Small Veiled?

[ethan99]

My veiled chameleon (male) is about 10 months old and he seems way too small! I heard that chameleons grow most of their full growth in there first year, but my Chameleon is really small!
Here are some pics I took a few days ago, 2 compared to my hand and 1 next to a ruler. Is he under-size?

 

[Ahtee]

There's no way he's 10 months. He's about 3-4months at most I think. I got a male veiled as well,slightly smaller and he's just about hitting 3 months. I'd double check with whoever told u he was 10months handsome looking guy u got there thou!

 

[ethan99]

There's no way he's 10 months. He's about 3-4months at most I think. I got a male veiled as well,slightly smaller and he's just about hitting 3 months. I'd double check with whoever told u he was 10months handsome looking guy u got there thou!

I have owned him since July and he was born in June... so I know for a fact that he's 10 months. That's why I'm worried.

 

[Andee]

Fill out this form

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

It is imperative that you fill out how much he is eating, his dusting information and light information, hopefully we will get to the bottom of this.

 

[RayenaeTargaryen]

I would think like most animals, the small size could be related to either diet (not saying you're not feeding him enough) or he could just be the "runt" of the litter. You could always take him to the vet if you were that worried, but right now, I wouldn't be unless he starts showing other symptoms.

 

[Ahtee]

Ah so you've already had him for that long, I was thinking u just got him not long ago being told he was 10 months. Perhaps he's a miniature breed of veiled chameleon. hmm I'm pretty curious now to what may be the cause of this too!

 

[pssh]

How odd. Definitely fill out the how to ask for help form. It could be related to his diet. Usually when a chameleon is this small at this age, it has MBD or something, but he looks completely normal (for a 4 month old anyways.) I had a panther that was always really small no matter how much I fed him, but even he was bigger than this guy at 10 months I think. Do you know how much he weighs? Have you had him tested for parasites?

 

[ethan99]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, about 10 months old. Had him for about 8 or 9 months.
Handling - Hold him about every 3 days.
Feeding - I feed him about 3-5 crickets or mealworms a day.
Supplements - I use a calcium dust every other week, but i havn't used it recently.
Fecal Description - Never been tested for parasites.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen, 3 ft. tall cage.
Lighting - A heat light and a long UVB/UVA light.
Temperature - Don't know the temp.
Humidity - Spray him 1-2 times a day.
Plants - 1 live umbrella plant in his cage.
Placement - Near a window, but not near any vents or fans.
Location - Washington State

 

[KingJulian]

He looks very small for a 10 month old. By then, they should be close to full grown. It's very important to make sure you regulate his temps and humidity levels. They sell humidity gauges at petsmart for pretty cheap, and they have temp gauges too. I usually mist my cham at least 4 times a day. They don't drink standing water, so their only source of water is what he gets off the leaves after you mist. His basking level should be 85 degrees, and then it drops the lower down you go in his cage.

 

[Andee]

He should definitely be eating more than 3-5 crickets a day in my opinion. A plain calcium dust without D3 should be used everyday, while a calcium dust with d3 should be used twice a month and a multivitamin should also be used twice a month. This could very well be your problem. He's not eating enough and not getting enough nutrition in the dusting. Without the correct dusting he could start MBD. Mealworms are not a nutritious feeder in my opinion and should be replaced with hornworms or silkworms. Mealworms are hard to digest and rather fatty on the inside.

 

[babyjoe]

I actually think I seen a post on here with a similar problem before I can't remember the cause of cure.did you try searching it.what puzzles me is your cham looks healthy is it possibly some genetic thing.what size was it when you got it

 

[Carlton]

Ah so you've already had him for that long, I was thinking u just got him not long ago being told he was 10 months. Perhaps he's a miniature breed of veiled chameleon. hmm I'm pretty curious now to what may be the cause of this too!

There is no "miniature" breed of veiled. Size can be a combination of genetics and nutrition. For example, a particular breeder may select for certain colors rather than size and vice versa. Not all veileds are going to be huge. However, from what the OP described I would guess he hasn't been eating nearly enough to support a lot of growth. Compare this to my juvenile veiled who would eat a dozen or more crix (of the correct size...no larger than the width between his eyes) every day. Many smaller crix are better nutritionally than a few larger ones. I also fed him houseflies, moths, waxworms, superworms, and anything else I found on my property where nothing was sprayed. All his domestically raised insects were fed fresh dark leafy greens, fresh fruit, Total fortified cereal ground up, bee pollen, and spirulina as this was before we had our great gutloads available. He should be getting plain calcium dusting every day, calcium with D3 twice a week and a herp multivitamin once a month.

If you improve his diet right now he may have a growth spurt to make up size but it will be hard to predict how much. He's lucky not to have MBD at least.

 

[pssh]

He needs to eat much more than he is now. I would start feeding him as much as he will eat within 5-10 minutes. He should be getting a plain calcium without D3 at almost every feeding and a multivitamin twice a month. The amount/frequency of calcium with D3 will depend on the brand and amount of D3 in it.

 

[ethan99]

The calcium does have D3. Thanks for all the help!

 

[pssh]

Do you have a calcium without D3? He needs that as well, too much D3 can be just as bad as not enough.