My girlfriend and I recently bought a baby veiled chameleon (not sure exactly how old, but his body is almost 2 inches long). We bought him with a 16 gallon tank, a zoo-med 10.0 UVB/UVA bulb, and a ceramic heat bulb. We set up the tank and then brought him home and put some crickets in there. Within a little while I watched him stalk a cricket and he stuck his tongue out and hit him but it didn't stick. After this he didn't ever seem to eat. We bought a basking bulb because we thought maybe it wasn't warm enough but the bulb would raise the temperature so much he would stay on the bottom of the cage, so we went back to the ceramic bulb. Right now, the basking area is around 90 and the opposite end is about 80 during the day. The room temperature is about 75 so we turn everything off at night. We try to keep the humidity between 50% and 60%. So he went about a week without eating and we bought some "Herpcare Electrolyte and Appetite Stimulant." He likes drinking this from the syringe but it doesn't seem to stimulate his appetite. I called the store where I bought him and the "reptile guy" said he had one that didn't eat but it was shedding and then after it shed it was fine again. So we waited some more and finally he was done shedding and then one day we came in and he had a cicket in his mouth. We looked around the cage and only saw one or two more in there so we thought he was eating. For the next day or two we were feeding him crickets and we thought he was eating them because we couldn't see them anywhere but when I cleaned out his cage a couple days later there were lots of crickets, some dead, some alive, at the bottom hidden in the foilage. He has his eyes closed for most of the day which I read is unhealthy, he only really opens them when I mist. He drinks when I mist but remains quite inactive at all other times. He also has this weird bulge in his eye sometimes that seems to move around under his eyelid next to his eye ball. I'm starting to think that maybe he has an infection in his eye and that's why he's acting like this.. I don't know.. can anyone help please????
Stan's Health
- Thread starter StanDarsh
- Start date
*2 inches in length = He sounds really young. Pet stores seem to be selling them a lot younger than they should be. It would be nice if people would just stop going to pet stores all together. They really dont know what theyre doing.
* Make sure the crickets are no bigger than the width of his head, or he wont eat them.
* You said 16 gallon tank, im assuming you mean an aquarium. He should be in an open air enclosure.
* Most will tell you that a Zoomed 10.0 is too much especially for a baby. 5.0 is standard.
* 90 is a bit much for him also, 85 is quite enough at that age. They will overheat and die easily.
* try a different feeder if possible. Silkworms/roaches are talked about all the time here and are recommended alternatives to crickets. You will have to get them online though most likely.
* Its quite possible he may have health issues and if he gets any worse you may need a vet. At that young age, his probability of not making can be quite high. Especially since he was in a pet store with idiots caring for him.
* Make sure the crickets are no bigger than the width of his head, or he wont eat them.
* You said 16 gallon tank, im assuming you mean an aquarium. He should be in an open air enclosure.
* Most will tell you that a Zoomed 10.0 is too much especially for a baby. 5.0 is standard.
* 90 is a bit much for him also, 85 is quite enough at that age. They will overheat and die easily.
* try a different feeder if possible. Silkworms/roaches are talked about all the time here and are recommended alternatives to crickets. You will have to get them online though most likely.
* Its quite possible he may have health issues and if he gets any worse you may need a vet. At that young age, his probability of not making can be quite high. Especially since he was in a pet store with idiots caring for him.
reply
We bought a 65 gallon reptarium but he is so small we didn't think he could get to crickets so we put him back in the aquarium. It was also hard to maintain humidity but I bought a fogger since we've moved him back into the tank. I've read about the people using cups to feed the crickets. How does that work?? I've got some really small crickets, and the "reptile guy" said thats what he should want to eat... who knows if it even ate at all in the store, it probably wasn't there long. Should I get a 5.0 bulb? What is the difference? About silkworms... do you mean live ones? I bought a can of silkworms and chopped them up really small and he was not interested. Thanks for you help!
We bought a 65 gallon reptarium but he is so small we didn't think he could get to crickets so we put him back in the aquarium. It was also hard to maintain humidity but I bought a fogger since we've moved him back into the tank. I've read about the people using cups to feed the crickets. How does that work?? I've got some really small crickets, and the "reptile guy" said thats what he should want to eat... who knows if it even ate at all in the store, it probably wasn't there long. Should I get a 5.0 bulb? What is the difference? About silkworms... do you mean live ones? I bought a can of silkworms and chopped them up really small and he was not interested. Thanks for you help!
dodolah
Retired Moderator
don't chop your silkies
chameleons like the feeders to be alive.
Normally, they don't eat dead insects.
as far as your cham goes, there is no other option but to go to a vet.
Sleeping all day is a bad sign of an advanced sickness.
refer to the vet list on the health clinic forum to find the vet that deals w/ chameleons around your area.
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dodolah
Retired Moderator
See my response in red
My girlfriend and I recently bought a baby veiled chameleon (not sure exactly how old, but his body is almost 2 inches long).
This is too young to be sold to a beginner. the petstore you went to is not a good one if they are willing to sell you chameleon this young
We bought him with a 16 gallon tank, a zoo-med 10.0 UVB/UVA bulb, and a ceramic heat bulb.
get a smaller all screen cage (24"LX24"HX12"W is good. Zoomed 10,.0 is too strong for baby's eyes. This is probably one of the reason your baby eyes have problem. you get 10.0 compact bulb for a baby? again, your petstore gives you all the wrong advice to care for chameleon. Get rid of the ceramic heat bulb, your chameleon does not need it at all. that ceramic heat will burn your chameleon skins. Refund that thing to your petstore
We bought a basking bulb because we thought maybe it wasn't warm enough but the bulb would raise the temperature so much he would stay on the bottom of the cage, so we went back to the ceramic bulb.
you probably use 100 watt basking lamp. Use lower wattage instead. 75 W is good one. Again, get rid of the ceramic heat
Right now, the basking area is around 90 and the opposite end is about 80 during the day.
baby's basking temp can be slight less hot. 85 to 87F is good. Ambient temperature can be slightly lower too
The room temperature is about 75 so we turn everything off at night.
good. Ideal temp for your chameleon at night should be around 60F to low 70s
We try to keep the humidity between 50% and 60%.
Perfect humidity
So he went about a week without eating and we bought some "Herpcare Electrolyte and Appetite Stimulant." He likes drinking this from the syringe but it doesn't seem to stimulate his appetite. I called the store where I bought him and the "reptile guy" said he had one that didn't eat but it was shedding and then after it shed it was fine again.
sorry, your reptile guy is a moron
So we waited some more and finally he was done shedding and then one day we came in and he had a cicket in his mouth. We looked around the cage and only saw one or two more in there so we thought he was eating. For the next day or two we were feeding him crickets and we thought he was eating them because we couldn't see them anywhere but when I cleaned out his cage a couple days later there were lots of crickets, some dead, some alive, at the bottom hidden in the foilage.
for a small sick baby, cup feeding is probably best. that way you can be sure whether he has eaten or not. you need a small pinhead crickets or better yet, get fruit flies culture!
He has his eyes closed for most of the day which I read is unhealthy, he only really opens them when I mist. He drinks when I mist but remains quite inactive at all other times. He also has this weird bulge in his eye sometimes that seems to move around under his eyelid next to his eye ball.
your baby has problem with his eyes. Misting provides him an opportunity to clean his eyeballs. The bulging eye moving around is him trying to clean the debris or irritant inside of their eyes. it's normal
I'm starting to think that maybe he has an infection in his eye and that's why he's acting like this.. I don't know.. can anyone help please????
my biggest concern is the UVB lamp. Most likely the problem is from the intense lamp that you have.
get zoomed reptiSUN 5.0 TUBE.. I stress the word SUN and TUBE.
Don't get suckered by the pet store trying to sell you reptiGLO or reptiSUN COMPACT. I don't care what they say, it's not the same thing. Do you have a better pet store nearby your place? Don't buy anything else from Petco or Petsmart (i'm assuming you buy the chameleon from either of them. The equipment that you bought are just like what Petco or Petsmart's advice).
Meanwhile, i'm sorry to say that you have no choice but to go to the vet. Once a chameleon get sick, they can go downhill in an instance. Please keep us updated
Julirs
New Member
Sounds like too tiny of a baby. Being that small an aqaurium is OK but the problem with them is stagnant air and overheating. Overheating causes dehydration and stagnant air causes eye issues and URI's. 10.0 is way too strong for a baby and way too much to sit on top of a screen where there is only a foot or so to the bottom ot the tank. I also hope that it is not a compact UVB bulb. Ceramic heat is not good. You can use a standard light bulb -maybe 40 Watts in a clamp lamp raised high enough to create a basking area of about 80 degrees leaving the rest of the tank in the mid 70's. They associate visible light with heat. I hope you have a good digital thermometer with a probe-it is so easy to cook these little guys. I lost my first one in the same set-up you are describing. Sounds like he should be eating 1/8 inch crickets-and lots of them at this age. He should not be sleeping at all during the day. You should be misting for 5-10 minutes-a good constant light mist, and then of course dry the tank bottom with paper towels.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
I think he used reptarium, Julirs.
Julirs
New Member
He said the Reptarium was too big so he moved him back into an aquarium.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
HiroProtagonist
New Member
What exactly is the difference between the reptiGLO and the reptiSUN?? I've asked this several times and nobody seems to have any real objective information. Have you done a side by side comparison? I've had a reptiGLO for several months now over my male jacksons and he seems to be doing just as well as the female I've got in natural sunlight. I'm not talking about any compact bulbs either, I mean the reptiGLO 5.0 tube vs. the reptiSUN 5.0 tube. Is there a difference or did they just change the name at some point?
dodolah
Retired Moderator
I think it has something to do with the UVB range that they emit.
the reptisun is a lot closer to what chameleons need..
I think Mr. Weldon will know about this more than I do.
The changing name for marketing purpose is the zoomed reptisun and the zoomed iguana light. Some people in this forum has testified that they are the exact same thing.
But not in the case of reptiGlo and reptiSun
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HiroProtagonist
New Member
I thought that initially...which is why I went back to the store and read the boxes on both bulbs. The reptiglo says it's more for tropical animals...the reptisun leaning more toward desert-type...so I just assumed the 'glo would be the one to get. Now I'm seeing that most everyone here uses the 'sun. Hmph! I plan on getting another light setup soon anyways so when I do I'll make sure to get the reptiSUN...but like I said...my boy is happy as a clam from what I can tell. Hopefully there isn't TOO much of a difference, I'll feel really bad if I'm stunting his growth or somesuch...
dodolah
Retired Moderator
yeah.. Again Dave Weldon is very knowledgeable when it deals with UVB..
He's the right person to ask.. he even have the device to do UVB readings to test the light.
I bought all my chams from kammers and they always recommend the reptiSun.
Electric
New Member
the main reason that everyone recommends zoomed's reptisuns over exo terra's reptiglos is because of the results obtained from testing found here: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.htm
and according to their results... zoomed produces a superior bulb
and according to their results... zoomed produces a superior bulb
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy,
Yep. The test results seem to indicate that the Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 does a superior job of making the UVB wavelengths involved with vitamin D3 production than their direct competitors. This is true for the linear tubes but not necessarily true for the Reptisun compact versions. The Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 linear tube is made in Germany with different phosphors than the Zoo Med Reptisun COMPACT 5.0 and 10.0 lamps that are made in China. They might as well be different brands
. Note too, that the compact tubes run hotter causing the phosphors to age more quickly. The typical Reptisun 5.0 linear tube can still be effective at 1 year old which may not be true for many (any?) other brands and types.
