MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
He turns dark outside to absorb heat and the precious uvb from sunlight. Uvb should pass thru the screen. It won’t pass thru glass or plastic. Do make sure he has some shade to go to if needed.
New chameleon
- Thread starter Jihad
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Jihad
Member
I will thanks
Jihad
Member
One last thing i need to be checked is his mouth it seems to be getting worse he had mucus like thing in his front lip but it seems to have fallen now his front gum is exposed and dry I can clean it up but he can't close his mouth properly so it dries as well what do you suggest i do?
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MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’m not sure about the mouth. Usually that happens in cases of pretty bad metabolic bone disease (mbd), but I don’t see any other signs of that in your chameleon. Another cause could be mouth rot, which is an oral infection and if untreated can be serious. For it to have gotten bad enough to cause that level of damage though, it should be unmistakable and I would think that the chameleon would have been refusing to eat for some time. Are you able to see inside the mouth? You would see ulcerations. https://www.madcham.de/en/maulfaeule/ I suspect he was possibly wild caught and the mouth was injured at some point.
Have we confirmed that you have a boy? The coloring isn’t looking like that of a boy. Only males have what is called a tarsal spur on the back foot, like in the pic below. They will also have the coloring and patterns from as young as about 3 1/2 to 4 months old.
Have we confirmed that you have a boy? The coloring isn’t looking like that of a boy. Only males have what is called a tarsal spur on the back foot, like in the pic below. They will also have the coloring and patterns from as young as about 3 1/2 to 4 months old.
Jihad
Member
I did check inside the mouth and it seems fine nothing is building up inside the teeth are yellow and further inside is all pink colored so i would assume it isn't it might be an injury though because i can see signs of that like torn skin on the chin which in the beginning i thought was dirt or sometimes but it's not also on the subject of gender there are no spurs on the back legs which made me conserned when i was about to purchase but the pet store assured me it was a boy (they're not experts whatsoever) and i was convinced because of the cask (the head part) i thought females had something similar to panther chameleons but it turns out they do have it now i'm worried it's a female i don't think i have enough experience to take care of a female chameleon and i feel bad if i return her to that horrible place what do you think i should do?
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Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
It's a girl and no worries females are wonderful, they just need some specific care and @MissSkittles helped you with this, she wrote a perfect on this subject https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ give it a read and if questions pop-up just let us know.
Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
She's a little cutie
Don't return her, she loves it with you, her cute little face confirms this.I do agree that it looks like a rubber jaw (MBD related) but I don't think it's MBD. Maybe she rubbed her face against something or she got bitten. I would closely monitor it if starts to infect or some kind.
Jihad
Member
I read the entire thing and it was wonderful i think my chameleon is in her receptive period she's searching all over the place and wants to get out also do you think the plant pots that i have could work as playing bins? They're large and are felled with soil or do i need to get another one for her? And it is fine to leave the eggs in the soil? If anything they could work as fertilizer for the plants instead of tossing them out in the trash
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Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
They're extremely smart and it could work, but personally for the first time I would give her also a back-up, the regular laybin (like described in the blog). Just to be sure. My girl lays also lays in a large planter (dia 24"), check my story and blog as well. And for the first and maybe second, it's good to count the eggs, to know if the food regime needs to be correct. If that's okay can leave, at least this is what I'm doing.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/first-successful-free-range-bioactive-egg-laying.182715/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/free-range-inspiration.2464/
Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would still suggest 3-4 feeders 3 times a week. You can also try to pupate the mealworms into beetles. That will be lovely treat as well and is also different in nutrients
Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
Jihad
Member
That's great i have experience with mealworms and i can pupate them easily but i never thought that beetles have different nutrients then mealworms that's some great information thanks a lot
Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
Worms are usually fat based and therefore badly nutritious
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Congratulations on having a girl! It can be scary but you can get thru it. If you return her to the store, she will likely die a horrible way. The most important thing is that she is getting calcium and vitamin D3 so that she can absorb and use the calcium. I know it’s been a challenge to get supplements, but I think you did get calcium. For vitamin D3, the best source is some unfiltered sunlight. You were going to be putting her outside for a part of the day, which would be perfect. Just make sure she doesn’t get too hot and has an area of shade. If you only have mealworms to feed her, because they are so much smaller than other insect feeders, you’ll need to feed her more of them. She does look a bit thin. Because they are so small and not as nutritious, I would count 2 mealworms as being equal to 1 ‘feeder’ insect.
If your plant pots are large enough, like at least 30 cm diameter, that should be ok for a lay bin. You still may want to provide a standard lay bin though, just in case. They can be fussy about where they lay their eggs. Many times chameleons will choose to lay against plant roots. You will want to dig up the eggs to count how many. Also, they will rot if you leave them and it won’t be good for the plant or anything else. If there is a garden outside planted in the dirt and not pots, it would be a good fertilizer. The difference is that in the ground there are beneficial insects, like isopods springtails and other little creatures that eat organic waste and help turn it into rich soil.
If your plant pots are large enough, like at least 30 cm diameter, that should be ok for a lay bin. You still may want to provide a standard lay bin though, just in case. They can be fussy about where they lay their eggs. Many times chameleons will choose to lay against plant roots. You will want to dig up the eggs to count how many. Also, they will rot if you leave them and it won’t be good for the plant or anything else. If there is a garden outside planted in the dirt and not pots, it would be a good fertilizer. The difference is that in the ground there are beneficial insects, like isopods springtails and other little creatures that eat organic waste and help turn it into rich soil.
Jihad
Member
I fed her a beetle today and oh bro the crunch sounds however i also learned that beetles have larger amount of protein and much lower fat than mealworms and i prosume that's a good thing so should i start feeding her more beetles? I don't plan on making them the main food because their shells if fed too much could cause digestion issues (correct me on that if i'm wrong) but i was wondering should i lower the amount of mealworms i give her every 2 days from 6-8 to 4-6 mealworms and 1 beetle in the middle or is that too much?
Jihad
Member
Hello there i'm really concerned about shedding at the moment i've had my chameleon for about 2 months now and she didn't shed once and since the day i brought her she had old skin stuck to her cask (probebly due to poor care) and it's still there to this day however today i noticed she had a flick off on the front of her face which i thought was good until i noticed there's no skin under it so she probebly had that because of how much she's moving around is it something dangerous or is that a normal thing? And if there's a way to prevent it from happening again please let me know
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Sonny13
Chameleon Enthusiast
When they’re older, they shed less frequent. Bella only sheds once or twice a year. Because of her poor conditions before you she didn’t shed correctly but this should go away during her next shed. Just keep a close eye on it that it doesn’t starts to infect or something.
Her mouth still looks concerning, like it has an infection in it and I’m slowly guessing it could be a broken jaw. Her eating and shooting at bugs is still normal?
Her mouth still looks concerning, like it has an infection in it and I’m slowly guessing it could be a broken jaw. Her eating and shooting at bugs is still normal?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I wonder if that is a burn on her head. That’s what it sounds and looks like. Just let it come off on its own. If there is no skin and it’s an open wound beneath, you can apply a small dab of plain antibiotic ointment - the kind that has no pain relief or anything else added in it. I agree with @Sonny13 that her jaw might be broken and infected. The scab is still there, which means it isn’t healing well. I really wish you had a vet that could see her. Keep doing what you’re doing and hopefully she’ll heal up.
