Veiled Chameleon Casque Tilting?

[Bellabijou]

Hello, there! I'm new to this forum but would love to receive some feedback about my veiled chameleon.

I have a soon to be 5-year-old veiled chameleon named Ziggy and absolutely adore him. We always provide him with the best care and he has been very healthy his whole life. I recently noticed his casque started tilting and it seems to be more pointed at the top (it was rounded before). I am confused as to why this is happening, but I have a few speculations. He eats crickets every other day and we also give him mealworms as a treat once or twice a week. He also loooooooves salads, and we provide him with lettuce and cilantro at least once a week! (He used to eat the ficus leaves in his cage!). I recently bought some calcium w/D3 powder just because I suspect some extra vitamins might help to strengthen his bones and/or his casque as he approaches old age. He lives in a screen 4 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet cage with very good ventilation and a real, potted ficus tree in the middle of the cage. The rest of the plants in his cage are artificial, and he has many good climbing branches as well as basking spots. We spray him morning and night to make sure the leaves have moisture droplets, and he readily drinks from the spray bottle if water is squirted at his mouth (he is very good with drinking and his eyes are never dehydrated). We don't have a drip system and he has done very well without it for many years. Additionally, we have the traditional lighting setup (heating bulb and a 13w UV bulb). I do not have a temperature gauge in his cage, as the ones we have tried to get in the past have not worked/have malfunctioned. The lights are in a black dome setup directly above his cage. He has access to sunlight the entire day (cage is right near a window) and he loves to look outside!. Ziggy used to like to be held, but now he is slightly more aggressive, so I do not try to bug him too much (he is in a low traffic room). He does NOT like to be looked at or fooled around with, typical adult chameleon behavior I suspect, lol Up until now, his casque has been very rounded at the top and tall, but it appears to be pointed and has slightly tilted to the right?

If you look at the photos, I am not 100% sure but I am wondering if you can see the bone at the top of his casque?

I have a few speculations as to why his casque is tilting and has become pointed:

1) When we first got him from Petsmart (yes, I know, I wish I had gotten him from a reputable breeder), his front arms were a bit crooked. I suspect that he has MBD as a young cham at Petsmart, which breaks my heart, but as he grew up and had a proper diet and care his bones have straightened out (maybe still have the slightest curve?). I read online that if a chameleon had MBD when they were younger then their casque is more prone to tilting when they are older. Hopefully, you all can help me out with this. I am currently trying to correct it with an extra dusting of calcium and d3 powder on his mealworms.

2) I am also wondering if his casque might have been burned?? His sleeping branch of choice is right under the lights and we normally turn his lights off at 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm at night. Sometimes he will be on his sleeping branch when the lights are still on. The lights do not touch the cage, but I am still curious if this could be the cause.

3) Old age? Can this happen to older veileds? I am not sure about this as I've only had experience with one chameleon.

 

[Graves923]

What is your supplement schedule/routine? Do you gutload your feeders? If so, with what food items?

How old is his UVB bulb? Is it a linear bulb or a compact (Coil) bulb?

 

[Bellabijou]

What is your supplement schedule/routine? Do you gutload your feeders? If so, with what food items?

How old is his UVB bulb? Is it a linear bulb or a compact (Coil) bulb?

We don’t supplement him until recently. We now give him calcium w/d3 powder on his mealworms every 2 or 3 days. He eats about 7-10 large crickets every other day. We do gutload our crickets with spinach.

His UVB bulb was replaced yesterday and it is a coip bulb.

 

[Syreptyon]

We don’t supplement him until recently. We now give him calcium w/d3 powder on his mealworms every 2 or 3 days. He eats about 7-10 large crickets every other day. We do gutload our crickets with spinach.

His UVB bulb was replaced yesterday and it is a coip bulb.

Couple big problems with this. Actually, everything you just said needs to be changed, to be honest.

(1) If he has gone his whole life without the proper supplementation, then there are likely physiological problems that will not be able to be corrected at this point 5 years down the line. Moreover, that D3 powder should be used no more than twice a month. You need three different supplements in total. Here is what they are and how often you should use them: calcium powder WITHOUT vitamin D3 at every single feeding, calcium powder WITH vitamin D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin powder twice a month as well. His casque morphology is likely due to being severely nutrideficient

(2) You should never ever feed your chameleon mealworms. They offer almost no nutritional value whatsoever and are extremely difficult to digest. This leads to impaction which can ultimately cause the death of your chameleon. There are so many other options available that don't pose such a risk. Practically anything is better than mealworms. For example, black soldier fly larvae, black soldier flies, superworms, silkworms, hornworms, roaches, etc

(3) Spinach should also never be used in your gutload. It is not good for chameleons. For your reference, this is a direct quote from the Feeding section in the forum's Resources section: "Avoid These Ingredients: Avoid these gutloading ingredients because they are low in calcium, high in phosphorus, goitrogens or oxalates: potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, grains, beans, oats, bread, cereal, meat, eggs, dog food, cat food, fish food, canned or dead insects, vertebrates."

(4) You should get rid of that coiled UVB bulb ASAP. They are no good. They don't distribute UVB light well at all, which means your chameleon has to be in one very specific spot to benefit from it at all. They are also notorious for causing eye problems in chameleons. What you should replace it with, is a linear tube model of UVB light like a reptisun 5.0 or arcadia bulb

 

[Bellabijou]

Couple big problems with this. Actually, everything you just said needs to be changed, to be honest.

(1) If he has gone his whole life without the proper supplementation, then there are likely physiological problems that will not be able to be corrected at this point 5 years down the line. Moreover, that D3 powder should be used no more than twice a month. You need three different supplements in total. Here is what they are and how often you should use them: calcium powder WITHOUT vitamin D3 at every single feeding, calcium powder WITH vitamin D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin powder twice a month as well. His casque morphology is likely due to being severely nutrideficient

(2) You should never ever feed your chameleon mealworms. They offer almost no nutritional value whatsoever and are extremely difficult to digest. This leads to impaction which can ultimately cause the death of your chameleon. There are so many other options available that don't pose such a risk. Practically anything is better than mealworms. For example, black soldier fly larvae, black soldier flies, superworms, silkworms, hornworms, roaches, etc

(3) Spinach should also never be used in your gutload. It is not good for chameleons. For your reference, this is a direct quote from the Feeding section in the forum's Resources section: "Avoid These Ingredients: Avoid these gutloading ingredients because they are low in calcium, high in phosphorus, goitrogens or oxalates: potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, grains, beans, oats, bread, cereal, meat, eggs, dog food, cat food, fish food, canned or dead insects, vertebrates."

(4) You should get rid of that coiled UVB bulb ASAP. They are no good. They don't distribute UVB light well at all, which means your chameleon has to be in one very specific spot to benefit from it at all. They are also notorious for causing eye problems in chameleons. What you should replace it with, is a linear tube model of UVB light like a reptisun 5.0 or arcadia bulb

Oh no, my heart just broke! I am shocked and feel ashamed, being that I thought I was giving him the best care possible. Would you recommend starting the calcium supplements immediately? Do you think he is in pain at all with his casque being morphed? Will this shorten his lifespan? I am going to try to correct all of this immediately.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Oh no, my heart just broke! I am shocked and feel ashamed, being that I thought I was giving him the best care possible. Would you recommend starting the calcium supplements immediately? Do you think he is in pain at all with his casque being morphed? Will this shorten his lifespan? I am going to try to correct all of this immediately.

Yes you should start immediately.
Having a deformity probably is painful.
Yes, this will probably shorten his lifespan.

 

[Shilohpsu]

(1) If he has gone his whole life without the proper supplementation, then there are likely physiological problems that will not be able to be corrected at this point 5 years down the line. Moreover, that D3 powder should be used no more than twice a month. You need three different supplements in total. Here is what they are and how often you should use them: calcium powder WITHOUT vitamin D3 at every single feeding, calcium powder WITH vitamin D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin powder twice a month as well. His casque morphology is likely due to being severely nutrideficient

I agree with everything you wrote syreptyon and you seem very knowledgeable about chameleon care. But I just had one question. You dust the food every feeding with regular non D3 calcium? I’m pretty sure that I read on here over the last two years that once a week was the required amount of regular non D3 calcium for an adult veiled? And then the D3 calcium every other week? I’m sure extra non D3 calcium isn’t gonna hurt anything and will just be pooped out, but now you have me wondering if I should be giving my perfectly healthy 3 year old veiled more dusted crickets... Have I been shorting him on the regular calcium dustings?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I agree with everything you wrote syreptyon and you seem very knowledgeable about chameleon care. But I just had one question. You dust the food every feeding with regular non D3 calcium? I’m pretty sure that I read on here over the last two years that once a week was the required amount of regular non D3 calcium for an adult veiled? And then the D3 calcium every other week? I’m sure extra non D3 calcium isn’t gonna hurt anything and will just be pooped out, but now you have me wondering if I should be giving my perfectly healthy 3 year old veiled more dusted crickets... Have I been shorting him on the regular calcium dustings?

Calcium without D3 should be used at every feeding. Calcium with D3 twice a month.

 

[JoshD49]

Calcium without D3 should be used at every feeding. Calcium with D3 twice a month.

The Veiled care sheets I have seen say this. I can see that some people have had their chams alive for a while without it so I am sure its just a recommendation to prevent bone disease that these owners have been doing something right to avoid that problem. Can the type of gutload be enough to not need dusting? I plan to keep up with the above schedule but just for curiosity sake I suppose.

 

[Syreptyon]

I agree with everything you wrote syreptyon and you seem very knowledgeable about chameleon care. But I just had one question. You dust the food every feeding with regular non D3 calcium? I’m pretty sure that I read on here over the last two years that once a week was the required amount of regular non D3 calcium for an adult veiled? And then the D3 calcium every other week? I’m sure extra non D3 calcium isn’t gonna hurt anything and will just be pooped out, but now you have me wondering if I should be giving my perfectly healthy 3 year old veiled more dusted crickets... Have I been shorting him on the regular calcium dustings?

Yes, I would say that you have indeed been shorting him unfortunately! Calcium every feeding is important for veileds

 

[Bellabijou]

Yikes, definitely a slap of reality. I will get a new UVB bulb and calcium w/o D3 for every feeding. Other than that he's a pretty happy guy!