Going to he early and hanging out low

[Zebenox]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, 10-12 weeks. I've had him for about a month
• Handling - I do not handle him.
• Feeding - He's on 1/4"-1/2" crickets, 10-20 twice a day dusted with rep cal low D. Crickets gutloaded with Josh's frogs cricket food.
• Supplements - Repashy Calcium low D. Daily
• Watering - Misted for about a minute in the morning and evening, humidifier running at night.
• Fecal Description - Fecals look normal, he had not had a fecal done.
• History - No previous health issues. He recently shed but still seems light in color.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 16x16x30 screen cage with 3 sides covered
• Lighting - Don't remember the brand but it's a heat/UV dual lamp.
• Temperature - 80-85 basking, 60 overnight low, 70s during the day.
• Humidity - 40% ish during the day 70% ish at night. I also have a dripper going during the day.
• Plants - I have one live plant, an umbrella plant.
• Placement - Cage is in living room. It is near a heating vent by not directly in the pathway. Top of cage is roughly 5 ft off the ground.
• Location - I'm in central michigan

Current Problem - Overall he seems fine, but he's started hanging out halfway down his cage kind of under and behind his fake plants (basking/UV light is over his live plants) and he'll go to bed early. When I first got him he would be out in the open until the lights went off then he'd curl up and go to sleep. Now he's going to sleep an hour or 2 before the light goes off (light is on 12 hours from 7:30am-7:30pm). Could it just be because it's winter and everything else is getting dark around that time? He recently shed but his skin looks almost powdery, light colored like right before they shed but he shed over the weekend. He's also displaying his colors more (to be fair I've been traveling a lot and the bf has been caring for him but he wouldn't pay attention to things like that.... he doesn't like reptiles). I just want to make sure that if these are a warning sign I get on top of it quickly.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Clayton0520]

I’m not a Veiled expert but one of my Panthers goes to bed early probably 3 days out of the week. Both of them randomly hang out all over their cages during the day or week. I wouldn’t worry too much about him or her going to bed early or hanging out in a weird spot. I would maybe mist a few more times a day and the night time temp seems low but I could be wrong due to never owning or researching a Veiled.

 

[Coop]

I agree with @Clayton0520, but your lighting is insufficient. Get rid of the coil uvb in the dual fixture, and invest in a t5ho linear bulb. The coil bulbs do nothing

 

[Zebenox]

I agree with @Clayton0520, but your lighting is insufficient. Get rid of the coil uvb in the dual fixture, and invest in a t5ho linear bulb. The coil bulbs do nothing

Really? It was recommended by someone who used to keep and breed Jackson's chameleons. Do veileds need different lighting?

 

[Coop]

Yes, they do. Jackson’s are a montane species, requiring different care than a veiled cham. Veiled chameleons require a t5ho linear bulb, as do panther chameleons.

 

[Tucklander]

Coil UVB lighting doesn’t reach more than a few inches into the enclosure, get the linear uvb bulb asap

 

[MissSkittles]

Can you post a pic of him?

 

[Zebenox]

Can you post a pic of him?

Here he is. First time I've handled him since I got him. His cage was temporarily under construction (installing better drainage) so he needed to come out. He handled better than I expected him to.

 

[kinyonga]

How recent was the photo where he's green?
In the other photo he looks very ill...needs a vet ASAP...like yesterday IMHO.

What's going on with his nose?

Please post another couple of photos of his head please?

 

[Zebenox]

Those photos were taken like 2 minutes apart. The one of me holding him was just before putting him back. I agree the pic of him about to eat (his tongue is partially out so I think that's his weird "nose") looks super crappy.

 

[MissSkittles]

I agree with @kinyonga ...he looks too thin and dehydrated in the 2nd pic. They do puff out when stressed. You should really get a fecal done to check for parasites. Crickets are ok feeders, but variety is preferred. Also you’ll want to add some fresh organic fruit/veggies to your gutloading.

 

[Zebenox]

How recent was the photo where he's green?
In the other photo he looks very ill...needs a vet ASAP...like yesterday IMHO.

What's going on with his nose?

Please post another couple of photos of his head please?

These are pictures of him this morning...

 

[Ares05]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, 10-12 weeks. I've had him for about a month
• Handling - I do not handle him.
• Feeding - He's on 1/4"-1/2" crickets, 10-20 twice a day dusted with rep cal low D. Crickets gutloaded with Josh's frogs cricket food.
• Supplements - Repashy Calcium low D. Daily

Do you mean Repashy Calcium LoD? (if so, keep doin what you doin)

• Watering - Misted for about a minute in the morning and evening, humidifier running at night.

I would mist for at least 2-4 minutes to give him time to properly clean his eyes and drink.

You said he was near a heat vent. Make sure it is off at night. The fogger must be only run during the coolest parts of the night. I run mine from 11pm-4:30 am.

• Fecal Description - Fecals look normal, he had not had a fecal done.

I would get a fecal done, as he does look thin. Define "normal", we need an exact description of what they look like.

• History - No previous health issues. He recently shed but still seems light in color.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 16x16x30 screen cage with 3 sides covered

Once he is older you are going to want to upgrade to a 2x2x4.

• Lighting - Don't remember the brand but it's a heat/UV dual lamp.

Garbage.

For a basking light you can just use a 60-70 watt household bulb that gets the temps to 82-85 degrees.

For uvb, you are going to want to use this:

Reptisun t5ho 5.0 bulb -

Fixture: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=reptisun+5.0+22''+fixture&qid=1579966566&sr=8-8

Bulb: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-T5-Ho-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8GF0/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=reptisun+5.0+22''+bulb&qid=1579966784&sr=8-2

I think they include a 5.0 bulb with the fixture but when I used it, it went out within a week, so I would buy a separate bulb.

Arcadia bulbs are great too but I don't know much about them. If you decide to go with Arcadia you would want a Arcadia t5 6%.



Temperature - 80-85 basking, 60 overnight low, 70s during the day.

How to you measure your temps?

Humidity - 40% ish during the day 70% ish at night. I also have a dripper going during the day.

How to you measure humidity?

• Plants - I have one live plant, an umbrella plant.

I would get rid of any fake plants you might have and get more live ones. Veileds are notorious for eating vegetation, and you dont want him to eat any fake leaves.

• Placement - Cage is in living room. It is near a heating vent by not directly in the pathway. Top of cage is roughly 5 ft off the ground.
• Location - I'm in central michigan

Current Problem - Overall he seems fine, but he's started hanging out halfway down his cage kind of under and behind his fake plants (basking/UV light is over his live plants) and he'll go to bed early. When I first got him he would be out in the open until the lights went off then he'd curl up and go to sleep. Now he's going to sleep an hour or 2 before the light goes off (light is on 12 hours from 7:30am-7:30pm). Could it just be because it's winter and everything else is getting dark around that time? He recently shed but his skin looks almost powdery, light colored like right before they shed but he shed over the weekend. He's also displaying his colors more (to be fair I've been traveling a lot and the bf has been caring for him but he wouldn't pay attention to things like that.... he doesn't like reptiles). I just want to make sure that if these are a warning sign I get on top of it quickly.

Sleeping early can be a sign of illness. You need to take him to the vet to let them check him over and get a fecal on him.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

Please post some pictures of your entire setup.