New baby Veiled should I be worried

Loki2013

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male baby veiled cham. had him almost 2 weeks
Handling - only twice
Feeding - fruit flies, pinhead crickets(4-5) gutloaded with Nature zone cricket total bites.. he only eats the crickets if i mix the fruit flies in the dish with them
Supplements - dusted twice since owning with exo terra calcium + d3 powder
Watering - drip system with two drips one on each side of tank. misting tank 3 times a day with spray bottle. yes I see him drink throughout the day
Fecal Description -he does his business daily. sometimes his urates look a bit yellowish
History - hes about 1 month old I bought him at a reptile expo almost two weeks ago from lllreptile.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 16 x 15 x 20 inch Aluminum screen cage
Lighting - 60 Watt Daylight Blue bulb for heating 13w uvb 150 10.0
Temperature - 90 at highest basking point 75 lowest part of cage
Humidity - Hygrometer shows humidity at 60 %. mist 3 times with spray bottle also use a fogger for 15 minutes twice a day
Plants - plastic plants and silk plants and a bend a branch no substrates!
Placement - on a stand in a low traffic area no fans or vents are near his cage
Location - Tucson Az
Current Problem - sleeping during the day even while basking. he is going through a shed but he is a very pale green all over even where he has successfully shed. urates a yellowish color not orange! he is eating although hes not very enthusiastic about eating as when he first came home.I am seeing him drinking throughout the day directly from his drip. Should i be concerned.
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I just wanted to reach out and say I think I bought from the same batch as you. I got mine from LLL Reptiles at the show in Tucson. My little guy is acting the same way. Eyes closed while basking, not really enthusiastic about eating, and shed that has been stuck on a few parts of him for about a week, regardless of the humidity levels in the cage.
 
Well first, the basking temp is way to high.

Babys like temps around 83-85, youre roasting him.

You should only be using calcium with d3 twice a month. you need a calcium without d3 for every feeding.

in regards to gutloading- you should be using fresh fruits and veggies, not that store bought crap.

If his urates are yellow, then hes dehydrated.

Where is your uvb bulb?

If there isn't enough foliage in his cage, that can be part of the issue. Hes scared so he shuts his eyes.

Can you post photos of him please with his eyes shut?

How often are you noticing his eyes shut?
What time of day?
 
Ksauber I got my cham from the tucson expo too.

bulbs: His uvb bulb is right next to his basking bulb I moved the basking bulb further up on the holder its at 80 degrees now.
feeding: I will put some fresh veggies in with the crickets for gutloading.
Most of the time like today he will get a cricket in his mouth and then spit it out after a couple of chews. they are really small crickets pinheads. Im thinking maybe he doesn't like the gutload thats in them?

its 1:45 p.m. he just ate some fruit flies and went back to closing his eyes.
his eyes have been closed pretty much the entire morning
 

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Your Cham looks dehydrated from the sunken eyes. Have you tried feeding small silk worms, butter worms, or wax worms... any bug that is full of moisture? You can even spritz them lightly with water to get maximum moisture in your cham
 
I have upped his misting. I will hit up the supply stores and look for some worms. If I can't find tiny worms will he be able to eat them as long as they are soft bodied. He's small only about 3 inches in length and I don't want him to end up choking. He drank quite a bit tonight I'm hoping that helps
 
I have upped his misting. I will hit up the supply stores and look for some worms. If I can't find tiny worms will he be able to eat them as long as they are soft bodied. He's small only about 3 inches in length and I don't want him to end up choking. He drank quite a bit tonight I'm hoping that helps

I have been looking for worms all around tucson with no luck. The only thing I can find are wax worms at petsmart and petco, which are way too big for my cham. The best I have found is dubia roach nymphs at Reptile Specialists at 5952 E Speedway Blvd. But my cham wasn't into them. So far only small crickets have peaked his interest and not very often.
 
I have been looking for worms all around tucson with no luck. The only thing I can find are wax worms at petsmart and petco, which are way too big for my cham. The best I have found is dubia roach nymphs at Reptile Specialists at 5952 E Speedway Blvd. But my cham wasn't into them. So far only small crickets have peaked his interest and not very often.

I was hoping the reptile specialist would have them. I checked with tropical kingdom last week where i get my pinhead crickets and he said he's using a new supplier and he hasn't been able to get any wax worms . And I agree about the worms at pet smart and Petco.
 
Don't use wax worms. Thy are high in fat.

You'll need to order online, I suggest hornworms and silkworms. which you can order small enough, though only get a small order, as they grow fast.

I think your issue is that uvb bulb is way too intense for a baby his age.

Try switching that out for a tube style 5.0 bulb. see how he does then.
 
Don't use wax worms. Thy are high in fat.

You'll need to order online, I suggest hornworms and silkworms. which you can order small enough, though only get a small order, as they grow fast.

I think your issue is that uvb bulb is way too intense for a baby his age.

Try switching that out for a tube style 5.0 bulb. see how he does then.

Thank you. I will get a lower UV bulb today.
I'll look into ordering the worms I know a few people who order silkworms and raise them for the cacoons and they have a mulberry tree so I will be able to get some leaves.
I have definitely learned the hard way about purchasing from the expo....
 
Just wanted to let you know, my cham died today. I know we got them from the same place, same cage so I wanted to let you know. According to users on here, my husbandry was great, so I truly believe it may have been parasites. I know I said my cham was acting the same way yours was, however mine was not dehydrated. I would take yours to the vet soon as I truly believe this was a problem when I purchased him, that caused his health to degrade quickly.
 
You guys need to reach out to the vendor you purchased them from. I see they are one of the sponsors here, I would hope they would be receptive to investigating any issues you have in such a short time after receiving them.
 
I plan on doing that on Monday. I had contacted them the day after and they seemed receptive at least, so I am hoping that they will be willing to at least address my concerns, since it is not isolated to me alone.
 
Just wanted to let you know, my cham died today. I know we got them from the same place, same cage so I wanted to let you know. According to users on here, my husbandry was great, so I truly believe it may have been parasites. I know I said my cham was acting the same way yours was, however mine was not dehydrated. I would take yours to the vet soon as I truly believe this was a problem when I purchased him, that caused his health to degrade quickly.

I'm so sorry to hear about your cham. I will look up a vet today. My guy is about the same although he has been a little more active since the weekend. I will let you know what the vet has to say also
 
So I spent 4 hours at the vet. All they said they knew for sure was that he is dehydrated. They gave him fluids and he looks worse than he did before he went it. I was sent home with antibiotics reptile fluids and dewormer. I just gave him his fluids and antibiotics and I have him under his lights I added a uva ontop of his uvb and basking bulb. Hes finally picking his front end up. I'm trying to stay optimistic but it looks grimm
 
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