Opinion on a rescued veiled

[KrinsCham]

Hello all. I rescued this chameleon two days ago. I believe it is a male ( heel spur), please correct me if I am wrong. This guy is obviously under weight. His set up that I got him with was the bare minimum to keep him alive. I added a proper spot/heat uvb bulb and a t5 5.0 HO bulb. I also added a dripper and a live plant. He had none of these basic things. He had the wooden dowels seen in the pic and a mister which I will continue to use, a red light and a fluorescent bulb that comes in standard the two light starter kit.
My question is about his age and size. I don’t know if they can be stunted because of lack of care/food. He is defiantly small, previous owner says they have had him for a year and a half. He moves around, colored right up with new lights and plant and he eats well. Will he grow full size ? Doesn’t really matter I guess just curious. I will fatten him up and get him healthy. So small looks like a girl to me, but heal spurs make me think different.
I would appreciate any advice and thoughts on the matter.
Thanks
PS not my first Cham, super happy to have one again my kids are finally old enough for me to have time and for them to be interested.

 

[nightanole]

Veiled growth is based on available food. Its why we say dont over feed the females at an early age. The worse case is the body does not grow fast enough to support the internal organs. This does not appear to be the case, and hes not showing any MBD. So he may fill out well once he has reached his calorie needs.

A fatty fed male might reach full size in 9 months. But a thin one might take 2 years to reach adult size.

 

[Gloriawood]

My guy was a rescue as well. He was also a bit underweight and about 1.5 years when I got him. He did not get any bigger really. He filled out though.

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

Hi and welcome, other people will have more helpful input than me but I dropped in to let you know that red light can actually be bad for their lil eyes, recommendation is no colored bulbs standard white light w/ 12 hr lighting cycles

 

[KrinsCham]

Hi and welcome, other people will have more helpful input than me but I dropped in to let you know that red light can actually be bad for their lil eyes, recommendation is no colored bulbs standard white light w/ 12 hr lighting cycles

Thanks. Red light is what he had I replaced it, thanks for the info.

 

[KrinsCham]

My guy was a rescue as well. He was also a bit underweight and about 1.5 years when I got him. He did not get any bigger really. He filled out though.

Good to know, guess time will tell. Hope I can get this guy to fill out also.

 

[KrinsCham]

Veiled growth is based on available food. Its why we say dont over feed the females at an early age. The worse case is the body does not grow fast enough to support the internal organs. This does not appear to be the case, and hes not showing any MBD. So he may fill out well once he has reached his calorie needs.

A fatty fed male might reach full size in 9 months. But a thin one might take 2 years to reach adult size.

I appreciate this information. I do think he is going to be ok. I don’t see any signs of major disease either, just mal nourished.
I hope he fills out and gets healthier, if he grows to full size that will be a bonus.
He has ate two days in a row, crickets and wax worms, hasn’t pooped yet.
I’m keep doing my best to get him back on track. Thanks again for the info.

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

I appreciate this information. I do think he is going to be ok. I don’t see any signs of major disease either, just mal nourished.
I hope he fills out and gets healthier, if he grows to full size that will be a bonus.
He has ate two days in a row, crickets and wax worms, hasn’t pooped yet.
I’m keep doing my best to get him back on track. Thanks again for the info.

When he does poop before you make him a super involved set up it may be a good idea to get him screened for parasites

 

[Beman]

^^^^ this right here... Highly recommend you get a fecal run to ensure baby does not have a parasite load.

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

^^^^ this right here... Highly recommend you get a fecal run to ensure baby does not have a parasite load.

Because if he does (worst case scenario) any permanent enclosure you make him would have to be stripped down so it’s a good idea to do this before doing anything else

(This was the error I made when getting a Cham, I built him out a permanent cage and it turned out he did have a parasite so I had to junk everything in the cage