Please Help! Few Veiled Chameleon Problems

[drmdrm25]

Yesterday I got a 4-5 month old male veiled.

1. Today Oscar started climbing up on the screen roof under the light. He's done it twice and both times I've taken him off for fear of him being burned. The basking spot is about 79 to 80 the middle of the cage is about 70.


2. My 2nd worry is that Oscar hasn't really eaten much. He's only eaten 1 cricket. I also haven't seen him drink any when I've sprayed his cage.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Hello and Welcome!

Congrats on your new addition! First thing to do is take a big breath. Chameleon keeping can be very stressful. When I got my first cham, I was so worried about all the params and everything else, that i could hardly think.

Climbing on the mesh and under the light is very common for small chams. This is nothing to be worried about. If your light is up and off the mesh, then you should have no problem. With the temps you recorded he should be able to chill there all day with nothing happening. Just double check your temps and make sure the mesh is not getting hot.

In terms of the eating. Give him a couple days to get used to his cage. Offer food everyday but do not get worried if he doesnt eat much for a couple days. For the water, just make sure he has access to a dripper for at least a couple hours of the day. In my experience, baby chams are scared to drink in front of people. I have some chams that I have never seen them drink to this day. Just check the urates in his poop to make sure it is white and he should be good on water. If the urates are orange or red, then he may need a shower, but we can address that at a later time. good luck!

 

[craig90]

You can mount the light off the top of the cage by a couple inches so you don't have to worry about burns when he crawls on the screen. Just make sure the temperature in the basking spot is still in the correct range.

Since you just got him yesterday he is probably stressed out and still adjusting to his new home. So don't worry if he isn't eating very much right away. His appetite should pick up over the next few days.

 

[drmdrm25]

Hello and Welcome!

Congrats on your new addition! First thing to do is take a big breath. Chameleon keeping can be very stressful. When I got my first cham, I was so worried about all the params and everything else, that i could hardly think.

Climbing on the mesh and under the light is very common for small chams. This is nothing to be worried about. If your light is up and off the mesh, then you should have no problem. With the temps you recorded he should be able to chill there all day with nothing happening. Just double check your temps and make sure the mesh is not getting hot.

In terms of the eating. Give him a couple days to get used to his cage. Offer food everyday but do not get worried if he doesnt eat much for a couple days. For the water, just make sure he has access to a dripper for at least a couple hours of the day. In my experience, baby chams are scared to drink in front of people. I have some chams that I have never seen them drink to this day. Just check the urates in his poop to make sure it is white and he should be good on water. If the urates are orange or red, then he may need a shower, but we can address that at a later time. good luck!

If I increase the temperature in the cage would that stop him from doing that? Should I have the dripper just drip on the leaves in his cage?

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Is there a specific reason you do not want him climbing on the screen? I would not raise the temp in the cage, your temps are good as is. You could try adding more foliage to climb on, this usually helps in keeping them off the screen. I bought plastic yard fencing from home depot which has 0.5 inch squares. I mounted this inside the cage along the walls. This allows him to climb but the 0.5 holes are big enough to where he will not hurt his toe nails.

Yes, just have your dripper dripping on the leaves in an area where he can see it.

 

[PenelopeGarcia]

We are new to veileds also, and when we brought our female home 9 days ago she did not eat for two days. On day three she demolished 10 crickets. On average she eats 10 on one day and maybe 4-6 on the others (I give 10 each day and remove what she does not eat before lights out). I think they simply need to get used to their new environments. She did not poop until day 4 and her urates are white and all is good. She poops about every 30 hours or so. Do you have a misting system? We do but find it is still not enough and bought a shower curtain to cut panels for the sides to increase the humidity.

On another note, even though our cham was pretty friendly at first, she pretty much likes to not have anyone stare at her. If she is upright on a branch and you approach her cage she will tilt away from you. We are just respecting that she is just that way and giving her time to learn the ropes in her new digs.

 

[drmdrm25]

Is there a specific reason you do not want him climbing on the screen? I would not raise the temp in the cage, your temps are good as is. You could try adding more foliage to climb on, this usually helps in keeping them off the screen. I bought plastic yard fencing from home depot which has 0.5 inch squares. I mounted this inside the cage along the walls. This allows him to climb but the 0.5 holes are big enough to where he will not hurt his toe nails.

Yes, just have your dripper dripping on the leaves in an area where he can see it.

I am just worried about him burning himself because he just hangs directly under the light bulb.

 

[ridgebax1]

This is very common for babies. If you raise the light so it does not touch the screen, you should be ok.

 

[drmdrm25]

This is very common for babies. If you raise the light so it does not touch the screen, you should be ok.

I would but I don't have a way to raise the lamp.

 

[windex]

if you can't make something to raise the lights you'll have to get something.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147204&f=PAD/psNotAvailInCA/No
would work
I have my light mounted about 6" above the top of the screen for now, mounted to the wall with a hook

 

[drmdrm25]

if you can't make something to raise the lights you'll have to get something.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147204&f=PAD/psNotAvailInCA/No
would work
I have my light mounted about 6" above the top of the screen for now, mounted to the wall with a hook

I'm sure I could figure something out but mounting the light would make a new problem. It would drastically change the basking spot temperature which isn't very warm at 79 right now.

 

[windex]

You could put a higher wattage bulb in the fixture to get the temps back up

 

[ragingreefer]

Maybe a plant that reaches just a little closer to the bulb

 

[drmdrm25]

You could put a higher wattage bulb in the fixture to get the temps back up

Is it necessary to raise the light?

 

[Carlton]

If I increase the temperature in the cage would that stop him from doing that? Should I have the dripper just drip on the leaves in his cage?

No, don't do this. Ironically, chams don't have many temp sensors in their skin "reminding" them they might be getting overheated. If your basking spot temp drops a little it may mean he spends a little more time warming up under it in the mornings. Many many juvenile chams insist on climbing the screen under their lights. Eventually they stop. As long as the mesh isn't getting hot there's no real risk letting him do it.

 

[windex]

Is it necessary to raise the light?

Probably have to. The temperature directly under the heat lamp is probably very high, if you don't want him to get burnt then its probably a good idea.. Put your hand where he is climbing, you probably can't keep it there for very long..