Is my chameleon Dehydrated? *Poop pictures*
- Thread starter AlexKouns
- Start date
AlexKouns
Member
I filled out that form on this thread! I would love for you to check it out and hear your input. I replied to one of @Brodybreaux25 comments with the form filled out as well as some picture.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
OPs husbandry:
◦ Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Panther chameleon
- Male (I think and hope)
- Little over a month old
- I have had him for 6 days now
◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- I handled him once when transporting him home, and putting into his enclosure
- Want to let him get comfortable in his enclosure and get a little bigger before I handle him
◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Mainly fruit flies and crickets right now. I do about 15 fruit flies and 5 - 1/8' crickets twice a day and remove what he doesn't eat, he normally leaves about 2 flies and 1 cricket by the end of feeding. I do this once in the morning (around 9 or 10AM) and once after lunch (about 2 pm). I was told to feed him as much as he wants to eat at this age as they grow at a rapid rate. I am feeding my crickets carrots and collard greens mostly.
- I would love for him to eat worms but he won't touch them. I have put a couple very small super worms in his feeding bowl and he definitely sees them but won't eat them.
◦ Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Repashy Calcium plus LoD at every feeding. Was told by the breeder that this is an "all in one" supplement and all I would need.
◦ Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- I mist 3-4 times daily until everything is dripping wet. I would say around 3ish minutes?
- I also use the little dripper system all day (turn off at night)
- I have seen my cham drink maybe twice but it was off of water on the cage from misting. I have not seen him drink water from the dripper itself yet.
◦ Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- Poop looks good but was concerned with urate as I noticed a slightly orange tint.
- He has not been tested yet but I plan on doing that soon
◦ History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
- Nothing that I know of
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- 16 x 16 x 30 Zoo Med screen cage
◦ Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- I have heating and UV light in the enclosure
- UV is a reptisun T5 HO hood with a 5.0 bulb (plan on going to 10.0 when this needs replacement)
- Heating is an Exo-Terra 60W bulb that I bought from a reptile shop
- I have the lights on a timer that come on at 8AM and turn off at 6PM (the cage is by a window and the sunsets on his cage so I like to think its a natural way to turn the lights out)
◦ Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- I have a temp gun to test my temperatures
- Top/basking spot is around 88-90
- Bottom of cage is 78-80
- Lowest overnight temp is probably like 72 right now
◦ Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- I have a humidity gauge
- It is normally around 55% humidity throughout the day
- I have seen it get up to 65% when misting (it is in the driest part of the cage so humidity very well may be higher)
- I have also seen it drop to 45% and I will mist if I see it gets that low
◦ Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- I am using a swiss cheese plant. I like the look of this plant as well as the big leaves. The water droplets sit on the leaves for a long time. I researched this plant and could not find anywhere that it was toxic to chameleons. I found a video where someone said they have been using that plant for years without issues.
◦ 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?
- The cage is located in my room where there is very low traffic.
- The top of the cage is probably around 6 feet from the floor
- I do run a fan at night for myself but I do not let the airflow hit his cage
◦ Location - Where are you geographically located?
- Long Beach, CA
*About my setup pictures
- I know people say do not use soil as a substrate as the cham can pick it up while they snatch an insect. However, I have never seen my cham eat anything off the bottom of the cage. I am feeding him from a food bowl and I have only seen him eat insects from there or off the side of the cage. That is also why I put the rocks on top of the soil, to decrease the chance that he would pick up soil if he did eat a cricket off the bottom.
◦ Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Panther chameleon
- Male (I think and hope)
- Little over a month old
- I have had him for 6 days now
◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- I handled him once when transporting him home, and putting into his enclosure
- Want to let him get comfortable in his enclosure and get a little bigger before I handle him
◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Mainly fruit flies and crickets right now. I do about 15 fruit flies and 5 - 1/8' crickets twice a day and remove what he doesn't eat, he normally leaves about 2 flies and 1 cricket by the end of feeding. I do this once in the morning (around 9 or 10AM) and once after lunch (about 2 pm). I was told to feed him as much as he wants to eat at this age as they grow at a rapid rate. I am feeding my crickets carrots and collard greens mostly.
- I would love for him to eat worms but he won't touch them. I have put a couple very small super worms in his feeding bowl and he definitely sees them but won't eat them.
◦ Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Repashy Calcium plus LoD at every feeding. Was told by the breeder that this is an "all in one" supplement and all I would need.
◦ Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- I mist 3-4 times daily until everything is dripping wet. I would say around 3ish minutes?
- I also use the little dripper system all day (turn off at night)
- I have seen my cham drink maybe twice but it was off of water on the cage from misting. I have not seen him drink water from the dripper itself yet.
◦ Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- Poop looks good but was concerned with urate as I noticed a slightly orange tint.
- He has not been tested yet but I plan on doing that soon
◦ History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
- Nothing that I know of
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- 16 x 16 x 30 Zoo Med screen cage
◦ Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- I have heating and UV light in the enclosure
- UV is a reptisun T5 HO hood with a 5.0 bulb (plan on going to 10.0 when this needs replacement)
- Heating is an Exo-Terra 60W bulb that I bought from a reptile shop
- I have the lights on a timer that come on at 8AM and turn off at 6PM (the cage is by a window and the sunsets on his cage so I like to think its a natural way to turn the lights out)
◦ Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- I have a temp gun to test my temperatures
- Top/basking spot is around 88-90
- Bottom of cage is 78-80
- Lowest overnight temp is probably like 72 right now
◦ Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- I have a humidity gauge
- It is normally around 55% humidity throughout the day
- I have seen it get up to 65% when misting (it is in the driest part of the cage so humidity very well may be higher)
- I have also seen it drop to 45% and I will mist if I see it gets that low
◦ Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- I am using a swiss cheese plant. I like the look of this plant as well as the big leaves. The water droplets sit on the leaves for a long time. I researched this plant and could not find anywhere that it was toxic to chameleons. I found a video where someone said they have been using that plant for years without issues.
◦ 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?
- The cage is located in my room where there is very low traffic.
- The top of the cage is probably around 6 feet from the floor
- I do run a fan at night for myself but I do not let the airflow hit his cage
◦ Location - Where are you geographically located?
- Long Beach, CA
*About my setup pictures
- I know people say do not use soil as a substrate as the cham can pick it up while they snatch an insect. However, I have never seen my cham eat anything off the bottom of the cage. I am feeding him from a food bowl and I have only seen him eat insects from there or off the side of the cage. That is also why I put the rocks on top of the soil, to decrease the chance that he would pick up soil if he did eat a cricket off the bottom.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
Excellent job, you’ve done your homework.
A few suggestions:
Looks like a 3 month old , if you can post a picture of the bottom base of his tail we can know for sure.
Your crickets should be gutloaded with either Bug Burger or Cricket Crack. It’s crucial for the growth. And yes, allow him as many gutloaded feeders as he wants.
I find most baby chams aren’t into worms, but he will over time.
LoD is a good all-in-one to put on every feeder.
Stick with the 5.0 uvb, 10.0 is too strong, especially for a young Cham.
Temperature guns are great for measuring surface temperature but can not measure ambient temperature. Invest in a quality digital hydrometer/thermometer.
Your temps and humidity are good.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
...and the soil, add some more large pebbles to the top to ensure he can’t get to it, eventually he will start exploring that area.
Daesie11
Chameleon Enthusiast
You think that lil guy looks 3 months old??
I have a hard time guessing the ages, I would have said this little guy was way younger than 3 months but I also clearly dont know anything
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
2-3 months, yes.
Daesie11
Chameleon Enthusiast
Interesting
AlexKouns
Member
Thank you for the advice, I will get the cricket food tomorrow hopefully. And about the worms, I guess I will toss the worm idea until he gets a bit older? Copy on the light, I will stick with 5.0 for now. Also copy of the digital hydrometer/thermometer as the surface area reading makes sense.
And the breeder did say about one month old when I got him, and this little guy is pretty small (you can see in my profile picture in comparison to my finger). Below are some of the pictures I have taken of him over the past week. I would love to know your opinions on his sex! Some of the photos (and in person), I swear I see the hemipenal bulge and then others I don't see it at all. I can try to get another picture tomorrow as my little guy is sleeping right now. Thank you so much for your time in replying to me, as I can clearly tell you are busy on these forums!
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AlexKouns
Member
I will add some more in the near future!
Multivitamins
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your off to an Excellent start. Babies are tough to care but oh so cute.
and you'll find a variety of responses for handling but I didn't handle my guy at all and now he is a total grouch ... as he grows see if he will allow you to handle him occasionally to get a good bond while he is young being located in socal getting him out for sun will be a huge perk and handling will make free range a lot easier. Just my experience i know each Chameleon is different. But I sure wish my dude would tolerate handling to go bask in some natural sunlight.I have to take his entire screen enclosure outside to get him some rays.
Bsfl may be your friend vs worms they are much smaller but very nutritious. And any unfed turn Into a flying buffet.
Ment to post this earlier. But you've got some great feedback here.
AlexKouns
Member
Yes they are a lot of work! I read a post before I got him saying that a baby chameleon would require as much time as getting a puppy. I kind of brushed that off when I read it, but man is that close to the truth! This guy is taking most of my day between misting, feeding, etc. But as long as he grows and is healthy it will all be worth it. Thank you for your input, as he gets a bit bigger (and not so dang fragile!) I will see how he takes to handling.
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
Now that I have more than one picture to work with it does appear to be younger than my original estimate. Most reputable breeders will not sell a Cham younger than 3 months old. Where did you get him. I still can’t determine the sex but at this point it’s really irrelevant anyway. For now, the care is the same either way.
AlexKouns
Member
I got him from Branch Dragons, located here in Southern California. I drove to pick him up and the breeder was very cautious in making sure I had all the right setup and info in regards of taking care of a baby. He gave me everything I needed to know and is always still willing to help!
