New owner: Senegal husbandry questions

[Lainedelong]

Hi everyone! I am the new owner of a baby Senegal chameleon, and I am learning more and more every day! I just want to make sure I’m taking the best care of my chameleon as I can. I’ve owned a 5 foot iguana before, but I’m learning that the two are very different. I’ve noticed dark marks on him that look like burns/bruises but go away by the end of the day. Are these his receptive colors? I’ve attached photos of him and his cage! Thanks so much for the help in advance!

Cage pic:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  Senegal chameleon, juvenile (unsure of age, approx 4 inches long) I adopted him on Dec. 27th
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 5-10 minutes a week
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? 8-10 crickets each day, fed in the morning 1-2 hours after lights on. Currently gut-loading with the yellow Fluker’s Calcium quencher.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Every day with Exo-terra Calcium w/o D3. Twice a month Fluker’s ReptaCalcium w/ D3. I am looking for recommendations on which multivitamin to use in alternate to the D3.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I am home all day so I hand mist. Lights come on at 7a; I wait until 8:30 for my first mist. I mist again at 1, and 4:30; 30 sec-1 min each time. Lights off at 7p. My cham drinks each misting.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Never been tested for parasites. Normal, consistent droppings with white urate. He has has one dropping with no urate. Does that mean anything?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. We ordered him from Underground Reptiles in Florida. He came in a brown paper bag inside a styrofoam box.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I have the 12x12x18 Zoo Med Tropical Terrarium Kit until he gets big enough to hunt his own food. I know the minimum requirement is 18x18x24, but he still has trouble finding crickets in his cage if they hop out of the bowl. I will be upgrading in size as he grows! The cage is glass on 3 sides and screened on top. I made the mistake of using particle substrate and a waterfall when I first got him (Then I found this website and learned that’s a big no no!) so his cage is a little bare right now.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I am currently using the Zoo Med 60watt Daylight reptile bulb that came in the kit. 12 hour light cycle; 7a-7p
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? The overall temperature is 72-80 overall during the day, with the basking spot being around 85. At night the temperature falls to about 60. Is this too drastic of a drop? I am using a reptile temperature/hygrometer from the pet store right now; I move it around the cage during the day to check my temperature readings.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? The humidity ranges from 50-70%, around 70% when I mist. Is this too high? I am using the same thermometer/hygrometer from the pet store.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I use fake plants
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? My cage is located in the corner of my dining room on a table about 5 feet off the ground. Not quite a high traffic area, but not completely secluded.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in Ohio.

 

[Syreptyon]

A lot to cover here. Firstly, are you sure it is male? If he is indeed male, then he is not going to be showing you any receptive colors. That's a female thing. The black marking are probably just his native patterns. Remember you have a chameleon - their colors are dynamic.

Handling: That's an awful lot of handling for such a new animal. I would recommend reducing if not eliminating handling altogether, at least until he gets settled for a couple months. Wild caught chams are especially prone to stress from handling.

Feeding: Throw out the fluker's gutload, it will do your chameleon no good. Fluker's products are not for chameleons because they have hardly any nutritional value in them at all. Instead try Cricket Crack, which is a commercially made gutload which is extremely nutritious. Basically anything at all is better than what you're using right now. The best option is always fresh produce, however (check the resources section because not all produce is safe or healthful)

Supplements: I would ditch what you have and just use Repashy Calcium Plus LoD for every feeding. It covers all bases and is formulated to have appropriate doses of its ingredients for daily use.

Fecal description: You have a wildcaught animal and the company you purchased from has a very bad reputation, so you will really want to get a fecal test done. It would be shocking if it didn't have parasites. Wildcaught animals already have very low life expectancies usually, so if you want to have as much time as possible with the little guy, then treating him should be a high priority.

Cage: He isn't going to be growing much more. Senegals are a small species and I wouldn't be surprised if he's already reached his mature size. He will not have trouble hunting anything and, since you're cup feeding anyways, this is not a valid reason to delay upgrading his enclosure. It is way too small for him. It also looks like you're using repti-carpet on the bottom? That will need to be removed because it will do nothing but get wet, stay soggy, and harbor dangerous bacteria which will get your chameleon sick. This is just a matter of time unfortunately, so best to change this quickly. Bare bottom or bioactive are the ways to go. In such a tiny enclosure, water buildup is a very large concern.

Lighting: Are you not using any UVB bulb at all?? You only list the daylight bulb which only produces heat. Your chameleon will die without UVB. Also blue lights should not be used for chameleons. Switch the basking to a white light bulb.

Also, adding live plants is significantly preferred to fake ones.

 

[Lainedelong]

A lot to cover here. Firstly, are you sure it is male? If he is indeed male, then he is not going to be showing you any receptive colors. That's a female thing. The black marking are probably just his native patterns. Remember you have a chameleon - their colors are dynamic.

Handling: That's an awful lot of handling for such a new animal. I would recommend reducing if not eliminating handling altogether, at least until he gets settled for a couple months. Wild caught chams are especially prone to stress from handling.

Feeding: Throw out the fluker's gutload, it will do your chameleon no good. Fluker's products are not for chameleons because they have hardly any nutritional value in them at all. Instead try Cricket Crack, which is a commercially made gutload which is extremely nutritious. Basically anything at all is better than what you're using right now. The best option is always fresh produce, however (check the resources section because not all produce is safe or healthful)

Supplements: I would ditch what you have and just use Repashy Calcium Plus LoD for every feeding. It covers all bases and is formulated to have appropriate doses of its ingredients for daily use.

Fecal description: You have a wildcaught animal and the company you purchased from has a very bad reputation, so you will really want to get a fecal test done. It would be shocking if it didn't have parasites. Wildcaught animals already have very low life expectancies usually, so if you want to have as much time as possible with the little guy, then treating him should be a high priority.

Cage: He isn't going to be growing much more. Senegals are a small species and I wouldn't be surprised if he's already reached his mature size. He will not have trouble hunting anything and, since you're cup feeding anyways, this is not a valid reason to delay upgrading his enclosure. It is way too small for him. It also looks like you're using repti-carpet on the bottom? That will need to be removed because it will do nothing but get wet, stay soggy, and harbor dangerous bacteria which will get your chameleon sick. This is just a matter of time unfortunately, so best to change this quickly. Bare bottom or bioactive are the ways to go. In such a tiny enclosure, water buildup is a very large concern.

Lighting: Are you not using any UVB bulb at all?? You only list the daylight bulb which only produces heat. Your chameleon will die without UVB. Also blue lights should not be used for chameleons. Switch the basking to a white light bulb.

Also, adding live plants is significantly preferred to fake ones.

I’m not sure how to sex a Senegal, but the website said he was male. The only time I try to handle him is if he grabs onto me if I’m moving his thermometer/have my hand in the cage doing something. I put him back after a few seconds. Is there any way to avoid him latching onto me? I know they aren’t suppose to be handled much. I will be taking him to the vet ASAP for the fecal test. I bought the repti-carpet yesterday as an alternative to the particle substrate. I’ll take the carpet out and go bare bottom. The bulb I have is a UVA bulb and has a picture of a mature veiled chameleon on the box. What brand/wattage bulb would you recommend instead? I have a few UVB bulbs left over from my iguana I can substitute if they’re the proper specs!

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Please post a few more photos of your chameleon from the side so we can see if we can sex him.

I would move the cage away from the window since you live in a rather cold climate. The draft/chilly night air from the window might cause a RI.

 

[Lainedelong]

Welcome to the forum!

Please post a few more photos of your chameleon from the side so we can see if we can sex him.

I would move the cage away from the window since you live in a rather cold climate. The draft/chilly night air from the window might cause a RI.

Here are two more side photos, I can take more photos tomorrow morning!

What UVB wattage is needed? I went to the pet store to get a new bulb but there were so many choices I wasn’t sure what to get.

 

[kinyonga]

I need to see the base of the tail (near the body) but it has to be straight out ...not curved.

 

[Lainedelong]

Are these pictures better?

I’ve been doing more research into the appropriate light I need to buy and I have two questions. I plan on buying a Reptisun UVB light; can I use the compact bulb or do chameleons prefer linear only? Should I buy the 5.0 or 10.0 UVB? I’ve read that the 10.0 can burn retinas in some cases?

 

[Syreptyon]

Are these pictures better?

View attachment 257295
View attachment 257296
I’ve been doing more research into the appropriate light I need to buy and I have two questions. I plan on buying a Reptisun UVB light; can I use the compact bulb or do chameleons prefer linear only? Should I buy the 5.0 or 10.0 UVB? I’ve read that the 10.0 can burn retinas in some cases?

There are no circumstances in which compact UVB bulbs are appropriate chameleons. A linear 5.0 is what you should go with.

My guess is you have a female from the last photo, but I can't honestly be sure. Almost no one keeps senegal's around here these days, so I'm not really familiar with sexing them. My guess is solely because of the thin tail base

 

[kinyonga]

Senegal males have a very little bulge. Females usually have deeper rounder bodies.

 

[bluewuta]

I would say you have a female, bred them for 6 years with 3 generations and found that unless they are adult it’s hard to tell sex and even then it’s not easy. Males are smaller then females and have a slightly swollen spot under the base of the tail where the hemipenes are. Not as pronounced as other types of chameleons.

 

[kinyonga]

You might be interested in this...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/08FebFrancis.html

 

[salty dog]

Oh man.......................

 

[Lainedelong]

You might be interested in this...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/08FebFrancis.html

This is a one of the best resources I’ve read thus far, thank you so much!

 

[Lainedelong]

Oh man.......................

Would you like to add anything to this discussion....?

 

[Angelwolf]

I would say you have a female, bred them for 6 years with 3 generations and found that unless they are adult it’s hard to tell sex and even then it’s not easy. Males are smaller then females and have a slightly swollen spot under the base of the tail where the hemipenes are. Not as pronounced as other types of chameleons.

I'm not questioning your knowledge and experience, but I see a little bulge? I was thinking male.