New to Chameleons and need help!

L

Loveallanimals

New Member
Hi all. My husband and I have a young Veiled Cham and she's been doing great! We feed her crickets from the pet store and we gut load before feeding and there is a small feeder in the enclosure for them to feed from as well. (she can't get in it)
Anyway, I've not seen her eat lately but I have seen her go to the mister spout and drink the drip that is hanging there. We have a waterfall thing in there that we raised up halfway up the enclosure so that she can drink from that. (Though, we've never seen her do it)
Today I noticed that she seemed very sleepy. The only thing that may have stressed her is that my husband handled her for a few minutes last night but I wouldn't think that it would've stressed her to this point.
Any advice? Concerned!
 
Your Chameleon - Female, Veiled, Body is about the circumference of your thumb, overall body length is about 6" (including tail) We've had her about a month
  • Handling - Almost not at all. Husband handled her some last night, for about 10 minutes.
  • Feeding - We are feeding her small crickets, (the width of her head), we buy them from Petco, they are gut loaded with Mazuri diet and Fluker's cricket quencher
  • Supplements - The crickets are in there for her to free feed. They are not getting on her or bothering her. Up until recently she's had a good appetite. The calcium and supplements are in her cricket's food.
  • Watering - We have a dual head mister that comes on every hour for 10 seconds. The floor of the cage is soaked but she doesn't go down there at all. We did have a waterfall type waterer. We took it out concerned it was nasty (never saw her use it) and sure enough, she likes to poop on it and around it. LOL It's gone as of tonight.
  • Fecal Description - stool is dark with the white. Seems that she's been a good pooper. It was everywhere. No, she's not been tested for parasites.
  • History -Nothing outstanding.
  • Cage Type - Her home is a Reptibreeze, Mid size, It's on the bar at the corner of the kitchen, away from the stove but higher than most everything in her surrounding.
  • Lighting - Dual dome light with one bulb for heat(60w) and the other for UVB (13w Reptisun 5.0). Plenty of vines that allow for her to venture top to bottom. Her timer is set 12 on 12 off. Now, if we are up, there are other lights on in the house.
  • Temperature - Temp is around lower 70's in the upper 1/3 of her cage. It'd be cooler at the bottom.
  • Humidity - Humidity is between 50% and 60% We use a monsoon RS 400 for misting and maintaining humidity. The nozzles are located in the upper right and left corners and the plastic vines (pet store purchased and thoroughly washed before placement) are gathered under them to catch as much water as they can for her to drink from
  • Plants - No live plants.
  • Placement - Top of cage is almost 6 feet from the floor. It is in something of a high traffic area (we are a family of 3 but usually low key) we do have dogs that bark sometimes but she's never seemed to mind it as she's not run to hide or change color when they act up. The only fan is a ceiling fan in the living room, (open concept home) which is about 10 to 12' away and is mounted about 8' from the floor. No significant drafts to be felt in her area.
  • Location We are located in lower sc. As of late we've had humid weather with temps that don't allow the ac to come on when set to 72 to 74. In the past week we've had it set at 70.
 
Hi Loveallanimals,thats was a great move that you remove ur waterfall.May l ask you what is your basking spot temperature for this pretty Veiled of yours?
 
Over 70 I'm sure. She's RIGHT up under the light on that branch. She comes down lower to poop. :) Then right back up. She sleeps with a leg dangling. :)
 
Has she shed since you've had her! They quit eating a couple days before a shed! My 16 do that before a shed!
 
You don't dust the insects with a phosphorous - free calcium at most feedings? Dust twice a month with a phosphorous - free calcium / D3 powder and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A?
What do you feed / gutload the insects with?
The basking temperature should be in the low to mid 80'sF.
Pllease post a recent photo of her.
 
If the top of your cage is only 70°, she is freezing. The basking spot/ top of cage should be mid 80s aND the bottom should be low to mid 70s. You also need to be dusting the feeders with powdered calcium daily. Calcium WITHOUT d3 daily and calcium WITH d3 twice a month and multivitamin twice a month, none on the same day. You'll also want to get a variety of feeders for her not just crickets. If the store near you doesn't have anything you can order them online from some of the site sponsers. Superworms, dubia roaches, hornworms are some good ones but there's plenty of others. If she can still see the other lights on at night this will prevent her from slleeping. Even if it's just tv light. You can drape a sheet or something over her cage so she has complete darkness. I have to wrap a thin blanket around my cage because it's in my livingroom and I don't go to bed at 7pm lol. Having the bottom of the cage soaked isn't going to do her any good. They won't drink standing water so you might try a dripper. You can buy one or you can make your own homemade one. Read up on the care sheets on here and make sure you follow then because they do work for keeping healthy chams. Also, user jannb has kept veileds for a long time and knows her stuff. I believe she has a blog so you might want to look her up. Good luck and welcome!
 
kinyonga said:
You don't dust the insects with a phosphorous - free calcium at most feedings? Dust twice a month with a phosphorous - free calcium / D3 powder and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A?
What do you feed / gutload the insects with?
The basking temperature should be in the low to mid 80'sF.
Pllease post a recent photo of her.
Click to expand...
Please read what I posted about feeding
 
LindsayG said:
If the top of your cage is only 70°, she is freezing. The basking spot/ top of cage should be mid 80s aND the bottom should be low to mid 70s. You also need to be dusting the feeders with powdered calcium daily. Calcium WITHOUT d3 daily and calcium WITH d3 twice a month and multivitamin twice a month, none on the same day. You'll also want to get a variety of feeders for her not just crickets. If the store near you doesn't have anything you can order them online from some of the site sponsers. Superworms, dubia roaches, hornworms are some good ones but there's plenty of others. If she can still see the other lights on at night this will prevent her from slleeping. Even if it's just tv light. You can drape a sheet or something over her cage so she has complete darkness. I have to wrap a thin blanket around my cage because it's in my livingroom and I don't go to bed at 7pm lol. Having the bottom of the cage soaked isn't going to do her any good. They won't drink standing water so you might try a dripper. You can buy one or you can make your own homemade one. Read up on the care sheets on here and make sure you follow then because they do work for keeping healthy chams. Also, user jannb has kept veileds for a long time and knows her stuff. I believe she has a blog so you might want to look her up. Good luck and welcome!
Click to expand...
Where she basks I'm sure is in the 80's. Now, her crickets are fed a fortified diet. we were told dust or gut load but not both
 
Loveallanimals said:
Where she basks I'm sure is in the 80's. Now, her crickets are fed a fortified diet. we were told dust or gut load but not both
Click to expand...

You definitely need to do both. There isn't enough calcium in crickets to give her what she needs. Especially as she gets older and starts laying eggs. She's going to need all the calcium she can get. She needs it a lot now too that she's a growing little girl. Gutload your feeders with fresh veggies and fruits and leafy greens. All those flukers gutloads are crap (which i didnt fiND out until i joiNed this site and had bought a couple containers). There are others out there that are much better. Repashy has some good ones, there also some other really good ones, can't remember what they're called now, but member nick barta was selling them in the classified section. Im not sure about the flukers water cubes but I just give my crickets actual water. I have a little tuperware container that I filled wi th small river rocks then filled it with water. They can't drown with the rocks in it but can still drink from it. Just think about what your feeding your crickets and other feeders is what youre eventually feeding your chameleon. You'll also want to get a thermometer to know exactly how hot each area is for her. Too hot and it can burn her but too cold and she can become sickly and won't be able to digest food properly and other problems. A digital temp gun I've found works best because you can get a reading for the exact spot she's basking in. They have them pretty cheap on amazon.
 
Getting so frustrated.... She's weak acting and has fallen twice. We felt her and she felt cold. Her favorite place to bask is 90 give or take a few degrees. She has other places to go if it's too hot. I made a tunnel out of a heating pad and she just laid in it. Then as it warmed she got up and walked out and crawled on my husband's hand. She climbed back on her vine and is sitting there. We placed a heating pad on top of the cage and covered with a towel to keep it dark.
The crickets are fed... Mazuri
Crude protein min of 30%
Crude fat min of 15.00%
crude Fiber max of 9.00%
Moisture max of12.00%
Ash max 20.00%
Calcium min 8.00%
Calcium max 9.00%
Phosphorous min .60%
Sodium max .60%
Omega3 Fatty acids min 4.00%
Beta Carotene min 100ppm

ETA: the Fluker's is for their (crickets) drinking, if they want to use it. Otherwise they have access to water.
 
I don't want to seem rude or ungrateful but I'm waiting over here for someone to offer advice and when I check and its obvious that my full post hasn't been read it's a bit frustrating. :( She has been eating, drinking and pooping fine. It's the sleepiness that has us concerned. Now the weakness too. Her water is distilled water too, btw.
 
Last edited:
I'm sorry you're not getting the help you need. It could be the night? Maybe there aren't many people on right now I have no idea. I do know though that the calcium and multivitamins are a seriously big deal and if she hasn't been getting any for a while or ever, it may be time for a vet visit. They can give her a calcium boost and help get you on the track to recovery, if that's the problem. Can you post a pic of your little one? Maybe that will inspire other members to comment. Theres a lot of threads to get through out there so as hard as it is try to be a little patient. Also, a vet visit wouldn't be the worst idea even if she doesn't have a serious issue. A wellness exam is always a good thing and it's better to catch something early then to wait til it's a huge problem.
 
I've been keeping chameleons for over 25 years and I feed/gutload my insects and dust them....and my female veileds, for instance, live to be over 6 years of age as a rule.

I feed / gutload the crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts with a wide assortment of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

I dust at almost every feeding with a phosphorous-free calcium powder to make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects. I dust twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium / D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed ) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources of vitamin A cannot build up in the system and lead to overdoses like prEformed sources can and will leave it up to you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.
 
LindsayG said:
I'm sorry you're not getting the help you need. It could be the night? Maybe there aren't many people on right now I have no idea. I do know though that the calcium and multivitamins are a seriously big deal and if she hasn't been getting any for a while or ever, it may be time for a vet visit. They can give her a calcium boost and help get you on the track to recovery, if that's the problem. Can you post a pic of your little one? Maybe that will inspire other members to comment. Theres a lot of threads to get through out there so as hard as it is try to be a little patient. Also, a vet visit wouldn't be the worst idea even if she doesn't have a serious issue. A wellness exam is always a good thing and it's better to catch something early then to wait til it's a huge problem.
Click to expand...
And I know of a vet that we can take her to. But, as luck would have it... it's a holiday. :/ So I'll be calling tomorrow to see if someone answers and can see her. :( *sigh. We've read so many different things that our heads are spinning. And I'm sorry ... my heart is breaking for Trixie and for my husband.
Thank you all for your help and posts.
 
kinyonga said:
I've been keeping chameleons for over 25 years and I feed/gutload my insects and dust them....and my female veileds, for instance, live to be over 6 years of age as a rule.

I feed / gutload the crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts with a wide assortment of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

I dust at almost every feeding with a phosphorous-free calcium powder to make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects. I dust twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium / D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed ) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources of vitamin A cannot build up in the system and lead to overdoses like prEformed sources can and will leave it up to you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.
Click to expand...
Okay, so she could be sluggish due to lack of the calcium and vitamins? I do have some dusting powder here and will use it. Is there a way that I can get it INTO her now! or do I need a vet for that?
 
Loveallanimals said:
I don't want to seem rude or ungrateful but I'm waiting over here for someone to offer advice and when I check and its obvious that my full post hasn't been read it's a bit frustrating. :( She has been eating, drinking and pooping fine. It's the sleepiness that has us concerned. Now the weakness too. Her water is distilled water too, btw.
Click to expand...
Please dont feel that way,I understand your frustration,but I need you to be nice and calm so you can handle this easier.
First i will recommend to find an exotic chameleon specialist in your area,then please bring her in along with her freshly laying poop (within 1to 2hour time frame) to the vet,at this critical time,you have to let the vet determined what is the problem thru all sorts test since you told us that she has fallen. Twice,chameleon usually wont fall on their own,so please take her to your vet and get to the bottom of this ASAP,this is my honest opinion to you,please keep us updated to this beautiful chameleon of yours,I will wish her the best.
 
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