New Baby Veiled - possible UPI or LRI?

ShadowChaos

New Member
Hello,
I have a recently adopted Chameleon, he (not sure of gender, I need to check) seem to ok the first few days, eating and drinking, basking and what not, not I am worried about him developing a possible LRI or UPI. I have been reading up a bit on this site and other but since I am new to chameleons, I thought I would ask.

  • sunken Eyes
  • loss of appetite
  • slow
  • no longer cares about touch or movement (was pretty nervous about it)
  • gaping mouth almost constantly, moves head from side to side with mouth widely open
  • head up, closed eyes open mouth
  • a bit of saliva on moth (I am not sure what a normal amount is yet)

Thank you for any help.

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Veiled, baby, about 1 week in my care so far
Handling - Almost never, he surprising liked to sit on my fingre whilest I was cleaning out his cage.
Feeding - Dubia, crickets, baby super/meal worms. Has only eaten crickets so far.
Supplements - Calcium, reptile vitamin.
Watering - I mist the cage about 3 times a day, morning afternoon, night, using a spray bottle, cleam water.
Fecal Description - looks regular, small, white/brown
History - From petco.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Large open top hexagonal cage.
Lighting - Repti-glo 5.0 UVB, Heat lamp is a "day bulb" I cant remember the brand, I will check when I get home, I think it is a zoo med day, 75 wat. Also a night heat, low wat bulb.
Temperature - 75-80 during the day, about 60-65+ at night. In the middle of the cage, hotter near the top.
Humidity - 2 humidity gauges, one digital one is regular. It drops to about 50% when I don't mist, and I mist the cage until it is about 80% or so.
Plants - No live plants, has plenty of fake plants (for reptiles ) and a big vine through out the cage from top to bottom.
Placement - Low traffic room, on top of a desk, quiet most of the day.
Location - Washington State, pacific north west.

(sorry my first post has to be a medical help, I would like to make and intro post later too though)
 
Please post a photo.

You can tell the sex of a veiled chameleon by looking at the heels. If it's male it has a tarsal spur (little bump of skin on break back of the heel)...females don't have it.

From the description you need to act quickly. Are the eyes open or shut?
 
Get rid of the night heat lamp, he shouldn't need any heat at night unless you temps drop below 65 degrees and if they do you should use a Ceramic Heat Emitter instead. What is your supplement schedule like, and what kinds of calcium do you have? How long do you mist for? It should be for about 2 minutes every time.
 
HI, Thanks both for the responses. yes, I had made an appointment for the chameleon but he passed right before :(
I felt a bit better (still sad,..) after learning that the other babies in that batch from Petco also had sick symptoms and passed, so it might not have been my lack of care.

I took care of him as best I could, do you guys think there was anything I did wrong or could do better?
I will remove the night heat lamp.
With my new one I plan care for it as follows:
Water: Mist with warm water 2-3 times daily until leaves are dripping.
Food: 10 crickets/bugs a day. (gut loaded with veggies of course) Some appropriate leafy greens when older.
Vitamins:
calcium without D3: at every feeding
calcium with D3: twice a month
multi vitamin: twice a month
Heat: ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 85F (29C)

Same lighting setup and cage setup at before. I cleaned the plants and vines with hot water and a small amount of bleach, rinsed thoroughly.
 
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