Very New Owner - just 4 days

A

ajmess

New Member
Hello, I am a very new Veiled Chameleon owner, and have had our new baby home only for 4 days. I have double, triple, and quadruple checked all the recommended temps, humidity, food. He has had his eyes closed quite a bit, and doesnt appear to be eating much. This evening he was at the bottom of his enclosure and he appears to be shedding. The store I purchased him from assured me that this was normal. He has been moving around throughout his enclosure and climbing area. I was told to wait 2 days before attempting to have physical contact, and he got right on my finger the first time I tried without any prompting. I limited it to just a minute or two. Can someone tell me what to expect from a new baby chameleon during the first few days? I don't have any frame of reference for what is normal and what is not. Thanks for any help you can provide.


Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, he is not more then 5 inches from nose to tail, I have had him for 4 days
Handling - Once
Feeding - Crickets - gut loaded
Supplements - Calcium dusting
Watering - Drip & misting. Had a fogger but the humidity is staying at 50% without it so I have removed this evening.
Fecal Description - Appears black/white, I have not had him tested as of yet.
History - New chameleon, has only been home 4 days


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass screen combo, zoo med 30 gal with glass door front
Lighting - Zoo med UVB 100 watt - I have a red bult and white bulb and was instructed to alternate for day & night
Temperature - Basking 85-90, Mid 80, Floor 75
Humidity - 50%, drip & mist, hygrometer
Plants - Plastoc
Placement - Located in a central area against a wall. The top of the cage is about 5 feet from the floor.
Location - North Georgia
 
eyes closed is not usually anything good but a shed will stunt an appetite thats for sure um could his eye have been bugging him? if it persists another day or two take him to the vet thats my opinion
 
photo.JPG

Here is a picture of him. I edited the post to include the help form. Thanks!
 
No lights at night. They need complete darkness to sleep.

What types of supplements are you using and what schedule? You should be dusting with calcium without D3 at every feeding, calcium with D3 twice a months, and a multi vitamin twice a month.

What type and strength UVB bulb are you using? Is it a 5.0, 10.0, tube, cfl?
 
Dusting with just calcium, I was not recommended any supplements so any suggestions would be great. The closest qualified vet does not have an appointment until next week and I was assured by the seller that this was an okay amount of time (unsure about that). I am using 100 watt UVB bulb. I have been leaving the red blumb on at night - will it stay warm enough without the light at night? My house temp is currently about 75F at night. I just want to make sure I am doing everything correct and information where I live appears to be limited. This is my first experience with exotics other than a aquatic turtle I have had for 7 years.
 
He looks so slight and frail to me, but I am not used to such tiny creatures! His whole body is no bigger than my thumb (which is not large by human standards :)
 
75 at night is fine. If it goes below 60 then get a ceramic heat emitter that only outputs heat.

As I mentioned you need:

Calcium without D3 at every feeding
Calcium with D3 twice a month
Multi-vitamin twice a month

or

Repashy Calcium Plus at every feeding. No other supplements needed.

100 watt UVB does not tell us much. UVB bulbs are rated (2.0, 5.0, 10.0, etc.) based on how much UVB they supply. If you have the wrong bulb, you could be hurting it's eyes. Also, is it a fluorescent tube or a compact spiral fluorescent?
 
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ok so you are doing well.
the things i see are. i doubt you have a 100w uvb, unless its a Mercury Vapor Bulb
most uvb bulbd are 30w and lower and are either a coil type screw in bulb ( cfl ) or a linear floureceant style ( perfered )
you will want to confirm this asap as they need uvb, but it wouldnt be causing your issue yet.
the other post about supplements is correct you want a plain calcium at most feedings and a calcium with D3 2x a month and a multivitamin 2x a month.
alternativly there is repashy calcium plus which you use every day and it covers all three.
you dont need any light or heat at night as long at it stays about around 60.
also how are you checking your temps a 100w on a 30g could be gettin pretty hott.
 
do you maybe have a 100 watt power sun or something ??? or 100w and a uvb??? powersun is a murcury vapour and gets very hot
 
Photo2.jpg

Here is another.

What light do you recommend? I will go purchase them first thing in the morning. I honestly just purchased what was recommended because the person helping me has many reptiles including a Chameleon.
 
I have a thermometer and hygrometer inside the enclosure at basking level. There is a screen top and the light is resting on the screen about 6" from the highest basking point. Current temp is 84F and humidity reading is at 54%.
 
he look dehydrated in that pic, i would definatly confirm and watch the temps lil ones can dry out real fast.
most keepers use a linear tube flourecant bulb 5.0 uvb either zoomed reptisun ( perfered ) of exoterra reptiglow.
as for the cham i would make sure you are givin him lots of mistings.
maybe ever a shower

place a plant in the shower with the cham on it and bouce the water off the wall as to just get a sprinkle going on the cham and plant, you want the water warm.
make sure he is not getting hit by big drops and keep an eye on him.
 
Thanks so much I will do that now and keep a close eye on him. I'll be watching the thread if there is anything else I may be missing but I will be getting new bulbs in the morning just to make sure I have it as perfect as it can be. Thanks!
 
no prob, great job seaking out the info and doing what it takes. try to get some more pics after the shed and in general.
feel free to pm me with any questions.
 
supplements are NOT good at every feeding, you should really be letting your gutload do a lot of the work, keep supplementing to a minimal in order to avoid long term problems that will one day be there and most likely be too late to fix
 
hoj your awsom!!!

op: well your off to a good start and your at the right place to continue to leaarn and learn and become addicted chams are amazing!!!
 
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