Sick chameleon!

[JaxyGirl]

Does he look healthy? Idk what else I could do he has water food and the right temp humidity and bulbs.

Hi Noah, sorry your guy isn't feeling very good. It would help us a lot if you could fill this form out and give us some pictures of his enclosure.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
It looks like the red bulb is a night time heat lamp? If it is, You definitely don't want to use that because chams need a drop in temperature at night. Also any bulb at night can keep your Cham awake and they need total darkness at night.

So please fill out this how to ask for help form so we can help you https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ake.

 

[kinyonga]

Why does he look red in the photo?
What is the brand/name/kind of vitamin powder you are using? If you aren't specific how do I know if there's anything in it that might be causing the problem? I'm particularly interested in the form of vitamin A in it and if it has D3.

 

[Noahtb54]

Why does he look red in the photo?
What is the brand/name/kind of vitamin powder you are using? If you aren't specific how do I know if there's anything in it that might be causing the problem? I'm particularly interested in the form of vitamin A in it and if it has D3.

 

[Noahtb54]

The calcium is without d3 and the reptive sample has d3 I've been giving him both everyday on the crickets

 

[Noahtb54]

It's a all screen cage I live in southern Indiana. He's in my room with me which gets a little chilly at night so that's why I have the red heat lamp to keep it in the low 70's high 60's at night. I feed him medium size crickets dust them with the calcium without d3 and the reptive sample with d3 when I feed him once a day. He has a little dripper to stay hydrated. His urate was a little yellow so I misted him and he starting drinking. He eats about 8-10 crickets at day. And the humidity is around 50 with a basking temp of 80-85 during the day

 

[Noahtb54]

Here's the ingredients for the reptive sample and the calcium

 

[Noahtb54]

Here's the ingredients for the reptive sample and the calcium

The one name brand is reptibreeze reptile vitamins and the other is zoo med rep to calcium without d3

 

[jajeanpierre]

Sometimes sudden dramatic changes in behavior are a good sign of a parasite, taking him to vet would be a very good idea

JGuinan007, in general, I haven't seen parasites show up as anything dramatic at all, and I've dealt with a LOT of parasites. Go look at the pictures of this female:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/my-newest-gracilior.146416/

She looks the picture of health, doesn't she? She has hookworm and, as the vet put it, "tadpole-sized flagellates." She's a long-term wild caught (a year) and probably brought these parasites with her from Africa.

So please, JGuinan007, be very careful of what you offer as truths to someone who is a novice and worried about their new chameleon. Novice people have enough trouble sorting out fact from fiction.

Noahtb54, I read through this thread and more information and better pictures would help a lot.

First off, get rid of a that infrared heat lamp. He does not need to be warm at night. Light at night is a big stressor. I wouldn't add heat for a healthy veiled unless your temps got down into the 40s. Sixties is fine. If you do need to add heat at night, use a ceramic bulb heater. They do best with a decent temperature drop.

You can use an ordinary incandescent light bulb for a basking bulb. The purpose of a basking bulb it two fold. First, it increases the temperatures of the cage; and secondly, it heats the skin, which is critical for the whole UVB/Vitamin D synthesis.

Your complaint is that he is suddenly sleeping in the afternoon. Mine often pretty much settle in for the night around 3:00 p.m., hours before either the sun goes down (there are lots of windows in their room) or the lights go off. Is this what you are talking about or is he actually closing his eyes? If he is closing his eyes, that's a problem and I would recommend you take him to a vet who is experienced with reptiles.

Are you sure he is a captive bred? Do you know his history? Where did you get him from? I think--but am not sure--that wild-caught veileds taken from the feral Florida populations are coming on the market in increasing numbers. Captive bred veileds in pet shops tend to be little babies, not big ones like yours.

There's a few reasons he might be inactive, one being the temps a bit too low. In cold houses in winter, it is hard to get the rest of the cage warm enough at the same time not cook them with the basking bulb. If they are not hungry, a lot of chameleons will just sit around in one spot. Dehydration--and it isn't all that easy for a novice to recognize dehydration--in and of itself can be the cause of a decline, so I would be really working to hydrate him. I hate screen cages for a lot of reasons, but one is the problem of being able to get humidity up and have water droplets stay as water droplets on the leaves of plants, especially fake plants. (I saw what looked like a water bowl in his cage--ditch that, they drink from water droplets on leaves.) Another reason they can become inactive is that the light is just not bright enough. Looking at your lights, I bet your cage is really quite dark. (I use Arcadia lights from Light Your Reptiles, a site sponsor. They aren't more expensive than the ZooMed lights and throw a LOT more UVB as well as just plain light. I noticed a HUGE difference when I switched my veiled from ZooMed lighting--tube UVB and LED--to the Arcadia lights. He just woke up and came alive.)

Supplementation won't have any impact on his health in the week you've had him. Neither will incorrect UVB lighting. Both are slow developing problems, so don't get sidetracked with whether or not the supplements/lights are right. You want to know if he is behaving like a normal, healthy chameleon. More pictures, and of course, the filling out the "how to ask for help" form everyone is asking for would be a big help.

 

[Noahtb54]

Here is him as of now

 

[Noahtb54]

Here is him as of now

And the water bowl was just a way to catch the water from the dripper the temps at 80 right now? Should it be higher? Also I got him from a let store and they did not tell me where they got him from and yes his eyes do close and he's out like a rock when he does it takes awhile for me to wake him up when he does

 

[Noahtb54]

JGuinan007, in general, I haven't seen parasites show up as anything dramatic at all, and I've dealt with a LOT of parasites. Go look at the pictures of this female:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/my-newest-gracilior.146416/

She looks the picture of health, doesn't she? She has hookworm and, as the vet put it, "tadpole-sized flagellates." She's a long-term wild caught (a year) and probably brought these parasites with her from Africa.

So please, JGuinan007, be very careful of what you offer as truths to someone who is a novice and worried about their new chameleon. Novice people have enough trouble sorting out fact from fiction.

Noahtb54, I read through this thread and more information and better pictures would help a lot.

First off, get rid of a that infrared heat lamp. He does not need to be warm at night. Light at night is a big stressor. I wouldn't add heat for a healthy veiled unless your temps got down into the 40s. Sixties is fine. If you do need to add heat at night, use a ceramic bulb heater. They do best with a decent temperature drop.

You can use an ordinary incandescent light bulb for a basking bulb. The purpose of a basking bulb it two fold. First, it increases the temperatures of the cage; and secondly, it heats the skin, which is critical for the whole UVB/Vitamin D synthesis.

Your complaint is that he is suddenly sleeping in the afternoon. Mine often pretty much settle in for the night around 3:00 p.m., hours before either the sun goes down (there are lots of windows in their room) or the lights go off. Is this what you are talking about or is he actually closing his eyes? If he is closing his eyes, that's a problem and I would recommend you take him to a vet who is experienced with reptiles.

Are you sure he is a captive bred? Do you know his history? Where did you get him from? I think--but am not sure--that wild-caught veileds taken from the feral Florida populations are coming on the market in increasing numbers. Captive bred veileds in pet shops tend to be little babies, not big ones like yours.

There's a few reasons he might be inactive, one being the temps a bit too low. In cold houses in winter, it is hard to get the rest of the cage warm enough at the same time not cook them with the basking bulb. If they are not hungry, a lot of chameleons will just sit around in one spot. Dehydration--and it isn't all that easy for a novice to recognize dehydration--in and of itself can be the cause of a decline, so I would be really working to hydrate him. I hate screen cages for a lot of reasons, but one is the problem of being able to get humidity up and have water droplets stay as water droplets on the leaves of plants, especially fake plants. (I saw what looked like a water bowl in his cage--ditch that, they drink from water droplets on leaves.) Another reason they can become inactive is that the light is just not bright enough. Looking at your lights, I bet your cage is really quite dark. (I use Arcadia lights from Light Your Reptiles, a site sponsor. They aren't more expensive than the ZooMed lights and throw a LOT more UVB as well as just plain light. I noticed a HUGE difference when I switched my veiled from ZooMed lighting--tube UVB and LED--to the Arcadia lights. He just woke up and came alive.)

Supplementation won't have any impact on his health in the week you've had him. Neither will incorrect UVB lighting. Both are slow developing problems, so don't get sidetracked with whether or not the supplements/lights are right. You want to know if he is behaving like a normal, healthy chameleon. More pictures, and of course, the filling out the "how to ask for help" form everyone is asking for would be a big help.

I set a plant in the shower and let him crawl on that because I read they love it and he moved around a lot and he seemed to love the showe a lot

 

[jajeanpierre]

I set a plant in the shower and let him crawl on that because I read they love it and he moved around a lot and he seemed to love the showe a lot

I don't know that many brand new chameleons will love a shower. For most, I think it is something they learn to like. I would mist heavily with a hand mister. Don't mist him directly--just mist the plants and surfaces around him. Try not to scare him or even unsettle him to the point he moves away.

Your description of him closing his eyes during the day is not anything normal sounding and is really beyond the scope of what we can suggest. I would take him in to a good reptile vet asap.

 

[JGuinan007]

JGuinan007, in general, I haven't seen parasites show up as anything dramatic at all, and I've dealt with a LOT of parasites. Go look at the pictures of this female:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/my-newest-gracilior.146416/

She looks the picture of health, doesn't she? She has hookworm and, as the vet put it, "tadpole-sized flagellates." She's a long-term wild caught (a year) and probably brought these parasites with her from Africa.

So please, JGuinan007, be very careful of what you offer as truths to someone who is a novice and worried about their new chameleon. Novice people have enough trouble sorting out fact from fiction.

Noahtb54, I read through this thread and more information and better pictures would help a lot.

First off, get rid of a that infrared heat lamp. He does not need to be warm at night. Light at night is a big stressor. I wouldn't add heat for a healthy veiled unless your temps got down into the 40s. Sixties is fine. If you do need to add heat at night, use a ceramic bulb heater. They do best with a decent temperature drop.

You can use an ordinary incandescent light bulb for a basking bulb. The purpose of a basking bulb it two fold. First, it increases the temperatures of the cage; and secondly, it heats the skin, which is critical for the whole UVB/Vitamin D synthesis.

Your complaint is that he is suddenly sleeping in the afternoon. Mine often pretty much settle in for the night around 3:00 p.m., hours before either the sun goes down (there are lots of windows in their room) or the lights go off. Is this what you are talking about or is he actually closing his eyes? If he is closing his eyes, that's a problem and I would recommend you take him to a vet who is experienced with reptiles.

Are you sure he is a captive bred? Do you know his history? Where did you get him from? I think--but am not sure--that wild-caught veileds taken from the feral Florida populations are coming on the market in increasing numbers. Captive bred veileds in pet shops tend to be little babies, not big ones like yours.

There's a few reasons he might be inactive, one being the temps a bit too low. In cold houses in winter, it is hard to get the rest of the cage warm enough at the same time not cook them with the basking bulb. If they are not hungry, a lot of chameleons will just sit around in one spot. Dehydration--and it isn't all that easy for a novice to recognize dehydration--in and of itself can be the cause of a decline, so I would be really working to hydrate him. I hate screen cages for a lot of reasons, but one is the problem of being able to get humidity up and have water droplets stay as water droplets on the leaves of plants, especially fake plants. (I saw what looked like a water bowl in his cage--ditch that, they drink from water droplets on leaves.) Another reason they can become inactive is that the light is just not bright enough. Looking at your lights, I bet your cage is really quite dark. (I use Arcadia lights from Light Your Reptiles, a site sponsor. They aren't more expensive than the ZooMed lights and throw a LOT more UVB as well as just plain light. I noticed a HUGE difference when I switched my veiled from ZooMed lighting--tube UVB and LED--to the Arcadia lights. He just woke up and came alive.)

Supplementation won't have any impact on his health in the week you've had him. Neither will incorrect UVB lighting. Both are slow developing problems, so don't get sidetracked with whether or not the supplements/lights are right. You want to know if he is behaving like a normal, healthy chameleon. More pictures, and of course, the filling out the "how to ask for help" form everyone is asking for would be a big help.

So taking him to a vet is a bad idea?

 

[jajeanpierre]

So taking him to a vet is a bad idea?

I didn't say that. In fact I suggested he go to a vet when he mentioned that his chameleon was closing its eyes during the day.

What I did say--and I was saying it to you--was that in general, I've not seen a parasite load show up as any thing dramatic as you contended . My wild caughts with heavy infestations often look the picture of health and directed you to pictures of a long-term captive female I just bought about a month ago and finally got around to doing a fecal on her.

By the way, I loved your, "Use the Form Noah. Let go Noah. Noah, trust me."

 

[Kingkush]

From my observation in your red picture the eyes look a bit puffy on the lower outside looks to me like a sign of RI issues..are the eyes looking glassy or glased watery look? My recommendtion is take it to the vet. Hope you do this.