Some concerns.

[Prichtofu]

I live in central Wisconsin first of all.

I have a veiled chameleon in a small glass tank with a 25w UVB bulb for daylight and a red light for night time, he's still a baby (about 2 months old) so I'll be moving him to a much bigger mesh cage when he's older.

Right now, I have a waterfall, several plants, and ecoEarth in the bottom to hold moisture. He's staying hydrated and eating about 8-10 worms a day on average.

My problem is, the temperature is usually in the 75-85 range, yet his humidity drops to as low as 50% if I don't mist every 2 or 3 hours. What am I doing here? It's generally about 72 in my house, but I bought a small heater for my bedroom and I keep the door shut so it's fairly warm in here.

I know he's getting hydrated because I've found him gaping a few times even though the temperature is only 75, but I'm still worried about the humidity being too low. What can I do?

He does tend to sleep during the day quite a bit, though he is also active frequently. However, if I put him in the sunlight he stays active. Maybe he's depressed? I would take him outside but it's 57 degrees. He also just shed yesterday if that matters.

 

[Trillian]

If the light is labelled 25 watts then it is NOT a UV light. He needs a light which provides UVA and UVB to keep him healthy. There's no need for any lights at night, a dip in temperatures is good for him at night, plus he needs to sleep in as close to complete darkness as you can manage.

Waterfalls look pretty, and it's true that he won't drink from a dish and prefers moving water dropkets, however they are very difficult to kerp clean, the water just cycles and bacteria builds up. At the very least you need to be cleaning it thoroughly and changing the water every single day. Most chameleon keepers mist their chameleons regularly, either by hand or with an automated misting system.

Please read through this care sheet very carefully: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ it's very comprehensive. There are improvements you can make, it's a sign of bad health for them to sleep during the day.

 

[Prichtofu]

If the light is labelled 25 watts then it is NOT a UV light. He needs a light which provides UVA and UVB to keep him healthy. There's no need for any lights at night, a dip in temperatures is good for him at night, plus he needs to sleep in as close to complete darkness as you can manage.

Waterfalls look pretty, and it's true that he won't drink from a dish and prefers moving water dropkets, however they are very difficult to kerp clean, the water just cycles and bacteria builds up. At the very least you need to be cleaning it thoroughly and changing the water every single day. Most chameleon keepers mist their chameleons regularly, either by hand or with an automated misting system.

Please read through this care sheet very carefully: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ it's very comprehensive. There are improvements you can make, it's a sign of bad health for them to sleep during the day.

I mist several times a day and do change the waterfall out regularly because people warned me about it. I'll look into a new light I suppose, and I will stop using the nighttime light. Does all of this have to do with why he sleeps during the day?

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Everything trillian said, and he needs a screen cage not a glass tank

 

[Prichtofu]

Everything trillian said, and he needs a screen cage not a glass tank

He's just a baby. I've been told by others he's still too small.

 

[Trillian]

I mist several times a day and do change the waterfall out regularly because people warned me about it. I'll look into a new light I suppose, and I will stop using the nighttime light. Does all of this have to do with why he sleeps during the day?

Yes, it does. Especially the UV lighting, they need that to grow properly, among other things. Please take the time to check your setup against the care sheet, there is a place for glass enclosures, buy you will end up switching to a screen cage at some point. There is a very delicate balancing act between the need for high humidity and the risk of bacterial and fungal growth which comes with inadequate ventilation.

I know it seems intimidating, you've spent so much time and money on him already. Pretty much everyone here found this board because we bought/rescued a chameleon and it got sick. Sometimes we caught it in time and saw miracles happen with tiny tweaks in our setup, sometimes it was too late or we thought we knew better. I lost 3 rescued chameleons because I thought I knew better and I thought I could overcome the issues with glass enclosures. My panther is heading for 4 years old, she's laid 2 sterile clutches, and she's thriving because I sucked it up and followed the advice I found here, as well as the advice I was given.

Please take time to learn about your new buddy. Nobody here wants you to follow the crowd and obey, the reason all the successful keepers have similar setups is because that's how chameleons THRIVE. [emoji7]

 

[Trillian]

I've just had a thought, gaping is a very common sign of a respiratory tract infection, they gape to try to drain and dry out their inflamed sinuses. It would be well worth your while to search a few threads to see if he has any other symptoms. If he does have one, the sooner he gets treatment the better. My ball python had an RI two years ago, she had a runny nose, noisy breathing, sneezing, and yawning. My vet charged $80 for the office visit, plus an amount for antibiotics that I can't remember. I gave her injections, following his instructions, every 2 days for two weeks.

 

[Prichtofu]

I've just had a thought, gaping is a very common sign of a respiratory tract infection, they gape to try to drain and dry out their inflamed sinuses. It would be well worth your while to search a few threads to see if he has any other symptoms. If he does have one, the sooner he gets treatment the better. My ball python had an RI two years ago, she had a runny nose, noisy breathing, sneezing, and yawning. My vet charged $80 for the office visit, plus an amount for antibiotics that I can't remember. I gave her injections, following his instructions, every 2 days for two weeks.

I've seen him gape maybe twice and it was while he was right up by the bulb but I will look into it. I am supremely broke right now and it already looks like I'll have to get a screen cage next Friday when I get paid. I am really worried for my little guy. Aside from the very rare gaping and the occasional daytime fatigue, he seems very happy and healthy, and he eats a ton and drinks water. I hope I can get this resolved.

 

[kinyonga]

Please answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum so we can help you better. Please list the supplements and how often you use each and include what you use to feed/gutload the insects with.

Your chameleon shouldn't be sleeping during the day.

Do you mean he's eating mealworms?

Are the plants non-toxic? We're they Well washed?

How warm is your room?

How long have you had it?

 

[Prichtofu]

Please answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum so we can help you better. Please list the supplements and how often you use each and include what you use to feed/gutload the insects with.

Your chameleon shouldn't be sleeping during the day.

Do you mean he's eating mealworms?

Are the plants non-toxic? We're they Well washed?

How warm is your room?

How long have you had it?

He's eating meal worms. I'm switching to crickets very soon. It's around 75 in my room, they're not real plants but have been washed, I've had him for maybe two weeks. I dust the worms with that reptivite calcium powder every other day.

 

[Prichtofu]

Just to update everyone, I will be ditching the waterfall asap when I get home tonight in 1.5 hours and getting him on a drinking glass. I'm also going to get a mesh cage next week. Thank you all for the help... please help me keep my little buddy alive.

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Every other day is too much for the reptivite and I assume the calcium has d3. The correct supplement schedule is calcium without d3 at every feeding. Vitamins and calcium with d3 every other week

 

[kinyonga]

How do you feed it the mealworms? Free range? In a dish? ??

Reptivite?? Is it phosphorous-free calcium powder or a vitamin powder? Does it contain vitamin A. Or D3?

 

[Prichtofu]

How do you feed it the mealworms? Free range? In a dish? ??

Reptivite?? Is it phosphorous-free calcium powder or a vitamin powder? Does it contain vitamin A. Or D3?

I can't check right now unfortunately because I'm at work, but I will when I get home. I mix it up between using a dish inside the cage, outside the cage, and hand feeding inside and outside. He does not hesitate to eat.

 

[Prichtofu]

Every other day is too much for the reptivite and I assume the calcium has d3. The correct supplement schedule is calcium without d3 at every feeding. Vitamins and calcium with d3 every other week

I feed him twice a day so I really was doing it once every four feedings or so, but I'll do less.

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Well every four feedings is still too much, since it's supposed to be only twice a month. Calcium without d3 he can have every feeding

 

[JaniP]

He should also be eating something more nutritious for him than mealworms. He could eat really small silks or phoenix worms at his size, as well as little crickets gutloaded with healthy greens and veg.

 

[Prichtofu]

Well every four feedings is still too much, since it's supposed to be only twice a month. Calcium without d3 he can have every feeding

I just checked and his is with D3 so I will start using that only twice a month, and I'll get some without D3 for every day use.

 

[Prichtofu]

He should also be eating something more nutritious for him than mealworms. He could eat really small silks or phoenix worms at his size, as well as little crickets gutloaded with healthy greens and veg.

I'll be moving to either crickets or super worms soon. I'm not sure how I feel about crickets, I can't stand them. Would super worms be better?

 

[JaniP]

I'll be moving to either crickets or super worms soon. I'm not sure how I feel about crickets, I can't stand them. Would super worms be better?

Crickets are more nutritious than superworms because they are less fatty, and they hold more of the nutritious gutload that you should be feeding them before hand.

Bugs are a way of life with a Chameleon, if you want a healthy little guy then you'll have to get used to them. You can feed crickets without ever having to touch them with all the keeper systems out there - they creep me out too.

But - all things need variety. You should give him a variety of different bugs - no one wants to eat the same thing all the time!