a local pet store will have or can order for you an enclosure.
 
Oh yes, I noticed the cages are hard to find. I did find one that's 30" tall and 18" wide so I ordered that one. That was the largest I could find. I'm starting to order everything for a new set up. I just hope my little female doesn't decline while I'm trying to get her in a better situation.
Thank you again for all your help!
 
I recommend pangeareptile also. I ordered my uvb fixture plus 6% Arcadia bulb from them for $65. And that's with standard shipping. Heck of a lot cheaper than buying both things from some other sites.
 
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