Rescued a chameleon

[lallalaura]

Hi everyone
2 days ago I rescued a chameleon from some people that were not properly caring for him.
He had the wrong bulbs small tank and was being fed about every 3 weeks.
I don’t know much but I did a lot of “quick research”
I have him set up in his new take with live plants lots of sticks and added a mister and a uvb bulb and a basking bulb. The top of the tank is reading aroun 86° and 55% humidity
The bottom of the tank is reading around 69°
The first night I had him he ate 10 crickets. Yesterday a giant crickets came out of one of the plants and he snatched it up. I tried feeding him this morning but he didn’t eat anything (is that normal? He seems very skinny)
I turned his lights off last night and I am trying to get him on a normal schedule.
He is having a problem with one of his eyes (scheduled a vet appointment) he is moving it around but doesn’t seem to have any vision in that one.

He appears to be sleeping during the day is this normal? I’m doing my best to try to save him
Attached are some photos of the new tank and him

Any ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated

There is a shower curtain around the tank to catch the excess water from the mister lol

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi, welcome to the forum and bless you for saving this sweetie. I’d like to see some more pics of ‘it’ and especially of the backs of the back feet. From coloring, I think you may have a ‘she’. Males have prominent nubs sticking out of their back feet, called tarsal spurs. Females generally have nothing there or some may have a tiny nub. If you indeed have a girl, bless you even more than you know for saving her from a short and miserable existence.
Before I go on, where exactly did you get your information from? There are tons of places with old or just bad/wrong info out there and only a few that have it right and current.
If poor sweetie was being fed only every 3 weeks, you’ll need to go slow on building him/her up to ‘normal’ eating. I know the urgency you feel, but slow down a bit with the food to avoid stressing the body. Offer maybe just a few (3) healthy well fed buggies, like silkworms, roaches, bsfl, etc. Feed early in the day just once, so there’s plenty of time to bask and digest. If not hungry daily, that’s ok. Try the next day. Adults and especially female chameleons are not fed daily, but every other day or even 3 days a week. Once you get sweetie in healthy condition, you’ll only be feeding about 3-4 feeders with that frequency.
What supplements are you planning on using or have bought? I would guess that sweetie is greatly deficient in everything. You want to use a phosphorus-free calcium lightly dusted at every feeding. Then a multivitamin and vitamin D3 is needed every other week (or twice a month) each. I recommend the easy way of a combination product for these two needs, such as Repashy calcium Plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3. Both of these have preformed vitamin A, which is for eye health and that form of it we know chameleons can use. In some cases, it is a lack of vitamin A that can cause vision problems so that may account for lack of vision in one eye. Having eyes closed during the day is a vague symptom and it just means the chameleon is quite sick and feeling terrible…has closed its eyes and is waiting for a predator to eat it.
I do see some improvements that can be made with the enclosure and set up, but let’s get your sweetie healthy first. You need to make sure to have a fecal parasite test done. You need a fresh poo, or one done within less than 24 hrs of your vet visit. (Keep in the fridge) If sweetie has certain types of parasites, you need him/her to be fully cleared of them before making the improvements that I would suggest. So, we can address enclosure improvements later. You did pretty good setting up…much better than what I did when I got my first cham.
I’m adding the help questions, but more than having those answered, I’d like to see more pics of your sweetie and from different angles and with the enclosure door open for clarity.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.