just want to better his health

[Jscott0731]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, aproxamatly 6-7 months. in my care for around 4 months

Handling - 1-2 times per day, more if im cleaning.
Feeding - Crickets, dubia,wax worms, butter worms, phoenix worms/BSF. as much as he will eat in 5 mins 2x/day. oranges, apple, greens, dry mix of bran flakes, vit powder, and bread crumbs

Supplements - Rep-Cal calcium + D3 2 times a week Rep-Cal Herptivite 1 time a week

Watering - hand spray+auto dripper. To be honest sporadicly throughout the day useually 7-8times a day for about 1.5 mins.Yes i see him drink

Fecal Description -brown and white no orange, firm. No I need to find a good vet close to me

History -none to note

Cage Info:
Cage Type -"oakley" display case (like clint eastwoods) plexy sides and back open front(screened when i leave)

Lighting - its a zilla reptile uvb 150 coil bulb and a 100wat heat bulb, same schedule as out doors in my area

Temperature - 71f -82f ambient hot spot 86-91. Lowest ever overnight temp i seen was 69. zoo med digital thermometer

Humidity - unknown humidity levels, need a hydrometer. misting throughout the day. nothing atm

Plants -Live: pothos, shefflera, echeveria, and dracaena

Placement -bed room 1 fan in the room not near the cage its about 5'11''

Location - Kansas City Kansas USA

Current Problem - no problems just want to be sure i provide the best health for him that is achievable

 

[Psychobunny]

You may want to check your lighting and temps, 100W sounds like too much, I get high 80's F with only a 60W bulb at 10'' when using a reflective dome fixture.
How far from the bulb is the basking spot?
How are you measuring your temps?

 

[Jscott0731]

You may want to check your lighting and temps, 100W sounds like too much, I get high 80's F with only a 60W bulb at 10'' when using a reflective dome fixture.
How far from the bulb is the basking spot?
How are you measuring your temps?

about a foot and with a zoomed digital probe thermo...do you recomend changing the bulb to something w/ lower wattage? Do you think my temps are to hot for him?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Kate]

Your supplements are a bit off.
Plain calcium daily. Reptical with d3 TWICE A MONTH. Herbivite as long as it doesn't contain d3 TWICE A MONTH.

 

[Jscott0731]

Your supplements are a bit off.
Plain calcium daily. Reptical with d3 TWICE A MONTH. Herbivite as long as it doesn't contain d3 TWICE A MONTH.

ok thank you I will change his supplement schedual. Any thing else that might be a little off?

 

[Psychobunny]

about a foot and with a zoomed digital probe thermo...do you recomend changing the bulb to something w/ lower wattage? Do you think my temps are to hot for him?
Thanks in advance!

It depends on your room temp, but for me, 100w bulb would be way too hot.

What I do is take the temp probe, tie it to the basking spot, and raise it up off
the basking branch so it's about level with the cham's spine (about 2'').
I learned the hard way that they can get a surface burn before reaching their
desired internal temp.

Monitor the temp reading over a few hours, it can fluctuate depending on time
of day and your room temps.

 

[symphonica]

As already mentioned, plain calcium with no D3 and phosphorus should be given on a daily basis to avoid the degenerative Metabolic Bone Disease, especially with crickets and dubia. These feeders are high in phosphorus, which interferes with calcium absorption. On the other hand, too much D3 can also make them very ill, giving them what mirrors symptoms of MBD. Twice a month of D3 is plenty.

In terms of basking, 60-75w should be plenty. You want it about 2" off the top of the cage, and for the basking temp to be around 85-87. Ambient should be around 75. Then, it should drop about 10 degrees at night. They need that temp drop to be able to really achieve deep sleep.

Did you have a hydrometer in the past, within the 4 months you've had him? Make sure your cage is drying out completely in between mistings, and that it's dropping to 30-40% before you mist again. They need that rise and fall of humidity. And don't mist at least an hour before lights go out and make sure cage is completely dry before bed time.

Also, what you have for UVB lighting is fine, but if you really want your cham to thrive, consider more powerful lighting. T8 tubes are more efficient that coiled bulbs, as it targets a wider area. T5HO is the most efficient and powerful. ReptiSun has been shown to emit more UVB than ReptiGlo. Arcadia bulbs are top of the line. My chams have become much more active ever since I switched to Arcadia 6% T5HO bulbs.