Help !! Stuck shed? New shed ? Won't eat

[JordynJay]

Hi. My baby Cham won't eat today since waking up this morning. Had been eating fine since I've gotten her about 10-15 crickets a day.

I am concerned she has stuck shed on her back feet and now looks swollen. Lastnight she wouldn't even use one to walk with but today she is now walking with it. I have been misting ALOT today with warm water to her body but she doesn't really like it at all. I will post the pictures and the info survey in another post.

 

[Scout]

I would try to get her on a sturdy stick / post and put her in the shower. Put the shower on warm and spray it at the wall so the steam and splatter can hit your Cham.

 

[JordynJay]

 

[Spags]

I would try to get her on a sturdy stick / post and put her in the shower. Put the shower on warm and spray it at the wall so the steam and splatter can hit your Cham.

If it is stuck shed, This is the way to go. If this does not help I recommend a vet visit.

 

[JordynJay]

• Your Chameleon - veiled, pretty sure female about 3 months and I bought her about a week ago from petco
• 
  
• Handling - once a week or so
• Feeding - crickets, small / med size she eats about 10-15 a day. I dust them with calcium & d3
• Supplements - Repti calcium w D3
• Watering - misting, waiting for dripper to arrive in mail. Mist 3-4x a day for about 1 min each time. She gets really freaked out by the misting so I make sure it is warm. I've seen her drink

• Fecal Description - brown formed with white colored urates

• History - bought her from local petco on Saturday 1/16.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen reptibreeze size large
• Lighting - 100 W basking heat light which is fixed about 8 inches above top of cage and Uvb light tube 5.0 at night she uses 40w blue night light
• Temperature - I have temp gauge in middle of cage it ranges from 60-80 F
• Humidity - I have a gauge in the middle of cage, it ranges from 40-70
• Plants - fake plants for now. One large pothos plant and two small other plants I bought at petco

• Placement - cage is up about 2 feet from ground

• Location - MA USA

 

[JordynJay]

If it is stuck shed, This is the way to go. If this does not help I recommend a vet visit.

How long do u do the shower thing ? I did about 7mins she hated it

 

[Leo Chance]

I don't want to present myself as an expert, but how long has she been not eating? We have had chameleons skip eating for a day and then making up for it the next morning. Even though it seems that female veileds are among the hungriest creatures on earth at times. I really have had better results by spraying a fine mist of warm water from above than doing the shower thing. I really don't think anything that stresses them is probably not good (other than a trip to the vet if necessary). Good luck.

 

[JordynJay]

Only today,


she ate 14 crickets yesterday as well as 1 worm

 

[Cheeky]

You shouldn't be dusting with D3 every day.

Supplements should be calcium WITHOUT D3 every feeding, with D3 twice a month and a multivit twice a month.

You dont want to have any lights on at night and make sure you check the temp of the basking spot

Hopefully the shed will clear up with some regular misting.

 

[Leo Chance]

Keep an eye, but I wouldn't be that worried, sometimes they do that,. Our female veiled is usually the hungriest acting chameleon in the house, but she will skip a day now & then.

 

[jajeanpierre]

That looks like something more than stuck shed on the left hind leg just above the ankle. Have a really good look at the other lighter patches and if you think it is anything other than skin about to shed, I would have an experienced reptile vet look at her.

Do you have any other chameleons?

 

[brownie64]

I really don't see any shed that could be causing an issue. However that bump on her leg looks suspicious might have to take her to the vet if it don't clear up soon.

 

[brownie64]

That looks like something more than stuck shed on the left hind leg just above the ankle. Have a really good look at the other lighter patches and if you think it is anything other than skin about to shed, I would have an experienced reptile vet look at her.

Do you have any other chameleons?

Woops you beat me.

 

[JordynJay]

 

[JordynJay]

Those above pictures were just last week

 

[JordynJay]

These are today

 

[JordynJay]

I haven't been dusting every day with that powder only 2x a week so far. I will have to find some calcium powder. I am also gut loading the crickets.

This is my first and only Cham

 

[jajeanpierre]

You need to be dusting with a minimum of plain calcium at every feeding. Have you read the care sheets for chameleons in general and veileds in particular on this web site? I think they are under Resources.

I would really like to see a good clear close up picture of the light patches on the left side of her face, her elbow and the left hind foot. Try to get really clear close ups.

I really don't like the look of the left hind foot and might be inclined to take her to the vet, especially since you haven't a lot of experience yet. Also, the bumps on the lower jaw on the right side, plus the puffy eyes. I think when you add it all up, it warrants a vet visit.

Gee whiz, I hate having this kind of conversation with a new owner! Keep us posted.