Quite a few questions

[Masterkazoom]

Hello there,

My mother has recently (well, its now 4 months) bought a Veiled, and following the instructions of the pet shop owner, our veiled has grown and seems quite okay, however, I have a few questions that I could not find answers to.

Now, my first issue is - I'm unsure if my mother has sprayed the crickets with the calcium / vitamin powder regularly, it seems she is rather lax with that. Also, she just puts a full box of 20 crickets into the terrarium, letting them wander around - some of them are still there a week later, either because the cham is not hungry or was unable to catch them (since they were probably hiding). I do not see any signs that our cham has suffered because of this, but if it has, what possible signs could there be? I'm trying to find a page that tells me exactly what color marking means what, besides the "if its completely dark its frightened or angry", since everyone seems to tell me that if I ask them -.-

Secondly, my mother lets the cham out every chance she gets - it seems eager to get out of the terrarrium (which is glass enclosed, by the way - hasn't been much of a problem so far, except maybe air circulation, which I'm looking into improving) and easily crawls on your hand for you to carry it somewhere. My mother built a small climbing rack near on a windowsill facing the sun during the day. My only concern is that the chameleon stays out there too long, maybe dehydrating, or maybe the sun cannot generate the necessary heat the lamp in its terrarium can. Sometimes it spends up to 6 hours on its perch. Also, we had a small incident of the cham falling off the windowsill, a meter drop. It seemed shaken but okay, but we were terrified it might have hurt itself more badly then we thought. Again, it shows no signs of discomfort, hurt or anything bad.

Thirdly and for now lastly (I do not wish to overwhelm you with questions ), the water is supplied through a small waterfall-like fountain pump, and occasionally the cham drinks from it, but not very often. I have read that this is okay, but maybe the water intake would increase if we would use the water spraying on the plants technique? I'll probably just try it out today.

I'd be delighted to hear any of your answers

MK

 

[THECHAMMAN]

ok, dont let loose so many crix at a time, only let like 5 or six and if he eat them all give him more. dont let any crickets stay in there, because the crickets will sometimes chew on the cham. get him out of the glass cage and put him in a screen cage ASAP. only take him out when he wants out or is absolutely necessary. get rid of the waterfall, it harbours bacteria and can kill the cham. how big is the terrarium and how old is the cham. if hes only 3 or so months old hes ok in the cage for a month or two but he wants out of the cage. do u have any substrate, if so get it out.

 

[Masterkazoom]

ok, dont let loose so many crix at a time, only let like 5 or six and if he eat them all give him more. dont let any crickets stay in there, because the crickets will sometimes chew on the cham.

I heard only black crickets do that, but I'll dose his 'servings' more appropiately.

get him out of the glass cage and put him in a screen cage ASAP.

If a screen cage is a glass cage with an openable front door (screen), then we have one. We are new to this, and the proper terminology still needs to be learned.

only take him but when he wants out or is absolutely necessary.

As I said, when we approach the terrarium, sometimes he crawls up to the door and basically scratches on it like a cat that wants to get out. So we do, and he is very eager to crawl on your hand. We do not force him to be outside.

get rid of the waterfall, it harbours bacteria and can kill the cham.

It's basically just a pump that keeps the water flowing in a circle with a bit of steep, and it was advised by the owner due to better drinking habits. Anyone else think the waterfall is a bad idea?

how big is the terrarium and how old is the cham. if hes only 3 or so months old hes ok in the cage for a month or two but he wants out of the cage. do u have any substrate, if so get it out.

He's about 8 months now, and the cage is about 1m x 0,5m x 0,5m, which is approximately 3 feet x 20 inches x 20 inches. About the substrate, again I don't know what the terminology refers to, the ground is again standard suggested by the previous owner, some kind of bark-like ground. I could ask what it is, but I assumed it was your average terrarium ground.

 

[jannb]

If you will read the following it will be of great help in caring for you chameleon. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
I still refer back to it from time to time when I have a question.

You need to gut load your crickets and dust with supplement before feeding. Lightly dust with plain calcium almost every time you feed him. Use calcium with D3 two times a month and multivitamins once a month.

Do not leave crickets in the cage for over night, that can eat on a young cham. Get rid of the water fall and set up a drip cup. Where do you live? You probably need an all screen cage.

It's very important that you have a tube UVB light (the best is Reptisun 5.0) and a basking light for the day time. No heat or light at night unless it's below 60 at night.
Jann

 

[lyricalmiracle]

waterfalls are widely considered a no no because of bacterial reasons, crickets die in them, the cham poops in them, then drinks from it = bad. either use a water spray and spray the leaves (as they drink droplets from the leaves) or use a dripper, you should be able to find a few threads on how to do a diy dripper.

a screen cage is one that is mostly made from mesh. this could be like a flexarium (google it) or a steel mesh cage or a wooden cage with mesh front/top/sides.

it's possible for the cham to swallow the substrate (material that you put on the floor of the vivarium i.e. sand or bark) which could kill it so a lot of keepers do not use substrate.

if he wants to get out of the terrarium so much then it may be because he isn't happy in there which could be because the conditions i.e. stale air because there isn't enough circulation or the temperature isn't quite right or it's too humid etc. check that the temperatures and humidity are in the suitable ranges.

 

[Masterkazoom]

If you will read the following it will be of great help in caring for you chameleon. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
I still refer back to it from time to time when I have a question.

I read that, and pretty much all the other pages, but some things seem to contradict each other (such as how much humidity a cham needs), or some things are just personal preference but are described as a must.

You need to gut load your crickets and dust with supplement before feeding. Lightly dust with plain calcium almost every time you feed him. Use calcium with D3 two times a month and multivitamins once a month.

Another point that seems to be up to debate - how many times you add calcium / vitamin, what kind, etc - we have a vitamin supplement, and its in liquid form, not dust. I'm not sure if that is sufficient, as I said.

Do not leave crickets in the cage for over night, that can eat on a young cham. Get rid of the water fall and set up a drip cup. Where do you live? You probably need an all screen cage.

Okay, water fall seems to be a bad idea. I live in northern Germany, the temperatures are around 20° celcius in the apartement.

It's very important that you have a tube UVB light (the best is Reptisun 5.0) and a basking light for the day time. No heat or light at night unless it's below 60 at night.
Jann

that's how it is right now, although I'm not sure what the night temperature is. I'll check on that.

waterfalls are widely considered a no no because of bacterial reasons, crickets die in them, the cham poops in them, then drinks from it = bad. either use a water spray and spray the leaves (as they drink droplets from the leaves) or use a dripper, you should be able to find a few threads on how to do a diy dripper.

I'm going to water spray the leaves for now, I'm looking into a more permanent solution. My mother's not gonna be happy, that shop owner had sold her the fountain with express reason that chams love them - it cost quite a bit.

a screen cage is one that is mostly made from mesh. this could be like a flexarium (google it) or a steel mesh cage or a wooden cage with mesh front/top/sides.

Again, thanks to the owner, we seem to have the wrong equipment. I'm not sure how quickly we can switch the cages, what would be the worst to happen to cham living in a glass cage? I'm opening the doors regularly to simulate something like an air flow.

it's possible for the cham to swallow the substrate (material that you put on the floor of the vivarium i.e. sand or bark) which could kill it so a lot of keepers do not use substrate.

So far the bits seem too big for him to swallow, which could change, I guess. See former posts about my frustration with said previous owner -.-

if he wants to get out of the terrarium so much then it may be because he isn't happy in there which could be because the conditions i.e. stale air because there isn't enough circulation or the temperature isn't quite right or it's too humid etc. check that the temperatures and humidity are in the suitable ranges.

general temperature in the terrarium is around 75° fahrenheit, and the humidity is around 60%. I don't know what the temperature at the basking place is (at the top of the terrarium, near the lamp), but he seems pretty much focused in one place, so he probably found a good place.

 

[lyricalmiracle]

the worst that can happen in a glass terrarium is respiratory infections that will seriously damage and probably kill the chameleon, this can happen when the air doesn't circulate properly and becomes stale and moist. that's not to say that it WILL happen, but it's a risk we'd all prefer to avoid.

same with the substrate, it could be swallowed but may not, best to avoid the risk. having said that, a lot of keepers use substrate and have no probelm. you could try cup feeding, then the cham wouldn't be shooting it's tongue at the substrate.

unfortunately some shop keepers will sell you something you don't need just to make profit, it's a shame but it happens. try making your own dripper, pierce a hole in a plastic bottle with a pin (only a small hole so that water will drip out) then put it at the top of the enclosure so the water will drip through onto a plant's leaves. just make sure you don't put in enough water to flood the viv or a big enough container to catch the run off (which should be covered in mesh to prevent any crickets getting in there!)

 

[Masterkazoom]

I've done some more reading, and so far I have no short-term solution for the terrarium. The substrate seems to be less of a problem right now, but I'll definitely look out for small chunks. Also, I will try to emulate something like an air circulation, but I see that this is a problem in the happening.

 

[kinyonga]

I have used glass cages for years (I live in Canada) and have never had a chameleon develop a respiratory infection. You do have to be careful about standing water though. With proper placement of the lights (and screen lids) I have not found the airflow to be a problem either. Place the basking light to one corner/side of the cage. This will create a "chimney" affect and the air should flow. (Something that is learned in science in school.)

In addition to the possibility of the crickets biting the chameleon when so many are put in the cage at once, by the time the chameleon eats the last of them, there will be no supplements left on them or in them. This will likely cause the chameleon nutritional problems eventually. Its important that the chameleon get the calcium dusted on the crickets and that the crickets are fed a nutritional diet and gutloaded when eaten. (Jann covered the supplementing and mentioned gutloading already.) You can gutload with an assortment of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red peppers, sweet potatoes, zucchini, etc.).

When the chameleon is in front of the window, its not getting any UVB (unless the window is open so there's no glass between the chameleon and the sunlight)...it needs UVB to produce D3 so it can use the calcium in its system. Also, if he's not warm enough while out of the cage it will likely affect his digestion...thus play a part in his nutrient absorption.

D3 from supplements and preformed vitamin A can build up in the system, so don't overdo them.

 

[Masterkazoom]

he has the UVB lights, which in turn also seems to be the basking light - I'm not sure if the two bulbs the cage has are different, but I know that at least one is UVB.

I will attempt to feed him crickets in a bowl, so that if he doesn't at all of them, I can easily remove them. This will make gutloading and other supplementing easier - thanks for all the advice.

I'm cutting the time on the windowsill short as it is, since it needs to be under constant surveillance there (falling hazard) and I don't have the time to watch the window every minute of the day. It just seems to eager to get out (up to the point that he is clawing the glass reminiscient of cats or dogs trying to get out), I'm not sure if the terrarium is not to his liking of if he's really fond of the window and the sun he's getting.

 

[kinyonga]

If the UVB light is a compact/spiral then it could cause photo kerato conjuctivitus (eye problems).

 

[Masterkazoom]

well, since he's asleep right now I can't check what kind of bulb it is, but I don't speak vetinarianese, so what's that?

 

[dodolah]

Masterkazoom can you post a pic of your chameleon here?


Thanks

 

[Masterkazoom]

sure, tomorrow morning, which would be in about 10 hours. Not gonna annoy him when he's asleep

 

[skeeta]

Another problem with glass ...

"(up to the point that he is clawing the glass reminiscent of cats or dogs trying to get out)"

Is that chameleons are VERY territorial, especially the males. They do not understand glass, and often attack their own reflections. Even when not acting aggressive, the presence of "another chameleon" (reflection) somewhere in their enclosure has been noted to raise their stress levels causing too much adrenaline in the system, and eventually illness and even death.

Again, some animals seem to have no adverse effects and live long lives, but many succumb. These creatures are difficult at best to keep healthy so we (especially non-experts) tend to take a path of least resistance to keep them happy.

 

[Masterkazoom]

I've heard that about glass, but I'm quite sure that's not it. He does that when we go near the cage, and when we open up the cage, he's not attacking us, he crawls on our hands. On the windowsill, he doesn't attack or tries to climb the window.

Edit: I just bowl feeded him, very sucessfully. I just had a cup with supplemented crickets in it, showed it to him, and he immediately went for it.

 

[Masterkazoom]

here are some pics

 

[Masterkazoom]

So, any comments as to how my cham looks, healthy, sick, bothered?

 

[Sepioteuthis]

First things first: I think your chameleon looks healthy.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it yet, but that terrarium is a little small for an adult yemen chameleon. 60x60x120 cm (wxdxh) would be a lot better. Also how high off the ground is the terrarium currently? Chameleons like to look down on the world so if that terrarium is sitting on the ground he might be so eager to get out because he wants to get to a higher spot.
It's ok to let a chameleon come out of the cage on his terms, but you should first make sure that he isn't leaving the because he doesn't like his terrarium.

And I just wanted to reinforce the need to make sure that your chameleon drinks enough by spraying for several minutes, several times a day. It's true that some chams will drink from a waterfall but nothing stimulates drinking like a good misting.
Suboptimal hydration is the number 1 killer of captive chameleons. If they don't get enough water it will slowly damage their kidneys and often the chameleon will seem perfectly healthy until it's too late.

He's a nice looking guy. Good luck with him!

- Suzanne

 

[Masterkazoom]

The terrarium you mention is only about 10x10x20 bigger than the one we have, but I agree that something has to be done about the glass cage. This is for my mother to decide, since its her pet.

The terrariums is currently sitting on a cupboard about 90cm-100cm (35 - 40 inches) above the ground - I read eye level would be more preferrable, but I have yet to figure out a way to get it that high besides just putting a box between the cuboard and the terrarium.

I'm currently misting the chameleon thrice a day, but it seems to prefer the waterfall, which I'm cleaning out every day. How should it lick the water? It seems to shoot its tongue at it the same way it would catch a cricket, is that normal?