Small Veiled?

Rev86

New Member
This is my first time owning a Chameleon, love my little dude but I feel like he's tiny and not growing that much, my buddy has a panther chameleon that is younger than my little guy and he's already a good bit larger. I know it's a completely different breed but still... Wanting to see what your guys thoughts are. I got him back in April, so that puts him somewhere around 6 months old ish... He's obviously done some growing, but I expected him to be larger by now. But what do I know haha
 

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Welcome to the forums. He does look small for his age and normally veileds are bigger than panthers of the same age. Have you had him tested for parasites? I would recommend a fecal. Parasites can keep them from growing epecially cociddia. It would also be helpful for us to know how you keep him by filling out the Ask For Help Form linked below. Are you sure you have a male? Do you see Spurs (bumps) on the hills of both back feet?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
 
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - veiled, Male, 6.5 months ish. 6 months?
  • Handling - few times a week?
  • Feeding - crickets? keep his cage full? just started to gut load them?
  • Supplements - reptivite with D3, dust every time i put new crickets in there.
  • Watering - i mist him 2-3 times daily, yes i see him drink sometimes.
  • Fecal Description - white and dark fecal. never been tested for parasites?
  • History - .

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen cage, 3.5ft tall x 2ft deep
  • Lighting - 12hrs on with UV bulb
  • Temperature - 85 degrees basking, 75 floor
  • Humidity - never measured
  • Plants - fake plants from reptile store
  • Placement - on shelf i made for it. top of cage is 5.5ft above the ground
  • Location ` living room
 
He/she needs calcium WITHOUT d3 every feeding and the reptivite with d3 2 times a month. I would also highly recommend a fecal like jannb mentioned. Also do you see the back foot spurs?
 
Maybe he's a dwarf veiled! Is that possible?
There is really no such thing as a dwarf Veild per say. There can be runts though, that will be exceptionally smaller than the average Veild. I have seen a few that were some genetic freaks and never grew. A rescue called House of Chameleons had two of them.. I think they were brother and sister and they were super tiny and as full adults were the size of about a 3 month old.
 
yeah I'm positive he is a male, even showed a guy at the reptile store. I went and bought 2 new UV bulbs so he's getting plenty of UV light, and also a new heat bulb that i can keep on at night. It does get cold in my house at night so that may be part of the issue here. And I figured with constant spraying the humidty should be ok, at its lowest its around 44%, I do live in California though where it's very dry. Here is a picture of him scared of a horn worm, but you can see his heel spur.
 

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yeah I'm positive he is a male, even showed a guy at the reptile store. I went and bought 2 new UV bulbs so he's getting plenty of UV light, and also a new heat bulb that i can keep on at night. It does get cold in my house at night so that may be part of the issue here. And I figured with constant spraying the humidty should be ok, at its lowest its around 44%, I do live in California though where it's very dry. Here is a picture of him scared of a horn worm, but you can see his heel spur.

No light at night. Unless it drops below 60 a temp drop at night is actually good for their metabolism. They need the dark to sleep. Chams set their internal clocks and hormone levels by their day and night schedule. Leaving a light on at night will only cause issues down the road. If it drops to 55 or under then you can get a ceramic heat bulb that doesn't put off any light. But, if it's comfortable for you to sleep then it's fine for them.

Do you have a basking light on during the day? As long as he has a place to warm up in the morning, i.e. His basking spot, then you're golden.
 
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No I havnet gotten his fecal tested yet. I changed a couple things and waiting to see if he starts to shed anytime soon, or if he starts to display any kind of sickness Ill take it immediately. His fecal all looks normal, his grip is super strong for a little dude, and Ive been watching him eat medium sized gut loaded crickets the last few days, he's moving around and active and his colors are great and I'm starting to see new patterns and spots come out. Maybe I just have a midget, hopefully nothing serious.
 
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