I have been a reptile owner for more than half my life and have typically had healthy, happy reptiles. However, I cannot seem to successfully keep a chameleon and I don't know what I am doing wrong! I have done lots of research and know am I have the proper screen enclosure set up, temps, humidity, gut-loaded food, UVA and UVB lighting but my chameleons keep dying. The only common denominator is me! I'm hoping if I list what has been happening, perhaps someone can offer some insight?
Cham #1, Verde: female Senegal, purchased Jan. 2013 from a reptile show, nearly 2 hours from my home. Although she seemed active and was eating, I found her lying dead on the floor of her enclosure 4 days after her purchase. I assumed the cold/stress of the show/travel had been too much for her.
Cham #2: (didn't name): female Veiled, purchased April, 2013 from the same reptile show. Went to a different vendor and discussed Verde. The vendor assured me Senegal chameleons are not very hardy and the Veiled would do much better. Yet she too, despite seeming healthy and active, was also dead on the floor of the enclosure on the 4th day. I vowed never to buy from a trade show again and felt it was too stressful for the chams.
Cham #3: Oscar: male veiled, bought 12/27/13 from a PetCo in CT. Thankfully, Oscar did well, grew, shed, was a hearty eater, drank openly from his misted leaves and was very active. In February, I noticed him grabbing at his limbs and shaking at times. Having had iguanas with MBD, I got a stronger UVB light, stronger calcium powder, changed brands of calcium food for his crickets. Within a few weeks, the shaking stopped, but he was still grabbing at times. Then one of our cats unfortunately knocked Oscar's enclosure over and he broke all his limbs. We took him to two different vets, where they gave him shots and gave us liquid calcium, vitamins and meds to help him heal. We had to adjust his enclosure so he couldn't climb and still have gradient heat, and he did well crawling and was still eating and pooping over the next few weeks. He then stopped being able to hunt his food and I had to hand feed him a liquid mixture the Vet recommended. He held on for three weeks, and finally passed in his sleep on 3/27/14, three months after we got him.
Cham #4: Clover: female veiled. Bought 3/30/14. Although I didn't plan to get a successor for Oscar so quickly, I fell in love with this beautiful cham while at PetCo getting crickets for my other lizards. She looked rather skinny to me, but I attributed it to her being housed with another cham who was perhaps more dominant. Clover was much shier than Oscar and would not eat if I was watching, but her crickets would disappear quickly and she was pooping normally. Likewise, I never saw her drink. She was still skinny, but was noticeably growing. However, on 4/23, I found her on the bottom of the enclosure, just as I had with my two trade show chams. Like them, there was no obvious cause for why she died so suddenly. I examined her closely and saw nothing strange. Of course, PetCo only has a 14 day warranty, 10 days less than what I had her for.
What could I possibly be doing wrong?! Oscar obviously had MBD, but hopefully would have recovered had it not been for the cat. But what is going on with the others? I am perplexed and at this point, will not be getting another chameleon until I can have some confidence that I am not unwittingly killing these beautiful critters. Looking forward to hopefully getting some insight from the forum, as your chams are obviously surviving and thriving...thanks for whatever help you can give.
Cham #1, Verde: female Senegal, purchased Jan. 2013 from a reptile show, nearly 2 hours from my home. Although she seemed active and was eating, I found her lying dead on the floor of her enclosure 4 days after her purchase. I assumed the cold/stress of the show/travel had been too much for her.
Cham #2: (didn't name): female Veiled, purchased April, 2013 from the same reptile show. Went to a different vendor and discussed Verde. The vendor assured me Senegal chameleons are not very hardy and the Veiled would do much better. Yet she too, despite seeming healthy and active, was also dead on the floor of the enclosure on the 4th day. I vowed never to buy from a trade show again and felt it was too stressful for the chams.
Cham #3: Oscar: male veiled, bought 12/27/13 from a PetCo in CT. Thankfully, Oscar did well, grew, shed, was a hearty eater, drank openly from his misted leaves and was very active. In February, I noticed him grabbing at his limbs and shaking at times. Having had iguanas with MBD, I got a stronger UVB light, stronger calcium powder, changed brands of calcium food for his crickets. Within a few weeks, the shaking stopped, but he was still grabbing at times. Then one of our cats unfortunately knocked Oscar's enclosure over and he broke all his limbs. We took him to two different vets, where they gave him shots and gave us liquid calcium, vitamins and meds to help him heal. We had to adjust his enclosure so he couldn't climb and still have gradient heat, and he did well crawling and was still eating and pooping over the next few weeks. He then stopped being able to hunt his food and I had to hand feed him a liquid mixture the Vet recommended. He held on for three weeks, and finally passed in his sleep on 3/27/14, three months after we got him.
Cham #4: Clover: female veiled. Bought 3/30/14. Although I didn't plan to get a successor for Oscar so quickly, I fell in love with this beautiful cham while at PetCo getting crickets for my other lizards. She looked rather skinny to me, but I attributed it to her being housed with another cham who was perhaps more dominant. Clover was much shier than Oscar and would not eat if I was watching, but her crickets would disappear quickly and she was pooping normally. Likewise, I never saw her drink. She was still skinny, but was noticeably growing. However, on 4/23, I found her on the bottom of the enclosure, just as I had with my two trade show chams. Like them, there was no obvious cause for why she died so suddenly. I examined her closely and saw nothing strange. Of course, PetCo only has a 14 day warranty, 10 days less than what I had her for.
What could I possibly be doing wrong?! Oscar obviously had MBD, but hopefully would have recovered had it not been for the cat.
But what is going on with the others? I am perplexed and at this point, will not be getting another chameleon until I can have some confidence that I am not unwittingly killing these beautiful critters. Looking forward to hopefully getting some insight from the forum, as your chams are obviously surviving and thriving...thanks for whatever help you can give.
