My chameleon vomited!!!!

[Freedom1]

I have a year old female veiled chameleon. Last night she threw up and i found undigested crickets in it and dirt. I don't know how she got to her dirt as I have flat rocks all over the top of my plant at the bottom of her cage. Just wondering what I should do to prevent her throwing up again. I did switch to large crickets recently. Maybe she's not ready for them? I have a 60 watt daylight blue bulb and a 5.0 UVB bulb. This morning she seems fine and seems really hungry. How much should I feed her considering she threw up?

 

[Angelwolf]

Personally, I would go back to the size of crickets that you know she can handle. Also, it's not good to feed a female cham every day. You should fill out the "help form" and also send a message to @jannb. She had invaluable knowledge regarding female chams.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Freedom1]

Thank you. Since she is a year old and seem

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - She is a year old female veiled chameleon
• Handling - I handle her about 30 minutes a day
• Feeding - I feed her about 10 medium crickets a day with the occasional Hornworm. I just recently switched to large crickets due to her size and age. Every now and then i will get Dubia roaches and feed her those instead. I gut load them with sweet potato's and cricket water(yellow liquid chunks). I also have a cup in her cage which i will sometimes put her food in. She will go over and pluck them right out of the cup. Of course I clean it about three times a week but I do this to prevent any sort of cricket bite.
• Supplements - About twice a month I dust her crickets with repitivite mulitvitamins. Every other week I dust them with D3.
• Watering - I spray her cage for a good 3 minutes at least 5 times a day. I also spray the top of her netted cage so it will drip down throughout the day. I see her drink often off of her plants leaves.
• Fecal Description - She poops about once or twice a week.
• History - I did get her from Pet Smart which I understand isn't the best place at taking care of chameleons. They told me she was a boy but after researching I found out that she's a girl. She has laid eggs twice now. The first time 44 eggs and the second time 52 eggs.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - It is a screen cage sitting on a small but sturdy table. It's dimensions are 30'' by 16''. Since the cage is sitting on top of table she is 50'' off the ground.
• Lighting - I am using a 60 watt day light and a 5.0 UVB. Her light fixture is from the brand Zoo Med. I switch out the bulbs every couple of months. I will wake her up at around 8 a.m. and putting her to sleep around 8 p.m giving her a full 12 hours of sleep.
• Temperature - The basking spot of her cage is around 80 F. And the bottom of her cage is around 75 F. It can get as low as 40 -50 F overnight. I use a hanging thermometer on the side of her cage. it recently broke so I going to buy a new one ASAP.
• Humidity - Her humidity during the day can be anywhere from 50% to 60%. During the night it doesn't go below 40% and right before bed her humidity is around 70-80%. I don't really know the brand of the humidity checker but it is small and circular and sits about halfway from the top to the bottom of the cage. I also wrap a light sheet around the cage so there's still ventilation but it will help keep in humidity.
• Plants - Most of the plants are plastic but I have one Croton plant which I have flat rocks over so she doesn't eat the dirt.
• Placement - Her cage is located in the warmest room of the house. She is placed right next to a vent so I make sure it's never too cold air blowing out. Most of the time that vent is closed if It is hot outside and I want the house to be cool.
• Location - I am located in Northern Virginia so the weather is always weird.

Current Problem - Last night she started violently swaying and lifted her head into the air like she was trying to hang onto the top of the cage. Then she puked up what looks like dirt and undigested crickets. She just stayed in her cage with her head up and her eyes closed for the next 20 minutes. I thought it was and could be RI but today she seems fine except for the fact the whenever I open the cage she runs toward me and seems really hungry. She hasn't lifted her head up toward the ceiling since yesterday and hasn't been gasping for air so maybe she just needs help digesting. I have feed her today and just wondering since she threw up what to give her.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[salty dog]

Never have seen a cham vomit, please fill out the help form!!

 

[Angelwolf]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - She is a year old female veiled chameleon
• Handling - I handle her about 30 minutes a day
• Feeding - I feed her about 10 medium crickets a day with the occasional Hornworm. I just recently switched to large crickets due to her size and age. Every now and then i will get Dubia roaches and feed her those instead. I gut load them with sweet potato's and cricket water(yellow liquid chunks). I also have a cup in her cage which i will sometimes put her food in. She will go over and pluck them right out of the cup. Of course I clean it about three times a week but I do this to prevent any sort of cricket bite. Do you clean the cup or the cage? Just a little confused. 10 crickets every day is way too many for a female. My 2 year old female veiled gets 5 or 6 large crickets every 3 days. The more you feed, and the warmer you keep her--the larger and harder her clutches will become, as you have already seen.
• Supplements - About twice a month I dust her crickets with repitivite mulitvitamins. Every other week I dust them with D3.
• Watering - I spray her cage for a good 3 minutes at least 5 times a day. I also spray the top of her netted cage so it will drip down throughout the day. I see her drink often off of her plants leaves. 5 times a day can be a little much, but that depends on your environment. Remember, veileds live in an area that is quite dry. Just beware of mold and fungal growth. Both of these can contribute to URIs.
• Fecal Description - She poops about once or twice a week. We are looking for color and consistency. Believe it or not, we would love to see a pic of your cham's ! LOL!
• History - I did get her from Pet Smart which I understand isn't the best place at taking care of chameleons. They told me she was a boy but after researching I found out that she's a girl. She has laid eggs twice now. The first time 44 eggs and the second time 52 eggs. Again, the more you feed and the warmer she is kept will contribute to such large and frequent clutches. Twice in her first year is too frequent, and 44 and 52 eggs are really too many. Every clutch takes a toll on their body which can actually kill them.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - It is a screen cage sitting on a small but sturdy table. It's dimensions are 30'' by 16''. Since the cage is sitting on top of table she is 50'' off the ground.
• Lighting - I am using a 60 watt day light and a 5.0 UVB. Her light fixture is from the brand Zoo Med. I switch out the bulbs every couple of months. I will wake her up at around 8 a.m. and putting her to sleep around 8 p.m giving her a full 12 hours of sleep.
• Temperature - The basking spot of her cage is around 80 F. And the bottom of her cage is around 75 F. It can get as low as 40 -50 F overnight. I use a hanging thermometer on the side of her cage. it recently broke so I going to buy a new one ASAP. Definitely get that replaced as soon as possible. Especially with the weird weather.
• Humidity - Her humidity during the day can be anywhere from 50% to 60%. During the night it doesn't go below 40% and right before bed her humidity is around 70-80%. I don't really know the brand of the humidity checker hygrometer but it is small and circular and sits about halfway from the top to the bottom of the cage. I also wrap a light sheet around the cage so there's still ventilation but it will help keep in humidity. Unless it's plastic, it's not keeping anything in.
• Plants - Most of the plants are plastic but I have one Croton plant which I have flat rocks over so she doesn't eat the dirt. Live plants are the way to go for veileds. They will eat leaves for moisture and nutrition. I have live golden pothos in my tanks. They are viney, grow very fast, and safe to eat. They also LOVE water so they will help with excess water draining.
• Placement - Her cage is located in the warmest room of the house. She is placed right next to a vent this can be dangerous. Any kind of draft can be very bad. Consider another location away from windows, doors, and vents, if possible. so I make sure it's never too cold air blowing out. Most of the time that vent is closed if It is hot outside and I want the house to be cool.
• Location - I am located in Northern Virginia so the weather is always weird.

Current Problem - Last night she started violently swaying and lifted her head into the air like she was trying to hang onto the top of the cage. Then she puked up what looks like dirt and undigested crickets. She just stayed in her cage with her head up and her eyes closed for the next 20 minutes. I suspect she may have just bitten off more than she could handle. She may have not swallowed the first cricket before trying to down another. Staying in the cage with her head up is an appropriate response to what she just experienced. I thought it was and could be RI but today she seems fine except for the fact the whenever I open the cage she runs toward me and seems really hungry. She hasn't lifted her head up toward the ceiling since yesterday and hasn't been gasping for air so maybe she just needs help digesting. I have feed her today and just wondering since she threw up what to give her. I would reduce the amount of crickets and how often you feed. Get rid of the cup, because she has more of a chance of sticking too many bugs at once and choking, which is what I believe is what happened. Also, she could injur her tongue on the container. It's better to release them in the bottom of the cage and let her hunt. At 1 year old, she should be more than capable of handling large crickets. But again, too much food contributes to too many eggs and the possibility of egg binding, which is fatal 100% of the time, unless she's rushed into emergency surgery, which most handlers are neither physically or financially prepared to do. I hope my advice helps, and good luck! We would love to see some pictures of her!

 

[Freedom1]

Thank you for all the help and I will work to reduce the amount I feed her! She just turned a year old so that's why I been feeding her so much because my vet said to feed her as much as she wants until she is 1 year old.

 

[Angelwolf]

Yeah, it's definitely time to slow her down. And like I said, a very good source of information here on the forums is @jannb .

 

[AnamCara]

Could we see photos of chameleon and cage? There are a few other things I'd like to ask;

Do you ever dust with calcium powder, without D3?

Supplements should be EITHER: calcium no d3 every feeding. Every other week 1 feeding with calcium d3, and every other week 1 feeding with a multivitamin, alternating each week.

or

Repashy calcium plus LoD every staple feeding.


Your light, is it in a small dome or is it linear across the enclosure?

 

[AnamCara]

When was her last clutch of eggs?

 

[Angelwolf]

Repashy LoD is what I use. I love it!

 

[Mawtyplant]

Thank you for all the help and I will work to reduce the amount I feed her! She just turned a year old so that's why I been feeding her so much because my vet said to feed her as much as she wants until she is 1 year old.

vomiting can also be symptoms of parasitic infection, consider having fécal test done better be safe than sorry!

 

[Reptofreak]

I have never seen a Cham vomit, however I have had a bearded dragon do it when he was fed to late in the day. The next morning after being fed late he threw everything up and wasn’t interested in eating for a day or so, then went back to normal.

 

[Freedom1]

When was her last clutch of eggs?

Her last clutch of eggs was a few months ago in October, two days before Halloween.

 

[Freedom1]

Could we see photos of chameleon and cage? There are a few other things I'd like to ask;

Do you ever dust with calcium powder, without D3?

Supplements should be EITHER: calcium no d3 every feeding. Every other week 1 feeding with calcium d3, and every other week 1 feeding with a multivitamin, alternating each week.

or

Repashy calcium plus LoD every staple feeding.


Your light, is it in a small dome or is it linear across the enclosure?

I used to dust every feeding with calcium no D3 but now I just alternate with calcium D3 and repitivtes mulitivitamins. I am working on getting the photos, it is complicated to download pictures onto my computer. My light is in a small dome right above her basking spot.

 

[Angelwolf]

A long florescent type of bulb is better. That gives you a broader area of coverage.

 

[Freedom1]

A long florescent type of bulb is better. That gives you a broader area of coverage.

Okay I'll work on getting her a better light. Right now though she is really thirsty so i gave her some water and she still wants more! This is the same thing that happened last night. Last night she kept on drinking and drinking water, and kept trying to shoot her tongue out at the spray bottle. Then right after she drank a lot and didn't want any more she puked! Now she wants more water again!

 

[Angelwolf]

Give her the water, but do it slowly. Like dripping from the nozzle. Let her drink for as long as she needs to. It sounds like she could be dehydrated.

 

[Freedom1]

Give her the water, but do it slowly. Like dripping from the nozzle. Let her drink for as long as she needs to. It sounds like she could be dehydrated.

will do, i just don't want her to vomit again

 

[Angelwolf]

She's not likely to do so. Also, all feedings should happen in the AM. This late in the day is absolutely a no-no. They need time to bask and digest their meals, which means you should always feed early in the day!