Stressed chameleon

[Jmcknight]

I have a juvenile male veiled chameleon. Have had him maybe a month. I moved his cage around and added a ficus because he can eat it and now he spends so much time sulking and hiding. He is also a very dark color. Do I take the ficus out? He has no problem eating and drinking though.

Juvenile male veiled
I've handled him once.
I feed crickets and meal worms. 5 crickets in the morning and 5 meal worms in the evening. I gut load with apple slices, potatoes, flukes high calcium cricket diet, and flukes cricket jelly.
I feeders with flukers repta calcium in the evenings.
I mist the enclosure every 3 hours for 4 mins. Ive never seen him drink but he spends a lot of time in the mist itself with his head up.
His fecal is mainly white and black. Very little is is brown and black. He was tested right after i got him a month ago.
I dont have any other info about him.

His cage
Glass and screen combo that is 3 ft high, 1 foot wide, and 1 foot deep. Im building a 5ft screen cage also
I use a coral uvb from my old reef tank, and 2 turtle heat lamps. 12 hours on, 12 hours off.
Temp is 85 in the basket spot and 70 on the floor. Lowest overnight temp is 70. I measure with a temp gun.
I use a hygrometer to measure humidity. Stays between 55-60%. I keep humidity up with a mister and a plant waterer.
I just recently put a ficus.in the cage. Only live plant I have besides moss.
The cage is in my bedroom where its quite. The top of the cage is 4 ft off the floor. Its away from vents and stuff like that.
Im located in Southern kentucky.

 

[NashansCamos]

hello and welcome please fill out this form so we can see if your husbandry has anything to do with the issue

 

[NashansCamos]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Jmcknight]

He isnreally worrying me

 

[Beman]

He isnreally worrying me

So does this mean you do not want feedback on your help form? Because you have multiple errors in your husbandry.

 

[Jmcknight]

I meant to say he is really worrying me. Sorry. I didn't realize the typo. Please tell me the errors because im doing what the local breeder told me to do

 

[Beman]

I meant to say he is really worrying me. Sorry. I didn't realize the typo. Please tell me the errors because im doing what the local breeder told me to do

Give me a few minutes to go through your form. Can you take a pic of the entire cage lights down as well?

 

[Beman]

@Jmcknight See my feedback in Red bold.

I have a juvenile male veiled chameleon. Have had him maybe a month. I moved his cage around and added a ficus because he can eat it and now he spends so much time sulking and hiding. He is also a very dark color. Do I take the ficus out? He has no problem eating and drinking though. New changes to environment do cause stress until the cham adjusts. This is normal. I would like to see the entire enclosure please. I would not remove live plants.

Juvenile male veiled
I've handled him once.
I feed crickets and meal worms. 5 crickets in the morning and 5 meal worms in the evening. I gut load with apple slices, potatoes, flukes high calcium cricket diet, and flukes cricket jelly. He should be eating more like 12 feeders a day right now. No mealworms at all they are an impaction risk due to the higher chitin level and a poor nutritional source. Flukers cricket stuff is not the best nor recommended. I will post an image for feeders and gutload.
I feeders with flukers repta calcium in the evenings. Please look at the container and tell me if this is the With D3 formula. He should be getting calcium without D3 daily, then rotate between a multivitamin and calcium with D3 one day week to week so each is only given each two times a month.
I mist the enclosure every 3 hours for 4 mins. Ive never seen him drink but he spends a lot of time in the mist itself with his head up. 4 minutes is a little long. 2 minutes is fine just totally soak the leaves of the plants for him.
His fecal is mainly white and black. Very little is is brown and black. He was tested right after i got him a month ago.
I dont have any other info about him.

His cage
Glass and screen combo that is 3 ft high, 1 foot wide, and 1 foot deep. Im building a 5ft screen cage also glad you building a larger one.
I use a coral uvb from my old reef tank, and 2 turtle heat lamps. 12 hours on, 12 hours off. ehhhhh I would be careful with the coral UVB> I would stick to tried and true UVB... This would be a t5ho fixture and a 5.0 reptisun bulb or a 6% arcadia bulb. Closest basking branch would then be 9 inches below and fixture sits on top of the screen.
Temp is 85 in the basket spot and 70 on the floor. Lowest overnight temp is 70. I measure with a temp gun. closer to 80 is what we want for basking. And you want a wired probe temp gauge to hook in with zip ties at the basking branch for an exact temp. Temp gun will measure surface temp only.
I use a hygrometer to measure humidity. Stays between 55-60%. I keep humidity up with a mister and a plant waterer. you want humidity 30-50% max... Reducing your mistings will help with this.
I just recently put a ficus.in the cage. Only live plant I have besides moss. Remove all moss. This is an extreme impaction risk with a Veiled. He will eat it. Link to other plants... use the Veiled tested only. https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf
The cage is in my bedroom where its quite. The top of the cage is 4 ft off the floor. Its away from vents and stuff like that.
Im located in Southern kentucky.

 

[Jmcknight]

As far as the coral uvb goes, its temporary. Im using it until i get the new one in. I will include a pic of it.

 

[Beman]

As far as the coral uvb goes, its temporary. Im using it until i get the new one in. I will include a pic of it.

Ok so pull all the moss even the moss vine. FOr the uvb you will need a 5.0 bulb with 9 inches to basking. If you use the 10.0 you need a full 12 inches to the closest basking branch. You can raise the fixture off the top of the screen to get the required distance.

You need calcium without D3 to use every day. Then you want something like reptivite without D3 for a multivitamin. The reptivite and the calcium with D3 that you have now should be rotated week to week at one feeding so that each are only given 2 times a month. .

Good thing your building a new cage. He wont last long in the one he has.. It will be too small before you know it.

 

[Hydra_cosplay]

Also you may wanna ditch the green enclosure carpet. That stuff becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. Just leave the cage bare bottom, and just clean it as needed.

 

[Jmcknight]

The one he is in was free. I knew he would get huge. Im going in the morning for the multivitamin.

 

[Beman]

The one he is in was free. I knew he would get huge. Im going in the morning for the multivitamin.

Make sure you get the calcium without D3 as well. You should not give the calcium with D3 you have any more frequently then every other week or he will develop D3 toxicity. Let me know what you find available.

 

[Jmcknight]

I have left over calcium withiught d3 from my geckos and bearded dragons. Ill use that. I took the ficus out and will plant some pothos in the tank tomorrow. I have a bunch. Also removed the moss stuff and the green carpet and did a through clean. He hung out in the shower while doing that. Added more treated branches as well. He is being a little defensive right now

 

[MissSkittles]

I have left over calcium withiught d3 from my geckos and bearded dragons. Ill use that. I took the ficus out and will plant some pothos in the tank tomorrow. I have a bunch. Also removed the moss stuff and the green carpet and did a through clean. He hung out in the shower while doing that. Added more treated branches as well. He is being a little defensive right now

Are you sure that’s a male? I’m not seeing any heel spurs.

 

[Jmcknight]

The spurs are there. They are just very very small. Ive felt them

 

[MissSkittles]

The spurs are there. They are just very very small. Ive felt them

Can you post a pic of them? Occasionally some females will have tiny nubs.

 

[Jmcknight]

Here you go

 

[MissSkittles]

Here you go

Sorry, but looks female to me. The male spurs are usually quite pronounced. Yours barely has a teeny nub.

 

[Jmcknight]

I've felt them. They feel like bone. Every female I've felt looking for then has had nothing.