Found Female Veiled Chameleon on schoolyard

Bellvis

Bellvis

New Member
Ahoy!

So my mom is a 1st grade teacher at a local school and about 8 weeks ago discovered a chameleon walking across her school yard black top surrounded by hundreds of kids. She snatched it up and gave me an immediate call!

My first job (13 years ago) was working for Petco handling all the aquatics and reptiles. We had chameleons there which I was responsible for so I have some knowledge of how to care for them. I have personally had several leopard and madagascar day geckos, but never a chameleon.

I got a 16x16x18 screen cage and a 18inch UVB light. She has been moving the cage outside daily and allowing a few hours of direct sunlight for her. We have been misting 3-4 times and also putting ice cubes on top of the cage for a little drip system.

I have yet to see her drink any water but she eats like a champ! We dust the crickets with calcium as well. She has already shed once also.

She seems pretty healthy and lively but I'm worried about a RI infection. Looks like she has left over skin covering her nostrils. She does not keep her mouth open all the time so I assume she is breathing ok.

Yesterday one of the kids at the school found a dead chameleon near a big tree, so I'm guessing there might be more.
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Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - 3 month old Female Veiled - 8 weeks of ownership
Handling - Maybe 1-2 times a week
Feeding - Daily 7-9 gut loaded crickets
Supplements - Daily dusting of calcium
Watering - Misting 3-4 times a day and ice cube drips
Fecal Description - White blob first and then blackish
History - Found on a school yard black top


Cage Info:

Cage Type - 16x16x18 screen
Lighting - Daily sunlight and 18" UVB
Temperature - ?
Humidity - ?
Plants - Fake plants - dead branches from yard - everything gets washed
Placement - At night the cage is in the kitchen area next to a window, not a high traffic area
Location - Orange County, CA


Current Problem - Concerned about nostrils being blocked - General health
Are the white spots normal?
How does my miracle Veiled look?

Thanks for your time!
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I am including some pictures of her that I took 3 days ago......
 

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she looks good.

thats not skin, just mineral excretions on he rnose, its common.
what kind of calcium?
and you needa calcium without d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month,and a multivitamin twice a month.

try to get her vines and plants (real or fake) so she can hide in them in the cage.

sounds like you have a wild population of veileds there. if i were you, id go explore that area more, see what others you can find.


since she lived wild, id get a fecal test done for parasites too.
 
She is beautiful! Breaks my heart that it may appear someone has dumped them but you are a rockstar for taking her on! Best of luck with your new family member(s)!
 
Best of luck to you and the little one. My corn snake was a stray I caught at work. Not knowing their histories make getting the started a bit more difficult.

My vet's advice to me was let him get settled into his new environment before bringing him in for a checkup. Barring any obvious issues of course.
 
camimom said:
she looks good.

thats not skin, just mineral excretions on he rnose, its common.
what kind of calcium?
and you needa calcium without d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month,and a multivitamin twice a month.

try to get her vines and plants (real or fake) so she can hide in them in the cage.

sounds like you have a wild population of veileds there. if i were you, id go explore that area more, see what others you can find.


since she lived wild, id get a fecal test done for parasites too.
Click to expand...
I got the Rep-Cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with VIT.D from my local pet store. The guy recommended it over all the others. It says it contains D3.
I have been dusting the crickets 2-3 times a week.

I will definitely be exploring the school yard as soon as I have some time!

jannb said:
Welcome to the Chameleon Forums. What a cute little girl. Have you named her yet? I would highly recommend a dripper instead of ice cubes. I keep veileds and have a couple of my blogs linked below for you.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
Click to expand...
No names yet! I'm thinking "Lucky" cause she survived a school yard with hundreds of kids running around her.
A drip system is high on my list! Will be getting one ASAP!

ChameleonMom said:
She is beautiful! Breaks my heart that it may appear someone has dumped them but you are a rockstar for taking her on! Best of luck with your new family member(s)!
Click to expand...
Thank you! She is really cool and I am pumped to raise her.
One of my favorite things about having her is trying to find her in the cage!
jscott67 said:
Best of luck to you and the little one. My corn snake was a stray I caught at work. Not knowing their histories make getting the started a bit more difficult.

My vet's advice to me was let him get settled into his new environment before bringing him in for a checkup. Barring any obvious issues of course.
Click to expand...
I'll try to find a local reptile vet in a few weeks and get her checked out.

Couple more questions.....

Will those large white marks on her sides disappear as she gets older?
How long should we leave the cage in the sun? 8 hours to long?

Thanks everyone for a great forum!
 

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You will need a plain phosphorus free and d3 free calcium for every feeding, d3 2 times a month( once if she goes outside in the sun often), and a multivitamin 1-2 times a month also.
 
justjumpit621 said:
You will need a plain phosphorus free and d3 free calcium for every feeding, d3 2 times a month( once if she goes outside in the sun often), and a multivitamin 1-2 times a month also.
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Roger that! I will get some calcium without D3 and find a multivitamin.
 
You can just make a dripper. I took this from my blog that I linked you above.

You can buy the Little Dripper or you can make a homemade dripper. Take a plastic cup or bowl and poke a couple of very small holes in the bottom. As adults you can use a plastic milk jug. Fill it with warm water and make sure it drips very slowly over a vine with leaves so your little guy can drink from the leaves. Also mist for a pretty long time. It takes awhile for them to start drinking. I would mist 3 or 4 times a day for 3 minutes or so at first. Just make sure the cage dries out real good between each misting. As adults I mist twice a day for about 5 minutes and mine drink water from a dropper. You will need drainage for your cage. Maybe some holes in the bottom with a bucket or pan sitting under it to catch the water.
 
jannb said:
You can just make a dripper. I took this from my blog that I linked you above.

You can buy the Little Dripper or you can make a homemade dripper. Take a plastic cup or bowl and poke a couple of very small holes in the bottom. As adults you can use a plastic milk jug. Fill it with warm water and make sure it drips very slowly over a vine with leaves so your little guy can drink from the leaves. Also mist for a pretty long time. It takes awhile for them to start drinking. I would mist 3 or 4 times a day for 3 minutes or so at first. Just make sure the cage dries out real good between each misting. As adults I mist twice a day for about 5 minutes and mine drink water from a dropper. You will need drainage for your cage. Maybe some holes in the bottom with a bucket or pan sitting under it to catch the water.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jannb!
I'll be reading and re-reading your links tonight!

SarahcoadunatioZac said:
How lucky are YOU, the rest of us have to buy our veileds :)
Click to expand...
Yah I was pretty stoked when I first saw it and knew it was a Veiled!
Chameleons are such a cool pet! Love watching her eat!

djfishygillz said:
So you found rangos girlfriend?
Click to expand...
:D
Love this little girl!
Did Rango have a GF in the movie? I've never seen it.
 
Bellvis said:
Thanks Jannb!
I'll be reading and re-reading your links tonight!


Yah I was pretty stoked when I first saw it and knew it was a Veiled!
Chameleons are such a cool pet! Love watching her eat!


:D
Love this little girl!
Did Rango have a GF in the movie? I've never seen it.
Click to expand...

Yeah but I don't think she was a chameleon. Some other lizard.
 
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