Stressed?

[HannahGrace]

Hi, I'm being a little paranoid about my new veiled chameleon. He has a consistent mute brown-green color. I just picked him up yesterday, so I'm thinking he's just stressed. He's my first chameleon ever, so there's a pretty good chance I'm just over worrying. But I thought it's better to be safe than sorry, and I don't have anyone to direct my questions too so I thought I'd ask here. He moves around a lot, and has even been eating crickets, but I've been a little worried about the temperatures in the cage so I want to make sure he isn't displaying a cold colorization.

 

[RJChamers]

what is his basking temp? What type of lighting are you using? Also it takes about 2 weeks before they comfortable to his new surroundings.

 

[HannahGrace]

I’m using a reptisun 5.0 for UV, and a 75w bulb as the basking light. According to my temp gun his basking spots have been around the 78-82 range, with some of the higher, very specific, spots reaching 85-86. The higher, non basking spots, stay around 75-78 and the middle to lower half stay in the lower 70s. I don’t want to raise his basking perches any higher because I’m worried about getting them too close. I’ve already moved it a little closer, but according to my temp gun it hasn’t really done much for the temperature. Should I opt for a higher wattage bulb? And I know it takes a while for them to settle in, which is why I also don’t want to go back in to rearrange his basking branches.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Not just his basking temp, but all of the temperatures around him. You should have these temperatures recorded: the ambient temp, the basking temp, and the middle and bottom of the cage temperatures. There should be a temperature gradient in the enclosure so that if the chameleon gets too hot or too cold, they can find a spot with a temperature fit to their liking. You probably already knew this, but I wanted to make sure there was no doubt and the chameleon was getting what it needed.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Oh well you posted that seconds before me. Whoops Do you have a temperature gauge as well as a humidity gauge for the enclosure?

 

[HannahGrace]

Lol I also just edited with more specifics after I just went in with the temp gun again. As to gauges, yes. Two of each actually, because I was worried about accuracy. His humidity stays 60% - 70% pretty consistently, with the lowest I've ever seen at 54%, and when misted it jumps to around 88%.

 

[kinyonga]

This is a good place to ask questions! Welcome to the forums!
Nice healthy looking little veiled!
If you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread near the top of the health forum we can check out your husbandry to see if it's all okay.

 

[HannahGrace]

Thank you! I'm assuming you meant this form? ^^

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, 4-ish months...maybe? (Not to sure)
• Handling - Only when I put him in the cage.
• Feeding - Crickets. I let 7 loose in his cage this morning, he ate 5. I gut loaded them with carrots and various greens.
• Supplements - Currently none, but only because its taking longer to ship than expected. Should be here tomorrow.
• Watering - I have a drip system which I have seen him drink from, I have also seen him sip from the plant leaves. I've misted twice thus far, once in the morning and mid day.
• Fecal Description - Droppings are firm, and a dark brown color.
• History - Don't know much, I got him from a pet store yesterday.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 24x24x48, screened. (though 3 sides are covered for humidity purposes.)
• Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 for UV, 75w bulb for basking. They are set to turn on a 7:30 am, and go off at 7:30 pm.
• Temperature - Basking 78-82, with some specific spots reaching 85-86. The higher, non basking spots, stay around 75-78, the middle stays around 72-75, and the bottom reads in the 70-73 range.
• Humidity - His humidity stays in the high 60% - 70%, with the lowest I've seen at 54%. I have live plants to help with humidity, a dripper, and I mist regularly. I also live in climate that typically has decent humidity.
• Plants - Live plants. Pothos, Schefflera, and Star Jasmine. As well as a fake plant on the door so he felt more hidden.
• Placement - In the far corner of my room away from the door. A little near a vent, but I put up something to help redirect airflow, and have had the fan off. The top of the cage I would say is 6 feet from the ground.
• Location - Houston, Texas

Current Problem - Temperature levels, coloring

 

[carol5208]

You have only had your chameleon for one day so he needs a chance to get settled in and used to his surroundings. Give him a week or two before you start trying to handle him. Your temps seem ok. If anything his colors are due to his new environment. He looks fine though. Does your chameleon have the tarsal spurs on the back of his feet to determine it is indeed a male?? Pet stores often give people the wrong gender as they don’t know what they are doing.

 

[HannahGrace]

I figured it was due to stress from the new environment, was just worried about the temps. Yeah, I know. I work at Petsmart, and most of my coworkers don't know anything about chameleons, though I got him from another location than the one I work at but it was pretty obvious that the worker didn't know very much. I only looked quickly for the tarsal spur when the employee took him out of the cage for me to see, and there was a small nub but it wasn't very pronounced. I didn't want to hold him for very long because I could tell he was stressed, and I don't want to stare into his cage either because he gets rattled by it. I was going to do a better check when he becomes a bit more comfortable in his new surroundings.