Novice Owner-Veiled & Possible Egg laying Situation
- Thread starter Majanegra
- Start date
camimom
New Member
Glad you figured everything out! Hope she makes a full recovery and brings you many years of joy!
As for your supplementing schedule, you should follow what people say on this forum abou it. Just one type isnt enough, I have 4 powders for my veiled male. This will help her to live a long and strong life with you! If you have questions on it or anything else, like waht feeders and what to gutload them with, feel free to post a thread! no question is ever too silly for on here.
As for your supplementing schedule, you should follow what people say on this forum abou it. Just one type isnt enough, I have 4 powders for my veiled male. This will help her to live a long and strong life with you! If you have questions on it or anything else, like waht feeders and what to gutload them with, feel free to post a thread! no question is ever too silly for on here.
Day three of antibiotics, and she seems to be doing well. Her energy is up, shes hissing at me more (she hates me 
and she is feeding. I have her in a seperate tub with sand and one plant as well as a basking light to keep temps up. The vet told me to keep her out of her normal environment while she is sick to avoid the risk of a fall and to aid in medicine delivery, any ideas on when I should put her back in her normal enclosure, also I dont have a uvb bulb pointed at her now as it is perma in her normal enclosure, will this comprimise her health over the next few days?
and she is feeding. I have her in a seperate tub with sand and one plant as well as a basking light to keep temps up. The vet told me to keep her out of her normal environment while she is sick to avoid the risk of a fall and to aid in medicine delivery, any ideas on when I should put her back in her normal enclosure, also I dont have a uvb bulb pointed at her now as it is perma in her normal enclosure, will this comprimise her health over the next few days?
Btw where is that setup form I can fill out so you guys can point out where I am going wrong. I'm sure there is way more I can be doing differently an better with her setup and I would like to get it all done before I move her back in so I'm not doubly stressing her with an under construction cage...
camimom
New Member
here ya go. fill this in and people can make suggesstions for you to improve the life of your cham which will in turn make you a happier chammy owner!
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Cham and Setup Description
CHAMELEON INFO:
BREED-Veiled
SEX-Female
AGE-Unknown was found wandering the streets 2 moths ago
TIME IN MY CARE-2 months
HANDLING-I almost never handle her, with her illness though I have been handling her more to administer meeds
FEEDING-2-3 crickets a day (petco lg. gut loaded), frozen mango chucks 1x per week, super worms 2 to 3x per week. I have seen her catch crickets but I was wondering if there is any technique besides hand-feeding (which she wont go for) to insure she is eating properly...
SUPPLEMENTS-Dust crickets with Reptivite w/D3 1-2x per week.
WATERING- Automated mist system I built 3x per day + gravity fed drip system (2 locations) I have never seen her drink btw.
FECAL-Urate seems good, white. I haven't seen any fecal matter really although I haven't looked that hard when cleaning her cage…
HISTORY-unknown
CAGE INFO:
DESCRIPTION: Homemade 2x2x4' wood and screen cage. Made out of architectural salvage, wooden frame window screens that was thoroughly cleaned and sterized.
LIGHTING: Day(goes on at 7am)- 2x75watt zoo med basking spot lamps, 1 repti glow 5.0 uvb bulb Night(goes on at 8pm)- 2x exo terra 15w moonglow bulbs.
TEMPERATURE: Hovered around 90 degrees in her basking spot which I now know is too hot, I will adjust to achieve 80 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is around 55-60 degrees I believe, I just have petco temp and humidity gages.
HUMIDITY- stays around 65%-70%
PLANTS- POTHOS, other like foliage
PLACEMENT-In between kitchen and living room- this is a high traffic area but we are contientious about it.
LOCATION-We are located in Los Angeles, CA
CURRENT ISSUE- Recovering(crossed fingers) from infection…
Thanks!
CHAMELEON INFO:
BREED-Veiled
SEX-Female
AGE-Unknown was found wandering the streets 2 moths ago
TIME IN MY CARE-2 months
HANDLING-I almost never handle her, with her illness though I have been handling her more to administer meeds
FEEDING-2-3 crickets a day (petco lg. gut loaded), frozen mango chucks 1x per week, super worms 2 to 3x per week. I have seen her catch crickets but I was wondering if there is any technique besides hand-feeding (which she wont go for) to insure she is eating properly...
SUPPLEMENTS-Dust crickets with Reptivite w/D3 1-2x per week.
WATERING- Automated mist system I built 3x per day + gravity fed drip system (2 locations) I have never seen her drink btw.
FECAL-Urate seems good, white. I haven't seen any fecal matter really although I haven't looked that hard when cleaning her cage…
HISTORY-unknown
CAGE INFO:
DESCRIPTION: Homemade 2x2x4' wood and screen cage. Made out of architectural salvage, wooden frame window screens that was thoroughly cleaned and sterized.
LIGHTING: Day(goes on at 7am)- 2x75watt zoo med basking spot lamps, 1 repti glow 5.0 uvb bulb Night(goes on at 8pm)- 2x exo terra 15w moonglow bulbs.
TEMPERATURE: Hovered around 90 degrees in her basking spot which I now know is too hot, I will adjust to achieve 80 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is around 55-60 degrees I believe, I just have petco temp and humidity gages.
HUMIDITY- stays around 65%-70%
PLANTS- POTHOS, other like foliage
PLACEMENT-In between kitchen and living room- this is a high traffic area but we are contientious about it.
LOCATION-We are located in Los Angeles, CA
CURRENT ISSUE- Recovering(crossed fingers) from infection…
Thanks!
Glad to hear that you found out what's wrong with her and that she's recovering!
See below about lighting and supplements, etc. I think it should help...
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.
A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).
Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.
If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).
Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
See below about lighting and supplements, etc. I think it should help...
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.
A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).
Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.
If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).
Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
So she was doing well. I had her on antibiotics for 4 days and eating babyfood and drinking pedialyte out of a syringe. She seemed more active her color was good everything. Then she just stopped. Opening her mouth to get food in is impossible and her energy is at zero. She's been this way for a few days now she seems like she's just circling the drain and there is nothing I can do. I have her in a rubbermaid container cuz I'm scares of her falling in her regular enclosure. I have her temps at 80 deg. And am spraying her to keep up humidity. I have her basking and UVB bulb going. I was able to feed her a blueberry banana mixture with some strained chicken baby food and some of her vitamins this morning but not much. I just can't think of anything else to do. I've already taken her to the vet...any advice?
