having lots of problems with new veiled. currently not much of an appetite. help!

PicassoTheVeiled

PicassoTheVeiled

New Member
=sorry ive been posting so much lately, but i need help with this little guy=


first, he has a swolen eye which showed up the day after i got him. he has been to the reptile doc who said he has a vit A defficiency... the vit A shot he gave doesnt seem to be helping his eye much. also putting terramycin on eye 3 times a day. i was somewhat skeptical about him having a vit A defficientcy, but i figured he knows more than i do, so i went along with it since its fairly common for veilds (or so he says)

second, he isnt really eating much. he could be settling in, i know... but its starting to worry me. its been 5 days, and honestly, im really not sure how much he is eating because once in a while my kitty will find a cricket lose on the floor for me... i did figure out how they were getting out and fixed the cage where they were escapeing from today. he is not eating his super worms, which the lady i got him from says he eats them with no problem. he has eaten one wax worm, other than that, he may or may not be eating the crickets (since i dont know because they had been getting out, eek!)

are there any readily available appetite stimulants? perhaps natural ones or something that can be bought from a pet store or the vet?

he is fairly active, and drank water today as i was misting him and his cage, his colors are bright, not grim or anything. i have been trying to keep as little contact with him as possible because i know the move had to be quite stressful on him. the last time he pooed was the day i got him, he pooed in my hand ick! other than that, i have not noticed poo in the cage in 4.5 days (is this abnormal, how often do they poo?)

he is shedding, does their appetite decrease when they shed (sorry if this is a dumb question, but i honestly dont know and am trying to think outside the box)

his temp is currently 85F in his basking area and humidity around 40%

i am offering calcium dusted crickets and super worms and wax worms (only 1 wax worm offered per day tho). im dusting every day because i figure since he isnt eating much, he probably needs all he can get... pls tell me if im wrong in that.

he is 11 months old and 19" in a 5x3x2 foot cage. has a repti sun 5. light on top. he has 2 repti sun 10. bulbs that are old so are only used to light the cage. 150watt ceramic heater and 90watt regular incadecent bulb for heat. my house is cold so he needs this much heat in order to keep his cage warm in the day. i dont think my place drops below 60 at night, so as of yesterday, i decided to turn off the heat at night as reccomended by another forum member. i mist twice a day... umm anything else i forgot i will be mroe than happy to add

what should i do????? i know its only been a few days, and i admit, i may be freaking out a little prematurely, but what if im not! im worried. not eating is a serious thing. any ideas on what i could do or what im doing wrong?
 
First of all hes just settling in. And hes older so he doesnt need to eat every day. Every other day is normal for adults. I would feed wax worms they are full of fat and he will quickly get hooked on em. They are a worm french fry. Try hornworms they are much better or silks. Switch up your feeders and just make sure he stays hydrated the first several days. Hydration is much more imp than eating when you get a new arrival. Esp an older cham. Fll out the help form we can tell u what to change/help you,
 
Texas Panther Man said:
First of all hes just settling in. And hes older so he doesnt need to eat every day. Every other day is normal for adults. I would feed wax worms they are full of fat and he will quickly get hooked on em. They are a worm french fry. Try hornworms they are much better or silks. Switch up your feeders and just make sure he stays hydrated the first several days. Hydration is much more imp than eating when you get a new arrival. Esp an older cham. Fll out the help form we can tell u what to change/help you,
Click to expand...

Texas I know you meant to say " I would NOT feed wax works" correct? I agreed with everything you said.
 
XD i assumed the OP meant they would not feed them... well this puts me at ease a tad. i currently have him in the shower right now... i have a shower door which does not go all the way to the ceiling. he is sitting on top of it. there is very little water actually hitting him, but he is getting some good humidity. i saw somewhere that a 30 minute-ish shower could help boost their appetite... dont know weather it is or isnt true, but couldnt hurt and its getting him some good hydration. he is getting a good ammount of water i believe as he just drank today and i mist him really well 2 or 3 times a day, and a few sprays here and there in between his regular mistings.
 
i already posted this once, so keep in mind, i JUST got him less than a week ago, so some of the things i am listing are because of his crappy previous owner... as i have learned, there are some changes that do need to be made.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled, approx 11months, got him about 5 days ago
Handling - was handling for short periods every day until i learned i shouldnt... havent touched him yet today except to take him to have a shower
Feeding - crickets gutloaded with cricket food and given apples and water gel with calcium. meal worms gut loaded with oatmeal and apples for moisture
Supplements -dust with repti cal with vit D daily (daily because he is not eating much and i assume he needs all he can get)
Watering - spray bottle with hot water and 2 drops of repti safe. he drinks roughly every 4 days the lady says. mist twice a day for a few minutes each time. he drank for me today while i was spraying him
Fecal Description - never tested for parasites, feces are slightly wet when fresh then dry to look like rasins
History - i just bought him a few days ago from a lady.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 5'x3'x2' screen/wood cage with lots of plants and vines
Lighting - 12 hrs on/12 hrs off. 2 zoo med-48" uvb 10. lights, one on each side... they are old so are just being used as regular lighting. 1 zoo med 12" 5. uvb strip light on top. 50 watt heat light.
Temperature - currently 80 in basking area. 150 watt ceramic heater (the ones with no light) and 90 watt regular incadecent light bulb. use a didgital thermometor in basking area. all lights and heat off at night
Humidity -30 to 40% between mistings around 50 to 60% after misting. use humidity gauge. considering buying humidifier??
Plants - 2 large plants--- umbrella plant, and one other one im not sure the name of (but lady make sure it was safe for him when she bought it)
Placement -cage located in living room... not particularly high traffic because i am the only one who lives here and i am at work most of the day. not near vents or fans. in sight of a window, but not close enough for drafts
Location - california
 
Your temps seem really strange unless your hangng the basking bulb far above the cage. I only use a 60 watt bulb and my basking spot reaches a max of 85 in the afternoon. And my house stays pretty cool. And your using a ceramic heater also? I personally think you dont need that. Get a new repti 5.0 uvb linear tube fluorescent and a plant fluorescen as well. You have a clip on dome heat fixture right? Depending on your household temps you just need a reg incandescent bulb 60-100 watt max. You want your basking temp no more than 90 for veiled.
 
They do take time to settle in to a new situation. I've seen people say their newly acquired chameleons didn't eat for as much as a week. I understand that's worrisome, but knowing that it's not abnormal should provide some comfort.

I believe that the owner has bought a reptisun 5.0 tube....
 
PicassoTheVeiled said:
=sorry ive been posting so much lately, but i need help with this little guy=


first, he has a swolen eye which showed up the day after i got him. he has been to the reptile doc who said he has a vit A defficiency... the vit A shot he gave doesnt seem to be helping his eye much. also putting terramycin on eye 3 times a day. i was somewhat skeptical about him having a vit A defficientcy, but i figured he knows more than i do, so i went along with it since its fairly common for veilds (or so he says)

second, he isnt really eating much. he could be settling in, i know... but its starting to worry me. its been 5 days, and honestly, im really not sure how much he is eating because once in a while my kitty will find a cricket lose on the floor for me... i did figure out how they were getting out and fixed the cage where they were escapeing from today. he is not eating his super worms, which the lady i got him from says he eats them with no problem. he has eaten one wax worm, other than that, he may or may not be eating the crickets (since i dont know because they had been getting out, eek!)

are there any readily available appetite stimulants? perhaps natural ones or something that can be bought from a pet store or the vet?

he is fairly active, and drank water today as i was misting him and his cage, his colors are bright, not grim or anything. i have been trying to keep as little contact with him as possible because i know the move had to be quite stressful on him. the last time he pooed was the day i got him, he pooed in my hand ick! other than that, i have not noticed poo in the cage in 4.5 days (is this abnormal, how often do they poo?)

he is shedding, does their appetite decrease when they shed (sorry if this is a dumb question, but i honestly dont know and am trying to think outside the box)

his temp is currently 85F in his basking area and humidity around 40%

i am offering calcium dusted crickets and super worms and wax worms (only 1 wax worm offered per day tho). im dusting every day because i figure since he isnt eating much, he probably needs all he can get... pls tell me if im wrong in that.

he is 11 months old and 19" in a 5x3x2 foot cage. has a repti sun 5. light on top. he has 2 repti sun 10. bulbs that are old so are only used to light the cage. 150watt ceramic heater and 90watt regular incadecent bulb for heat. my house is cold so he needs this much heat in order to keep his cage warm in the day. i dont think my place drops below 60 at night, so as of yesterday, i decided to turn off the heat at night as reccomended by another forum member. i mist twice a day... umm anything else i forgot i will be mroe than happy to add

what should i do????? i know its only been a few days, and i admit, i may be freaking out a little prematurely, but what if im not! im worried. not eating is a serious thing. any ideas on what i could do or what im doing wrong?
Click to expand...

If he is 11 months old as you say,

Then I would consider bumping his basking temperature up to 90F. That SHOULD give his metabolism a little boost and may incite him to eat a little more than he currently is.

Please make sure that you properly measure these temperatures and that it does not go far above 90F. Also make sure that there are places in the cage for him to go (i.e DOWN) to get away from the heat. You would want below the basking light to be in the lower 80's and the bottom to sit in mid 70's which I think would be very beneficial to him.

For his swollen eye - it may be irritation from contact with plants of something getting inside it, or it may be a Vit. A deficiency as the vet said. Do you know what the previous owner was feeding/gutloading with?

You could go ahead and try some reptaid. It couldn't hurt, and when mine were shedding their appetite did go down - but a day after the shed and some reptaid - they hunted down this crickets like raptors from Jurassic Park. :p

As for your gutload, that "cricket food" which is usually those cube things... is not very good. It should at most be used as a supplement to ACTUALY gutloading.

I suggest adding some of the following to the cricket/supers diet.

1. Romaine
2. Endive
3. Mustard Greens
4. Carrots
5. Honey
6. Oranges/orange juice ( this is also a sweet way to boost their immune system)
7. Sweet Potato
8. Cricket Crack ( optional )
9. Water Crystals ( this is mainly for the crickets - but it will ensure much better cricket survival rates, and the hydration can be passed along to the cham )
 
thanks for all the help guys. i went back to the vet today because the vitamin a isnt really helping, still has a swolen eye. i read that sometimes they wont eat if they have a swolen eye since they need thier eyes to see their food, kind of a deapth perception issue... so i went back to the vet and he gave me some different med for incase he has an infection behind his eye... i really hate to load him up on meds, but honestly i dont see much other choice cause its clearly not going to fix itself... at least the vit A injection cant hurt him. but if this new med doesnt work, i really dont know what to do. wish picasso and i luck! and pray for us!!!!!

btw, to the OP, i do not gut load with that orange cube things... i use the flukers stuff that looks like dried grains and leaves and such... little pieces of... wutever it is lol... i also went to the store and picked up an orange and a sweet potatoe for them. and they get flukers water gel for moisture.... and i just put a little capfull of honey in the tank too... just because u reccomended it and it sounded yummy lol
 
You still arent dusting w cal and d3 daily are you? If so please stop that asap.
Thats a twice a month supp. You want cal without d3. and since hes an adult i would dust every other feeding w that. I use minerall outdoor formula as my vitamin supp it is given monthly.
 
okay. i will stop... his previous owner was dusting daily... can you post pix or links to the products you would reccomend for daily and monthly supplementation please? if its not a bother. id just like to see what the lable looks like for when i pick some up. it would be greatly appreciated! :)
 
I can give you the names. If you go to LLL reptiles website they have pics of all the items.

1. Rep Cal Calcium Without D3 - Used for adult every other feeding
2. Rep Cal " With D3 - Used twice Monthly
3. You can use Herptivite Or Minerall Outdoor Vitamins - 1 Monthly

Thats what the majority of people on here recomend for supps. Personally i like minerall better than Herptivite. Jmpp.

Im no vet but i wouldnt give him any more vit a. Just gutload your feeders religiously. And ditch flukers dry gutload and the orange squares. Get some crick crack. You will see immediate improvement. Everything you feed those feeders your cham is eating. With proper care you can turn one of these guys around.
 
thanks alot texas, i will try and get those supplements and ill look for the cricket crack... i would assume i could probably get it from the same website... anyway, ill find it somewhere, thanks again!
 
PicassoTheVeiled said:
thanks for all the help guys. i went back to the vet today because the vitamin a isnt really helping, still has a swolen eye. i read that sometimes they wont eat if they have a swolen eye since they need thier eyes to see their food, kind of a deapth perception issue... so i went back to the vet and he gave me some different med for incase he has an infection behind his eye... i really hate to load him up on meds, but honestly i dont see much other choice cause its clearly not going to fix itself... at least the vit A injection cant hurt him. but if this new med doesnt work, i really dont know what to do. wish picasso and i luck! and pray for us!!!!!

btw, to the OP, i do not gut load with that orange cube things... i use the flukers stuff that looks like dried grains and leaves and such... little pieces of... wutever it is lol... i also went to the store and picked up an orange and a sweet potatoe for them. and they get flukers water gel for moisture.... and i just put a little capfull of honey in the tank too... just because u reccomended it and it sounded yummy lol
Click to expand...

Picasso, if you live in So-Cal, I would recommend you going to Dr. Tom Greek in yorba linda or Dr. Geoff Stein in Beverly Hills.
I trust their expertise in chameleon care.
 
PTV, just remember, you were handed an animal that was not well cared for. The problems your animal has were not your doing.

The whole supplementation thing is just an adventure in "I need another little jar?"...but alas, it's true. You need a calcium that is just calcium, nothing more. You need a vitamin supplement that does not contain D3. You need either a vitamin supplement or a calcium that does contain D3.

Here's the deal: D3 is a vitamin normally manufactured by the body using energy absorbed from the sun....as great as the fake suns we have are, they fall short when it comes to just about any D vitamin. D3 aids the body in absorbing and processing calcium. Calcium is a major dietary issue with chameleons. However, D3 also inhibits the absorption of some other vitamins, notably A Vitamins.

So, it's sort of a game to try to find the right balance.

The schedule you are being given (Calcium without D3 every day, Vitamin supplement twice a month with D3 being given twice a month) is what seems to be a good balance based on the experience of people here.


Edited to add:

This is the link to the profile of ssimswiss

https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/ssimsswiss/
 
Elizadolots said:
PTV, just remember, you were handed an animal that was not well cared for. The problems your animal has were not your doing.

The whole supplementation thing is just an adventure in "I need another little jar?"...but alas, it's true. You need a calcium that is just calcium, nothing more. You need a vitamin supplement that does not contain D3. You need either a vitamin supplement or a calcium that does contain D3.

Here's the deal: D3 is a vitamin normally manufactured by the body using energy absorbed from the sun....as great as the fake suns we have are, they fall short when it comes to just about any D vitamin. D3 aids the body in absorbing and processing calcium. Calcium is a major dietary issue with chameleons. However, D3 also inhibits the absorption of some other vitamins, notably A Vitamins.

So, it's sort of a game to try to find the right balance.

The schedule you are being given (Calcium without D3 every day, Vitamin supplement twice a month with D3 being given twice a month) is what seems to be a good balance based on the experience of people here.


Edited to add:

This is the link to the profile of ssimswiss

https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/ssimsswiss/
Click to expand...

thank you so much... your first sentence was quite uplifting lol, makes me feel better that people are seeing my efforts for picasso :) ...and his previous owners mishaps... im glad its not looking like its all me... i really am trying!!! lol. anyway, thanks.... and i will surely start him on a his supplement schedule. btw, thanks for clearing up the D3 thing, i wasnt sure what exactly it was or what difference it made... but i didnt want to post yet another question as ive been posting quite a few lately XD
 
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