New chameleon

[Zone]

My boyfriend has just acquired a new chameleon named zone from a friend of his because no one wanted him. I have been paying attention since we got him and trying to improve his life but he does not seem very healthy. I’ve seen him fall off his limbs many times and also he is definitely dehydrated because his urate is very yellow. I was hoping I could give some information and y’all could tell me what I could fix/improve from how his last owner was taking care of him.
Age: unknown (he’s been passed around a lot) but we’ve had him from a couple of weeks.
Species: veiled chameleon
Sex: male
Handeling: most of the time he won’t let me but he has definitely been warming up to me, so right now only once every few days
Feeding: he gets 3-5 super worms every morning dusted with a dusting of sticky tongue farms calcium/mineral mix with D3 and occasional crickets
Watering: when I got him he was misted once a day with a hand mister for about 10 minutes but I’ve been doing twice a day now. I see him drinking every once awhile when I actually am spraying him but I’ve never seen him drink from his plants like people say he should.
Poop looks normal, urate is yellow.
So the guy we got him from said that he had previously broken two legs (probably why he falls) and that once had gotten burned on his back badly and has missing spikes. He had no real info on it though. He has a 150 W basking lamp and a 13W UVB that is on 14 hours a day and off the rest.

 

[ERKleRose]

View attachment 214803 My boyfriend has just acquired a new chameleon named zone from a friend of his because no one wanted him. I have been paying attention since we got him and trying to improve his life but he does not seem very healthy. I’ve seen him fall off his limbs many times and also he is definitely dehydrated because his urate is very yellow. I was hoping I could give some information and y’all could tell me what I could fix/improve from how his last owner was taking care of him.
Age: unknown (he’s been passed around a lot) but we’ve had him from a couple of weeks.
Species: veiled chameleon
Sex: male
Handeling: most of the time he won’t let me but he has definitely been warming up to me, so right now only once every few days
Feeding: he gets 3-5 super worms every morning dusted with a dusting of sticky tongue farms calcium/mineral mix with D3 and occasional crickets
Watering: when I got him he was misted once a day with a hand mister for about 10 minutes but I’ve been doing twice a day now. I see him drinking every once awhile when I actually am spraying him but I’ve never seen him drink from his plants like people say he should.
Poop looks normal, urate is yellow.
So the guy we got him from said that he had previously broken two legs (probably why he falls) and that once had gotten burned on his back badly and has missing spikes. He had no real info on it though. He has a 150 W basking lamp and a 13W UVB that is on 14 hours a day and off the rest.

The minerall is every third feeding I believe, superworms shouldn’t be a staple, feed some hornworms to help rehydrate him, he probably has mbd, and the coil uvb isn’t helping, cage needs lots of work

 

[ERKleRose]

I suggest finding an exotics vet that is highly knowledgeable in chameleons and taking him there. As for the cage, get a linear uvb, lots more branches, and some plant cover

 

[ERKleRose]

If you haven’t read this, it’s very knowledgeable https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Also, welcome to the forums, sorry for my blunt and hasty response, just wanted to give you some info ASAP!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

A lot to cover here so forgive the short answers, not trying to come off as rude. Some of this was previously mentioned above.

1st priority is a trip to the vet, period.

He is in a new environment, minimal handeling for the next two weeks.

Super worms are candy to chams, not food. Switch to crickets or Dubai roaches as his main feeder, preferably Dubai. He is defanitly nutritionaly defficent. I want you to start feeding him 6-8 large gutloaded crickets or Dubai every day for the next month. You can give him a superworm or two every other day. After his strength returns start feeding him the same amount every other day. Chams get addicted to super worms so he will probably resist the change but don’t give in. Read everything you can find on gutloading, I recommend cricket crack.

Supplements -
She should be getting calcium dust without D3 at every feeding. Also should be dusting with calcium with D3 twice a month. She also needs a multivitamin twice a month

MBD- hard to tell from the pics, can you post more at different angles of the legs? MBD is the most likely cause of the falling and broken bones.

Mistings- cham needs 4 5-10min misting sessions a day minimum. They need misting sessions to drink and also clean their eyes. The reason your not seeing him drink is because he has no surfaces to drink from. Add pathos plant and ficus tree. Put large rocks over dirt so cham doesn’t eat it. Wash all leaves first to remove pesticides. Invest in a mistking, makes your life and his health so much easier.

What temp/humidity are you running at? Basking spot in particular. 150W sounds way too high.

Add way more horizontal branches, in a viv empty space =wasted space. Think of sticks as roads.

 

[Zone]

Thank y’all so much for the reply. I am going to the pet store today and I have on my list:
Calcium without D3
Multivitamin
Gutloading stuff (I’ll read up before I go)
Crickets/holder
Branches/leafs (pathos/ficus)
Temp/hunidty gauge

The current gauge they have in there to measure tempature and humidty looks broken so I’m going to get another one so I can be more accurate. Anything else I should add to my list? The links are very helpful, thank you. Sadly he is not my pet so I don’t know if I can get him to a vet, but his last owner took him when he broke his legs/got burnt so he’s been seen about those things. I am just trying to make this little guys life a bit better, I’ve grown to really like him.

 

[ERKleRose]

Thank y’all so much for the reply. I am going to the pet store today and I have on my list:
Calcium without D3
Multivitamin
Gutloading stuff (I’ll read up before I go)
Crickets/holder
Branches/leafs (pathos/ficus)
Temp/hunidty gauge

The current gauge they have in there to measure tempature and humidty looks broken so I’m going to get another one so I can be more accurate. Anything else I should add to my list? The links are very helpful, thank you. Sadly he is not my pet so I don’t know if I can get him to a vet, but his last owner took him when he broke his legs/got burnt so he’s been seen about those things. I am just trying to make this little guys life a bit better, I’ve grown to really like him.

Vines and linear t5HO uvb bulb. Order more types of feeders online. I would get a temp gun and electronic humidity gage (Walmart/hardware store), instead of the dial gages. Take him to the vet

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Can’t get a good gutload from a pet store. Cricket crack from amazon

 

[Zone]

Can’t get a good gutload from a pet store. Cricket crack from amazon

I’ll look it up, thanks!

 

[Kali11]

Poor baby. He's had a hard life. Mine has MBD. It made her fall off her branches. Everyone has already gave you awesome advice. I just wanted to chime in and give some support. Good luck with your new baby.

 

[Jesspete]

While she's waiting for the cricket crack to come, can't she gutload with lots of veggies?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/ Very good list of things you can pick up from the grocery store today, and give to your feeders. He eats what they eat.

Start here and work your way through. It's a lot to digest, but a LOT of us started out without all the best information. Chameleons are tricky, and picky. You won't be able to fix just one thing, and hope for the best. They have to have all of it, proper supplements, lighting, humidity, nutrition, and enclosure. Don't get overwhelmed, but start working quickly. I know a lot of people only want to go to the vet as a last resort, but he's so far behind the eight ball, you could do everything right and he still not thrive. It would honestly be better to go ahead and go, and get the best care immediately. My local herp vet only charges $52 for an exam. That's a drop in the bucket for chams.

Good luck, and thanks for wanting to make him happy!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Yes she can and that’s a good link you provided.

 

[Zone]

Ok update!!! He is a much happier guy. I added more vines and plants (fake and real) the real plant is Canna Lilly. He got a linear uvb bulb and I got him a 60 watt basking bulb. I got him a new temp gauge and put the old one in the bottom and have been keeping a close eye on his humidity/temperatures. I also got him a dripper to help with his hydration and his pee has been much more white. I ordered him a ton of crickets and BSFL and he still has super worms so he has been having a much better variety! I’ve been dusting them with calcium without D3 and I have calcium with D3 and multivitamin to start doing twice a month. I feel like he is a totally new guy! His color is always lighter and he loves to hang out with me and explore, every time I am doing something in his cage he is trying to crawl on me! Also haven’t seen him fall once or even struggle!