New chameleon, unsure of age and gender!

[rlchameleon]

Recently got my chameleon on Monday from a Pet Store. Unsure of the age and gender! Any info is appreciated! Thank you.

Also: I’ve noticed his eyes have bene closed a couple times also, I assume from stress of a new environment?? The cham still hasn’t eaten since I’ve brought them home. They have drank water though and went to the bathroom three times. Stool and Urate. I’ve been trying to cup feed a small cricket or two in the mornings and later on in the day. The Pet Store said the cham was eating crickets. No luck getting him to eat. The humidity in the enclosure is normally 50%. The basking temp is 83 or 84 degrees Fahrenheit. This is my first reptile, I’ve done a bunch of research but I can’t seem to get them to eat

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. You have a young female veiled of maybe about 3-4 months old or so. I’m not so great at guessing ages, but I highly doubt that she’s any older than that. She doesn’t look very healthy though - very thin, eyes sunken and it’s not at all normal to have their eyes closed during the day like that. Even more alarming is that she hasn’t eaten in days. While a healthy adult can go long time without eating with no problem, the young ones have no resources built up and can very quickly decline without food. I’d like to see her entire enclosure, including lights.

 

[Beman]

Baby looks ill. But how you are trying to feed they do not take to right out of a big box store. You can make a feeder run. For one this small you have to load it with about 2 dozen small feeders meaning no larger than 1/4 inch. Go watch this video for a how to on the feeder run

Can we see pics of the entire enclosure and the lighting on top.

 

[Sonny13]

Hi and welcome. I can only confirm everything already said.

One question I do have, are you using a UVB light for her. If, what kind?

 

[rlchameleon]

Hi and welcome. You have a young female veiled of maybe about 3-4 months old or so. I’m not so great at guessing ages, but I highly doubt that she’s any older than that. She doesn’t look very healthy though - very thin, eyes sunken and it’s not at all normal to have their eyes closed during the day like that. Even more alarming is that she hasn’t eaten in days. While a healthy adult can go long time without eating with no problem, the young ones have no resources built up and can very quickly decline without food. I’d like to see her entire enclosure, including lights.

When I got her from the Oet store she didn’t look very healthy. That was one of the main reasons I got her. I can get a picture of the full enclosure later but the lights I have are these ones attached. I’m working on getting an Arcadia light or if anyone had any other suggestions for lights.

 

[rlchameleon]

Baby looks ill. But how you are trying to feed they do not take to right out of a big box store. You can make a feeder run. For one this small you have to load it with about 2 dozen small feeders meaning no larger than 1/4 inch. Go watch this video for a how to on the feeder run

Can we see pics of the entire enclosure and the lighting on top.

I have seen the feeder runs and will look into that for sure. I really want to get her healthy. I will get pics of the lights and enclosure here soon. Thank you for the advice !

 

[rlchameleon]

Hi and welcome. You have a young female veiled of maybe about 3-4 months old or so. I’m not so great at guessing ages, but I highly doubt that she’s any older than that. She doesn’t look very healthy though - very thin, eyes sunken and it’s not at all normal to have their eyes closed during the day like that. Even more alarming is that she hasn’t eaten in days. While a healthy adult can go long time without eating with no problem, the young ones have no resources built up and can very quickly decline without food. I’d like to see her entire enclosure, including lights.

Also, is there anything else I should be doing? She is drinking water. I have seen some people putting their chameleons in a warm low pressure shower? Unsure if she is able to do that because of how young and fragile she is.

 

[ToastyCham]

Also, is there anything else I should be doing? She is drinking water. I have seen some people putting their chameleons in a warm low pressure shower? Unsure if she is able to do that because of how young and fragile she is.

Do not shower your chameleons or soak them in water. Your cage should have all live plants and natural branches. What size of cage is it?

 

[rlchameleon]

Do not shower your chameleons or soak them in water. Your cage should have all live plants and natural branches. What size of cage is it?

I am going to get live plants, there are fake ones in there right now. I have some natural branches that are not in there yet. This is the enclosure I have for now. When she starts growing bigger, we are building a bigger enclosure.

 

[ToastyCham]

Ok, so the minimum size for an adult chameleon would be 24" 24" 48" but because you are building yours I would make it a little larger because chameleons use all the space. I have attached some care sheets for you

 

[MissSkittles]

Right now the priority is correct uvb. You need either a ReptiSun T5 or Arcadia ProT5 with either a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Plants and stuff like that can wait…uvb can not. For supplements you need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (bugs should not look like powdered donuts) and a good combination D3/multivitamin - Repashy calcium Plus LoD or Reptivite with D3 used for one feeding every other week. However, we need to know what supplements exactly the pet store gave her. Some will give only a calcium with D3, which can mean overdosing.If they only used calcium without D3, you’ll want to get the multivitamin/D3 into her asap. Give them a call and ask. If you aren’t yet able to get the correct uvb, then take advantage of the sunny days and take her outside for at least 15-30 minutes daily. It is hot and you don’t want to overheat her, so do try to have some partial or dappled sunlight. Do not leave her alone or unattended for even a second! Even if she doesn’t run away, there are birds and other predators that can snap her up in a blink. I hold my chams when I take them out or sit them on a small plant that I sit with.
For her food, it is essential that it be the correct size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes, she can not eat. If in doubt, try a little smaller than you think is ok. Bsfl, also known as Phoenix worms, calci worms are probably a good size for her and they are healthy. No need to put calcium powder on those. She should be eating at least 12-15+ feeders daily for her age. We can go over all of the other stuff later. If you can’t get her health turned around, none of the rest will matter.

 

[Beman]

Looks like you bought the right UVB> Now this should sit on the screen top and you want a distance of 8-9 inches down to her closest branches. This is important for correct UVI>

Go to home depot or lowes and see if they have some of the Veiled tested plants you can buy. They have a lot this time of year in the indoor nursery.

Start reading this it will help you a lot and ask questions here. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Plastic solo cup and poke tiny sewing needle size holes in the bottom. Get ice cubes and fill it up put on the top screen away from the light fixtures so it will be above plants so it will slow drip onto the plants. This will trigger a drinking response.

NOTE with her being so small and sick. I would not go up to a 2x2x4ft enclosure right now. I do not know what size you bought but it will be easier to control her environment with a small set up right now. Less space for her to try to navigate especially with her closing the eyes.

 

[rlchameleon]

Right now the priority is correct uvb. You need either a ReptiSun T5 or Arcadia ProT5 with either a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Plants and stuff like that can wait…uvb can not. For supplements you need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (bugs should not look like powdered donuts) and a good combination D3/multivitamin - Repashy calcium Plus LoD or Reptivite with D3 used for one feeding every other week. However, we need to know what supplements exactly the pet store gave her. Some will give only a calcium with D3, which can mean overdosing.If they only used calcium without D3, you’ll want to get the multivitamin/D3 into her asap. Give them a call and ask. If you aren’t yet able to get the correct uvb, then take advantage of the sunny days and take her outside for at least 15-30 minutes daily. It is hot and you don’t want to overheat her, so do try to have some partial or dappled sunlight. Do not leave her alone or unattended for even a second! Even if she doesn’t run away, there are birds and other predators that can snap her up in a blink. I hold my chams when I take them out or sit them on a small plant that I sit with.
For her food, it is essential that it be the correct size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes, she can not eat. If in doubt, try a little smaller than you think is ok. Bsfl, also known as Phoenix worms, calci worms are probably a good size for her and they are healthy. No need to put calcium powder on those. She should be eating at least 12-15+ feeders daily for her age. We can go over all of the other stuff later. If you can’t get her health turned around, none of the rest will matter.

I have the calcium without D3 and I have the Reptivite Multivitamin. I will order an Arcadia light asap. I will also take her outside for the amount of time you had mentioned. I’ll get ahold of the pet store and see what they were giving her. They didn’t seem to be taking good care of her so that’s what landed me in this situation.

 

[rlchameleon]

Looks like you bought the right UVB> Now this should sit on the screen top and you want a distance of 8-9 inches down to her closest branches. This is important for correct UVI>

Go to home depot or lowes and see if they have some of the Veiled tested plants you can buy. They have a lot this time of year in the indoor nursery.

Start reading this it will help you a lot and ask questions here. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Plastic solo cup and poke tiny sewing needle size holes in the bottom. Get ice cubes and fill it up put on the top screen away from the light fixtures so it will be above plants so it will slow drip onto the plants. This will trigger a drinking response.

NOTE with her being so small and sick. I would not go up to a 2x2x4ft enclosure right now. I do not know what size you bought but it will be easier to control her environment with a small set up right now. Less space for her to try to navigate especially with her closing the eyes.

Okay so the light is correct okay. thank you! I wasn’t planning to move her to a bigger enclosure till she is well and starts outgrowing this one. I will try everything you recommended

 

[Beman]

I have the calcium without D3 and I have the Reptivite Multivitamin. I will order an Arcadia light asap. I will also take her outside for the amount of time you had mentioned. I’ll get ahold of the pet store and see what they were giving her. They didn’t seem to be taking good care of her so that’s what landed me in this situation.

Hold off on taking her outside...

I am helping while @MissSkittles is offline. So you bought the right UVB. It is a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 bulb. You can use this but the set up and distance has to be right.

I would not move baby outside right now, I would be very worried about it overheating. You need to instead set up the enclosure using the info I gave you above. Then she will be able to access the UVB at the correct level. Once it is set up right you can gently move her up to the branches where the UVB is correct for her. This baby is declining so food, UVB, Cage set up correctly will be extremely important and this is something you have to have completely set up today with the feeder run as well. Time is of the essence when they are at this point.

 

[rlchameleon]

Ok, so the minimum size for an adult chameleon would be 24" 24" 48" but because you are building yours I would make it a little larger because chameleons use all the space. I have attached some care sheets for you

Yes I have read that. Since she was little and not well, that’s why I she is in the one currently. Like I said, as she grows, she will be placed into one that is plenty big enough! Thank you for your help!!

 

[rlchameleon]

Hold off on taking her outside...

I am helping while @MissSkittles is offline. So you bought the right UVB. It is a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 bulb. You can use this but the set up and distance has to be right.

I would not move baby outside right now, I would be very worried about it overheating. You need to instead set up the enclosure using the info I gave you above. Then she will be able to access the UVB at the correct level. Once it is set up right you can gently move her up to the branches where the UVB is correct for her. This baby is declining so food, UVB, Cage set up correctly will be extremely important and this is something you have to have completely set up today with the feeder run as well. Time is of the essence when they are at this point.

Okay, I will work on getting these things corrected this evening.

 

[MzLaurie]

I have the calcium without D3 and I have the Reptivite Multivitamin. I will order an Arcadia light asap. I will also take her outside for the amount of time you had mentioned. I’ll get ahold of the pet store and see what they were giving her. They didn’t seem to be taking good care of her so that’s what landed me in this situation.

Beman said you have the right uvb light and I see you have the right basking setup. She is a screen walker so you might want to prop the basking light up a bit so the metal edges and heat don’t make the screen hot so she will get burned. You can use something light wooden spoons to prop it up a bit. Also you need to mist. Do you have a hand mister? With her being sickly I wouldn’t spray her directly. Unfortunately water doesn’t stick to plastic plants which is why you need live ones. Also veiled chameleons will eat plants so all the fake ones can go on the outside of the cage. Fluker farms on Amazon too have bend a branch vines that are inexpensive and hold up real well to create a climbing habitat for her. As she gets bigger, she won’t be able to walk on a lot of plants like she is doing now. I like monestra aka Swiss cheese plants cause the leaves are big to hold water and the stalks are heavy for her to climb on even when she gets bigger. She looks very dehydrated as her eyes are sunken in. You can try dripping water down her nose so it goes over her mouth. Sometimes that will trigger a drinking response. The opening to her lungs is under her tongue in the front of her mouth so don’t try to force it or you could get water into her lungs. She looks like a very sweet girl and sending healing vibes to her that she turns around.

 

[rlchameleon]

Beman said you have the right uvb light and I see you have the right basking setup. She is a screen walker so you might want to prop the basking light up a bit so the metal edges and heat don’t make the screen hot so she will get burned. You can use something light wooden spoons to prop it up a bit. Also you need to mist. Do you have a hand mister? With her being sickly I wouldn’t spray her directly. Unfortunately water doesn’t stick to plastic plants which is why you need live ones. Also veiled chameleons will eat plants so all the fake ones can go on the outside of the cage. Fluker farms on Amazon too have bend a branch vines that are inexpensive and hold up real well to create a climbing habitat for her. As she gets bigger, she won’t be able to walk on a lot of plants like she is doing now. I like monestra aka Swiss cheese plants cause the leaves are big to hold water and the stalks are heavy for her to climb on even when she gets bigger. She looks very dehydrated as her eyes are sunken in. You can try dripping water down her nose so it goes over her mouth. Sometimes that will trigger a drinking response. The opening to her lungs is under her tongue in the front of her mouth so don’t try to force it or you could get water into her lungs. She looks like a very sweet girl and sending healing vibes to her that she turns around.

I am getting live plants as I speak. But yes we do hand mist the enclosure and I’m going to order an automotive fogger. We’re putting the monestra plant in the enclosure and are also making a feed run like mentioned by someone else. I will move her light up also like you mentioned. Thank you so much! We’re doing all we can to help her

 

[ToastyCham]

I am getting live plants as I speak. But yes we do hand mist the enclosure and I’m going to order an automotive fogger. We’re putting the monestra plant in the enclosure and are also making a feed run like mentioned by someone else. I will move her light up also like you mentioned. Thank you so much! We’re doing all we can to help her

Be careful with fogging. Only fog at night and if your temps are below 67 degrees Fahrenheit. If you fog with temps higher than that you will be at risk for a respiratory infection.