Dark Female

[Zoey]

That humidifier thing doesnt work. Doesnt matter how humid her cage gets it stays at the same spot. I haven't had the time to rip it out of there and replace it yet. As everything to do with both of the Chameloeons is going slow.

I left her lighting, I will see how she does overnight with it before I make any decisions on that. And if my care hasn't killed her yet, I highly doubt it will.

What is this supposed to mean? "You can also develop a URI from that arid room."

Both Chameleon cages are in for a HUGE change in the next month. But for now things are going slowly. I am trying to ask questions and get advice so I don't screw up and end up hurting the poor things. I am doing the best with what I have.

 

[kinyonga]

Zoey...can you tell me the temperature in the basking area of the cage? The rest of the cage? Do you have a UVB light on the cage? Are the lights all off at night? What is the nighttime temperature in the cage (coolest it gets, please)?

Have you moved the cage? Has anything changed in the room (pets around that weren't before, mirror, etc.)

 

[Zoey]

No nothings changed. I moved her to the side of the room beside the Male, I put a sheet between their cage but that was like 2 weeks ago and it didn't even faze her. There is no way for her to see into the others cage, I make sure of that everyday.

The only thing thats changed was she got her food yesterday. But she's never acted weird when getting fed, so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

I dunno how the temperature is in her cage. I have to go and buy some thermometers for her cage seems the ones in there havent been working.

Also I dont know what kind of bulbs are in the lights, I am sure I said that earlier. I havent needed to change them and I never asked the previous owners about it. I figured I would mess with it when the lights burnt out.

Night lights are left on in the cage at night because it gets cold. My Female always gets dark at night even with the light and in the morning she is ice cold.

Their cages are NOT on an outside wall so my best guess is I just need to keep her cage warmer. I've never had a problem with the Males cage or anything, just the Female.

I think the room at night is 55-65 degrees and maybe 65-75 in the day.

 

[Zoey]

Temp. Solved

I just misted her and she got BRIGHT green. However by the time I got the Camera to snap a quick shot she darkened again. I really don't get it.

 

[dodolah]

I just misted her and she got BRIGHT green. However by the time I got the Camera to snap a quick shot she darkened again. I really don't get it.

exactly my point.
I think humidity is your main culprit.

misting improves the humidity. That is why your cham turns into bright green.
your enclosure is way too dry for a veiled!
They come from yemen saudi Arabia. But, they do live among the lush mountains where the humidity quite high.
If humidifier not working, then you have to increase the misting session, put live plants, etc.

I don't know what kind of humidifier you use, but i use this one:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdX1hIhVL._AA280_.jpg
It always manage to make my room's humidity to 40% or more (if i change the setting) and i live in South CA where it gets pretty dry during winter.

URI is Upper Respiratory Infection.
Your room is way too dry (less than 10% humidity is dangerous for both Chameleon and Human).

I am sorry if it sounds insulting. But, I have no intention to judge or anything.
This is a genuine concern for you and your chameleon.

Less than 10% humidity in the house is considered to be very bad for your health. Do you often wake up in the morning with a scratchy throat?
URI is not a disease specific for reptiles. Humans can also get URIs.

here's a paragraph taken from http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/001-338/001-338.html:
Humidity has an important impact on mortality since it contributes to the body's ability to cool itself by evaporation of perspiration. It also has an important influence on morbidity in the winter because cold, dry air leads to excessive dehydration of nasal passages and the upper respiratory tract and increased chance of microbial and viral infection.

You really need to pump humidity in that room both for you and your chameleon's sake.

as far as the temperature.
your night temp and day temp is fine.
Just make sure your basking spot is about 87 to 95F

 

[Julirs]

I really think this is an issue of lighting and temperatures. Probably the best thing at this point would be to gather all of the things you need, the first being a good digital thermometer with a probe. Gut and clean those cages, remove the substrate, fill with nice live plants,add the proper and suggested lighting, get your temps where they need to be, and you will get happy chameleons. To not know what your temps are could cause them some major issues.

 

[Chase]

exactly my point.
I think humidity is your main culprit.

misting improves the humidity. That is why your cham turns into bright green.
your enclosure is way too dry for a veiled!
They come from yemen saudi Arabia. But, they do live among the lush mountains where the humidity quite high.
If humidifier not working, then you have to increase the misting session, put live plants, etc.

I don't know what kind of humidifier you use, but i use this one:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdX1hIhVL._AA280_.jpg
It always manage to make my room's humidity to 40% or more (if i change the setting) and i live in South CA where it gets pretty dry during winter.

URI is Upper Respiratory Infection.
Your room is way too dry (less than 10% humidity is dangerous for both Chameleon and Human).

I am sorry if it sounds insulting. But, I have no intention to judge or anything.
This is a genuine concern for you and your chameleon.

Less than 10% humidity in the house is considered to be very bad for your health. Do you often wake up in the morning with a scratchy throat?
URI is not a disease specific for reptiles. Humans can also get URIs.

here's a paragraph taken from http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/001-338/001-338.html:
Humidity has an important impact on mortality since it contributes to the body's ability to cool itself by evaporation of perspiration. It also has an important influence on morbidity in the winter because cold, dry air leads to excessive dehydration of nasal passages and the upper respiratory tract and increased chance of microbial and viral infection.

You really need to pump humidity in that room both for you and your chameleon's sake.

as far as the temperature.
your night temp and day temp is fine.
Just make sure your basking spot is about 87 to 95F

Ya, I agree. But, see here in Florida where we have really high Humitity when can put our lizards outside, for a little while anyway.

 

[Zoey]

She is really green right now, So I highly doubt the humidity is her problem. She gets plenty of it and I make sure of it.

I am thinking that it may have been too hot in her cage with the new lighting.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[Chase]

She is really green right now, So I highly doubt the humidity is her problem. She gets plenty of it and I make sure of it.

I am thinking that it may have been too hot in her cage with the new lighting.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Do what you want, it's your lizard do what you want.

 

[dodolah]

She is really green right now, So I highly doubt the humidity is her problem. She gets plenty of it and I make sure of it.

I am thinking that it may have been too hot in her cage with the new lighting.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

well, try fixing the temperature.
and see if she is still doing the same thing.

IMHO, too hot of a temperature should turn your chameleon pale to reflect the light, not the other way around.
plus, the bottom cage is usually more humid than the top; that's why she hangs around there.

but it is your chameleon, so do what you think is best for her.

 

[Chase]

well, try fixing the temperature.
and see if she is still doing the same thing.

IMHO, too hot of a temperature should turn your chameleon pale to reflect the light, not the other way around.
plus, the bottom cage is usually more humid than the top; that's why she hangs around there.

but it is your chameleon, so do what you think is best for her.

Lol, but is she back to her normal color??

 

[dodolah]

Ya, I agree. But, see here in Florida where we have really high Humitity when can put our lizards outside, for a little while anyway.

how fun!
in here, we struggle to get the humidity high enough during winter.
after all, most SoCal is a desert.

 

[Zoey]

Yeah I put her normal lighting back on her this morning and she looks the same old color as always.



I do have one question. I fed her her crickets a few days ago and they are make a LOT more noise then normal.. would that affect her in any way with how she behaves?

 

[Chase]

how fun!
in here, we struggle to get the humidity high enough during winter.
after all, most SoCal is a desert.

Lol, Its awesome. But if you go out of state and come back, it's awful. You feel like your wet.

 

[dodolah]

Lol, but is she back to her normal color??

i might be wrong but dark color usually connotes stress or when the enclosure is too cold (granted that she has been hanging out at the bottom).
but, best to get the thermometer to see the accurate temp be4 i said anything else

 

[Zoey]

i might be wrong but dark color usually connotes stress or when the enclosure is too cold (granted that she has been hanging out at the bottom).
but, best to get the thermometer to see the accurate temp be4 i said anything else

She's always at the top or middle of her cage, down at the bottom like every other day walking around, but never for too long before she climbs back to the top.

 

[Chase]

She's always at the top or middle of her cage, down at the bottom like every other day walking around, but never for too long before she climbs back to the top.

So maybe she gets cold when she is and then she goes back up to get warm

 

[Zoey]

She's been in the cage since early October, is it possible that she's still not used to it? When I got her she was in a BIRD cage, that was 1 1/2 feet tall and about 1 foot wide, it was tiny and she got really stressed when we moved her into the proper cage. She's also turned really mean while being in the bigger cage, but I figure thats because they are terratorial.. Could it be that she may just not like the cage?

 

[dodolah]

Yeah I put her normal lighting back on her this morning and she looks the same old color as always.



I do have one question. I fed her her crickets a few days ago and they are make a LOT more noise then normal.. would that affect her in any way with how she behaves?

you mean the crickets chirp, right?
i don't see why your cham will behave anything different.
chameleons are not that fragile, y'know

relax and have fun having your chameleons around.

most likely you are the one that will behave differently being annoyed by the cricket chirping every night lol

I like to hear it once in a while.. but boy do they start to get annoying after a day or two of constant chirping.

 

[Zoey]

So maybe she gets cold when she is and then she goes back up to get warm

Her cage isn't overly cold during the day, I know it heats up the whole cage. She most of the time follows the vines to the floor and then finds the stick and climbs back up.