Think my female veiled chameleon carmen is not very happy

[MJT89]

Hi there,
I have been having a few concerns with my female veiled chameleon,
Ill start from the begining,
Brought her home bought from petsmart she handled not too bad put her in a glass ten gal for 3 days w lots of hiding nd climbing benda branches. She seemed somewhat happy light green most of the time mouth open basking here and there. I have now put her in a 36x18x18 screen tank and furnishe it quite well. Lot of branches and folliage at different levels. One real birch clipping in a flower pot.at first i couldnt get the humidity up so i put camo material thin stuff on three sides of the cage and put her in my walk in closet with the door slighty closed every so often.basking temp ob the closest center branch 90degees F.i have a 18" uvb .50 reptile uv light and a 75 watt basking bulb for reptiles.she eats her crickets when presented and i do dust them w calcium. I put ice cubes on top and mist every threes hrs to keep humidity up around 50.i have seen her drink.. Ive only had her about 2 weeks and she lately has been a much darker green nd has been around the bottom of the tank here and there and thats wen she goes this darker green. Im worried somethings up any advise or diagnosis???

 

[lojack13]

Is she actually going onto the cage floor or just hanging around near the bottom of the cage. Going to the actual floor might indicate that there is something wrong. Do you have any idea how old she is. She might be pregnant if she is going to the floor. Females will go towards the bottom and look for a place to lay eggs.

 

[jannb]

Hello and welcome to the forums. I keep veileds and have had a few females. You have to keep females cooler and you have her way to hot. The girls can be very tricky to keep. I'm attaching a couple of my blogs for you. The first is for general care and the second is about the laying bin and egg laying. Females can and often do lay eggs without a male even being around.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[samelgert]

shes probably prego, even if she hasn't even seen a male. The eggs wont hatch though because they aren't fertilized. I suggest before you get another lizard, if you do. DO YOUR RESEARCH. its quite hard to take care of a cham. Sorry for being hard on you but I want her to have a really good home.

P.S: if you get another cham, i suggest not getting it from petsmart. Usually they try to sell you stuff that you don't need and they often don't know anything about the lizard.

 

[MJT89]

Hey there, i did do my reasearch i didnt buy anything from them besides the pet itself.. She has from what i have read online a good home, tall humid full of folliage.. Lots of bendabranches too.. i give her plenty of water but not too much. Maybe it is the heat because it gets rather warm in that closet anyway. Do u think i should just switch to a lower watt bulb. I just put in a regular 75w house bulb today but she still is that darker green.. Almost dry looking head, she did go nice nd green when the basking light was off and she was just getting the uvb.. Any ideas would be great at this point. I dnt think shes life threatened or anything just not totally comfy. She eats nd drinks well nd i do have a nesting box in there. A 1 1/2 inch pan filled w the sand stuff. Also because i have a screen top i think the uvb florescent bulb is being somewat blocked. Would ne1 suggest ditching the basking fir the summer and using 2 uvb 5.0 reptisun bulbs instead??

 

[HolyToledo]

Welcome to the forum!

Read the links JannB gave you. She is amazing with chameleons and has great info, expecially on raising girls.

Your temps sound too high, especially with a female. How old is your little girl? Depending on age and temp will tell you if she is already making eggs.
If she is, the laying bin needs work. It has to be way deeper than a few inches and JannB has great info on how to fix that up when you need it.

As far as lighting and temps, think of how they live in nature. They live in the trees. The sun shines down from above. Your little one should be able to get about 6" from the UVB source (depending on what kind of light you are using) but should also be able to get away from the light too. Same with the heat. Heat from the sun shining down. So, they go up to be warmer and down to be cooler. If you have the heat warmer in the middle, this will cause them confusion. If it is too warm by the UVB, they will not be close enough to benefit from it. Same with too cool. They should be able to choose light, heat, or a combination of both depending on the size and arrangement of their enclosure. If your light and heat comes from the top and she is hanging out lower, it is probably too warm. If she is up basking and keeps her mouth open, she wants the UVB but is probably too warm up there.

Pictures of you enclosure and lighting would be most helpful. And you give quite a bit of info but there is a form they use on here that is really great for you and for the people trying to help answer questions. If you just copy this and put your answers in, it will cover most of the basics. It seems like a pain but try to be specific on brand and style of lights and other stuff and especially the supplements you use. There are bad, good and better ones out there so it is helpful to know just what you are using.


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.


Good luck and hope all goes well!

 

[MJT89]

Thank you

Hi there. Yes ive mssgd jann and it sounds like i did have it way too warm up there this time if year i put in a low watt coil energy bulb just for light nd no heat. She seems alot happier bathing in the uvb bulbs light up top.
Here is a list like u said.
Thanks again.
1. Veiled chameleon, female about 3/4 months old
2. Mist her and folliage wen humidity is dwn and use ice cubes which i have seen her drinking from.
3. Feed her crickets about 4/5 a day dusted with reptocal calcium and d3 in one.
4. Fecal matter seems normal moist but not wet brown oval with white chunk too.
CAGE
1. 36 x 18 x 18 all mesh sides w very thin camo fabric on two sides ( keeps humidity up and make her feel a lil safer)
2. 30-40% humidity most of the time. I will anticipate less misting and probally removing one more fabric side as it gets hot here.
3. I have a plant pot w all natural soil and paper towls on the bottom and in the flower pot. Its a birch clipping but i plan on getting a growning ficus soon. Lots of fake plants too and at difderent heights with bendabranch all over.
4. In my walk in closet w door open nd curtains pulled in my toom
5.using a reptisun 5.0 uvb 18 inch bulb and becaz of suspecting over heating a 50 wat coil energy efficient house bulb for light not heat. The uvb is across the back and the other is front left corner.

Thanks hope im doing good she seems happier already

 

[jannb]

Please check out my blog above.

I do not recommend using ice cubes. I use warm water for my mister and dripper.

You need to use plain calcium everyday without d3 and calcium with d3 twice a month and a multi vitamin once or twice a month.

I would check the safe plant list to make sure Birch is safe. I'm not sure about that one.

I would recommend moving her out of the closet and opening the curtains. Chameleons like it light in the daytime.

Instead of a coil bulb use a regular household bulb but keep a close eye on the temps.

How are you checking the temps and humidity? What are you gut loading with.

BTW you can find all of this and more in my blog.

 

[MJT89]

Hey

If i put a house hold bulb in there she goes all dark green and retreats to the bottom. I have to get some plain calcium then. Nd yes i did look up birch nd supposedly its ok but i do plan on swapping that out w a pothos growning in a pot here soon.. Why do they do the dark green colors ?? Has urs ever behaved this way?? Her head almost seems dry skin but idk. How do i upload pics as id love to post some.

 

[MJT89]

Oh and im using a dial hydrometer and temp i got from petco. They are located where i would imagine its warmest.

 

[AllFallDown]

Personally, I put 2 sets of thermometers in my cage- one near the basking area and one near the bottom so I could get an idea of what the temperature gradient is. I also (in addition to the thermometer at the top mentioned), I also put a digital temperature probe near his favorite basking area just to compare.

 

[MJT89]

She seems cold to the touch

Ok so w a cloth i got her out to examine her she was very hostel and felt cold to the touch, i moved her coil low hear bulb closer as u had advised on a regular house bulb and she did it again moved to bottom dark green very dark.. ( idk wat to think

 

[MJT89]

She feels cold to the touch. Im so confused i put in a low watt bulb just for light not heat i placed it in the front left corner of the tank and she stayed up there moved it 6 inches closer back towards the uvb 18" bulb nd shes back dwn the bottom really dark green.. (

 

[MJT89]

Personally, I put 2 sets of thermometers in my cage- one near the basking area and one near the bottom so I could get an idea of what the temperature gradient is. I also (in addition to the thermometer at the top mentioned), I also put a digital temperature probe near his favorite basking area just to compare.

Tonight ill move the themometer dwn nd see wat it is there. My house is like 80 atm in itself..

 

[AllFallDown]

Ok so w a cloth i got her out to examine her she was very hostel and felt cold to the touch, i moved her coil low hear bulb closer as u had advised on a regular house bulb and she did it again moved to bottom dark green very dark.. ( idk wat to think

Have you taken her into a vet for an initial check? I am not sure what the problem might be as I have only been doing this for a little while now, but it seems to me that chameleons face many biological challenges (example parasites) which may be demonstrated in their behavior. A vet could screen for things like parasites and check its overall health.

Not sure if this is much help. Perhaps someone who has been around longer might have a different insight.

 

[AllFallDown]

She feels cold to the touch. Im so confused i put in a low watt bulb just for light not heat i placed it in the front left corner of the tank and she stayed up there moved it 6 inches closer back towards the uvb 18" bulb nd shes back dwn the bottom really dark green.. (

Oh wait, could she be running down because she sees you? Try leaving her alone for like an hour and check on her- see if she climbs back up toward the top.

Oh, and I meant to say. My chameleon gets a bit hostile as well from time to time. That seems to be the MO of veileds.

And... is she hanging out near the bottom all the time? Or just going down there occasionally?

 

[MJT89]

I dnt think its wen she sees me , it actually almost seems like she lightens up when im in there.. The temp on bottom is 75 up top like 85 ish..
I will give it a day see if when she goes dwn there how long its for etc..
Thanks

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi!

Remember, they are exothermic animals...so they can't feel WARM to the touch of a person who's body temperature is almost 100 degrees unless they are hotter than 100 degrees which would be very bad. She should always feel at least a bit cool to you.

 

[AllFallDown]

From your duplicate thread:

Help plz any idead would be gd and leave me email adresses so i can mail pictures of her nd my tank etc

Can you post pictures here on the forum? Why the need for emailing?

 

[Elizadolots]

To post pictures from your computer, just use the POST REPLY button (not the handy quick reply box at the bottom of the thread)...there you'll find an icon that looks like a paperclip. Click that and it will let you upload up to 3 pictures. They will appear in your post as thumbnails that expand when clicked (note: you will not be able to see them until you submit the post (or post the reply...I don't remember what the button says)). I suggest naming your files so you will recognize what they are later, that way you can use them for future posts.