Shedding Concerns

[Benclark]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled, about eight months old, six months with me
• Handling - I do not handle him
• Feeding - Large crickets, 50 a week
• Supplements - Calcium dusting with an occasional multivitamin
• Watering - I have a mister that goes off every four hours for two minutes, and a dripper in for 3 hours a day, though I rarely see him drink.
• Fecal Description - Light brown feces with white urate. Never tested for parasites.
• History - No significant history.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage 24x48 ft
• Lighting - One 75 watt basking light with flukes hood, one t8 UVB light, and one 75 watt Uvb bulb.
• Temperature - Basking spot 75-85 degrees, ambient 70-75. Nighttime
• 65-70 degrees.
• Humidity - 45-60% humidity, zoomed hydrometer
• Plants - All live plants, pathos, jade plants, bromeliads, palm.
• Placement - In my bedroom, moderate traffic, away from windows, three feet above the ground.
• Location - Connecticut USA

So Boaz has been shedding for a bit over a week now and it is progressing but very slowly. Pieces of skin are not sticking and he seems otherwise healthy. Is this normal? He is almost an adult. My concern is this slow/ partial shed is a bad sign, and that he will lose too much weight as he has cut back on eating. I still see him eat but it is less than normal.

 

[Fchamel]

Hello! I am going to tagg some people to help as I will be offline for a bit. @Beman @MissSkittles

 

[Beman]

Pictures of the entire enclosure lights down and of the chameleon and of your supplements would be very helpful for whoever has time to go through this help form.

 

[Benclark]

Pictures of the entire enclosure lights down and of the chameleon and of your supplements would be very helpful for whoever has time to go through this help form.

sure thing

 

[Ramrod]

When they get older they do take longer to shed and it is often in bits and pieces. One area will shed and then others will follow.
Mine seems like he is shedding all the time. If you would fill out the husbandry info requested you can get a more complete answer.

 

[CBee7726]

Is your T8 a 5.0 or 10.0 bulb?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a few and I’ll review your husbandry.

 

[MissSkittles]

Putting my feedback in red.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled, about eight months old, six months with me
• Handling - I do not handle him
• Feeding - Large crickets, 50 a week This is way too much. At his age he should be getting 3-4 feeders every other day. Do add some variety for him and make sure to feed your bugs well. Healthy bugs are more nutritious for your cham. Attaching feeder and ‘gutload’ sheets for you.
• Supplements - Calcium dusting with an occasional multivitamin Does your calcium have vitamin D3? Proper supplementation is essential for chams. There’s many different regimens, but the basic is a phosphorus free calcium with no D3 at every feeding except one per week. For the one weekly feeding you’ll alternate between using a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin, so that each is given one feeding every other week.
• Watering - I have a mister that goes off every four hours for two minutes, and a dripper in for 3 hours a day, though I rarely see him drink. You could reduce your mister to just 3 times a day and stop using the dripper. You want the enclosure to have time to dry out. Many chams are secretive about drinking.
• Fecal Description - Light brown feces with white urate. Never tested for parasites. Is always a good idea for a wellness check with a vet and have a fecal done.
• History - No significant history.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage 24x48 ft Wow! That’s massive! I’m going to guess you meant 24x24x48 inches.
• Lighting - One 75 watt basking light with flukes hood, one t8 UVB light, and one 75 watt Uvb bulb. Correct uvb is just as important as supplements. Not sure if it’s the angle or not, but it looks like your guy’s casque is a bit wonky, which is an indicator that he may have some mbd. I suggest getting a T5 ho fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb to make sure he’s getting a good range and level of uvb.
• Temperature - Basking spot 75-85 degrees, ambient 70-75. Nighttime
• 65-70 degrees.
• Humidity - 45-60% humidity, zoomed hydrometer Just a tad high. Try to bring it below 50%. Probably if you reduce the misting sand dripper, it will probably lower.
• Plants - All live plants, pathos, jade plants, bromeliads, palm.
• Placement - In my bedroom, moderate traffic, away from windows, three feet above the ground.
• Location - Connecticut USA

So Boaz has been shedding for a bit over a week now and it is progressing but very slowly. Pieces of skin are not sticking and he seems otherwise healthy. Is this normal? He is almost an adult. My concern is this slow/ partial shed is a bad sign, and that he will lose too much weight as he has cut back on eating. I still see him eat but it is less than normal.
Adult chams don’t shed like young ones do with the all over shed explosion. They will shed a section at a time. Humidity and supplements can affect shedding too. Making the changes I suggest will help not only shedding, but overall health.
It is normal for chams to start to self regulate their food intake as they get older. However, veileds are opportunistic eaters and can become obese quickly. Obesity is a major health concern for chams and shortens their lives.
Now I’m afraid I’m needing to comment on your enclosure. While it looks very nice, unfortunately there are some changes I need to suggest. The moss and fake plants are an impaction hazard. Veileds will eat their plants and have been known to eat fake leaves and moss. Add another pothos or a wandering Jew instead and have the vines drape around some branches. You could also add some more horizontal branches. It is a chore to figure out how to hang plants and things in screen enclosures. I would personally be lost without dragon ledges. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Some have made their own...I’m not that gifted. I hope all of this helps. If you haven’t already, do check out Neptune the chameleon on YouTube and https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/

 

[Benclark]

Putting my feedback in red.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled, about eight months old, six months with me
• Handling - I do not handle him
• Feeding - Large crickets, 50 a week This is way too much. At his age he should be getting 3-4 feeders every other day. Do add some variety for him and make sure to feed your bugs well. Healthy bugs are more nutritious for your cham. Attaching feeder and ‘gutload’ sheets for you.
• Supplements - Calcium dusting with an occasional multivitamin Does your calcium have vitamin D3? Proper supplementation is essential for chams. There’s many different regimens, but the basic is a phosphorus free calcium with no D3 at every feeding except one per week. For the one weekly feeding you’ll alternate between using a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin, so that each is given one feeding every other week.
• Watering - I have a mister that goes off every four hours for two minutes, and a dripper in for 3 hours a day, though I rarely see him drink. You could reduce your mister to just 3 times a day and stop using the dripper. You want the enclosure to have time to dry out. Many chams are secretive about drinking.
• Fecal Description - Light brown feces with white urate. Never tested for parasites. Is always a good idea for a wellness check with a vet and have a fecal done.
• History - No significant history.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage 24x48 ft Wow! That’s massive! I’m going to guess you meant 24x24x48 inches.
• Lighting - One 75 watt basking light with flukes hood, one t8 UVB light, and one 75 watt Uvb bulb. Correct uvb is just as important as supplements. Not sure if it’s the angle or not, but it looks like your guy’s casque is a bit wonky, which is an indicator that he may have some mbd. I suggest getting a T5 ho fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb to make sure he’s getting a good range and level of uvb.
• Temperature - Basking spot 75-85 degrees, ambient 70-75. Nighttime
• 65-70 degrees.
• Humidity - 45-60% humidity, zoomed hydrometer Just a tad high. Try to bring it below 50%. Probably if you reduce the misting sand dripper, it will probably lower.
• Plants - All live plants, pathos, jade plants, bromeliads, palm.
• Placement - In my bedroom, moderate traffic, away from windows, three feet above the ground.
• Location - Connecticut USA

So Boaz has been shedding for a bit over a week now and it is progressing but very slowly. Pieces of skin are not sticking and he seems otherwise healthy. Is this normal? He is almost an adult. My concern is this slow/ partial shed is a bad sign, and that he will lose too much weight as he has cut back on eating. I still see him eat but it is less than normal.
Adult chams don’t shed like young ones do with the all over shed explosion. They will shed a section at a time. Humidity and supplements can affect shedding too. Making the changes I suggest will help not only shedding, but overall health.
It is normal for chams to start to self regulate their food intake as they get older. However, veileds are opportunistic eaters and can become obese quickly. Obesity is a major health concern for chams and shortens their lives.
Now I’m afraid I’m needing to comment on your enclosure. While it looks very nice, unfortunately there are some changes I need to suggest. The moss and fake plants are an impaction hazard. Veileds will eat their plants and have been known to eat fake leaves and moss. Add another pothos or a wandering Jew instead and have the vines drape around some branches. You could also add some more horizontal branches. It is a chore to figure out how to hang plants and things in screen enclosures. I would personally be lost without dragon ledges. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Some have made their own...I’m not that gifted. I hope all of this helps. If you haven’t already, do check out Neptune the chameleon on YouTube and https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/


View attachment 285772View attachment 285773

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback! I am going to make the enclosure changes today and order a dragon ledge. How often should I buy crickets and how many each time? As far as his casque goes it is definitely the camera angle, I will post a pic later. Thanks again!

 

[Beman]

@Benclark With his Casque... Has it always been like that? It looks as though that is either an old thermal burn or a thermal burn that is trying to heal.

 

[Benclark]

@Benclark With his Casque... Has it always been like that? It looks as though that is either an old thermal burn or a thermal burn that is trying to heal.

Yeah he came with that. I suspected thermal burn myself.

 

[Beman]

Yeah he came with that. I suspected thermal burn myself.

So if that is why his casque has that sliced off look then that area will have issues shedding due to an old burn. Do you have pics of it when he is not shedding?

 

[MissSkittles]

@Benclark With his Casque... Has it always been like that? It looks as though that is either an old thermal burn or a thermal burn that is trying to heal.

Your eyes are sooo much better than mine!

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback! I am going to make the enclosure changes today and order a dragon ledge. How often should I buy crickets and how many each time? As far as his casque goes it is definitely the camera angle, I will post a pic later. Thanks again!

How many crickets to buy depends on how you are keeping them. If you have something small like a cricket keeper and are buying locally, they tend to die off pretty quickly and you might want to get just enough for one week at a time. I have a giant bin with lots of ventilation and larger hole screening on the bottom to easily remove their poo, so I order 500 at a time about once a month. Do keep in mind though that they are primarily for my beardie but I do have several other animals I feed them to.

 

[Benclark]

Thanks, MissSkittles and Beman! So I made a few changes. I removed the t8 bulb and replaced it with a T5 HO 5.0 lamp. I also took out the moss and fake vines and added a few more plants and will add horizontal branches tomorrow. I also removed the dripper because he really doesn't seem to use it. I really appreciate you guys!

 

[CBee7726]

Thanks, MissSkittles and Beman! So I made a few changes. I removed the t8 bulb and replaced it with a T5 HO 5.0 lamp. I also took out the moss and fake vines and added a few more plants and will add horizontal branches tomorrow. I also removed the dripper because he really doesn't seem to use it. I really appreciate you guys!

That was quick!

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks, MissSkittles and Beman! So I made a few changes. I removed the t8 bulb and replaced it with a T5 HO 5.0 lamp. I also took out the moss and fake vines and added a few more plants and will add horizontal branches tomorrow. I also removed the dripper because he really doesn't seem to use it. I really appreciate you guys!

Beautiful! If you need ideas on how to hang branches, check out Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube...one of her videos covers ways to do that.

 

[Beman]

Thanks, MissSkittles and Beman! So I made a few changes. I removed the t8 bulb and replaced it with a T5 HO 5.0 lamp. I also took out the moss and fake vines and added a few more plants and will add horizontal branches tomorrow. I also removed the dripper because he really doesn't seem to use it. I really appreciate you guys!

Perfect... Now keep in mind with the T5 and the 5.0 bulb you want a full 9 inches to the basking area below and no closer. THis will give an approximate 3 uvi level which is perfect.