Growing too fast?
- Thread starter Moosma
- Start date
Moosma
Member
THe 'asking for help' info
Chameleon Info:
Phi is a Veiled Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I have had him since 6/11/12, when he was 4 weeks old.
I handle him at least three times a day. He comes out to eat in his feeding station, he comes out to free-range & he is handled when I shower (he hangs out in his pothos plant)
He eats crickets and LOVES mealworms. He is an assassin of flies. He consumes ~10-15 3/4" crickets & 10 small mealworms daily (I let him eat as much as he wants); when he's finished he climbs out of his station. I gutload with Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet with bee pollen added, greens, apples, potatoes, & a watered sponge, etc. The crickets that are his meal are fed the supplemented Flukers exclusively for 24hrs before they 'meet' Phi.
Crickets are dusted with Miner-All (calcium/mineral supplement, phosphorus-free + VitD) 2 times monthly & Calci-Max (no VitD) 2 times weekly.
Phi drinks water in the shower (plant is seriously well watered), he has a drip system going during the day, I mist at least 3x daily.
His droppings are a source of pride; large, dark brown & firm. His urates are white.
He hasn't been tested for parasites yet.
He seems like a happy chameleon. He looks very self-satisfied. He is quick to handfeed, he is curious about his surroundings; he is a gem. He has a very firm grip. He has beautiful color.
He has treated himself to grape leaves and dandelion flowers; I am careful to keep only plants from the 'Safe List' I found at ChameleonForums.
Cage Info:
Screen cage, 16x16x30.
Repti-Sun or ZooMed UVB tube, 5.0 and a basking light during the day (7:30am to 7pm) Red 50 watt heat bulb for night.
It is 74* just outside his crate, measured by thermometer in light switch. 85* near basking light... those temps are pretty constant.
Humidity level measurement - I drop the ball, but he joins me for showers almost daily. The cage gets misted by my mate & me as we remember. It is at least 3x daily and that is a conservative measure. I have not measured humidity.
He has 2 ficus, 1 umbrella tree, 2 pothos plants, grape vines.
His crate is in bedroom corner on my dresser. The top of his crate is ~ 6' from the floor. I do walk past his crate a lot.
It is not near any fans or air vents.
We live in Oregon, USA.
Chameleon Info:
Phi is a Veiled Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I have had him since 6/11/12, when he was 4 weeks old.
I handle him at least three times a day. He comes out to eat in his feeding station, he comes out to free-range & he is handled when I shower (he hangs out in his pothos plant)
He eats crickets and LOVES mealworms. He is an assassin of flies. He consumes ~10-15 3/4" crickets & 10 small mealworms daily (I let him eat as much as he wants); when he's finished he climbs out of his station. I gutload with Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet with bee pollen added, greens, apples, potatoes, & a watered sponge, etc. The crickets that are his meal are fed the supplemented Flukers exclusively for 24hrs before they 'meet' Phi.
Crickets are dusted with Miner-All (calcium/mineral supplement, phosphorus-free + VitD) 2 times monthly & Calci-Max (no VitD) 2 times weekly.
Phi drinks water in the shower (plant is seriously well watered), he has a drip system going during the day, I mist at least 3x daily.
His droppings are a source of pride; large, dark brown & firm. His urates are white.
He hasn't been tested for parasites yet.
He seems like a happy chameleon. He looks very self-satisfied. He is quick to handfeed, he is curious about his surroundings; he is a gem. He has a very firm grip. He has beautiful color.
He has treated himself to grape leaves and dandelion flowers; I am careful to keep only plants from the 'Safe List' I found at ChameleonForums.
Cage Info:
Screen cage, 16x16x30.
Repti-Sun or ZooMed UVB tube, 5.0 and a basking light during the day (7:30am to 7pm) Red 50 watt heat bulb for night.
It is 74* just outside his crate, measured by thermometer in light switch. 85* near basking light... those temps are pretty constant.
Humidity level measurement - I drop the ball, but he joins me for showers almost daily. The cage gets misted by my mate & me as we remember. It is at least 3x daily and that is a conservative measure. I have not measured humidity.
He has 2 ficus, 1 umbrella tree, 2 pothos plants, grape vines.
His crate is in bedroom corner on my dresser. The top of his crate is ~ 6' from the floor. I do walk past his crate a lot.
It is not near any fans or air vents.
We live in Oregon, USA.
Lathelia
Established Member
I think you are overfeeding him. Chameleons should never eat as much as they want. I would recommend using mealworms only as a treat, no more then few in a week. I would also cut on the crickets. You could add more variety to his diet, like roaches or low fat worms - silkworms and hornworms.
I don't use your supplements, but I think all-in-one means you shoul use it on daily basis. If you want to use plain calcium instead of the all-in one product, you should follow this schedule:
Plain calcium - every feeding
Multivitamin (not all-in-one) - twice a month
Calcium with d3- twice a month
I don't use your supplements, but I think all-in-one means you shoul use it on daily basis. If you want to use plain calcium instead of the all-in one product, you should follow this schedule:
Plain calcium - every feeding
Multivitamin (not all-in-one) - twice a month
Calcium with d3- twice a month
Mmcbain1
New Member
Really it is that dangerous to a 6 month veiled? I agree it is too much food but will it kill him?
Lathelia
Established Member
I am not a big expert when it comes to health issues, but I think it can be quite dangerous. A 6 month old is not a baby anymore, at this age some people recommend to introduce days with no food at all. Mealworms are very fatty and should be used only as a treat (personally I think once every other day is max), and 10-15 crix per day is an amount for a 3-4 moths old, not 6.
Moosma
Member
I am concerned about keeping up with his calcium needs because he is growing so fast... Your words scared me.
I actually gave thought to turning away from CF because of the post, but slept on it, and realize you are trying to warn me, not freak me out, so thank you.
Gonna see the vet & be more cautious about 'husbanding' him.
I LOVE him way much & want him to stick around for a long time; that calls for the best care I can afford him. This is why I turn to CF for advice & validation of the care he receives.
He's beautiful. I am attaching a picture of him which shows his straight legs and strong 'chin'. I want to keep him this way!
Thank all of you for your advice & different points of view.. Helps me see other sides of the proverbial elephant!
Attachments
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DavidBuchan
Guest
He looks like a big healthy, handsome boy to me 
I definitely think it's time to cut down on his food now though. I'm sure he'll last longer than a year on his current 'diet' (maybe a little bit of scaremongering Laurie? ).
Here is a great all-round caresheet for Veileds which gives a good idea of feeding schedules on page 2 - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
I definitely think it's time to cut down on his food now though. I'm sure he'll last longer than a year on his current 'diet' (maybe a little bit of scaremongering Laurie? ).Here is a great all-round caresheet for Veileds which gives a good idea of feeding schedules on page 2 - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
thephotoprincess
Avid Member
He is a beautiful boy and looks very healthy! I use an all-in-one to dust also - Repashy Calcium Plus. I use is about 3 times a week as I feed them every other day (adults) so I don't think 2x a week would be a big deal as you seem to be gutloading with variety. Babies get fed daily so they get it about 5 times a week (I leave off a couple days to not over do it and also gutload very well)
biochemnerd808
New Member
What a beautiful chameleon boy! They do like to trick us into giving them more food... little pigs! I am sure you'll figure out the right amount.
I am sure you'll figure out the right amount.
Lee Cope
New Member
Ok, I have a year old Panther Chameleon (Nosey Be) He is free roaming and looks great. Very slim and no where near over weight. His main mesh enclosure is 4ft high with an open top and canes to climb out of. At the bottom of his enclosure I put Locust, hoppers, silk worms and morio worms. Not all at the same time obviously, but he's just not interested at all. All he does is drink water and eat the occasional bug... is this normal? it looks normal and he seems happy. But when ppl say a Cham is eating 15 crickets a day, I'm thinking what's going on?
Moosma
Member
I started Phi on less crickets & worms immediately. He's going to be a big boy, tg, and I want him healthy, which is why I posted anyway.
Thank you all for your advice & for agreeing... less crix & worms.
It made it easier to change his regimen, and I also report that he's choosing less... ready to get out of his feeding station sooner!
He's vibrant & busy & beautiful.
And CF is a godsend!
Thank you again!
Thank you all for your advice & for agreeing... less crix & worms.
It made it easier to change his regimen, and I also report that he's choosing less... ready to get out of his feeding station sooner!
He's vibrant & busy & beautiful.
And CF is a godsend!
Thank you again!
Moosma
Member
I can't guess why Phi was eating so much, but he was a 'baby' and he ate like that until a few weeks ago... and I wanted him to eat as much as he wanted because my first (and late) chameleon was underweight & sickly (he developed hemipene prolapse, which lead to surgery because of necrosis, and at 18 months he fell & died...) Oh yeah, I wanted Phi to choose... now he's eating 5 or so crickets every other day or so.
Another IMPORTANT detail is Phi was running around his cage in the pet store and on top of things; he was Alpha. Mozart, my first love, was a runt. Mozart was sickly & I didn't know. He was alone in the pets store (a different one), his siblings (?) had already been sold, so Phi is the pick, while Mozart was the left-behind... Phi will hand feed bugs, eat greens & assassinate flies, while Mozart was force-fed because he couldn't strike right.
Two totally different little green guys...
