Strange colour and behaviour

Jay1501

New Member
I have come home tonight and my chameleon has strange black ashy marks in its colour kinda like broken up stripes it looks very strange she is a yemon baby chameleon and is usually bright green she was the brightest in the reptile shop. Incase it helps she hasn't had a thing to eat since ive got her and i know that because i can count the same 4 locusts in her viv
 
The stripey spotty thing is her 'stress' pattern. Don't worry, all babies get it sometimes. Any chance you can post a pic of her and the locusts? Maybe they are too big for her? Do you know what she ate in the shop? Have you tried crickets or fruit flies?
 
i know! thought i might beat ya this time but im pretty sure you type faster then i do haha! you got more into your post and still beat me! ;P
 
It isant letting me upload a photo it just keeps loading the locusts are no biger than her head also theres like white cracks on her sides type of looking??? Only reason im worried is the reptile shop have said wrong information before such as mist leaves 1-2 time a WEEK an temps at 90-98f they seem so unhelpfull i dont think shes healthy at all ive read 80-85 f on internet and i mist 3 times a day for a few mins that i also read
 
what ive been told is the food shouldnt be longer then the space between her eyes, am i right David? i noticed the kinda crack look on the side before, i dont think you need to stress about that. i know that the temps the petstore and the misting schedule they gave you is wayyy wrong!! i misted my baby veiled between 3 and 5 times a day to keep the humidity at 50 percent.
 
ive read 80-85 f on internet and i mist 3 times a day for a few mins that i also read
I would stick to 80F max while she's so little, with a good gradient. Ignore the shop completely.
what ive been told is the food shouldnt be longer then the space between her eyes, am i right David?

Spot on.


It's not a crack, it's a stripe :) that's how it should be. Feed the locusts with something like dandelion or rocket. She will probably eat them soon if you followed the advice in all those links I sent..........
 
Ok i just dont understand how they can sell/work at these places and just not know anything my cham was meant to be male yet its a she when i brought her back its a shame its bin such a bad experience :(
 
try not to be bummed about it, you'll get just as much joy from your little girl as you would have from a baby boy! i know, its ridiculous that they can sell creatures they know nothing about... but its great that you got onto the forum because everyone here has so much priceless information to share! i had almost the same experience with my cham, the petstore knew little to nothing about chams and basically left me hanging. i have be given worlds of knowledge from everyone on here and they helped me thru everything with my baby boy.. just be thankful that she's fairly healthy and that you have tons of people to help you out with her on this forum!! :)
 
Ok i just dont understand how they can sell/work at these places and just not know anything my cham was meant to be male yet its a she when i brought her back its a shame its bin such a bad experience :(

I can tell you why........they just don't care as much as we do..........who told you it's a female? Do you have pics of the back ankles? You will be able to take her back and get a male if you want to. That would mean you have no need to worry about egg complications.
 
Lol crack it does look like a crack though rather than a stripe but yea that makes more sense ive read through the links very helpful thank you regarding the viv sizes ive got a wooden 3ft long by 2ft high viv wich sounds like its too big for her the reptile shop have offered to swap for a male like i asked for wich they will be sure is eating fine and healthy i know it sounds bad (swap) but i just feel in the long run it will be better il just be woried they wont care for her as theve given such rubbish information
 
can't blame you for wanting to get the male like you originally wanted.. there's more concerns with females, like being eggbound. thats what i have ended up going towards males as well. it might be making it a little harder for her to eat if the food is scampering around on the bottom of the tank. i would suggest making a feeder cup if you dont have one already!!
 
To get her settled in I think she is more likely to eat free range food tbh :)
 
Ok thanks both of you whats a feeder cup and whats free range mean? Yes thats what puts me off ive read that if the become eggbound it can kill them if its not noticed and prepared for properly an requarding the forum i totally agree this is the best place to come for advice and a sense of knowledge i was told she was female at vets the other day i thought a check up would be good as i just brought just to be sure vet said alls ok at the time just that she was very small (skinny) and week looking
 
a feeder cup is what you can put live food in and hang it in the viv to prevent food scampering about and make it easier for your cham to find its food. a lot of owners will cut out part of the side of a plastic bottle, leaving the bottom, and put a piece of mesh into it so that the crickets and what not will cling to the mesh. they then attach the bottle to a side of the viv near foliage or a branch where your cham can easily reach and look inside it for prey. :)
 
And free range is where you let the insects loose in the vivarium, not in a feeder cup.
 
i did both with my cham, a feeder cup when he first came home and then free range once he was all settled in. he liked hunting them down free range, so either way works!
 
Ok well i think il leve the live food in there stilm for a few mire days the feeder cup sounds good il make one later
 
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