Is stuey dehidrated or cold?

[Stuey!]

ok like i mentioned in the other post i made, im worried about stuey i think hes eating, havnt seen him eat but the crickets vanish and he poops. tip of it is like a dark yellowish color. i keep his bulb on all day its a 60 watt bulb and when it turns dark i put in a night light for him, and when i wake up i change it back. crickets are a year old. i use a clacium usplement that i dust over the crickets. i mist about once a day when i wake up. plz help me im very worried about stuey

 

[chameleonare]

you need to mist him more once is not enough
i do two misting sessions of fifteen minutes a day and i think that is what is recommended
also lose the night light it is not needed because chams benefit from a temp dropp at night
also do you have a dripper in your cage. if not you need to get one or make your own very easily done

 

[Stuey!]

...i use a spray botle, so sitting there for 15 min?
i dont think so. u meen like getting somthing that will automaticly spray twice a day? well im makin a drip system now ok. any more sugestions?

 

[Stuey!]

ok here i finaly got camera to work here r some pics, anything wrong with his poop, skin, eyes, feet, cage? anything at all. plz tell me

 

[ChameleonsTree]

He needs a screen cage soon...i would say after 3 months old. Don't use any substrate. If he snaps at a cricket on the bottom he could get one of those pebbles and ingest it and die. Do you have a hydrometer and what does it read? His urate looks pretty white in those pics which is good but chameleons do need 20-30 minutes total misting time a day.

 

[lilj0e]

i dont want to sound like im being pushy and i hope u can take some honest critisism. there are many thing wrong with your set up that i noticed. first thing youy need to do is get a sceen cage. your glass cage is a breeding gound for bacteria and could cause many problems for your cham. the next problem i see is the gravel or stone you use for your substrate. what if one day he went to shoot at a cricket and swallowed the stones. not a good stituation. the best substrate is no substrate. also you myte wanna consider using a real plant. real plants tend to hold humidity better and also some chams like to eat vegitation.i also dont see any uvb bulb u also need one of them. you might want to do a little more research on how you should take care of your cham. and some one just posted everything i just told u before i had a chance to finish. but you also need to mist alot more than once a day. also check how you supliment. you need something with d3 and also a mineral supliment. and set a scheduale on how much you supliment

 

[Jordan]

Got to say Stuey does not look dehydrated. I do not think your cage looks bad. Minus the rocks and the addition of a uvB light source it is usable for a couple more months without any problem. The color changing ability will take some time to develop.

 

[kinyonga]

Real plants should be non-toxic and washed well (both sides of the leaves) before being added to the cage. Veileds are omnivores, so they might eat the leaves of the plants and if the insects nibble the leaves, then you don't want toxic plants to end up in your chameleon. Pothos is the main plant that I use.

I agree with what others have said concerning using no substrate and with not using a light/heat source at night. Chameleons can take temperatures well below normal room temperature...and a drop in temperature at night is thought to be good for them. I also agree that you need to provide UVB lighting for him.

The poop/urates look good. The chameleon looks good and healthy and doesn't look dehydrated.

I gutload my crickets with a lot of greens (dandelion greens, collards, kale, endive, ROMAINE lettuce, etc.) and veggies (sweet potato, regular white potato, carrots, squash, etc.).

Because veiled chameleons will eat veggies (sweet red pepper, zucchini, squash, sweet potato, carrots, etc.) and greens (same greens as for the crickets) and some fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.) when they are about 6 months old, you can feed them some a couple of times a week.

I dust my insects with phosphorous-free calcium at most feedings. Insects have a poor ratio of cal/phos...so this helps balance it out.

I dust the insects twice a month with a vitamin powder that has its source of vitamin A from beta carotene. Beta carotene can't cause an overdose but preformed vitamin A can.

Because my chameleons don't ususally get sunlight, I dust lightly with a calcium/D3 powder twice a month. Vitamin D3 from supplements can build up in the system, but it usually can't when produced as a result of exposure to sunlight. (UVB light should not pass through glass or plastic.)

To have healthy bones, its important to have the right balance of vitamin D3, vitamin A, phos. and calcium. Proper temps. are important too because that helps the chameleon digest its food.

Concerning glass cages...I live in a cool climate and have used glass cages for my chameleons without problems. They are a little extra work to get them to work well....but they do/can work. Many Europeans use them too. If you live in a hot climate, then they, of course, shouldn't be used...and they definitely shouldn't be in an aquarium when/if put outside.

My veiled females usually live to be well over 6 years old and my males even older.

Hope I haven't overwhelmed you! If you have any questions about any of it, just ask...I'll do my best to answer!

 

[Stuey!]

hmmm, yea ok, well ill take care of the rocks, ill get a screen cage and plants, yea i gutload my crickets, its ok i can take lots of critisism my parents yell at me all the time but whatever. so yea ill do all this stuff he does have a light and i think it produces some of that stuff

 

[Stuey!]

dang my mom is making me go to school, so ill get the stuff after school, hope he will be ok till then, i wont feed him till i replace the rocks, thanks for all the feedback guys im really worried about him, thanks agian

 

[lilj0e]

get a uvb fluresent bulb it will say uvb on the box

 

[Stuey!]

ok, and would woodshavings work? i have some spare "lizard litter" stuff and i was wondering if that would work they're like litle wood chpis very small, and what r the symptons of swalowing a rock if any and what can i do about it? he seems to be fine for now but just wondering, and no rocks in his poop so...yea

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Dont use any substrate. Put down newspaper or paper towel for easy cleaning.

 

[Stuey!]

wait no i just cleaned out his cage, i got some new bedding, some calcium stuff so if he eats it it willl be good for him, 5.0 UBV light, a basking light, thermometer...thing, and somthing that tells u the humidity.maybe ill post pics, he seems to be doing slightly better, alot better, im watering him more, thanks guys thanks agian and agian and agian just thanks for the help guys

 

[kinyonga]

NO SUBSTRATE MEANS NOTHING AT ALL ON THE FLOOR OF THE CAGE...no soil, no wood chips, no bark, no sand, nothing. Most substrates used for other reptiles are either contain toxins or can cause impaction (blockage that can kill the chameleon). Cedar and pine shavings contain oils that are toxic to chameleons. That "calcium stuff" you are referring to is likely calcisand and causes impactions.

You asked..."what r the symptons of swalowing a rock if any and what can i do about it?"...if the rocks cause an impaction your chameleon eventually won't eat and won't poop and will suffer and die. Surgery might work...but then it might not either.

 

[Stuey!]

hmmm, ok, well he is still eating and is still pooping so he is fine i guess, is acting better than he was ty guys, the calciuk stuff is ground up shells i thinks...lemme go check. oooo....this is not good, doesnt say its good for chams or bad, but it sais its 100% digestible, so.... o wait it says its calcisand, well person at pet shop sugested it...any1 else have an opinion on this? plz im worried agian, its a glass aquarium with screen top should i use nothing? or just paper towel, or the "calcium stuff"

 

[Scrappy]

Obviously you did not do you homework before you invested in a cham. Chams are NOT desert creatures and you should NOT have sand OR ANY OTHER SUBSTRATE in the enclosure besides paper towels or newspaper. You also need to get him out of that aquarium and get him in an ALL SCREEN cage. Most, if not all of the dumb A$$es at petstores don't know their butt from a whole in the ground and will tell you anything to make a sale!

I don't mean to sound nasty, but the people on this message board are very knowledgable about chams and if you aren't going to take the good advice that is being offered to you than you can expect your cham to die.

 

[Jordan]

Some veileds do come form deserts. If this where and open air cage I would not worry about the substrate. With it being enclosed it could be a problem.

 

[Beth]

Most, if not all of the dumb A$$es at petstores don't know their butt from a whole in the ground and will tell you anything to make a sale!

I'm just curious as to your comment about pet store people because I happen to be one of the "dumb A$$es" at the pet store that you are talking about. I happen to inform customers of the requirements to keep a chameleon and of the advice that they can get on this forum. Making a sale is not my goal. A good informed home for the animals is my goal. I have stopped several people from purchasing the chameleons in our store just because they thought they would be cool by explaining about all of the additional concerns involved, like the screen enclosure, lights, humidity, uvb, etc. I just wanted to state my opinion about your comment.
Personally I think that the person buying the animals has a responsibility to see what is involved by researching the animal before buying and not blaming the pet store employees. If you've researched then you would know whether or not the employee knows what they are talking about and whether to take their advice.

 

[Stuey!]

OBVIOUSLY u guys r NOT reading my posts, he has a 5.0 UVB light, u told me that is fine, B, u HAVE TO REMEBER I AM JUST TWELVE! i care about my cham very much and am trying my best! i am looking for a strait forward answer that is agreed with by u guys, no substrate or not, 5.0 UVB s ok or not, answer these questions, his temp. is fine i am working on getting a screen cage, vieled chams are from THE DESERTS IN AFRICA! i feed him young crickets gut loaded with potatos and letuce. i clean his cage,i SKIP SCHOOL TO TAKE CARE OF HIM! he is not dehydrate. i just want some strait answers PLZ