Help!!!

C

campbellcham

New Member
We purchased a veiled chameleon for my son's 10th birthday without knowing what we were doing. We already love her to pieces and don't know what we are doing. Here are the main questions that I have along with what we are currently doing (somethings a vet said to do and/or we were told to do this from the petstore guy). But what I am reading says different.

We have her in a glass tank with screened lid. 12X12X19 high.

We have fake-plastic leaves with repti-vines, and a large driftwood piece.

We have a "basking" lamp (100 watt) on top of the screened lid. We use a infared bulb at night.

I am getting an automatic drip system that should be here this week. But currently we use a spray bottle, which soaks the bottom of the tank (we have paper towels down) and then we have standing water. Which concerns me.

We were told to feed her 3-5 crickets every other day and then told to do that every day.

She hasn't had a BM since Thursday (we took out the repti-bark that we had in there since we read that it's not good to have in there).

I have read so many different things so many different places that I don't know what to follow. I am an animal lover, but never thought I would have a Chameleon in the house (we have dogs, cat and fish and 2 kids). Now that we have her I can't think of anything else. I want to do whats best for her.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for being so winded and having so many questions.

Campbellcham
 
Hello, please fill this out and others can help to inform you of what is good and what may possibly need some tweaking. Try to be as complete and detailed as possible.


Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful
 
Glass cages are very bad for Chameleon's they need fresh air and the air in an acquarium can get stagnant and cause lung problems.

Also you have a heat lamp but what kind of UVB bulb do you have? UVB is incredibly important to a Cham's health. A long flourescent UVB bulb like the Reptisun 5.0 is best. The compact UVB bulbs are actually bad for them, make sure you get the long tube kind.

Can't stress enough how important how important the right light is. If the conditions are good you may want to take her outside to bask and soak up some rays while you acquire a new home and better lights. Make sure you always supervise a chameleon that is outdoors.
 
campbellcham said:
We have her in a glass tank with screened lid. 12X12X19 high.

We have fake-plastic leaves with repti-vines, and a large driftwood piece.

We have a "basking" lamp (100 watt) on top of the screened lid. We use a infared bulb at night.

I am getting an automatic drip system that should be here this week. But currently we use a spray bottle, which soaks the bottom of the tank (we have paper towels down) and then we have standing water. Which concerns me.

We were told to feed her 3-5 crickets every other day and then told to do that every day.

She hasn't had a BM since Thursday (we took out the repti-bark that we had in there since we read that it's not good to have in there).

I have read so many different things so many different places that I don't know what to follow. I am an animal lover, but never thought I would have a Chameleon in the house (we have dogs, cat and fish and 2 kids). Now that we have her I can't think of anything else. I want to do whats best for her.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for being so winded and having so many questions.

Campbellcham
Click to expand...

Well, just about everything the shop told you is wrong. At least you found this forum which is great. How old is she? You will need an accurate thermometer and a humidity meter. Don't bother with the little analog dial types from the pet shop. They are quite inaccurate. Get good quality electronic gauges from a place like Radio Shack.

The glass tank will be too small for her unless she is still a tiny baby. Glass tanks tend to overheat, don't provide much air circulation, and can be difficult for a cham...they tend to paw on the glass because they don't "see" it. Reflections can cause a lot of stress too. Screen cages are better depending on where you live (in a cold climate such as the UK or Canada glass can be used with care). Yes, the standing water in the tank can be a problem. Mopping most of it is the only option as substrate can be swallowed and cause intestinal damage.

Chams do much better with live plants instead of fakes. The combination of lights and glass and no live foliage can cause severe dehydration.

The basking light is probably too hot. What are the temps right under the basking light? Get rid of the night heat spot. Chams see full color and require at least a 10 degree drop in temp at night. Unless your room gets below 55 F at night you don't need it and it will stress her.

Young juvenile chams are growing fast and can be fed something every day. But, an adult only needs to eat every other day. What are you gutloading and dusting with? How often?

I didn't see a mention of a source of UVB light. The safest source of UVB light for an indoor cham is a ReptiSun 5.0 linear tube fluorescent. Your cham can't do without UVB light so you MUST get this. Incandescent lights don't produce much if any UVB despite what the package says.

There is a classic article titled "Raising Kitty the Veiled Chameleon" on this forum that is a great resource for most of your questions on cham care. Do a forum search for it as it will really help a lot!
 
Thank you so very much for replying. We have a zoo med repti basking spot lamp-100 watts, it doesn't say anything on the box about UVB.

I am getting a screened cage tomorrow from someone at a pet store that doesn't use it anymore. Hopefully it is the right thing. if not there isn't any where local that sales them.

I can get the reptisun 5.0 fluoroscent bulb tomorrow. We use the infrared 100w heat glo lamp from exoterra at night. do we need this? our house temp is 65-69 degrees usually.

We are in Iowa so outside is chilly right now. Plus, I didn't think we were supposed to handle her. When we got her the guy said to handle her every day and now all the literature says it stresses them too much and is very bad for them. So, how do you get her outside?

Campbellcham
 
The night light is not needed, chams like a drop in temps at night, and your house sounds like it is warm enough that the light is not needed.
 
No, you dont really need the night time bulb :)

As handling goes, its the chams choice. There are many people that handle their chams successfully because the chams allow it... others dont.

Start by gaining trust. Hand feed it. Eventually the cham may decide to walk onto your hand or arm. This will take time, but be prepared that it might not happen at all :)

There are ways around getting her out of her cage like i have to do with my Peanut when i want her to get the rays outside. Always use food as an incentive, if you withdraw the food item slowly the cham will follow, if locked on, and walk onto your arm or plant which you can then carry outside.
 
Thanks everyone!

The temp under the basking lamp is 93 degrees and on the other side of the tank is 70s. We have a dimmer on the lamp that I can turn down so its not 100 watts being delivered. Should that be ok?

I am going to purchase the reptisun tomorrow along with some live plants, I'm thinking ficus and/or hibiscus.

We feed her crickets with rep-cal dusted on them. The crickets are fed orange cube complete cricket diet.

I will get rid of the night light.

How about BMs, how often?

Thanks again!!
 
What do you gutload/feed the insects?
Will you only use the one supplement?
The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear flurorescent Repti-sun 5.0 (not the compact).
If you are getting a young one, the basking temperature should be in the low 80's IMHO.

Here are some good sites...
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://adcham.com/
 
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