Many Problems With my New Veiled Chameleon

[Hxec]

I bought my veiled chameleon from a 'mom-and-pop" pet store on a little bit of an impulse. But don't let that alert you, I've owned many reptiles and this is my second veiled. I'm not an expert, that's why I'm here on this forum, but I'm not a novice by any means.

Enclosure Specs
-18x18x36 (all mesh).
-100w heat light.
-reptisun 100b UVB. (I have recently turned this off since i learned that could be the reason hes inactive, with no success yet.)
-I keep his basking spot in the 85-90 range and humidity at around 65-70 but no lower than 50.
-no night lights because hes in a screen cage and my house is around 70-75 at night.
-I like to mist 2-3 times a day, but sometimes more if the humidity is down.
-Currently i have a humidifier running 24/7
-He has two fake leave branches, a large sandblasted stick, and a large vine. ( I've bought a live ficus and some more decor for him but they haven't arrived from LLLreptile yet because of a shipping delay.)
-No substrate, just newspaper for the bottom.

Chameleon Info
-Roughly a month old as of 10-14-17 (that's what the people who i bought him from said at least).
-He is a Veiled with good colors when sleeping and when he isn't stressed.


Feeding
-Store said that he came in a pair and the other didn't survive but said that steve ate like a champ. He was eating when i first brought him home, and he even ate a cricket of my hand.
-Calcium with D3 coated every other time along with a multi-vitamin. (Has only eaten about 12 Crickets in the week that I've had him).

That's all that i can think to put for info. If there is anything else i need to include please let me know and i will provide it to you.

Main Problems and Concerns

• Steve has stopped eating for about two days.
• He is Inactive during the day, usually just hangs around his heat lamp with his eyes closed. (I read on here that this could be due to my UVB so I turned that off yesterday but it hasn't seemed to help any.)
• I've heard him cough/wheeze a couple of times but only like 3-4 times since I've had him.
• I don't think he is hydrated. Reason being, i was testing out his dripper that i don't currently use because i don't have live plants yet and his humidity is fine currently, he ran to the drops and opened his mouth. So I stood there and let him drink for as long as he wanted. which was a lot of water.
• keeps his left eye shut a lot of the time and puffs it out.

What I Have Done so Far

• He has been hand-fed some baby food with calcium in it and i also fed him pedialyte mixed 50/50 with water. he ate about a dropper worth of both. (This was earlier today, and my plan is to continue until he either starts eating again, i take him to the vet, or i get some answers on here.)
• I turned the UVB that could possibly be the cause of his "laziness".
• I also tried the dripper to see if he wanted water again but had no success.
• I've tried holding crickets in front of him, but he doesn't seem interested.

Any kind of thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. I’m sorry to hear about Steve. I have been keeping veileds for quite awhile. That’s sounds like an awful lot of lights for a baby. I don’t even use 100 watts on my adults. Where do you live? It is warm enough to get him some outside time? How big are the feeders? I recommend large pinheads and fruit flies. Stop the D3. and it should only be a very light sprinkle no more than twice a month.

This is how I recommend keeping young veileds. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/

 

[Hxec]

Welcome to the forums. I’m sorry to hear about Steve. I have been keeping veileds for quite awhile. That’s sounds like an awful lot of lights for a baby. I don’t even use 100 watts on my adults. Where do you live? It is warm enough to get him some outside time? How big are the feeders? I recommend large pinheads and fruit flies. Stop the D3. and it should only be a very light sprinkle no more than twice a month.

This is how I recommend keeping young veileds. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/

The basking spot only gets to aroun 87 at the most with an 100w bulb. My house is usually 70-75. I didn't think one heat light was a lot. Are you recommending a lower wattage like 60? recently its been raining and winding in Nebraska, but id like to get him out once it heats up in the summer since its like 50-80 percent humidity in the summer here.

 

[jannb]

The basking spot only gets to aroun 87 at the most with an 100w bulb. My house is usually 70-75. I didn't think one heat light was a lot. Are you recommending a lower wattage like 60? recently its been raining and winding in Nebraska, but id like to get him out once it heats up in the summer since its like 50-80 percent humidity in the summer here.

You might want to read the blog I linked above. I keep little babies right about 80-82. They are small and overheat quickly.

 

[Fireborn]

Uvb is very important for chameleons. Please don't turn it off.

 

[kinyonga]

If he was having eye issues it might be advised to turn the UVB off for a day or two...but it should have nothing to do with lethargy if the eyes are fine.

 

[Hxec]

I bought my veiled chameleon from a 'mom-and-pop" pet store on a little bit of an impulse. But don't let that alert you, I've owned many reptiles and this is my second veiled. I'm not an expert, that's why I'm here on this forum, but I'm not a novice by any means.

Enclosure Specs
-18x18x36 (all mesh).
-60w house light.
-reptisun 100b UVB. (I have recently turned this off since i learned that could be the reason hes inactive, with no success yet.)
-I keep his basking spot in the 85-90 range and humidity at around 65-70 but no lower than 50.
-No night lights because hes in a screen cage and my house is around 70-75 at night.
-I like to mist 2-3 times a day, but sometimes more if the humidity is down.
-Currently i have a humidifier running 24/7
-He has two fake leave branches, a large sandblasted stick, and a large vine. ( I've bought a live ficus and some more decor for him but they haven't arrived from LLLreptile yet because of a shipping delay.)
-No substrate, just newspaper for the bottom.

Chameleon Info
-I'm not sure how old he is but he's about 5-7 inches with his tail out. So maybe 4-5 month old.
-He is a Veiled with a good green color when sleeping and when he isn't stressed. So far, no other colors besides green and the occasional brown/black.


Feeding
-Store said that he came in a pair and the other didn't survive but said that steve ate like a champ. He was eating when i first brought him home, and he even ate a cricket of my hand.
-Calcium with D3 coated every other time along with a multi-vitamin. (Has only eaten about 12 Crickets in the week that I've had him).

That's all that i can think to put for info. If there is anything else i need to include please let me know and i will provide it to you.

Main Problems and Concerns

• Steve has stopped eating for about three days.
• He is Inactive during the day, usually just hangs around his heat lamp with his eyes closed. (I read on here that this could be due to my UVB so I turned that off two days ago but it hasn't seemed to help any.)
• I've heard him cough/wheeze a couple of times but only like 3-4 times since I've had him.
• I don't think he is hydrated. Reason being, i was testing out his dripper that i don't currently use because i don't have live plants yet and his humidity is fine currently, he ran to the drops and opened his mouth. So I stood there and let him drink for as long as he wanted. which was a lot of water. I have tried doing that again but he hasn't wanted any.
• keeps one or both eyes closed for a lot if the day. Not very interested in moving around or eating.

What I Have Done so Far

• He has been hand-fed some baby food with calcium in it and i also fed him pedialyte mixed 50/50 with water. he ate about a dropper worth of both. (This was yesterday, and my plan is to continue until he either starts eating again, i take him to the vet, or i get some answers on here.)
• I turned the UVB that could possibly be the cause of his eye problems.
• I also tried the dripper to see if he wanted water again but had no success.
• I've tried holding crickets in front of him, but he doesn't seem interested.

Any kind of thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[kinyonga]

Youn said in the other thread...

• Hasn't eaten in about 4 days
• Sleeps throughout the day and isn't active
• I haven't seen him drink either

I don't know who told you the UVB could be making him lethargic but I doubt it would unless it was bothering his eyes and then shutting it off might tell you that it was bothering his eyes if he perked up aandopened his eyes when it was off.

I see you don't have a dripper...it might help. All you need is a deli cup...punch a tiny hole in it so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second.

You may have no choice but to go to the vet...they can go fast.

 

[CharlieCharmingo]

Though a long trip I would do the vet drive friend. It will be worth it in the long wrong.

 

[Hxec]

Though a long trip I would do the vet drive friend. It will be worth it in the long wrong.

well he looks healthy besides that he doesnt eat really, and today i noticed some white spots so im wondering if all these "problems" are due to shedding. so im now waiting for that.

 

[CharlieCharmingo]

well he looks healthy besides that he doesnt eat really, and today i noticed some white spots so im wondering if all these "problems" are due to shedding. so im now waiting for that.

But you also said he's inactive and sleeps during the day. Also do you mean sometimes he hisses or do you actually mean like a wheezing sound because often times that's a respitory issue. For the dripper you can drip the water on a fake plant and then let the excess catch into a cup or bucket or something. You want him to be able to get as much water whenever he wants because like if he's thirsty and you're not home? Their water intake varies greatly. At least in my experience my chameleon switches his most water intake almost weekly. Some days his big drink is bright and early, some days it's after the lights have been on a couple of hours, or right before sun set. You can never tell with these dudes so it's better to keep a dripper going all day in case of want of drink between mists.

I'm not trying to come off rude or anything. And I hope it's just a weird shed going on and nothing serious. It's just best to consider all aspects of the situation for these guys.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm concerned that he's sleeping during the day. Shedding should not cause that to happen...usually it's sickness that causes that or low temperature.... But you said the basking temperature is 87F so it's not that.