Question? Sick? Dehydrated? Shedding?

C

ChamHam

New Member
Hello, I'm all new here, today's my first day on this great forum... I'm owner of two leopard geckos that are super fine good :cool: but who scares me most of the time is my one and a half month (I think?) old yemen chameleon... I always wanted a chameleon, so for my 18 birthday in May I wished for it (just that parents allow me to have it and help me with money...), but it was a gift from me to me..........So........he is with me a good month and it was all fine until yesterday... He woke up all yellow, light-green and it was that color all the day... I put him out of the cage and he didn't change color very much, just a little bit... I noticed a little bit of yellow urine too, but it's not all yellow, just a little bit (the photo is from today's poop)... So today we went out and he was exploring around and wanted to eat a smallsmall stone??? I immediately took it out from his mouth and offered him a cricket, but he didn't want it... After he finally ate it... And today he is ALMOST normal color... Because I think he is a little bit dehydrated, I took him to the shower and misted him with warm water for loooong time - I read that it helps... and every time he opened his mouth I dropped a water drop in his mouth... I never see him drink... And now he is all dark colored and he is starting with his shedding... Is all this mixed coloring because of shedding? And about dehydration, what do you think? Btw I mist the cage and fake plants several times per day.... Thanks for all your help! :D

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1. i don't think it's a good idea to give him showers, not even at 3-4 months, especially NOT NOW. it's not a good idea to get the babies soaking wet.
2. maybe he was too cold for getting him soaking wet from misting
3. the brighter colors are a good thing, you shouldn't be too worried.
 
unknown91 said:
1. i don't think it's a good idea to give him showers, not even at 3-4 months, especially NOT NOW. it's not a good idea to get the babies soaking wet.
2. maybe he was too cold for getting him soaking wet from misting
3. the brighter colors are a good thing, you shouldn't be too worried.
Click to expand...

Not sure if I agree with some of this. A shower can't hurt as long as they are not extremely stressed out by it. Don't stick them in the direct line of water but put them in a plant in the shower and have the water hit the wall and mist over the plant.

The lighter color would not be due to him being cold, if he was cold and wanted to warm up his body temp he would turn darker not lighter.

Finally, drastic color change is done for a reason. It could be both bad or good but most of the time it is not for a good reason. i.e. overheating, stressed, sick, etc.
 
To better help you out. I would post some pictures of your setup as it almost looks like it is a glass fish tank and not a glass terrarium or screen cage. I would also fill out the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ so we can see that everything in your husbandry is correct.

Based off the picture of the poop he is not dehydrated, his poop looks fine. Since he is just starting to shed that could explain the lack of wanting to eat as well.
 
NHenn said:
To better help you out. I would post some pictures of your setup as it almost looks like it is a glass fish tank and not a glass terrarium or screen cage. I would also fill out the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ so we can see that everything in your husbandry is correct.

Based off the picture of the poop he is not dehydrated, his poop looks fine. Since he is just starting to shed that could explain the lack of wanting to eat as well.
Click to expand...

You're right it's and old fish tank, but it's opened at the top - so that the air flows in... I have a new glass terrarium that's 60cm-height, I thought to use it when he will grow up, he is now the size of the thumb... But I think I will buy a screen cage, I really don't want him to get sick...

He is lazy now and dark colored but looks calm...
 
Yeah I would do my best to get him out of that tank as soon as you can. There will not be enough air flow into the tank which can cause respiratory problems and also very easily overheat him. If I had to guess I would say that was the issue as to why he was lighter in color.
 
everybody does what he wants, but i heard of bad things happening with juveniles getting showers at early ages ...
even my vet told me not to ...
about the colors ... every single one of them has his/hers personality so ... you have to get him time to accommodate and know him better, he'll tell you what he wants/needs through his colors
 
unknown91 said:
1. i don't think it's a good idea to give him showers, not even at 3-4 months, especially NOT NOW. it's not a good idea to get the babies soaking wet.
2. maybe he was too cold for getting him soaking wet from misting
3. the brighter colors are a good thing, you shouldn't be too worried.
Click to expand...

I too disagree with this advise. Giving a shower to a chameleon, is not like a human taking a shower. The water should gently cascade down onto the plant the chameleon is perched on. The chameleon has the option to leave the area being misted if they please. The water is also semi-warm, so there is no chance of lowering the chams body temp.

Like previously stated, the only time I do not give chams showers is if it causes un-due stress to the individual and each cham is different.

Chams turn dark when cold and light when hot.

My advise to the OP is get a medium sized screen cage. For that species of cham, screen is the best way to do. Good Luck
 
ok, so there is no problem showering young chameleons if you spray the wall and bounces back ?
and it's ok if you mist/shower directly on him/her if the jet is not too powerful ?
ofc, if he/she enjoys it and it's not stressful
 
unknown91 said:
ok, so there is no problem showering young chameleons if you spray the wall and bounces back ?
and it's ok if you mist/shower directly on him/her if the jet is not too powerful ?
ofc, if he/she enjoys it and it's not stressful
Click to expand...

Yes, if you have them out of the direct line of the water it is fine. You want more of the mist of the water from hitting the wall to land on your chameleon and build up to droplets. You don't want to just stick them right into the main stream and get them soaked. Even if the jet isn't powerful at all and it is just gravity I still wouldn't place them directly in it was they will most likely not like it at all and it will stress them out.

In the wild they are not in the canopy of the trees so when it rains they are not usually getting hammered from the sky. It is the water that comes down through the trees and off the leaves that will hit them and that they will drink so you want to simulate that the best in order to trigger them to drink in the shower.

Some chameleon will start to drink right away where others will take a few minutes but most of the time they will all eventually drink.
 
well of course I don't shower shower him, I took him to the shower and placed him on the plant, and then misted him with warm water, he didn't move and seemed like he enjoys it...

one question more... He is shedding on his legs, but other body parts, especially on his back, the skin looks like dry or old, like wrinkly... is that normal before shedding?

thank you all! :p
 
And I'm not saying to take a hatchling and go put it in the shower. For the most part when you purchase a chameleon they are old enough to handling things like showers.

One other note, the water must be around room temp. Even water that just feels a little warm to your skin will be too hot for the chameleon.
 
That sounds somewhat normal. I would guess he will start to shed on his back shortly and that dry skin will come off.
 
Thank you so much! Just the answers calm me down...

I'll report tomorrow how he's doing, he's sleeping now.....
 
mine as well had his first 'shedding experience' since i had him.
i can tell you there is no bigger joy than that ... the way they move and scratch trying to get rid of the dead skin is so amazing and funny ...
and yes, mine shed his legs first, then his tail, and the last day the body + the head ... like 2-3 days.
 
Showers aside, if you are new to chameleons, I really suggest you fill out the "How to Ask for Help" questionnaire. The members here are great and set me off on a really good foot when I got my chameleon.
 
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