Is my veiled chameleon too skinny?

[elipen]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled, around 15in, age maybe 9mths
• Handling - no handling at all
• Feeding - started on crickets now mostly dubias (gutloaded with repashy super load)
• Supplements - calcium no d almost every day, repashy calcium plus Lod vitamins once a week.
• Watering - long misting twice a day with a spray bottle
• Fecal Description - brown/black with white

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 4ft by 2ft by 2ft, all screen
• Lighting - reptisun 5.0 18inch, 60 watt heat lamp on from 6am-7pm
• Temperature - top from 80-95 with hottest 90-95 under basking lamp, bottom around 70
• Humidity - no measurement, I read veileds aren't very picky about humidity and since I mist and have a live plant I figured it would be okay
• Plants - had one large schefflera that recently lost all its leaves so i am putting in a ficus and a pothos tommorow
• Placement - corner of bedroom, next to closed window no direct sunlight.
• Location - San Diego, CA

Current Problem- I'm a first time chameleon owner and i've raised him from a 3in baby without any problems until now. I tried giving him dubias and at first he ate them but now he doesn't have much of an appetite for them, maybe eats 12 medium/large in total a week. Likes mealworms, but I don't want to rely on them i read they're not great nutritionally. He looks skinny, though i have read veiled males can look this way, but his colors are not bright and he used to eat a lot more...is he healthy?

 

[Andee]

He does look a bit thin... not to the point where it's like a freak out time I don't think... How does his feces look? Does it smell at all? Wondering if he has some parasites.

Otherwise he may be tempted to eat more with other feeders. Sounds like he may be a worm lover, so you have to make sure no addiction happens but offering him a few types of worms once in a while wouldn't be a bad idea. And maybe offering him some flies for entertainment would be good. All are available online for much lower prices than you'd expect if you find the right places ^^

Edit: I honestly don't think you are misting enough and he is not getting enough water.

 

[Graves923]

He should be eating alot more than 12 per week. Does he like crickets? In my experience dubias dont move around enough for the chams to notice. My veiled will only eat them if I hand feed roaches.

Id also like to add that your cage looks barren... Add some live plants like Pothos or an Umbrella plant to give your cham places to hide and explore. Live plants will also be beneficial in maintaining humidity and retaining water droplets for the cham to drink.

 

[elipen]

He does look a bit thin... not to the point where it's like a freak out time I don't think... How does his feces look? Does it smell at all? Wondering if he has some parasites.

Otherwise he may be tempted to eat more with other feeders. Sounds like he may be a worm lover, so you have to make sure no addiction happens but offering him a few types of worms once in a while wouldn't be a bad idea. And maybe offering him some flies for entertainment would be good. All are available online for much lower prices than you'd expect if you find the right places ^^

Edit: I honestly don't think you are misting enough and he is not getting enough water.

He does look a bit thin... not to the point where it's like a freak out time I don't think... How does his feces look? Does it smell at all? Wondering if he has some parasites.

Otherwise he may be tempted to eat more with other feeders. Sounds like he may be a worm lover, so you have to make sure no addiction happens but offering him a few types of worms once in a while wouldn't be a bad idea. And maybe offering him some flies for entertainment would be good. All are available online for much lower prices than you'd expect if you find the right places ^^

Edit: I honestly don't think you are misting enough and he is not getting enough water.

His feces isn't noticeably stinky, only if I miss one (I try to wipe everyday) will it have a smell. I give him mealworms once a week and i've given him hornworms and pheonix worms before and he eats them right away. I was thinking of trying out superworms for him, or I could go back to crickets as the main staple.
Hmm as for the water, I'm not home for long periods so I just bought a fogger online and am waiting for it now, will that help if I put it close enough to a plant so that it acts as a dripper as well?

 

[elipen]

He should be eating alot more than 12 per week. Does he like crickets? In my experience dubias dont move around enough for the chams to notice. My veiled will only eat them if I hand feed roaches.

Id also like to add that your cage looks barren... Add some live plants like Pothos or an Umbrella plant to give your cham places to hide and explore. Live plants will also be beneficial in maintaining humidity and retaining water droplets for the cham to drink.

Yeah, I have an umbrella plant in there, but for the last 2 weeks it lost all it's leaves so that's why his wnclosure looks bare in the photo. I did just buy a pothos and ficus to replace it. He did eat crickets, but he had started to eat them less so I switched to dubias. I think he is a worm lover like Andee said above so I'll try to hand feed the dubias to see if he'll take them that way?

 

[Andee]

I feel like he may just need to get a fecal done. Usually if I miss cleaning up a poop it dries up and I don't notice it for a while. It should have any odor really for these guys at all.

 

[ispeedonthe405]

It should have any odor really for these guys at all.

That's entirely subjective and may be misleading to someone less experienced who reads it. Simply put, I've yet to meet a poop that doesn't stink.

I do agree with the fecal check, of course.

 

[Andee]

When my chameleons have no parasite load that is bothering them it at most smells a bit musty, when they have a heavy parasite load it smell like sewage and when they have something wrong with digesting ( which often can be signs of parasites or poor eating habits) it reminds me of the scent of kind of rotting meat, none of it's normal for a healthy chameleon. Parasites in my opinion isn't an issue unless it gets out of hand. And then that shows that somehow the chameleon is having issues fighting them and keeping them under control.

 

[elipen]

so I put in a reptile fogger and the ficus, as you can see in the photo (Humongous seems to like the fogger, I've already seen him drink from it). I'm going to try hand feeding him the dubias, he ate four large/medium ones today and I gave him one by hand, I'll see how it goes. I think I'll wait maybe 2 weeks to see if he's improving or if his poop smells then go to a vet to check him. Thanks everyone for the great advice! It was very helpful, Humungous and I appreciate it