Hi all. I have a 1-1.5 year old veiled chameleon that is having some issues. I have had him for about 4 months. Here's my setup details:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon, best guess is 1-1.5 years old. Purchased from local reptile store, where he was kept under red lights (unsure if uvb or what) and never handled. He has a missing claw on one foot and a few of his nails were not growing quite right when I purchased him - the were growing straight out and very long and were jagged, not smooth in texture. These issues give him trouble when climbing the mesh of the cage.
Handling - Once or twice a week, I take him out and put him on a flamingo flower house plant to go outside for some sun. He is pretty upset about this until he gets outside his cage.
Feeding - I offer 5 or so crickets and 5 superworms daily and try to mix in other insects when I can. I also place pieces of veggies and fruit (different daily) around his cage for him to eat - his favorite is strawberries, also loves kale. Sometimes I dust these with calcium.
He began refusing crickets about 1.5 months ago, since then I have only been able to get him to eat superworms maybe 3x a week. He will eat maybe 2-3 superworms a day, sometimes won't eat for a couple days.
He wasn't a huge fan of waxworms - ate like 1 and then never touched them again. I have had trouble feeding him dubia roaches because he seems to not know that they're food. No other feeders available in my area.
Supplements - Supplement with calcium w/o D3 daily, reptivite 1x per week, calcium w/ D3 1x per week.
Watering - I mist 2x a day in addition to fogging, and see him drinking droplets off of the side of the cage daily.
Fecal Description - Poops have gotten pretty small lately as he has not been eating very well. Went on a hunger strike for a week about 1.5 months ago and has not been eating normally since. Regular looking urates and poop (not too hard, not runny either), just very small. Did not have fecal done at last vet visit.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - all-mesh cage (forget brand) 24 l x 24 w, about 4.5 feet tall.
Temperature - Basking spot is 92 degrees. Middle of cage is about 75 degrees. Never gets cooler than that.
Lighting - 50 watt heat bulb & Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb.
Humidity - My humidity levels are around 45-50%. I have a home-made humidifier/fogger that is on HIGH for 2 hours 3x a day, plus misting at least 2x a day in the morning and when I get home from work. (would it be better to have humidifier on low for the entire day? I live in AZ and even when refilling the huge humidifier tank nearly everyday, it only stays near 45-50%)
Plants - Lots of fake leaves and vines + one pothos plant that Watson likes to nom on occasionally. I have large aquarium pebbles covering the soil so that buggies can't hide in it.
Placement - Cage is located in the 'lizard room' our spare bedroom that has only the chameleon, my bearded dragon (placed next to the chameleon cage, with plastic coverings on the side so they cannot see each other) and my boyfriend's closet. There are several beige chairs in there as well for lizard viewing. Their is mostly traffic in the room in the morning and night when my boyfriend is getting ready/coming home from work.
Location - I live in Phoenix, AZ. It's really dry and really hot.
Ooookay now on to the actual issues I'm having.
Shed:
About 1.5 months ago, Watson had a shed that left about a quarter sized patch on his ribs. It's not crusty, no weird colors, just won't come off. I have ssprayed some shed-aid on it a couple times and it's still there. He has since shed several times, no problems but this patch is still there. Vet checked it out and said this is not a problem, just happens sometimes. Is it really okay?
Eating:
Watson has just not been eating very well. For the past several weeks, the only thing he'll eat is superworms. He'll only occasionally eat frickets. It's typically 2-3 superworms and 2 (if that) crickets a day. He's not a fan of waxworms and dubias he didn't seem to know were food when I could actually get them in front of him long enough to eat (any suggestions on this?) When we first got him and until not too long ago, he was eating 10-15 crickets and superworms a day. I have upped D3 dusting from 1x a month to 1x a week because I am afraid he is not getting it when I do dust with it due to eating issues.
Casque:
When I first got him, the top of his casque had a weird bump and a slight tilt to it. About a 2 months ago, I noticed the tilt became slightly worse. It has not become worse in that time but has also not gotten better. Vet felt his casque and said that it does not feel abnormally soft, sometimes their casques grow a little off, just depends on the chameleon. Pics below.
Any thoughts on these issues? Is the shed issue not a problem? Anything I should change due to these casque problems? How can I improve?
Edit: apologize for rotated photos, they were straight on my computer & not sure wha happened.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon, best guess is 1-1.5 years old. Purchased from local reptile store, where he was kept under red lights (unsure if uvb or what) and never handled. He has a missing claw on one foot and a few of his nails were not growing quite right when I purchased him - the were growing straight out and very long and were jagged, not smooth in texture. These issues give him trouble when climbing the mesh of the cage.
Handling - Once or twice a week, I take him out and put him on a flamingo flower house plant to go outside for some sun. He is pretty upset about this until he gets outside his cage.
Feeding - I offer 5 or so crickets and 5 superworms daily and try to mix in other insects when I can. I also place pieces of veggies and fruit (different daily) around his cage for him to eat - his favorite is strawberries, also loves kale. Sometimes I dust these with calcium.
He began refusing crickets about 1.5 months ago, since then I have only been able to get him to eat superworms maybe 3x a week. He will eat maybe 2-3 superworms a day, sometimes won't eat for a couple days.
He wasn't a huge fan of waxworms - ate like 1 and then never touched them again. I have had trouble feeding him dubia roaches because he seems to not know that they're food. No other feeders available in my area.
Supplements - Supplement with calcium w/o D3 daily, reptivite 1x per week, calcium w/ D3 1x per week.
Watering - I mist 2x a day in addition to fogging, and see him drinking droplets off of the side of the cage daily.
Fecal Description - Poops have gotten pretty small lately as he has not been eating very well. Went on a hunger strike for a week about 1.5 months ago and has not been eating normally since. Regular looking urates and poop (not too hard, not runny either), just very small. Did not have fecal done at last vet visit.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - all-mesh cage (forget brand) 24 l x 24 w, about 4.5 feet tall.
Temperature - Basking spot is 92 degrees. Middle of cage is about 75 degrees. Never gets cooler than that.
Lighting - 50 watt heat bulb & Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb.
Humidity - My humidity levels are around 45-50%. I have a home-made humidifier/fogger that is on HIGH for 2 hours 3x a day, plus misting at least 2x a day in the morning and when I get home from work. (would it be better to have humidifier on low for the entire day? I live in AZ and even when refilling the huge humidifier tank nearly everyday, it only stays near 45-50%)
Plants - Lots of fake leaves and vines + one pothos plant that Watson likes to nom on occasionally. I have large aquarium pebbles covering the soil so that buggies can't hide in it.
Placement - Cage is located in the 'lizard room' our spare bedroom that has only the chameleon, my bearded dragon (placed next to the chameleon cage, with plastic coverings on the side so they cannot see each other) and my boyfriend's closet. There are several beige chairs in there as well for lizard viewing. Their is mostly traffic in the room in the morning and night when my boyfriend is getting ready/coming home from work.
Location - I live in Phoenix, AZ. It's really dry and really hot.
Ooookay now on to the actual issues I'm having.
Shed:
About 1.5 months ago, Watson had a shed that left about a quarter sized patch on his ribs. It's not crusty, no weird colors, just won't come off. I have ssprayed some shed-aid on it a couple times and it's still there. He has since shed several times, no problems but this patch is still there. Vet checked it out and said this is not a problem, just happens sometimes. Is it really okay?
Eating:
Watson has just not been eating very well. For the past several weeks, the only thing he'll eat is superworms. He'll only occasionally eat frickets. It's typically 2-3 superworms and 2 (if that) crickets a day. He's not a fan of waxworms and dubias he didn't seem to know were food when I could actually get them in front of him long enough to eat (any suggestions on this?) When we first got him and until not too long ago, he was eating 10-15 crickets and superworms a day. I have upped D3 dusting from 1x a month to 1x a week because I am afraid he is not getting it when I do dust with it due to eating issues.
Casque:
When I first got him, the top of his casque had a weird bump and a slight tilt to it. About a 2 months ago, I noticed the tilt became slightly worse. It has not become worse in that time but has also not gotten better. Vet felt his casque and said that it does not feel abnormally soft, sometimes their casques grow a little off, just depends on the chameleon. Pics below.
Any thoughts on these issues? Is the shed issue not a problem? Anything I should change due to these casque problems? How can I improve?
Edit: apologize for rotated photos, they were straight on my computer & not sure wha happened.
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