We’re moving 1700 miles HELP!

L

LulaJune

Member
Hi again. In 5 weeks we’re moving. I read the post with tips and tricks but that didn’t cover the help I need.
Here’s updated info:

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Female Veiled about 11 months old and we’ve had her for about 6 months.
  • Handling - Very rarely.
  • Feeding - She gets banded crickets but lately she’s not interested in them. She’s had about 3 in the past week. Right now her fav is super worms. She’s also eating meal worms and wax worms. Both in moderation. The worms and crickets get fresh fruits and veggies every day.
  • Supplements - Rep Cal (No D3) Calcium everyday. Crickets and worms are very lightly dusted. Rep Cal multivitamin every 2 weeks and Rep Cal with D3 every other/alternating 2 weeks.
  • Watering - I have a homemade drip system that’s filled/changed twice a day. We have an auto misting system that comes on twice a day for 4 minutes each time. I rarely see her actually drink but I see her right at the dripper and her urates are good.
  • Fecal Description - She’s never been tested for parasites. Her poops are very healthy. Brown, very uniform in color. Size fluctuates but nothing overly small or big.
  • History - After tons of reading, many vet visits, lots of advice from you guys, adjusting my husbandry and getting her (basically) spayed she’s (knock wood) in a pretty healthy place.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Right now she’s in a 2x2x4 metal mesh/screen cage. Repti Breeze XL. My hubs is building a custom cage 3x3x5.
  • Lighting - Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun linear light on top of the enclosure. Closest she’ll get to it is about 7-8 inches. An Exo Terra 150w Intense Basking Spot light about 7-8 inches away outside of the enclosure (I’m not even sure she can feel it). The intense light is on 24 hours a day. The rest are 12 on 12 off with a timer. We do have another heat light on top of the cage. I can’t remember what it is but I know it’s not anything too hot.
  • Temperature - Daytime temps go from about 85° to 100° in her basking spot. Lower cage is about 72° pretty consistently. Night time temp basking I’m not sure, sorry. She usually sleeps in the same spot that is right now 72° with 48% humidity. There’s an all in one temp and humidity gauge at the top and one temp only and one humidity only at the bottom.
  • Humidity - Basking spot goes from about 50-70%. Lower in her enclosure I’m not sure I don’t check that. Right now where she’s sleeping is about 48%. See above for how I measure temp and humidity.
  • Plants - Live - One hanging Pothos right now. But I bought two more and am trying to clip the vines and grow more. Also fake plants.
  • Placement - The cage is located in between the living room and dining room. It’s up against two walls. We have to go through them both to get to the kitchen. It’s just me, the hubs and 3 cats (that don’t have any interest in her). Right now it’s on a cabinet that is 3 feet off the ground so the top of it is at 7 feet high. There is a vent thing right at the top back of her cage. It only sucks, very gently.
  • Location - Right now St. Louis, MO. In 5 weeks we’ll be moving to 29 Palms, CA. We have ten days to get there. We’re going to drive about 6 hours a day. Plus we’re hoping to see the Grand Canyon and our fam in two different cities.

Current Problem - Moving: Stopping, going, hotels, 6 hours in a car with us and three cats, keeping her temp and humidity levels safe, food yes or no? for a week or more?, total darkness and a very small box?? That just doesn’t sound healthy to me.... to do it for so long also???

I can post pics tomorrow if you guys want to see something?

Thank you in advance!
Debbie and Lula June

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful
 
Your husbandry looks good except for temps and humidity...both are too high. Basking should be no higher than 85*. Humidity during the day should be between 30-50%. Also, why are you keeping a basking light on all the time? It should be cool and dark at night. Meal worms aren’t recommended as they are difficult to digest. You may have to practice tough love to get her back onto feeders other than superworms. Some chams get addicted to them. All else looks good to me.
As for traveling, I’m afraid I can’t help with that, but perhaps @jannb can.
 
MissSkittles said:
Your husbandry looks good except for temps and humidity...both are too high. Basking should be no higher than 85*. Humidity during the day should be between 30-50%. Also, why are you keeping a basking light on all the time? It should be cool and dark at night. Meal worms aren’t recommended as they are difficult to digest. You may have to practice tough love to get her back onto feeders other than superworms. Some chams get addicted to them. All else looks good to me.
As for traveling, I’m afraid I can’t help with that, but perhaps @jannb can.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the help, as always! :)
How can I lower the humidity? Misting more often?
I read that keeping a heat light on 24/7 was beneficial. It gives no light, only heat. And I wonder if she can feel it at all?
I understand meal worms are basically useless and wax worms are very fattening. When she gets super picky about what she’ll eat I figure anything is better than nothing and it helps get her the calcium/multivitamins she needs. But I’m def practicing tough love to get her to eat more of a variety when I have to.

Thank you again MissSkittles!
 
LulaJune said:
Thank you for the help, as always! :)
How can I lower the humidity? Misting more often?
I read that keeping a heat light on 24/7 was beneficial. It gives no light, only heat. And I wonder if she can feel it at all?
I understand meal worms are basically useless and wax worms are very fattening. When she gets super picky about what she’ll eat I figure anything is better than nothing and it helps get her the calcium/multivitamins she needs. But I’m def practicing tough love to get her to eat more of a variety when I have to.

Thank you again MissSkittles!
Click to expand...
Lowering humidity is a bit harder than raising it. I have the luxury of a dehumidifier, but thanks to central ac, never have to use it. If you have anything wrapped around the enclosure, I’d say remove it to promote better air flow. The problem with high humidity and heat is poor air flow. In Florida where chams have set up a wild population, it’s hot and humid like a swamp. Being outside though, there is constant flow of fresh air. For veileds, having the temp drop at night is ideal. They can handle drops down to the 50’s. For food, maybe try some silkworms to help break the superworms addiction.
 
MissSkittles said:
Lowering humidity is a bit harder than raising it. I have the luxury of a dehumidifier, but thanks to central ac, never have to use it. If you have anything wrapped around the enclosure, I’d say remove it to promote better air flow. The problem with high humidity and heat is poor air flow. In Florida where chams have set up a wild population, it’s hot and humid like a swamp. Being outside though, there is constant flow of fresh air. For veileds, having the temp drop at night is ideal. They can handle drops down to the 50’s. For food, maybe try some silkworms to help break the superworms addiction.
Click to expand...

Thank you again.
Are you in FL? If so, I’m from West Palm Beach.
 
Does space in the car allow for more room/larger carrier? If so, I’d get a collapsable butterfly cage from amazon ($15 or so). You can put one or two bendable vines ($5) in there to make her a little more comfy, and maybe wrap a fake plant in the vines. It would also allow you to remove the cage from the car to allow her to maybe get a little sunshine, mist her for water, and to eat. In the car, you should cover her so that she sleeps in transit.

Of course you’d have to keep a close eye on the cats in a fabric screen cage!
 
This is what I use to transport my guys to the vets. For a week, I’d add more vines and a fake plant... but this works great for transporting them and its SO much less stressful then the box. I cover them once positioned so they dont shift. Half my guys will go to sleep almost immediately. It looks larger than it is... its maybe 24” tall. Theres an even smaller one that is about 12” tall, which would work... but the bigger the better.
190A1547-186B-4EA5-A06B-73E885995B12.jpeg
 
JacksJill said:
She has moved her pets many times ahead of hurricanes as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you guys so much. I’m so stressed about moving her.
So the cats will be in their carrier’s. We’re only gonna drive maybe 6 hours a day. I hate being in a car long distance.
I love the butterfly house idea.
What do I do about her UVB light? If y’all think I should bring the linear T5 HO light I will. And the timers.
Snitz427 what do you cover her with? Do you leave open space anywhere so she gets air and stays cool?

Sorry if I’m being a pain in the butt. I just want this to as stress free as possible.

Thank you guys!
 
LulaJune said:
Thank you guys so much. I’m so stressed about moving her.
So the cats will be in their carrier’s. We’re only gonna drive maybe 6 hours a day. I hate being in a car long distance.
I love the butterfly house idea.
What do I do about her UVB light? If y’all think I should bring the linear T5 HO light I will. And the timers.
Snitz427 what do you cover her with? Do you leave open space anywhere so she gets air and stays cool?

Sorry if I’m being a pain in the butt. I just want this to as stress free as possible.

Thank you guys!
Click to expand...
I would think she’ll be ok for a couple of days without her uvb. When you make stops, maybe just let her get some natural sunlight.
 
LulaJune said:
Thank you guys so much. I’m so stressed about moving her.
So the cats will be in their carrier’s. We’re only gonna drive maybe 6 hours a day. I hate being in a car long distance.
I love the butterfly house idea.
What do I do about her UVB light? If y’all think I should bring the linear T5 HO light I will. And the timers.
Snitz427 what do you cover her with? Do you leave open space anywhere so she gets air and stays cool?

Sorry if I’m being a pain in the butt. I just want this to as stress free as possible.

Thank you guys!
Click to expand...

I have a very light weight black blanket I can cover with, which blocks sunlight. This is of course with comfortable car temps - you cant leave her in the car w/o ac same as any other animal. With ac and a breathable cover, she’ll be fine as far as air goes.

I wouldnt bother witth a uvb. If you stop for a while, bring out the cage and let her get some natural sunlight. The cage is very light so make sure its secure so a breeze doesnt send it blowing over or around. If your hotel has a patio, maybe you can sit out with her to drink your morning coffee? I think she’ll be ok without uvb for the week but she should get some light for a few hours, even if its just room lighting.

Jann really is the authority here. Ive only transported 2 hours, tops... so my ideas are just ideas.
 
What did you end up doing? How did it go? I have a 2400 mile move coming up and have 2 panthers that will be making the trip with us. Any tips?
 
Pi11ow said:
What did you end up doing? How did it go? I have a 2400 mile move coming up and have 2 panthers that will be making the trip with us. Any tips?
Click to expand...

Hi there. We drove in the car with Lula in a butterfly carrier that had a couple of sticks propped up in it and it was mostly covered by a sheet. They don’t need to see the passing car and scenery. We drove like three hours a day. We brought her big home cage and set that up each afternoon in our hotel room. She did really well. We made it to CA and she loved being in the hot sun. I brought her to the vet and she got a healthy report. After about a month she stopped eating and drinking. I tried to force water and a little bit of food in her and she was not happy. Just to say it, not force, I would taker outside and let her get hot and have her drink water from a syringe and eat a worm or cricket when she gaped to cool off. Of course at this point I took her out of the sun. She was not happy and did not feel good and despite not eating she was getting bloated.

She previously had gotten egg bound so her woman parts were removed.

I took her to the vet again and she was full of follicles (with no way to expel them when they grew into eggs), she had a mass in her bladder and she was in renal failure. So we decided to euthanize her.

Truth be told, this was twoish months ago and I’m balling my eyes out even still. I really feel like I failed her. And knowing what I know now she must’ve felt so miserable. I feel so guilty. I really tried, read everything I could find and we spent so so much money on her. I’m telling ya, we had her almost a year and spent $8k+ on her. She was happy when she wasn’t sick. And I miss her terribly. My heart is absolutely broken. I really tried. 1000%. I loved her with all of my heart and soul and did anything and everything we could think of to try.

I’m sorry. I guess I needed to vent.

So yeah, that’s what we did and she did really well. Just be sure to be extra gentle with your panthers and I wouldn’t handle them a lot. Just to explain, we bought the heat/uvb lamps and her water drip system, everything. We hand misted her cage and had all the temp/humidity gauges in her big cage. We wanted her to be as comfy as possible. We took her from the butterfly carrier to her big cage in the hotel and left her alone.

When we got to CA we left her alone for the first few days. Let her adapt and settle in.

Sorry again.
Good luck on your trip.
 
I’m sorry for your loss @LulaJune
That is rough to go through. They become family the moment they enter your home.
so so sorry you’re going through this.
Don’t give up though you and your husband clearly did everything y’all could and were already planning on giving her a mansion!! Lol you two CARE! That has been shown and means so much to us cham owners as these animals are very specific on husbandry and lots of people think they’re just a fish you toss in a tank and check back later.
so don’t give up❤️ And again I am sorry for your loss and that you’re going through this, it’s definitely not easy. ?
 
Mace said:
I’m sorry for your loss @LulaJune
That is rough to go through. They become family the moment they enter your home.
so so sorry you’re going through this.
Don’t give up though you and your husband clearly did everything y’all could and were already planning on giving her a mansion!! Lol you two CARE! That has been shown and means so much to us cham owners as these animals are very specific on husbandry and lots of people think they’re just a fish you toss in a tank and check back later.
so don’t give up❤ And again I am sorry for your loss and that you’re going through this, it’s definitely not easy. ?
Click to expand...

Mace, thank you for your super thoughtful reply. I wish there was a way to skool (lol) people about how costly, time consuming and the commitment required is to raise chams. Esp females. But without turning them away from raising a Cham.
I haven’t really vented about this to anyone except my mom. And she has no idea. This is harder than anything else I’ve done. Only because I really tried. I can’t explain it. I tried harder at raising Lula than I have at any other relationship.

Thank you so much again.
❤️
 
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