New owner, please help!

[Denver16]

Hello,
I bought a second hand Vieled the other day. He is about 9 months old and seems happy to move around the enclosure. At the moment I can't seem to get the temperature in his basking spot above 81'f.
When I collected him, he had very little greenery or places to hide. And about 10 crickets roaming freely and burrowing in some bark on the floor. I have since cleared the floor, and added more plants for him to hide in (see picture), as well as made a bug feeder to put the crickets in and keep an eye on what he's eating. I haven't seen him eat anything yet, but two crickets disappeared over night (hoping it was him!) I have been spraying the enclosure twice a day, but again I haven't seen him drink anything...
He is very shy and hides as soon as I walk in the room. He is also quite skinny and I'm worried he is not eating enough. I have topped up the feeder today but he hasn't been near it yet.
Can anybody reassure me that this is normal, or suggest trying anything new? Maybe he just needs time to settle? Thanks in advance!

 

[Chameleomom]

Add lots of real plants...Pothos is a great choice and grows well. I would add some more vines at all levels Are you using a misting system or a dripper for water?

 

[Courts_spyro]

Besides the obviously supplements I would definitely gut load the crap out of those crickets so he can get as much nutrients as possible

 

[alphakenc]

I will suggest drop that vine down for a safe distance so he wont climb to the top screen contacting the heat lamp for burn accident and its easy for u to adjust the basking temperature also.

 

[WAMBO]

I agree with alphakenc. Also, unwind that vine to give more levels of climbing. It's wide enough to use without doubling it.

 

[MSMorgan]

To add weight on your cham and moisture to his diet, you might try hornworms. From my understanding, they are favorite treats to many chameleons. My guy loves them.

 

[Denver16]

Thanks for all your replies! Have checked again this morning. He hasn't eaten anything but his whole face and body is shedding! It's amazing how quick he went from looking normal to shedding all over... Maybe that's why he isn't eating?

 

[marley patches]

I would like to add , this is only a suggestion , feed in the morning so cham can digest food , the heat helps digestion and if lights out there won't be any help for digestion

 

[Denver16]

I would like to add , this is only a suggestion , feed in the morning so cham can digest food , the heat helps digestion and if lights out there won't be any help for digestion

Thanks the crickets have been in there since yesterday afternoon and he hasn't been near them all day... Any tips to encourage him to them. I can't get to him to hand feed because everytime I go near the viv he runs and hides!

 

[marley patches]

Thanks the crickets have been in there since yesterday afternoon and he hasn't been near them all day... Any tips to encourage him to them. I can't get to him to hand feed because everytime I go near the viv he runs and hides!

when cham gets hungry enough they will eat, some say they can go without eating for days and when my chams shedding they tend not to eat or eat as much ,,, if you just got cham it might take a few days for cham to get use to there new housery, also DO NOT leave crickets in housery over night ,crickets will bite them or go for there eyes because that's where most of moisture is (in chams eyes), I'm not a expert just learning from this site , READ READ READ all post you can to gather info to help

 

[Denver16]

when cham gets hungry enough they will eat, some say they can go without eating for days and when my chams shedding they tend not to eat or eat as much ,,, if you just got cham it might take a few days for cham to get use to there new housery, also DO NOT leave crickets in housery over night ,crickets will bite them or go for there eyes because that's where most of moisture is (in chams eyes), I'm not a expert just learning from this site , READ READ READ all post you can to gather info to help

Excellent, thanks for your help! Really appreciate it! Will remove all crickets and try again tomorrow!

 

[Craigwyatt]

I'm not putting anyone's info down to be mean. But I felt like I should correct this info while I have a chance so this information does not spread.
You can absolutely positively 100% without any problem leave crickets in a chameleons cage overnight.
Crickets in a screen cage tend to migrate to the top edges and corners of the cage itself.
Chameleons with ample places to crawl like live plants, fake vines, fake plants ect will pretty much stay on that type of decoration. That right there is a natural separation of food and animal.
My adult and nursery cages have crickets at all times in there cages. When I see crickets starting to run low in a cage I will immediately replenish that cage with food. I pay much closer attention to my baby cages as far as food is concerned. Everyonce in a while an adult cage will be found with 0 insects inside. But constant food is way more important to growing animals. As adults they don't eat near as much as a growing animal. As adults they are much more predictable as to what they need to eat to keep them happy and healthy. But I'd say at any given time you will find food during any night in 90% of my cages.
I feed 7 days a week here. There's always a cage that's running low and I keep crickets by the 1000s on hand.
My chameleons are not getting chewed on what so ever by crickets. I can't even name one wacky situation where this has ever happened and I've housed 100s and 100s of chameleons to date. Not quite a 1000 yet but that number is not to far away.
I am not speaking from an artical I read or from some book or some other way. I'm speaking from experience.

 

[nick barta]

Well said Craig. I often think I should comment to correct some erroneous statement in a post, but don't.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate.

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[jannb]

I'm not putting anyone's info down to be mean. But I felt like I should correct this info while I have a chance so this information does not spread.
You can absolutely positively 100% without any problem leave crickets in a chameleons cage overnight.
Crickets in a screen cage tend to migrate to the top edges and corners of the cage itself.
Chameleons with ample places to crawl like live plants, fake vines, fake plants ect will pretty much stay on that type of decoration. That right there is a natural separation of food and animal.
My adult and nursery cages have crickets at all times in there cages. When I see crickets starting to run low in a cage I will immediately replenish that cage with food. I pay much closer attention to my baby cages as far as food is concerned. Everyonce in a while an adult cage will be found with 0 insects inside. But constant food is way more important to growing animals. As adults they don't eat near as much as a growing animal. As adults they are much more predictable as to what they need to eat to keep them happy and healthy. But I'd say at any given time you will find food during any night in 90% of my cages.
I feed 7 days a week here. There's always a cage that's running low and I keep crickets by the 1000s on hand.
My chameleons are not getting chewed on what so ever by crickets. I can't even name one wacky situation where this has ever happened and I've housed 100s and 100s of chameleons to date. Not quite a 1000 yet but that number is not to far away.
I am not speaking from an artical I read or from some book or some other way. I'm speaking from experience.

In the past I have seen pictures on here where members posted photos of what crickets did to there chameleons overnight and it looked pretty nasty. Experience members, way more experienced them me would comment and warn others not to over feed and leave crickets in the enclosures at night. My chameleons don't have enclosures and are only cup fed crickets as they eat them and when I've had babies in baby bins I always removed uneaten crickets if there are any. Crickets are nasty little buggers and I'm not taking any chances.

 

[marley patches]

I'm not putting anyone's info down to be mean. But I felt like I should correct this info while I have a chance so this information does not spread.
You can absolutely positively 100% without any problem leave crickets in a chameleons cage overnight.
Crickets in a screen cage tend to migrate to the top edges and corners of the cage itself.
Chameleons with ample places to crawl like live plants, fake vines, fake plants ect will pretty much stay on that type of decoration. That right there is a natural separation of food and animal.
My adult and nursery cages have crickets at all times in there cages. When I see crickets starting to run low in a cage I will immediately replenish that cage with food. I pay much closer attention to my baby cages as far as food is concerned. Everyonce in a while an adult cage will be found with 0 insects inside. But constant food is way more important to growing animals. As adults they don't eat near as much as a growing animal. As adults they are much more predictable as to what they need to eat to keep them happy and healthy. But I'd say at any given time you will find food during any night in 90% of my cages.
I feed 7 days a week here. There's always a cage that's running low and I keep crickets by the 1000s on hand.
My chameleons are not getting chewed on what so ever by crickets. I can't even name one wacky situation where this has ever happened and I've housed 100s and 100s of chameleons to date. Not quite a 1000 yet but that number is not to far away.
I am not speaking from an artical I read or from some book or some other way. I'm speaking from experience.

i'm not a advid member I just suggested no crickets by why what told by more than 5 people on here , I myself not taking a chance that a cricket or crickets will bite my 250.00 panther and panther has slept near the side of her housery ,that's just my inexperience as a cham owner

 

[Craigwyatt]

i'm not a advid member I just suggested no crickets by why what told by more than 5 people on here , I myself not taking a chance that a cricket or crickets will bite my 250.00 panther and panther has slept near the side of her housery ,that's just my inexperience as a cham owner

I don't make certain practices on animals based on there value. I very very rarely have a veiled chameleon for sale but Everyonce in a while I'll end up with a few in a trade. I have never sold a veiled for more than $20-$25. But they still receive the exact same care I give my $500 valued cap est panthers or my $100-$300 other panthers. Value plays zero roll in how I maintain my collection. I've got a red ear slider tha has zero value. That sucker cost me more in food, specialty stuff like filters and other random turtle stuff plus electricity but he/she gets treated like royalty.
Now I could see someone having a horrific setup with minimum places to climb and those chameleons are usually missing all of there toe nails from cage climbing. I can see this chameleon along with any other chameleon that's cage climbing due to a bad setup def getting chewed on by crickets.
An opinion is like a butt everyone has one. There are exceptions to my way of doing it but there are exceptions to everything in life. If you feel more comfortable taking out crickets every night well I can't see anything wrong with it. But if your leaving them in there's nothing wrong with that either.
I suggest to anyone that thinks I'm wrong to call any real panther breeder or chameleon breeder in general and ask them if there picking crickets every night.

 

[Decadancin]

Nothing wrong with removing crickets to be on the safe side. I wont argue either way, but I can see an argument for both. I have seen a basilisk with a terrible injury from a cricket bite, as well as a garter snake, but I don't think the crickets were the same types that are commonly sold as feeders today. I don't take chances with them, but some do get away and hide. I'm not ripping the enclosure apart looking for them. (That is of course unless they are keeping my wife up. In that case I'm not sleeping either ) Now, I will admit that I have many times wanted to say something similar to what @Craigwyatt has said, but I still have enough doubt that I'm not so confident to suggest it. I haven't seen any recent examples of animals with injuries, so I guess that's a good sign.

 

[jajeanpierre]

If you say it often enough, loudly enough, and especially if many people repeat it, almost everyone will believe it to be true....

If you look through Mader's textbook on reptile veterinary medicine, you will not find one single reference to insects injuring reptiles. There is a chapter on injuries caused by feeders but it is all about live mice and rats--no reference at all to insects causing an injury to a reptile. None.

I think @Decadancin has a point that the crickets sold are not the same as the big crickets found under rocks in the garden. I think starving crickets possibly could cause a problem but I doubt it. There are well fed crickets in my cages at all time. I free range them.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Hello,
I bought a second hand Vieled the other day. He is about 9 months old and seems happy to move around the enclosure. At the moment I can't seem to get the temperature in his basking spot above 81'f.
When I collected him, he had very little greenery or places to hide. And about 10 crickets roaming freely and burrowing in some bark on the floor. I have since cleared the floor, and added more plants for him to hide in (see picture), as well as made a bug feeder to put the crickets in and keep an eye on what he's eating. I haven't seen him eat anything yet, but two crickets disappeared over night (hoping it was him!) I have been spraying the enclosure twice a day, but again I haven't seen him drink anything...
He is very shy and hides as soon as I walk in the room. He is also quite skinny and I'm worried he is not eating enough. I have topped up the feeder today but he hasn't been near it yet.
Can anybody reassure me that this is normal, or suggest trying anything new? Maybe he just needs time to settle? Thanks in advance! View attachment 165521 View attachment 165522View attachment 165521 View attachment 165522 View attachment 165521 View attachment 165522

Back on topic, your chameleon looks really really rough. He looks dehydrated and/or very thin. Your cage is very stark and barren--he needs more cover. If he is dehydrated he will not eat. He might not even drink.

Twice a day misting is not enough especially an animal in his condition. If he were in my house I would be running misters on him for 10 to 15 minutes every two hours. Most chameleons don't like to be sprayed by a person holding a hand mister for a variety of reasons, one being they are afraid of the person and the sprayer. Hand sprayers usually have bigger droplets, not the foggy spray of an automatic mister. Most chameleons don't like to be hit by a spray. They often drink by almost breathing in the mist rather than licking it off leaves. Sometimes it takes many minutes of misting to stimulate them to start drinking.

That tiny ficus at the bottom of the cage is not going to increase the humidity. There isn't really many places for him to drink off leaves. Chameleons don't go to places to eat or drink. They are an ambush predator--they pretty much just sit around waiting for food and water to come by their faces. Ditch the feeder container--that's a learned thing and you have a chameleon that is in really rough shape who needs food to be enticing. Free ranging prey is much more enticing than prey in a cup.

I think an automatic misting system is a necessary piece of chameleon keeping equipment. Buy a good one that won't break when it runs dry. A starter MistKing is quite inexpensive. In the mean time, put a big bushy live plant in your shower, put him on it and run the shower at about body temperature so it hits the wall NOT THE PLANT and the mist bounces off the wall and envelopes the plant. Do that SEVERAL times a day for 20 minutes.

 

[Denver16]

Back on topic, your chameleon looks really really rough. He looks dehydrated and/or very thin. Your cage is very stark and barren--he needs more cover. If he is dehydrated he will not eat. He might not even drink.

Twice a day misting is not enough especially an animal in his condition. If he were in my house I would be running misters on him for 10 to 15 minutes every two hours. Most chameleons don't like to be sprayed by a person holding a hand mister for a variety of reasons, one being they are afraid of the person and the sprayer. Hand sprayers usually have bigger droplets, not the foggy spray of an automatic mister. Most chameleons don't like to be hit by a spray. They often drink by almost breathing in the mist rather than licking it off leaves. Sometimes it takes many minutes of misting to stimulate them to start drinking.

That tiny ficus at the bottom of the cage is not going to increase the humidity. There isn't really many places for him to drink off leaves. Chameleons don't go to places to eat or drink. They are an ambush predator--they pretty much just sit around waiting for food and water to come by their faces. Ditch the feeder container--that's a learned thing and you have a chameleon that is in really rough shape who needs food to be enticing. Free ranging prey is much more enticing than prey in a cup.

I think an automatic misting system is a necessary piece of chameleon keeping equipment. Buy a good one that won't break when it runs dry. A starter MistKing is quite inexpensive. In the mean time, put a big bushy live plant in your shower, put him on it and run the shower at about body temperature so it hits the wall NOT THE PLANT and the mist bounces off the wall and envelopes the plant. Do that SEVERAL times a day for 20 minutes.

Thanks for your advice! So since I posted that picture, he has begun to shed all over and he has also eaten some worms (still not going for the crickets!) He is a l much brighter colour underneath. I can't put him on a plant and take him out anywhere because he won't let me near him. He puffs himself up and runs away. When I put a hand anywhere near him I can't tell if he's hissing at me or going to bite me (mouth open and flicks his head in my direction!). Will get a misting system and I know I also need to think about getting a bigger enclosure soon! Thinking of going with a mixed side and screen if I can, with winter coming I doubt it will keep to temperature otherwise! There is another live plant in there but I don't know what it is (he came with set up). Thanks again! Any more tips greatly appreciated!!