Shedding trouble and odd behavior.

[MurkyTheCham]

So 2 days ago I bought a cham (named him murky) from Petsmart (i know not the best place) but he was in better condition than other letstore cham's. They could not tell me how old he was he is 7 inches long exactly so i estimate 2-3 months but please let me know what you think. But today he started shedding and I was a bit worried because he was wobbling around and rubbing himself on his fake branch and I wasn't sure if this was just to get the shed off or if he is sick. He just pooped for the first time since ive had him and he is well hydrated. I feed him 6-7 crickets daily covered in pulverized eggshells that I have boiled 2 times and baked (one of my friends owns a cham ahe he said he does that). I will be coating the crickets in D3 multivitiman powder once a week when I get feeding schedule on track. He is in a 20 gallon glass aquaruim with a metal mesh roof (that will be changed within the week I am almost done building a 20x20x40 mesh cage). When he sleeps at night he goes up to the roof of the mesh and sits there, but for a lot of the day he is up there aswell, I dont know if this is because the cage isnt to tall or if he is sick because I read about chams not moving a lot when they are sick and also when I take him out he kinda lays on my hand amd sleeps so im wondering if its a sleep problem or if he is ok, he doesnt have any trouble curling his hand and he moves around quite a bit when hunting his crickets. Please let me know, ill attach photos of him below.

 

[Virgil1972]

Sleeping on your hand is not a good thing. It could mean he is sick or he is really really stressed when you handle him. Could you copy and past the how to ask for help forum here. Just copy and paste the questions and fill them out, that will give everyone trying to help a better idea of whats going on.

 

[MurkyTheCham]

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? (Veiled, I'm unsure I think 3-4 months old, with me for 2 days)
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? ( I have taken him out 3-4 times a day both days)
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? (Crickets and mealworms, 7 crickets and 2-3 mealworms, crickets in the morning and mealworms throughout the day, crickets have some orange cubes and liquid gel cubes)
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? (Pulverized baked and boiled eggshells D3 will be once a week fridays)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? (I have not personally seen murky drinking but the enclosure is misted 3 times a day for 2 minutes and he has a dripper system.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? (He first pooped today and the poop looked normal , the white part was slightly yellow)
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (Got him at petsmart but that's it)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Glass 12x12x24
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? (Zilla blue day light heating light, put a 5.0 UVB on today for the first time I light both lights at 5:30 AM and turn them off at around 5:30-6:00PM)
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? (Floor is around 70-75, mid is consistently 75 and basking spot is 80-85 all measured with individual thermometers.)
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? (I have a humidity gauge in the middle of the cage and it stays between 60-70% throughout the day but shoots up to 80-90% very briefly right after misting)
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? (I have a cleansed pineapple plant in the bottom and I'm putting a umbrella plant in tonight)
• 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? (The cage sits in my closet and height is about 7feet from the ground it is placed on a shelf)
• Location - Where are you geographically located? (Florida)

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
He shed his skin fine so that's no more of a concern. My main concern is how he sleeps or rests his eyes when I have him out of the cage. I'm unsure if he is sick or if he is just stressed because I have owned him for 2 days and handled him quite a bit in that time. He is not showing any signs of illness his grasp strength is fine, he moves a lot when feeding, and he can curl his tail fine so I'm pretty certain that he is just stressed on me since he moves periodically in his cage.

 

[Carlton]

Stop handling him so much and give him time to settle! He's stressed by the recent move and still adjusting to a new home routine, a totally new habitat, and you. Also, assume he was under stress at the store, as they are not known for their good care. Keep him hydrated, eating, and make sure the cage provides the correct temp, lighting, and humidity levels.

 

[wavingsnail]

I would also move him from glass to all screen enclosure. being in Florida, your ambient humidity will be pretty beneficial.

 

[Ad'z]

Never heard of the eggshell thing?? Mealworms should be a treat and not a daily meal. Got my boy some Locusts as the pet shop only fed him on crickets and he loves them (around 10 a day) I'm from the uk though and I beleave you cant get these in the US? I've also whitnessed him drinking from a small pool of water that builds up on a ledge so that was a shock to see. Did you say your cham has yellow poop? If so he may need a drink, you can also do this through the feeders e.g giving the crickets a damp tissue to drink from and giving them good fruit and veg.

 

[MurkyTheCham]

Thanks for the feedback and ill definatlry be handling him less for now, the petstore i shop at for cage stuff and feeding things (pet supplies plus) they where telling me to handle him A LOT to get him used to people but as i see now that is not the case, and again thanks for telling me that. I also just got a ficus tree for my shower and im going to give him 2 weekly showers. And as for the cage I just finished making the screen mesh cage but i decided to make the dimensions 24x30x50 so he has plenty of space. And does anyone have any ideas as to getting plain calcium powder i can only find some with D3.

 

[Peachypink]

Order it online. Check amazon.

 

[MurkyTheCham]

Order it online. Check amazon.

Alright thanks!

 

[RandellTheCham]

Ive recently got my first cham. Id reconmend no handling for atleast aweek unless he comes to you. Id feed him 10 feeders aday as he looks around 3/mo to me. Wax worms, meal worms and fruits should be as a treat (i use these when my cham comes onto my hand without making him). Crickets, locus, silk worms, cali worms as a regular feed. Super worms are also good. Beacuse he's new id cover a blanket over him of a night. He doesnt look sick he looks like how mine was. He just needs time to settle his shedding will stress him out iswell.

Feel free message me with any questions, here is my 4month old male randell which ive had for 3 weeks

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for the feedback and ill definatlry be handling him less for now, the petstore i shop at for cage stuff and feeding things (pet supplies plus) they where telling me to handle him A LOT to get him used to people but as i see now that is not the case, and again thanks for telling me that. I also just got a ficus tree for my shower and im going to give him 2 weekly showers. And as for the cage I just finished making the screen mesh cage but i decided to make the dimensions 24x30x50 so he has plenty of space. And does anyone have any ideas as to getting plain calcium powder i can only find some with D3.

Because chams accept handling very individually, the shop really can't make a blanket recommendation like this. When a cham is in a home with a predictable daily routine they can be very tolerant. Then when you become a regular "intruder" who doesn't threaten or harm them, and brings treats all this can help so much. Most chams are not going to love handling all that much. There are exceptions, but it may not have much to do with how often it was handled as a youngster. I always say to learn your cham's body language and color changes, give it a generous sized habitat and the correct conditions, and respect what you end up with. If it ends up being social, great. If not, that's just the little passionate personality you got.