dark colors and very frightened

[pacificwynd]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen 6' X 2' X 1.5'
Lighting - 50W zoomed and 5.0 strip UVB . 7am - 6:00pm
Temperature - 88 F at basking
Humidity - 28 -50
Plants - Golden pothos, umbrella
Placement - in the corner of the main living area
Location - westcoast of bc

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - female veiled. got her in May. approx 9 months - 1 year
Handling - about every day
Feeding - 4-7 crickets. 1-2 butter worms.
Supplements - Calcium w/o D3 every day, calcium w/d3 once a week, rep-cal herptivate once a month
Watering - dripper and misting. never seen her use the dripper but she does drink during misting. for a little while she would come right up to the sprayer and drink straight from it.
Fecal Description - Has not had a movement in about a week now. last time urate was white with small amount of yellow at the end. urate was quite large. feces was warm and normal but quite long.
History - has yet to lay a clutch
Current Problem - She has been very dark colors for about a week now but is still eating normally. whenever we get close to the cage or look at her she tries to hide. she doesn't seem "plump" like shes ready to lay. i'm possibly concerned about a URI or maybe even impaction.

I tried searching the forums for a signs and symptoms type posting for being ready to lay, URI and impaction but couldn't find any solid list. I think a "signs of being ready to lay" list would be very helpful as a sticky.

 

[pacificwynd]

forgot to add that she has not been hanging out near the bottom of the cage at all. when we try to get her to go near the bottom (either place her there or offer a worm near the bottom) she heads straight back up to the top again.

 

[summoner12]

What is the traffic in the area of the cage like? Basking might be a little cool. try and bump it up a little.

 

[pacificwynd]

just me and my boyfriend. we are both at work during the day. i've put towels up along the bottom half of her cage just in case she is looking for more privacy.

 

[jannb]

Here's some info on URI: http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/upper-respiratory-infection-warning.html

For the temps you keep her, it could be eggs. Has she had a vets check up lately? That would be a good idea. If you'll post some pictures......that would be helpful.

Below is a very helpful link on raising a female veiled: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[kinyonga]

Does she have a place in the cage to dig in case she needs to lay eggs?
Do you have a substrate in the cage?
Is she wheezing or making clicking noises when she breaths or does she have more mucus in her mouth than normal?

 

[pacificwynd]

Yes. She has a large circular pail that covers about 1/4 of the bottom of her cage filled with a 50/50 sand/coconut husk. She has not gone down to the bottom of her cage at all that I've seen.

No substrate.

No wheezing or clicking but a little while ago she spat out a bunch of clear slimyish stuff. We took her to the vet because I was worried and the vet said it was common. Basically she got too excited while drinking and forgot to swallow. Other than that no mucus.

I gave her a 20min shower today and she seemed to really enjoy it. She showed some greener colors as long as she couldn't see me. Everytime she see's me or my boyfriend she hides and goes so dark.

 

[prettykttkat]

I read that you handle her every day. Maybe this is why when she sees you or your boyfriend she turns dark and hides. Some chameleons do not like to be held or only want to be held when they choose it, not when you choose it. I've seen chams that don't mind being held as babies but once they grow up they don't like it anymore. I would not hold her anymore for awhile and see if she gets better. I would wait till she comes to you before holding her again. And what I mean about that is, not open her cage and try to get her to come to you but wait till you see her at the cage door, looking at you and crawling on the door trying to get out to you. When she does that then take her out and handle her This is what I do with my chams. If they don't come to the door trying to come out I don't hold them.

 

[pacificwynd]

We haven't held her since she became so defensive except to give her a warm shower yesterday. We have never forced her to sit on our hands or grabbed her from the back. We have always held out our hand for her to come to.