shedding question
- Thread starter Jewel
- Start date
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Yeah...
Just make sure he's well hydrated and the humidity is good.
I'm guessing (from following the history of your guy so far) that there were some circumstances that were not ideal for him up until he became a member of your family.
Humidity plays an important role leading up to a shed. The residual skin will come off with his next shed which should be better since he's hydrated and healthy now.
There is some concern that residual skin provides a breeding place for bacteria but at this point I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about that. Just keep up the good husbandry!
-Brad
Just make sure he's well hydrated and the humidity is good.
I'm guessing (from following the history of your guy so far) that there were some circumstances that were not ideal for him up until he became a member of your family.
Humidity plays an important role leading up to a shed. The residual skin will come off with his next shed which should be better since he's hydrated and healthy now.
There is some concern that residual skin provides a breeding place for bacteria but at this point I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about that. Just keep up the good husbandry!
-Brad
ChameleonsTree
New Member
Your veiled shouldnt be in a glass enclosure...they need a cage
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
They are working on that, but good call chameleonsTree.
He just finished shedding again and he never shed in the same spot again. Here is a picture of him after the shed, sorry it is not in focus but i had to rush because as soon as I open the door he trys to climb out. I was under the assumption that they only shed twice a year when they reach adult hood, his last shed was the middle of December when we got him.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I guess it's possible that with the good care he has been receiving in your home, he could have put on enough weight to warrant another shed. He might, also not be a year old yet.
At any rate, he is looking wonderful and you have nothing to worry about.
-Brad
At any rate, he is looking wonderful and you have nothing to worry about.
-Brad
Miranda
New Member
Why not glass??
Okay..question.. why shouldn't a veiled be in a glass cage? I keep mine in a fifty-five gallon aquarium with a screen top... theyve got some aquarium toppers at the local pet shop made from wire that will add another two feet to the top of it. I was considering that, unless I'm convinced that glass is bad all together.
Okay..question.. why shouldn't a veiled be in a glass cage? I keep mine in a fifty-five gallon aquarium with a screen top... theyve got some aquarium toppers at the local pet shop made from wire that will add another two feet to the top of it. I was considering that, unless I'm convinced that glass is bad all together.
Thanks Brad, we are really trying to make him healthy and happy. I was told by the guy I got him from that he was 2 years old. He said he had him for 8 months and the guy before him had him for a year, then again I don't give his previous owner much credability in what he says. I figure he is very tiny because he came from a very bad situation.
He is very small for his age.
He use to be in 30 gallon aquarium but we have since build him a 2x2x4 foot mesh cage.
They get very stressed in glass enclosures because they can see their own reflection and they think that another chameleon is in there with them and since they are very territorial lizards they feel threatened and this stresses them out. I have seen a drastic change in him as soon as I moved him to his screen cage. His colours are greener and he moves around more
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Miranda,
You said: I keep them in a 55 gal. aquarium.
Are you keeping more than one in the same enclosure???
In addition to the stress caused by seeing their reflection in the glass, plus the lack of air flow/ circulation in the amounts they require, additional animals in the cage cause a HUGE amount of stress.
These are extremely sensitive and singular animals. Forget everything you know about reptiles when dealing with a chameleon. The husbandry (as we know it) is VERY specific.
I suggest you spend some time reading through older posts. All of this is addressed over and over and over.
Why not keep them in a glass enclosure is a question you ask way before you ever even aquire one of these animals.
If you want to explore this further, after doing some research, start a new thread and see what the collective response from many experienced keepers and breeders is.
-Brad Ramsey
You said: I keep them in a 55 gal. aquarium.
Are you keeping more than one in the same enclosure???
In addition to the stress caused by seeing their reflection in the glass, plus the lack of air flow/ circulation in the amounts they require, additional animals in the cage cause a HUGE amount of stress.
These are extremely sensitive and singular animals. Forget everything you know about reptiles when dealing with a chameleon. The husbandry (as we know it) is VERY specific.
I suggest you spend some time reading through older posts. All of this is addressed over and over and over.
Why not keep them in a glass enclosure is a question you ask way before you ever even aquire one of these animals.
If you want to explore this further, after doing some research, start a new thread and see what the collective response from many experienced keepers and breeders is.
-Brad Ramsey
Miranda
New Member
Actually I said I keep "mine" in a fifty-five. I only have one. I don't know nearly as much as alot of others, but I do know they aren't to be kept together.
An open enclosure wouldnt work for me because of my room temp. Im in Oklahoma and its really cold out, so the heater stays on and it pulls alot of the moisture from the air. (Which is why I keep two humidifiers on most of the day). It has a wire top on it, so shes getting circulation, esp staying as close to the top as she does.
Her colors are normal from what I've seen on sites and pictures, and she eats like crazy, sheds quickly, shows no signs of being unhealthy. What shes in now is the only way for me, at least right now.
An open enclosure wouldnt work for me because of my room temp. Im in Oklahoma and its really cold out, so the heater stays on and it pulls alot of the moisture from the air. (Which is why I keep two humidifiers on most of the day). It has a wire top on it, so shes getting circulation, esp staying as close to the top as she does.
Her colors are normal from what I've seen on sites and pictures, and she eats like crazy, sheds quickly, shows no signs of being unhealthy. What shes in now is the only way for me, at least right now.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I'm in Colorado. It is currently 2 degrees outside. I have a basking light in addition to my UVB light on for 12 hours a day and the night time temp is around 65 degrees or lower (the prescribed night time temp for a veiled is low to mid 60's).
They should have a 10 to 20 degree drop in temperature at night.
A screen top on an aquarium does not, in my opinion, provide adequate circulation of air for a chameleon.
-Brad
They should have a 10 to 20 degree drop in temperature at night.
A screen top on an aquarium does not, in my opinion, provide adequate circulation of air for a chameleon.
-Brad
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
With a veiled the humidity is important, but I don't go crazy stressing out about it. As long as my guy has water dripping all day long and gets misted 2 or three times a day he seems to do alright. Plus LOTS of live plants help a lot! The humidity in my enclosure ranges between 32 and 55. Again, I am in Colorado and there is literally no humidity in Denver.
I do let the enclosure dry out completely between mistings, which is also recomended.
He was born here, don't really know if that makes a difference but he's never had it any other way.
The other problem I see with an aquarium is that they can't be as high up as they would like which has to add an additional amount of stress.
You said she stays near the top, which says to me she would like to be higher up.
Without a vertical enclosure this is impossible for them.
-Brad
I do let the enclosure dry out completely between mistings, which is also recomended.
He was born here, don't really know if that makes a difference but he's never had it any other way.
The other problem I see with an aquarium is that they can't be as high up as they would like which has to add an additional amount of stress.
You said she stays near the top, which says to me she would like to be higher up.
Without a vertical enclosure this is impossible for them.
-Brad
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When I first started keeping chameleons years ago, I kept them in glass aquariums (mostly 35 gallon and bigger, longs) with screen lids...it was what was "normal" then. I never had one develop a respiratory infection. I have never had one react to its reflection either. As for air flow...I kept the basking light at one end of the cage, which should have "forced" the hot air to rise and create some circulation of the air. My chameleons lived quite long healthy lives when kept like that...female C. chamaeleons lived to be over 5 for instance.
Many people in Europe successfully keep their chameleons in glass cages too.
I live in a climate that is cold and dry in the winters and keeping chameleons in all screen cages made it difficult to keep the humidity up (without destroying my house)...and difficult to keep the whole cage warm enough. I would not recommend that anyone in climates that are warm and humid enough keep their chameleons in glass cages (unless the house was airconditioned, I suppose).
I switched a number of years ago to glass cages with screen lids and doors...and even they are hard to keep warm enough and humid enough. (I have a resorted to having a heater in the reptile room to keep the whole room warmer than the rest of the house.)
Many people in Europe successfully keep their chameleons in glass cages too.
I live in a climate that is cold and dry in the winters and keeping chameleons in all screen cages made it difficult to keep the humidity up (without destroying my house)...and difficult to keep the whole cage warm enough. I would not recommend that anyone in climates that are warm and humid enough keep their chameleons in glass cages (unless the house was airconditioned, I suppose).
I switched a number of years ago to glass cages with screen lids and doors...and even they are hard to keep warm enough and humid enough. (I have a resorted to having a heater in the reptile room to keep the whole room warmer than the rest of the house.)
