New Chameleon Owner: Does She Look Healthy?

[Davidmc2013]

Jangobelle's Information:

• Female Veiled
• approx 3 months old (from my understanding)
• In my care for about 1 month
• Handled at 2-5 times weekly

Feeding & Supplements:

• 15-20 small to medium crickets daily
• Dusted with Zoo Med Repti-Calcium Tuesday and Thursday
• Dusted with Zoo Med Reptivite Saturdays
• Gut loaded with Flukers High Calcium Cricket diet and Flukers calcium fortified thirst quencher

Watering:

• Misted for 5 minutes 4 times daily with pressurized hand mister
• 2 drips provided by Little Dripper on top of cage almost constantly
• She seems to only drink when she is being misted, not very interested in drip
• Drinks drips from vines occasionally
• Strikes at droplets that collect at top of cage

Fecal Description:

• More yellowing of urates lately (hence my concern)
• Frequent droppings, urates range from white to nearly orange
• not tested for parasites

History:

• Unknown, I got her from a Petsmart

Cage Info:

• 16x16x30 Reptibreeze mesh terrarium
• Lighting: 5.0 Tropical Reptisun UVB bulb and a 50 watt Repti-basking spot lamp
• Temperature:
  • Usually about 75 F
  • Drops to 68-70 F at night
  • Basking spot temp approximately 95 degrees (where she spends the majority of her time)
  • Coldest spot is about 60 degrees at the bottom of the terrarium
  • Measured with Imagitarium analog thermometer
• Humidity is usually about 50-55%, rising to 65-70% during misting
  • Pothos plant helps to maintain humidity
  • Also, I have a zoo med reptifogger
  • Measured with Imagitarium analog hydrometer
• Plants: Pothos is the only live plant, river rocks cover soil to prevent ingestion
• Placement:
  • Top of cage is about 5 feet off of ground, bottom is about 2 feet off of ground
  • In living room, however only my girlfriend and I live here, so low traffic
  • There is a fan and vent in the room, however the fan is usually off
• Geographic Location: Central Oklahoma

Current Problem:
Hello! I am new to Chameleon care-taking and I want to be as knowledgeable as possible. I have read a lot of these forums to get an idea of some issues chameleon owners come across and some ideas of how to best care for them. Jangobelle (my Cham) had an astounding appetite up until about last week, then it sort of dropped off. She will eat some of her crickets, but she is not nearly as active about is as she was, and at times she is not interested at all and will allow them to lay right in front of her for hours. I have also been concerned about her getting proper hydration. Though I do see her drink and mist her regularly, she has had some yellow-orangeish urates. Today we did a half hour warm shower per instructions that I have seen here and she loved it and drank quite a bit. I plan to do another tomorrow. Her rear left foot also appears more yellowish after her recent shed, and I am not sure if I should be concerned. Any tips, advice, or concerns you would like to share would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Best Regards,
David

 

[brownie64]

She looks pretty good to me. They slow down a little on their eating as they get older, so unless she stops eating all together I wouldn't be to concerned. In your care I would also drop her basking temp down to about 80 degrease. The should be fed less, and have lower basking temps to help lower their egg production. Laying eggs takes a toll on them. When she gets between 5-6 months old you'll want to get a laying ben set up for her.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

Welcome @Davidmc2013 , Your baby could be sick of her crickets . Try out other feeders Dubia Roaches , silk worms , small hornworms , super worms , wax worms , BSF , they also like greens kale , collard greens , mustard greens , dandelion greens , endive , red bell pepper , sweet potato , zucchini , carrots , raspberries strawberries, melon . Organic is best . These also make great gut load for feeders . You should change your current gut load . It's what petsmart recommends but it's not significant for your feeders . In return won't be significant for your baby girl .

Your basking is much to hot . Low 80s is recommended for a young female Veiled . I would get your lay bin set up if you currently do not . Hope this helps .

 

[Davidmc2013]

@brownie64 and @Kristen Wilkins thank you both for your advice and input! I have changed her basking bulb to cool down the area and will look into better gut loading and diversifying her food. She hasn't shown much interest in raspberries in the past, however she does occasionally munch on her pothos plant.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

@brownie64 and @Kristen Wilkins thank you both for your advice and input! I have changed her basking bulb to cool down the area and will look into better gut loading and diversifying her food. She hasn't shown much interest in raspberries in the past, however she does occasionally munch on her pothos plant.

Lol yes they do do that . Be careful of fake plants . They will try and munch on them . It takes a bit before they start eating their fruits and veggies . Once they do they love them .