Veiled Chameleon- One month

[Veiledviscorous]

Name: Viscorous
Sex: Male
Species: Veiled
Age: One month and two weeks
Duration of time with owner: Three weeks
Length: 4 inches
Coloring: Green and brown, with coffee brown stripes when agitated
Cage: Ten gallon, with small fake tree branch with fake vine and plant, waterfall, substrate grass.
Temperatures: basking area 86-90 degrees Farenheit, and non-basking is held at about 76-80
Humidity: moderate
Food:10 -15 Dusted(Supplemented) crickets in the morning and 10-15 regular crickets at night.
Stools: Normal

Problem:
When I take him out of his cage to handle him,( Generally done with a finger in cage and he crawls up) he begins to gasp and exhale forcefully. He does it once or twice when I put him back in but then is fine. He has been to the vet for this problem,( A qualified specialist with reptiles and exotics) and I was told that he may do it because he gets hot, or because he is stressed. My initial assumption was URI, but he exibits no signs of lack of appetite, no lethargy, or any other sort of problem associated with an URI. The problem only occurs when he is being handled (Walking around on someone's hand or body) or out of his cage... Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Julirs]

He is showing you that he is pissed off (excuse my wording). He is threatening you with your very life. If he is very new, and he is VERY young, people don't generally sell them until they are 2 or more months old, I would give him time to adapt before you really handle him at all!

 

[Justin Carl]

well, chameleons even more so male veileds do not like to be handeled.
A mean, gasping, hissing veiled is a healthy one.
On that note i will say a one month old veiled is very young. unless
you have a high extent of chameleon knowledge.
i wouldnt worry to much.
what is your caging, temps, humidity, feeding scheduel, supplement scheduel?

 

[Veiledviscorous]

well, chameleons even more so male veileds do not like to be handeled.
A mean, gasping, hissing veiled is a healthy one.
On that note i will say a one month old veiled is very young. unless
you have a high extent of chameleon knowledge.
i wouldnt worry to much.
what is your caging, temps, humidity, feeding scheduel, supplement scheduel?

Caging: noted.
Temperatures are: basking area 86-90 degrees Farenheit, and non-basking is held at about 76-80
Humidity: moderate
Feeding: 10-15 dusted (Supplemented) crickets in the morning
10-15 regular un-dusted in the evening

 

[Julirs]

Ditch the waterfall-they are a breeding ground for bacteria. You need to be misting this little one several times daily. A 10 gal. tank is fine for now, however in a month you will need a small screen cage, as they cannot stay in tanks for long. What are you using for UVB lighting? Basking lighting? It is very easy to dehydrate and kill tiny chams without the proper temperatures in a glass tank.

 

[Julirs]

Caging: noted.
Temperatures are: basking area 86-90 degrees Farenheit, and non-basking is held at about 76-80
Humidity: moderate
Feeding: 10-15 dusted (Supplemented) crickets in the morning
10-15 regular un-dusted in the evening

Temps are way too high for a 1 month old. Keep basking temps at or under 80.

 

[Justin Carl]

youu will need a screen cage in a month maybe month and a half. no waterfall!!!!

 

[Veiledviscorous]

I understand that I need to get rid of the waterfall. I'm working on a limited budget, and as for misting the cage, I do that too at least four times a day. Also, I am aware that I need a screen cage, he's growing too fast for the tank he has, so no need to worry about it.

I was told by my vet to keep the temperatures as they are, so... I'm going to do that instead of decreasing the temperature. I've had him for three weeks and so far nothing's gone wrong, except for the... Gasping thing, but that fear was placated.

 

[Justin Carl]

well i would recomend lowering the temp. young chameleons have a hard time regulating their own temp.

 

[Veiledviscorous]

Lights: "Repti- Basking Spot Lamp" 75W. And "Desert 7% UVB T-8 fluorescent lamp"- Both of which were provided by the store.

I'll decrease the temperatures.

 

[Justin Carl]

ill also recomend a retisun 5.0 for UVB lighting. it is far superior in testing for chameleons. studies have proven this

 

[Julirs]

Lights: "Repti- Basking Spot Lamp" 75W. And "Desert 7% UVB T-8 fluorescent lamp"- Both of which were provided by the store.

I'll decrease the temperatures.

What brand is the Desert UVB? If it is a compact bulb do a search on this forum for all of the problems that they are causing chameleons.
You would not be the first person that a store gave all of the wrong equipment.

 

[SuperRad]

Yeah he's definitely showing you he's the man and to leave him alone.

 

[Veiledviscorous]

Cage

UVB lamp

Basking lamp

Is there anything else that I'm doing incorrectly, that I need to know?

 

[Chase]

If that is a glass cage then change it to a screen cage.

 

[dodolah]

for one month and a half, a glass cage is fine. but he will need a screen cage when he reach 2 - 2.5 months.

 

[Chase]

Oh ya. Didn't see that. But he will have to change it soon anyway.

 

[Veiledviscorous]

As I have stated, I will be changing his cage within the next month. I understand that I have him in the wrong enclosure. Thank you.

 

[Julirs]

Cage

UVB lamp

Basking lamp

Is there anything else that I'm doing incorrectly, that I need to know?

Good question on that UVB-I love those fixtures for 16X16X30 screen cages, but I always take out the bulb and replace with Zoomed Reptisun 5.0's.

So...I have 5 of the bulbs that came with them and wondered if anyone knew of a practical use for them. I thought about adding them in addition to the Zoomed's.

At any rate it would be fine until you can order a Zoomed, you can get them for less than $20 shipped from LLL Reptile or Big Apple Herp.

 

[Chase]

Good question on that UVB-I love those fixtures for 16X16X30 screen cages, but I always take out the bulb and replace with Zoomed Reptisun 5.0's.

So...I have 5 of the bulbs that came with them and wondered if anyone knew of a practical use for them. I thought about adding them in addition to the Zoomed's.

At any rate it would be fine until you can order a Zoomed, you can get them for less than $20 shipped from LLL Reptile or Big Apple Herp.

I do the same thing.