New Cham owner here

Sharpshot214

Sharpshot214

Member
Ok, so I got Sam about 4 months ago. I’m very new at chameleon care as you all can probably tell lol. But he’s not eating anymore and hasn’t regularly for a week and a half about. We buy him crickets from pet stores that are near us, little and big. When we first got him, I would put the baby crickets in his cage and he’d eat multiple of them like a lil piggy! 😂 But he doesn’t eat anymore and I’m worried about him. We’ve got bamboo growing in our backyard and I actually looked on here and some said it was ok to use. It’s been in there for a few days now and he really seems to like it. He’s much greener than he was before lol. Just wondering how to get him to eat and if the enclosure I have is ok for him. I got it at the Petsmart where I actually got him. I also wanted to know if he’s growing right..
 

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This baby has MBD... Looks like they sold you the incorrect UVB lighting. He is not eating because it is basically without sounding totally harsh, is killing him. The enclosure is unfortunately not set up correctly for a chameleon either.

He needs a reptile Vet with Chameleon experience. The MBD will continue to worsen until his bones are so brittle that they just break and become even more disfigured.

He needs the proper UVB lighting and the enclosure set up correctly for him. Also needs the correct supplements on his feeders.

This is a good resource for learning everything correctly for his husbandry. But things need to be corrected quickly. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
 
Beman said:
This baby has MBD... Looks like they sold you the incorrect UVB lighting. He is not eating because it is basically without sounding totally harsh, is killing him. The enclosure is unfortunately not set up correctly for a chameleon either.

He needs a reptile Vet with Chameleon experience. The MBD will continue to worsen until his bones are so brittle that they just break and become even more disfigured.

He needs the proper UVB lighting and the enclosure set up correctly for him. Also needs the correct supplements on his feeders.

This is a good resource for learning everything correctly for his husbandry. But things need to be corrected quickly. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Click to expand...
Thanks for a speedy response and the info. I was unaware of this. Until I can contact a vet, what can I do to help him? What light is good for him? I’ve been looking for a good light and I’m to get paid either today or tomorrow. Could you please send a link for a light that I can order him..? And is there any way to get him to start eating again?
 
Beman said:
This baby has MBD... Looks like they sold you the incorrect UVB lighting. He is not eating because it is basically without sounding totally harsh, is killing him. The enclosure is unfortunately not set up correctly for a chameleon either.

He needs a reptile Vet with Chameleon experience. The MBD will continue to worsen until his bones are so brittle that they just break and become even more disfigured.

He needs the proper UVB lighting and the enclosure set up correctly for him. Also needs the correct supplements on his feeders.

This is a good resource for learning everything correctly for his husbandry. But things need to be corrected quickly. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Click to expand...
I also have a red light that acts as a heat source too. Is that a good light to use for now..?
 
Sharpshot214 said:
I also have a red light that acts as a heat source too. Is that a good light to use for now..?
Click to expand...
You need either a T5ho linear fixture with a 5.0 bulb or a T8 linear fixture with a 10.0 bulb. Personally since the enclosure is so small I would go with a T8 fixture and the 10.0 bulb. Then he needs branches 5-6 inches below this fixture so he can get to the UVB light.

You could do a T5HO fixture with the 5.0 Bulb but you would need to have the branches 8 inches below so he is not overexposed. This can be done a few ways...

This is the T5HO put they do not have the 24 inch fixture in stock... https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html


Red lights hurt their eyes. You only want a plain white incandescent bulb try a 40 watt I believe any higher wattage is going to be too hot for that enclosure. No lights on at night only 12 hours during the day. They need to cool down at night.

The link I gave you will give you thorough info for how to set up a cage properly. You will want to start reading this now and every module.

For supplements you want Reptivite with D3 and you would use this on all feeders given 2 times a month only say the 1st and the 15th. Then at all other feedings you use Calcium without D3 on all feeders given.

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...1&sr=1-1-18e0f783-7b71-42f0-a291-5a15b3cb969e

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Calc...hout+d3.&qid=1623187237&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1


Correct plants for Veileds. Use Veiled tested only. https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf
 
Beman said:
You need either a T5ho linear fixture with a 5.0 bulb or a T8 linear fixture with a 10.0 bulb. Personally since the enclosure is so small I would go with a T8 fixture and the 10.0 bulb. Then he needs branches 5-6 inches below this fixture so he can get to the UVB light.

You could do a T5HO fixture with the 5.0 Bulb but you would need to have the branches 8 inches below so he is not overexposed. This can be done a few ways...

This is the T5HO put they do not have the 24 inch fixture in stock... https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html


Red lights hurt their eyes. You only want a plain white incandescent bulb try a 40 watt I believe any higher wattage is going to be too hot for that enclosure. No lights on at night only 12 hours during the day. They need to cool down at night.

The link I gave you will give you thorough info for how to set up a cage properly. You will want to start reading this now and every module.

For supplements you want Reptivite with D3 and you would use this on all feeders given 2 times a month only say the 1st and the 15th. Then at all other feedings you use Calcium without D3 on all feeders given.

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptivite-Vitamin-2-Ounce/dp/B0002AQB6A/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-rsf-lq2a1_0?crid=1A4D12O7PW755&cv_ct_cx=reptivite+with+d3&dchild=1&keywords=reptivite+with+d3&pd_rd_i=B0002AQB6A&pd_rd_r=68b767d2-e198-4214-a1f0-020af3a33578&pd_rd_w=Kz8bY&pd_rd_wg=Y4K1R&pf_rd_p=6b8835ed-96d6-4089-a8ed-3370ca81c53d&pf_rd_r=BTCFYP2KMJFZHBV7JD98&psc=1&qid=1623187211&sprefix=reptivite,aps,211&sr=1-1-18e0f783-7b71-42f0-a291-5a15b3cb969e

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Calc...hout+d3.&qid=1623187237&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1


Correct plants for Veileds. Use Veiled tested only. https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf
Click to expand...
I just ordered everything you sent lol. I also ordered an enclosure for him that’s 18 x 36 x 36 inches. Is this a good size environment for him?
 
Welcome to the forum!

To tell if it's a female but I'm sure @CasqueAbove is right...Look at the heels to see if there are tarsal Spurs...
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

Females have a few other possible issues that will be further complicated because of the MBD.

The MBD can be corrected but the bent arms and other things will remain the way they are now....and you'll have to be careful handling her until it's corrected or she may end up with more bent broken bones.

More to follow...
 
Sharpshot214 said:
I just ordered everything you sent lol. I also ordered an enclosure for him that’s 18 x 36 x 36 inches. Is this a good size environment for him?
Click to expand...
You will need a 2x2x4 But if you got the screen 18x18x36 that will be better then what baby is in and allow for baby to recover. The other may be a bit much to climb right now in the current condition.
 
If you can fill this out for us it will help us determine what else needs to be immediately addressed. Just copy past it into your reply. :)


Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

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

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




Last edited: Jan 20, 2010
 
To correct the MBD, you will need to get some liquid calcium gluconate from a vet and use it until the MBD is corrected as well as provide he with proper husbandry from now on t keep it from coming back.

It's important that th temperatures are right so she can digest her food properly and even more important when she becomes sexually mature, along with a controlled diet, to keep her from laying large clutches of eggs likely becoming eggbound, and developing other issues. More about the egglaying issue later.

Basking temperature should be kept at no more than 80F. The light should be a white light....a regular white (not LED) incandescent household light bulb of a wattage that produces that temperature is usually recommended. You can test the basking light to make sure it won't burn the chameleon. Hold your hand inside the cage, palm down against the screen...if you want to move your hand it can burn the chameleon.

It's important to provide a proper UVB light. @Beman has already covered this. More about this later too.

It's important to feed/gutload the insects properly as well as dust them with the proper supplements appropriately.

To prevent MBD and keep it away once it's corrected you need to have the D3, vitamin A, phos, calcium in balance. It's recommended that you use a phos free calcium powder lightly at all feedings but one a week and on that one feeding alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder and a vitamin powder with a prEformed source of vitamin A lightly.

Exposure to direct sunlight or a UVB bulb will allow the chameleon to produce the D3 needed to be able to use the calcium in the system. We use the D3 twice a month just as insurance..but you have to be careful with D3 from supplements because it's fat soluble and can build up in the system and lead to problems. Vitamin A from prEformed sources are also fat soluble and can build up so we need to be careful with that too. You don't have to worry about prOformed sources of vitamin A though.

Once the bones are strong again, the liquid calcium can be discontinued but the rest of the supplements should still be used.

Diet for egg laying...once the female is almost full grown, she should be fed no more tha 4 or 5 crickets two or three times a week...or other insects of equal caloric value. His will slow down or maybe even stop the egg production.

You said the chameleon isn't eating...this could be partly due to the MBD...it affects the muscles too so digestion, movement through the intestines can be slowed. Hopefully that's all it is.

Hope I didn't miss much. I'm sure someone will catch me up if I did!
 
kinyonga said:
Welcome to the forum!

To tell if it's a female but I'm sure @CasqueAbove is right...Look at the heels to see if there are tarsal Spurs...
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

Females have a few other possible issues that will be further complicated because of the MBD.

The MBD can be corrected but the bent arms and other things will remain the way they are now....and you'll have to be careful handling her until it's corrected or she may end up with more bent broken bones.
Click to expand...
CasqueAbove said:
Without the back feet he/she is right in the middle. The markings seem more female to me, but at this point there could still be a change in appearance.
We want the back feet. please
Click to expand...
I’ll get back leg pics when I get home, guys. He’s got the little spurs on the back of his legs that were there when I first got him.. I looked it up that night and found out he was a male. You guys are really helpful for a first time, inexperienced owner lol
 
Beman said:
If you can fill this out for us it will help us determine what else needs to be immediately addressed. Just copy past it into your reply. :)


Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

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

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




Last edited: Jan 20, 2010
Click to expand...
Info:
-Sam is a male veiled chameleon and is about 6-7 months old. He’s been in my care for about 5 months.
-when I first got him, I’d handle him quite often which, from what I’ve read, isn’t good, but I was new and happy lol (still am!)
-I feed him feeder crickets from a pet store my brother-in-law gets for his bearded dragons. When I first got him, I’d feed him 3 or 4 every night and I didn’t gutload them..
- I used calcium powder when I first got him, but then ran out and didn’t get anymore (I know, terrible thing)
-Tp water him, I spray his cage with a spray bottle every 2 to 3 hours. I must his cage whenever I come in the room lol. I do see him drinking, he loves his water.

Cage info:
-It’s a glass cage with a screen top that’s 2’x 2’, I believe.
- I don’t remember the brand of lighting I’m using, but it’s a 40 watt household bulb in a hood fixture. I didn’t have much of a lighting schedule until yesterday, which I turn the light on at 10am and off at 10pm.
- I measure the temp with a temp gauge for aquariums and the average is 65-75 degrees, I believe.. It’s got a meter that has a green section and I tend to keep it in that range. The temp at night is usually 60 degrees.
- I’m not sure of the humidity levels or how to measure them, although I must his cage frequently.
- As for live plants, I’ve recently put a bamboo stalk in there and he seems to love it!
- He’s been in my sister about 3 months because I don’t really stay in my room upstairs. It’s about 5 and a half feet from the top of the cage to the floor.
- Were located in Roanoke, Al.
 
Beman said:
Maybe I am just hoping for male due to the MBD in the limbs. :(
Click to expand...
Ok, so he’s acting strange now. Ma said he doesn’t look too good and she saw him dangling off of the bamboo limb. She texted at first and said he was dead.. She actually thought he was dead oh lord. My heart dropped. I called and she said he’s ok, just doesn’t look good. What can I do to help him for now? Feeding wise, enclosure wise? I really don’t want to lose him
 
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