New Baby Blues

[Scoops81]

So we just brought her (Rango) home today. She was a bright green bundle of joy, eager to get into her cage and readily ate and drank. But now she’s turquoise/ navy and I don’t know how to help her. Any suggestions? Hard to believe it’s the same baby-

 

[Pearl Fields]

that happened to mine for 5 min once... hes fine. i think its totally normal.

 

[Scoops81]

that happened to mine for 5 min once... hes fine. i think its totally normal.

That’s comforting. I’ve been worried all evening. Thank you-

 

[Jocccellynnn]

My girl does this a lot too, usually when she moves from different areas to her cage or if I mist her cage.

 

[Rhea’s mum]

Completely normal when they first move. Leave her be and let her settle in.
just a suggestion might be worth getting your husbandry reviewed. Just so that any changes can be made sooner rather than later and don’t cause harm in the long run.
copy and paste the form on this link
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
And then fill it out.

 

[AmandaS]

Her colors look normal, though I do agree about getting your husbandry checked to make sure everything is dialed in perfectly.
Also check out https://chameleonacademy.com/ if you're new to the world of chameleons.

 

[Scoops81]

Thank you for the feedback. I placed her higher than us. She has fake plants ? and a good gradient. My goal is to get some real ficus for her this week.
appreciate it!

 

[AmandaS]

Thank you for the feedback. I placed her higher than us. She has fake plants ? and a good gradient. My goal is to get some real ficus for her this week.
appreciate it!

What UV lights are you using, and what is your supplement schedule like?
It's your choice if you do not want a husbandry check, but feel free to use this site's search bar function and the care sheet for veileds. ? She is quite the cutie. And I love her little piebald feet.

 

[Scoops81]

What UV lights are you using, and what is your supplement schedule like?
It's your choice if you do not want a husbandry check, but feel free to use this site's search bar function and the care sheet for veileds. ? She is quite the cutie. And I love her little piebald feet.

I’m going to fill out the sheet. I only bought her yesterday evening so now just getting up and going for the day. I have the gut loading cricket food and a cricket house, I have a filtered water system, calcium three times weekly while she’s a baby. Her lights are on 7-7 (so far). We are a new chameleon family so definitely going to go everything. We opted for higher uv since we’re close to the beach and coldy.
i mist 4 times per day. I leave a heater on in her room.

 

[AmandaS]

I’m going to fill out the sheet. I only bought her yesterday evening so now just getting up and going for the day. I have the gut loading cricket food and a cricket house, I have a filtered water system, calcium three times weekly while she’s a baby. Her lights are on 7-7 (so far). We are a new chameleon family so definitely going to go everything. We opted for higher uv since we’re close to the beach and coldy.
i mist 4 times per day. I leave a heater on in her room.

You've done an awesome job to start. The cool thing about the chameleon hobby is that you'll always be changing things as you learn more.
I would suggest you upgrade your uv lights to T5HO 5.0 bulb and fixture. The ones your using are not recommended for chameleons (even though pet shops like to say they are). I'll attach a link.
Your calcium should be no D3, used at every feeding besides 2 a month.
You'll want a multivitamin like reptivite with D3 to use 2 times a month. I like to use mine on the 1st and 15th.
The cricket gutload should be mostly leafy greens, veggies, and small amounts of fruit...I'll find and attach the graphics for that too.

I love the amount of branches you have provided, and that you'll be getting a ficus to put in. Veileds are notorious for nibbling on their plants, so plastic leaves pose a risk of impaction. I would remove the green carpet and just leave it bare bottom. The carpet breeds bacteria and gets yucky. You're off to a great start! It's looking good.

 

[AmandaS]

Here is the link for the lighting you will want.
https://www.amazon.com/Reptisun-260...ixture+24&qid=1605456497&sprefix=t5ho+&sr=8-1

 

[AmandaS]

Also, make sure your heat bulb for basking is far enough away from your chameleon that it does not burn her. I like to lift mine off the enclosure a few inches so my chameleons can't get close to it.
It is recommended that females heat is no higher than 80°f at the hottest point, and their night temps can drop as low as 50 and your baby will be fine.

 

[Scoops81]

You've done an awesome job to start. The cool thing about the chameleon hobby is that you'll always be changing things as you learn more.
I would suggest you upgrade your uv lights to T5HO 5.0 bulb and fixture. The ones your using are not recommended for chameleons (even though pet shops like to say they are). I'll attach a link.
Your calcium should be no D3, used at every feeding besides 2 a month.
You'll want a multivitamin like reptivite with D3 to use 2 times a month. I like to use mine on the 1st and 15th.
The cricket gutload should be mostly leafy greens, veggies, and small amounts of fruit...I'll find and attach the graphics for that too.

I love the amount of branches you have provided, and that you'll be getting a ficus to put in. Veileds are notorious for nibbling on their plants, so plastic leaves pose a risk of impaction. I would remove the green carpet and just leave it bare bottom. The carpet breeds bacteria and gets yucky. You're off to a great start! It's looking good.

Well then consider that carpet gone!!
thanks for those tips. I’ll have to go get the bulb. We do have reptivite and so I’ll up the powdered donut (cricket) to every feeding. On the 1st and 15th I’ll use the reptivite instead.
thanks!!

 

[Scoops81]

Also, make sure your heat bulb for basking is far enough away from your chameleon that it does not burn her. I like to lift mine off the enclosure a few inches so my chameleons can't get close to it.
It is recommended that females heat is no higher than 80°f at the hottest point, and their night temps can drop as low as 50 and your baby will be fine.

Thank you- her temp is 78 at the top of her cage and the bottom hovers around 70. I’ll lift that light. Didn’t even consider a burn.

 

[AmandaS]

Well then consider that carpet gone!!
thanks for those tips. I’ll have to go get the bulb. We do have reptivite and so I’ll up the powdered donut (cricket) to every feeding. On the 1st and 15th I’ll use the reptivite instead.
thanks!!

No problem!! Any questions you have or when you get that form filled out, we are all happy to help here! It's all about spreading the knowledge you acquire! Good luck with that little cutie!

 

[Beman]

Hi there welcome to the forum. I would take that 100 watt focused basking bulb back to the store. Get a regular incandescent household bulb. Nothing stronger then a 60 watt for her.

The focused heat bulbs are not safe for close distances we see thermal burns happen quite frequently with these.

 

[Scoops81]

Hi there welcome to the forum. I would take that 100 watt focused basking bulb back to the store. Get a regular incandescent household bulb. Nothing stronger then a 60 watt for her.

The focused heat bulbs are not safe for close distances we see thermal burns happen quite frequently with these.

I have a 60-
They told me to get the 100 because it’s cold in my house. Is that not accurate? I’ll swap it out now if it isn’t safe.

 

[Beman]

I have a 60-
They told me to get the 100 because it’s cold in my house. Is that not accurate? I’ll swap it out now if it isn’t safe.

When you say it is cold in your house what temp are you keeping it?

I honestly have seen too many horrible burns here from bulbs like that. They do a focused beam of heat rather then heating an area. At farther distances they are not so bad but for chameleons they become very dangerous. baby will climb the top screen and if she does that and gets under that bulb she will burn.

Your going to find that almost all the information they gave you was bs. This would be a good resource for you to start reading through to learn accurate husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[Scoops81]

Thank you- her temp is 78 at the top of her cage and the bottom hovers around 70. I’ll lift that light. Didn’t even consider a burn.

Someone feels more at ease today. Just waiting for my husband to hang a hook for her light and should be good to go.

 

[Scoops81]

When you say it is cold in your house what temp are you keeping it?

I honestly have seen too many horrible burns here from bulbs like that. They do a focused beam of heat rather then heating an area. At farther distances they are not so bad but for chameleons they become very dangerous. baby will climb the top screen and if she does that and gets under that bulb she will burn.

Your going to find that almost all the information they gave you was bs. This would be a good resource for you to start reading through to learn accurate husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

It’s around 60 right now. Not that we keep it that cold, but our heater currently isn’t working. So I turned a portable on and am doing extra misting to compensate.