Rehydratating my chameleon
- Thread starter Kalibr03
- Start date
Kalibr03
New Member
Cage: 24x12x24 handmade with screen
Lighting: Reptisun with 10% uvb and a 75W red heat lamp
Temp: about 78 in shade 90 in light
Humidity: mist with bottle and have mister that I do throughout the day with at least 15 minutes of misting at a time
Plants: all fake with bendavine, waterdrip vines and other leafy vines
Chameleon: Male veiled, less than one month old
Feeding: eats between 2-3 crickets a day gutloaded and dusted
Watering: misting and have dripping system..........don't see him drink anymore
Fecal Description: looks good has the dark first part with the white end
Problem: as stated above I don't see him drink, I just got him and he's a baby so trying to make sure he's gonna be ok. Doesn't seem dehyrated but now he seems to be lazier. Also sometimes he makes a head jerk like he's chocking, this is new and seemed like it got worse when i saw it again today. He keeps his eyes closed sometimes when he walks, not sure if he doesn't like mist or what, he doesnt watch where he is going and im scared he will just go right off an edge. Tries to grasp where no vines are with eyes closed. Still has some old shed on top of his head not sure if I should worry about that at all. He eats pretty big crickets for his size so maybe he really doesnt need to drink that much?? Not really sure about chams babies inparticular. I own other herps but this is my first cham. I was supposed to get a 5 month old so that he could be a bit hardier but the guy sent me a baby. Now I'm worried he is going to die. Maybe I just worry too much but would like some other info from you guys.
P.S. If something terrible were to happen and he should die should I be angry at the breeder for sending me a baby? I have had him for only 5 days so far, it seems to me I should be entitled to the healthy 5 month chameleon I paid for.
Any help or pure comments would be great also not sure if I have male or female, he said he would send male but who knows if that even happened, wondering how I might be able to tell which sex I recieved. Lost the cord to hook my camera up to comp but will buy one tomorrow and post pictures of cham and his home.
Lighting: Reptisun with 10% uvb and a 75W red heat lamp
Temp: about 78 in shade 90 in light
Humidity: mist with bottle and have mister that I do throughout the day with at least 15 minutes of misting at a time
Plants: all fake with bendavine, waterdrip vines and other leafy vines
Chameleon: Male veiled, less than one month old
Feeding: eats between 2-3 crickets a day gutloaded and dusted
Watering: misting and have dripping system..........don't see him drink anymore
Fecal Description: looks good has the dark first part with the white end
Problem: as stated above I don't see him drink, I just got him and he's a baby so trying to make sure he's gonna be ok. Doesn't seem dehyrated but now he seems to be lazier. Also sometimes he makes a head jerk like he's chocking, this is new and seemed like it got worse when i saw it again today. He keeps his eyes closed sometimes when he walks, not sure if he doesn't like mist or what, he doesnt watch where he is going and im scared he will just go right off an edge. Tries to grasp where no vines are with eyes closed. Still has some old shed on top of his head not sure if I should worry about that at all. He eats pretty big crickets for his size so maybe he really doesnt need to drink that much?? Not really sure about chams babies inparticular. I own other herps but this is my first cham. I was supposed to get a 5 month old so that he could be a bit hardier but the guy sent me a baby. Now I'm worried he is going to die. Maybe I just worry too much but would like some other info from you guys.
P.S. If something terrible were to happen and he should die should I be angry at the breeder for sending me a baby? I have had him for only 5 days so far, it seems to me I should be entitled to the healthy 5 month chameleon I paid for.
Any help or pure comments would be great also not sure if I have male or female, he said he would send male but who knows if that even happened, wondering how I might be able to tell which sex I recieved. Lost the cord to hook my camera up to comp but will buy one tomorrow and post pictures of cham and his home.
Last edited:
Prism Chameleons
Established Member
If he has white on the end of the dark part of his fecal, this is a good sign he is getting water. Dehydration shows a yellowish/orange color in the urate. If possible, try to put in some live small plants for him to help raise the humidity and will help with hydration problems. Also, babies need lots of water, so don't decrease your misting, as he has white fecals and seems to be getting the correct amount of water.
What size crickets are you feeding him? If he is choking, it could be you are feeding him too big of crickets for him to handle, especially if he is only a little more than a month old. A baby needs fruit flies and very small crickets, such as pinhead crickets. And LOTS of them. The cricket size should be no larger than the width of his head, eye to eye. If he is very small and you have him in too large a cage for him, it could be difficult for him to catch his food. How many inches in size would you say he is?
Make sure you don't mist the baby directly, only mist the plants in his cage area. Babies are susceptible to getting chilled at that young age, plus can hurt if sprayed in the eyes. This may be the reason he has his eyes closed and trying to grope for something to hold onto. Try to get your camera working to show us his size and setup. This might be very helpful.
And yes, if you paid for a 5 month old veiled and received a baby that is only 1 to 2 months old, I would be upset for sure. They require much more tender care than a 5 month old juvenile.
What size crickets are you feeding him? If he is choking, it could be you are feeding him too big of crickets for him to handle, especially if he is only a little more than a month old. A baby needs fruit flies and very small crickets, such as pinhead crickets. And LOTS of them. The cricket size should be no larger than the width of his head, eye to eye. If he is very small and you have him in too large a cage for him, it could be difficult for him to catch his food. How many inches in size would you say he is?
Make sure you don't mist the baby directly, only mist the plants in his cage area. Babies are susceptible to getting chilled at that young age, plus can hurt if sprayed in the eyes. This may be the reason he has his eyes closed and trying to grope for something to hold onto. Try to get your camera working to show us his size and setup. This might be very helpful.
And yes, if you paid for a 5 month old veiled and received a baby that is only 1 to 2 months old, I would be upset for sure. They require much more tender care than a 5 month old juvenile.
2by2
New Member
I agree with jenna here. I would be mad at the breeder now!!! Before your cham dies. I'd at least email the breeder and let them know that you are not pleased. From there its up to you how you handle it. When someone takes wants to reap the reward from breeding animals, they should understand that they're taking on alot of responsabilities. In my opinion they at least owe the buyer the honesty of fully representing the animals they're selling. And if the animal is not fully represented, then the breeder SHOULD NOT be able to reep the benefits. Sorry so harsh, but I hate it when breeders dont accept responsability for their animals.
Now....onto your baby. Jenna's advice on this is steller. It sounds like your crickets may be too big for a baby thats only roughly a month old. It can be pretty stressful for a little guy to get some of those big food items down. But then again maybe your doing everything right. Once you get some pics up we'll be able to better gauge the situation. Also, the peice of advice on misting around the cham is great. Its always important to mist around them, as when they're very young like this, its very easy to bruise or hurt those delicate little eyes with the misting water. Maybe even a drip system would be good to try. But only if you have a good drainage system, or a place for the dripper water to drip into so you avoid saturating the bottom of your cage.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Now....onto your baby. Jenna's advice on this is steller. It sounds like your crickets may be too big for a baby thats only roughly a month old. It can be pretty stressful for a little guy to get some of those big food items down. But then again maybe your doing everything right. Once you get some pics up we'll be able to better gauge the situation. Also, the peice of advice on misting around the cham is great. Its always important to mist around them, as when they're very young like this, its very easy to bruise or hurt those delicate little eyes with the misting water. Maybe even a drip system would be good to try. But only if you have a good drainage system, or a place for the dripper water to drip into so you avoid saturating the bottom of your cage.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Kalibr03
New Member
pictures up
Ok couldn't figure out how to post pics in threads but I have some up under my gallery. He is fun to try to find in this big cage, like I said I was planning on getting a larger chameleon than him. The last pic is of a few crickets but its really blurry. Also they are very tiny. My 75W red heat bulb blew out so I have a 50W basking bulb along with the flourescent. Flourescent is the light on the left. Let me know what you guys think.
Ok couldn't figure out how to post pics in threads but I have some up under my gallery. He is fun to try to find in this big cage, like I said I was planning on getting a larger chameleon than him. The last pic is of a few crickets but its really blurry. Also they are very tiny. My 75W red heat bulb blew out so I have a 50W basking bulb along with the flourescent. Flourescent is the light on the left. Let me know what you guys think.
2by2
New Member
I think the setup looks ok for a little vield. Maybe it would be a good idea to get some sturdy live plants in there. It would definately help in keeping the humidity up, and also, my chams at least......like them alot more.
As far as the size of the crickets goes. Based on that pic its tough to tell if they are the right size or not. Like jenna said earlier, just make sure the crickets are as wide as the space between your little guys eyes....or smaller.
Other than that, he does look a bit dehydrated. If your only misting him twice a day, i'd mist him 5 times a day. If your already misting him 5 times a day, mist him more!! haha. General rule of thumb with chameleons is that you cant over mist them. They can never drink to much water..... Again just make sure your taking the proper precautions and not spraying him directly, or with water that is either too hot or too cold.
Again good luck with him. We hope to see many more beautiful pics of this guy in the future.
As far as the size of the crickets goes. Based on that pic its tough to tell if they are the right size or not. Like jenna said earlier, just make sure the crickets are as wide as the space between your little guys eyes....or smaller.
Other than that, he does look a bit dehydrated. If your only misting him twice a day, i'd mist him 5 times a day. If your already misting him 5 times a day, mist him more!! haha. General rule of thumb with chameleons is that you cant over mist them. They can never drink to much water..... Again just make sure your taking the proper precautions and not spraying him directly, or with water that is either too hot or too cold.
Again good luck with him. We hope to see many more beautiful pics of this guy in the future.
2by2
New Member
sexing
I did a quick search and came up with this site. Its got a couple pics that show you exactly what your looking for. In the pics the animals look to be a little older, but the tarsal spurs are evident even as hatchlings. So with a good close look, you should be able to tell. Good Luck!
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/care-sheet.html
I did a quick search and came up with this site. Its got a couple pics that show you exactly what your looking for. In the pics the animals look to be a little older, but the tarsal spurs are evident even as hatchlings. So with a good close look, you should be able to tell. Good Luck!
http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/care-sheet.html
Like said above, if he is male he will have a little spur on where you might consider his heels to be,thats the surest tell tale. Even with that its hard to tell until there a little older.
I have a baby veiled as well and have been reading like crazy to make sure everything is perfect because they're to easily stressed
I have a baby veiled as well and have been reading like crazy to make sure everything is perfect because they're to easily stressed
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
This thread is almost a year old!!
-Brad
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