Help!!!! Not Sure What's Going On With Baby

[dendon]

My five or six week old chameleon is not doing very well. For the past couple days he has not eaten anything and yesterday he seemed kind of weak. Today, I was checking on him as I turned the light on and he was crumpled. I have held him for about an hour to give him some water and he has gotten some. But his mouth is open and his tongue is sticking out a little.

I am really concerned and though I did not do much wrong I think he may have been stressed from before. One of his eyes isn't open either, so I don't know what that means. I have followed this process before for his needs:

Cage temp day: 85 degrees
Night: 70's
Food: Crickets with calcium and some vegetables (one cricket in the morning one at night)
lighting: Heat lamp and UVB for 12 hours
Fake vines and branches and leaves, moss on ground of cage.
Cage dimensions: 36x12x60 (estimating, inches)

I am really lost and I don't want him to be in pain or anything, but I think I should see a vet today. Any thoughts would be great.

 

[jrath]

If you could fill out that how to ask for help page that would be great. Also is you have any pics of him and the set up.
I see some problems with his care but need more info, like type of supplements and so on. The biggest problem I see right off the bat is that he should be eating way more than two crickets a day at that age, more like 12 a day.

 

[Chiichan]

I think your temp is kinda high for a 6wk old baby?? Not entirely sure but I think ive seen someone comment on another thread about too high a temp for the little ones. That should be a temp for an adult.

Hopefully someone else will confirm. Lowering your temp might help, but it might not be the only issue.

 

[dendon]

jrath: can I get a link to the form you want to see uploaded?

Here is the link to what I just uploaded.



Is there a more convenient way to upload a pic?

 

[Chiichan]

Fillig out the form will help more with details too. 2 crickets a day for a growing baby doesn't sound right either. Also a 12hr day with that temp is a lot for the little guy. :/ Try keeping it like a regulated day when the sun is out. I turn my lights on around 730am and off around 530pm.

 

[Chiichan]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[fluxlizard]

I think your temp is kinda high for a 6wk old baby?? Not entirely sure but I think ive seen someone comment on another thread about too high a temp for the little ones. That should be a temp for an adult.

Hopefully someone else will confirm. Lowering your temp might help, but it might not be the only issue.

Also a 12hr day with that temp is a lot for the little guy. :/ Try keeping it like a regulated day when the sun is out. I turn my lights on around 730am and off around 530pm.

I don't think either one of these are the problem. I always raise my babies at temps just like the adults and they do great- as long as the baby can move in and out of the heat. Also 12 hrs is fine for duration. I keep my lights on 12-14 hours per day depending on time of year.

I think 2 crickets a day is way, way too few for a 6 week old. Maybe your crickets are too large or maybe you just don't understand what a growing veiled's body needs- but should be quite a few more than 2 of appropriate size. looking at the photo yours is quite a bit smaller than mine are when they are at 6 weeks...

Please fill out the form- there are likely other problems at play here like supplementation or water. Also that is a very large cage for a baby. It is easier to raise one in something smaller where you have a little more control.

 

[fluxlizard]

A couple more thoughts after thinking about the pic for a minute- the cage is so large the cham is likely easily avoiding the high temp if it wants.

Also though- it is so large that for a tiny cham, it is easy to avoid the UVB accidentally as well. Watering is more of a challenge as well.

 

[Chiichan]

Thanks for the clarifications. At least I was right about something (feeding) :/

 

[dendon]

Species: Veiled, male (I believe), 5-6 weeks old
Handling: I don't normally handle him since he is new to the cage and I want him to become more comfortable
Feeding: Crickets, two to four a day, some cut up carrots and zucchini (hasn't eaten those much lately, when he was eating)
Supplements: Repashy Superfoods Cham Calcium Plus
Watering: I have a spray bottle and douse the leaves with it and he would generally drink off those. He also drinks from the bottle. I have misted the cage about 3-4 times a day, generally for 20 seconds. I have seen him drinking from the leaves and from the bottle before, but not too much recently.
Fecal Description: There are some white and yellow pieces that are most noticeable around the cage.
History: He would move around pretty well before yesterday and this morning and today he was very, very weak.

Cage Info:
Type: Screen cage, approximately 36x12x54.
Lighting: Heat Lamp and UVB lights above, outside of cage. The lighting is generally to have them on around 9 AM and then off around 9 PM.
Temperature: Bottom is 75 degrees, near the top is about 80. Lowest overnight temp is around 70. I have a Acurite thermometer on the top and a temperature strip on the bottom (Zoomed).
Humidity: I do not have anything to measure humidity levels.
Plants: Fake leaves, vines, and branches. Real jungle moss on the floor of the cage.
Placement: The cage is located near a window, not near any vents. It is not near a high traffic area. Relative to the floor, about four and a half feet.
Location: Pacific Northwest

Hope that helps.

 

[dendon]

A couple more thoughts after thinking about the pic for a minute- the cage is so large the cham is likely easily avoiding the high temp if it wants.

Also though- it is so large that for a tiny cham, it is easy to avoid the UVB accidentally as well. Watering is more of a challenge as well.

He tends to stay more towards the top of the cage, he likes to bask under both lights. He doesn't move more than six to eight inches below the food bowl (which has holes so if water drips in it will not pool, hence he won't drown).

I think I need to get more small crickets then because mine have gotten pretty large. He does a kind of dance to digest the crickets. It seems like 12 crickets is alot? I will try it but I didn't think he would be able to digest that much in a day.

 

[fluxlizard]

How often are you using the supplement?

What size crickets are you feeding?

I wonder if he could have eaten some of the moss? I don't think I'd use that myself...

 

[fluxlizard]

It seems like 12 crickets is alot?

I thought you said 2, not 12 per day?

How many depends on his size and size of cricket and how warm he is kept (so how fast he digests them).

 

[fluxlizard]

I think I need to get more small crickets then because mine have gotten pretty large. He does a kind of dance to digest the crickets.

If he's struggling to swallow them they are too big. Looking at the photo of him on your hand, I'd probably still be using around 1/4" to maybe 1/2" (cant see size accurately from photo- if in doubt go small and more- they are easier to digest).

I wonder from your description a little bit too (you said mouth a bit open and tongue a bit out) if he could have choked on his last meal...

 

[fluxlizard]

They should add a "how long have you owned the lizard?" to the questionaire.
How long has this chameleon been in your care?

 

[fluxlizard]

He tends to stay more towards the top of the cage, he likes to bask under both lights. He doesn't move more than six to eight inches below the food bowl (which has holes so if water drips in it will not pool, hence he won't drown).

This sounds good, by the way.