why so small????

Jammonlee said:
Pretty much what I assumed. Just tired of everybody asking why he doesnt change colors, why is he still so small. When will he get all the patterns and colors, etc. He eats well, he hydrates good. His poops are big, brown, white, and slimy. He's a cool light/neon green looking color. He sleeps when it gets dark and wakes when it gets light. he doesnt even sleep in the corners behind leaves anymore, he will sleep in the open.

So I assume he is healthy as can be, he is just taking longer then usual to grow and advance.

Chameleons are a patience pet. You google image them and you see bright beautiful patterns and colors and you want one, then you wait and wait....
Click to expand...

Yea ive had people see adult pics of veileds then see my boy and go, well he doesnt have the same colors that they do. Im like, hes not even 6 months old yet, give him time! They truely are a patient pet! (but in my mind im going, i want to see you as an adult, gimme new colors!) but, he has grown so frekaing much since i got him at 2 weeks old. Mine stays a neon green color most of the time, but his bars are a lighter color.
 
Ive always been a big animal/pet lover, but just knowing that with good care and time this little guy is going to grow to have amazing colors and patterns, it just pushes me to love taking care of him so much more. I honestly cant wait till he reaches that time, but even though i know it will be awhile, I still find myself sneaking to his cage like a ninja...being sure to keep my veiw from him with leaves and branches blocking it...just to stand still like a statue to watch him to make sure he is fine. They are so slow, so boring, so repetitive but so fun.
 
Jammonlee said:
Ive always been a big animal/pet lover, but just knowing that with good care and time this little guy is going to grow to have amazing colors and patterns, it just pushes me to love taking care of him so much more. I honestly cant wait till he reaches that time, but even though i know it will be awhile, I still find myself sneaking to his cage like a ninja...being sure to keep my veiw from him with leaves and branches blocking it...just to stand still like a statue to watch him to make sure he is fine. They are so slow, so boring, so repetitive but so fun.
Click to expand...

I love watching my guy, I keep him in my living room and I sneak glances at him like 10 times an hour just so i can see what hes doing.
 
same here....and every time he is sitting in one spot with his eyeballs trying their hardest to see whats going on in 20 different parts of the room
 
Sticktongue said:
I think thats the first time i've ever heard of anyone using d3 that much..

Think of it this way, some human males can grow a beard when they are 15, and i mean BEARDS! but others cant till they are early/mid 20s.. some grow to their full height in high school, others grow a few inches in college. Its no different for the chameleons.
Click to expand...

The Cham I rehomed was getting D3 every other feeding. They did not even have regular calcium. His legs were big when I got him and swollen joints were easily noticable. Too much D3 can lead to metastic calcification which is "gout". They can also get hypervitaminosis or to much vitamins of one kind. I have not given my Cham D3 and do not plan on it for awhile. Rely on your UVB and check it periodically to make sure it has the proper output. Some Vets say dont use D3 at all, there are no studies on it, size of chameleon makes a difference too. When two different size chameleons eat the same size cricket that is dusted one is consuming more for their body weight. That is why it is suggested twice a month, your basically giving them some "just in case". Rely on your UVB it is absorbed by the skin making D2 which is converted to D3. I also read somewhere if it is nice and white it has a higher potency than the ones that have a tint of grey, has anyone else heard this.

My Cham was pretty jacked up from D3, and I flushed him pretty good, gave him water while he was eating (dont know if you should) and hormworms.
 
pssh said:
Let's be clear. The number of times you may want to supplement your chameleon should be based on the BRAND! Twice a month with one brand may be enough while another brand is 100+ times less potent than the first brand.
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do you have a chart of suggested d3 I.U/ per gram of animal?

i agree with pssh post about food intake, heat and such playing there parts in the growing of your cham.

as to why your chameleon is small. he looks skinny to me. now if he was small and fat i would think a gene issue.

my guesses would be.

he is young...
could be from a lack of food.
could be a health issue.
 
No I dont. Though I do not have an exact forumla, using common sense regarding the generally accepted methods would be a good idea. Many people who have kept chameleons for far longer than I have, have had good success with using repcal 2 times a month for many species. Off the top of my head, I think repcal has something like 400,000 IU per kg. Miner-all has 4400 IU per kg, so then it's just a little math to figure it out. There are many other brands as well, so, owners should have to figure out how they want to supplement based on ther brand.
 
I use Korvimin ZVT+Rertil for d3. I nerver heard of anyone saying that twice a months would be enough. Most keepers even feed it every day while their Chameleons are young. Later when your Chameleon is an adult, you don´t need to feed that much of it anymore, once per week is enough if you have proper UV.
It´s still important to not feed to much of it, normally you have a description how much you shall feed for animals of a specific weight, which is extremely less for a small chameleon like yours. But on the other hand, it is also really less of it sticking on a cricket after letting it have a "bath". You may weigh the smallest amout of the Vitamin-powder you can and then split it until you have about the disired amount so you can imagine how much it is.
 
XxChame1eonsxX said:
rune is wrong when your cham is at that age do what the guy from Germany said.:cool:
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Have you been reading? Rune is actually quite correct on many levels except that she used a generality.... You need to rely on the amount of D3 coming from the UVB bulb in place on your enclosure... The supplementation of D3 comes from the precautions of being SURE that proper D3 amounts are being absorbed by your cham.. If you are feeling a lack of D3 in your chams diet is happening IMHO why not allow for some time in the real sun... That to me is the BEST way to absolutely JUMP START the amount of D3 absorbed and it will ensure that there is the proper amounts... I use Flukers with D3 twice a month along with Reptivite twice a month and my chams are only 6 months and three months and look great to me with absolutely NO health problems...

These forums are a way to express opinions to gain knowledge from those who have done this for some time... I have had very little experience with these guys so I stay open to all ideas but I will call out those who straight up tell someone they are wrong.. Try to stay more open and it will help a lot... And if you come to bat and tell someone they are wrong... Justify it
 
I would like know how you can tell whether your Chameleon can use Calcium properly or not when you have only kept them for such little time. I´m not the experieced keeper, too but i´ve discussed with several vets in another forum. I must add, that probably you guys in the US keep your Chameleons differently. Would you please tell me how often and how long your Chameleons are being kept outside and which UV Bulbs you normaly use and for how long.
It´s common sense that the amount of d3 varies with the type of keeping you use.
 
Improper supplementation of D3 and a diet that is not within the 2:1 Calcium to phosphorus diet can result in MBD.... If you over supplement, especially on calcium... You can get a sort of "venting" where through the nostrils of the chameleon you will see the white stream of where the supplement not being used by the chameleon is being excreted... You can see improper supplementation also in hypervitaminosis A where the chameleon has received an over-supplementation of fat soluble vitamins and can develop complications... http://animal.discovery.com/guides/reptiles/iguanas/vitamina.html

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-b-metabolic-bone.html

I use two different bulbs for the different cages... For my 6 m.o. who is in a 2x2x4ft cage I use a linear reptisun 5.0 UVB and a 75watt household incandescent bulb for heat... Also with a grow light to add light and influence plant growth... In my smaller cage for my 3 m.o. I use a regular 5.0 reptisun bulb in a dome with a 60watt incandescent bulb for heat and a grow light for plant growth... These lights stay on for a 12 on 12 off schedule that mimics the sun schedule here in Texas... They usually have up to an hour a day in the natural sunlight and it can go anywhere from 1 to 4 hours outside in their free range.. Because of this the brand I use is Flukers calcium with D3 only twice a month and the IU/lb of D3 is 100,000 which is quite low for what its worth...
 
If those bulb are energy saving bulbs, i would change them if you are nor absolutely shure that they´re save. Most of those lamps are not giving the right spectrum of UVB and are proved to be the cause of eyeproblems. The calcium secreted is one point how to see if you feed to much calcium, but it is proven that chameleons with no proper d3 feed have less rubust bones and tend to get rachitis. I guess if you can keep them outside in the sun each day, twice a month should be enough, but i guess if you write this randomly, other keepers who du not keep their chammeleons outside will think that this is always the right way. Btw, why don´t you let them stay outside for longer?
 
kirekameleon said:
The Cham I rehomed was getting D3 every other feeding. They did not even have regular calcium. His legs were big when I got him and swollen joints were easily noticable. Too much D3 can lead to metastic calcification which is "gout". They can also get hypervitaminosis or to much vitamins of one kind. I have not given my Cham D3 and do not plan on it for awhile. Rely on your UVB and check it periodically to make sure it has the proper output. Some Vets say dont use D3 at all, there are no studies on it, size of chameleon makes a difference too. When two different size chameleons eat the same size cricket that is dusted one is consuming more for their body weight. That is why it is suggested twice a month, your basically giving them some "just in case". Rely on your UVB it is absorbed by the skin making D2 which is converted to D3. I also read somewhere if it is nice and white it has a higher potency than the ones that have a tint of grey, has anyone else heard this.

My Cham was pretty jacked up from D3, and I flushed him pretty good, gave him water while he was eating (dont know if you should) and hormworms.
Click to expand...

how did u flush it out?
 
lumbasammler said:
If those bulb are energy saving bulbs, i would change them if you are nor absolutely shure that they´re save. Most of those lamps are not giving the right spectrum of UVB and are proved to be the cause of eyeproblems. The calcium secreted is one point how to see if you feed to much calcium, but it is proven that chameleons with no proper d3 feed have less rubust bones and tend to get rachitis. I guess if you can keep them outside in the sun each day, twice a month should be enough, but i guess if you write this randomly, other keepers who du not keep their chammeleons outside will think that this is always the right way. Btw, why don´t you let them stay outside for longer?
Click to expand...

First let me ask where your hearing that a 5.0 UVB doesn't put out the right spectrum? They aren't energy saving bulbs they are commercial UVB/UVA bulbs used for all types of herps... This isn't a random posting... This is a tip from a chameleon owner to another... That is the purpose of these forums is to expand knowledge by giving information on each owns experiences... And I can't keep them outside for longer because I live in Dallas where the average temperature for this time of year is close to 100 degrees and that is about 15 degrees hotter than they need, especially my youngest... And yes you are correct, no D3 WILL lead to a decreased bone development but that is what the UVB 5.0 is for and the supplementation is more than enough in most cases... If you are talking about my grow light it is an Eclipse brand model number F15T8.... It's UV spectrum is less than that of a 5.0 UVB and is more for light in the cage... It puts out very little heat and was used for a fish tank...
 
Hello,
i do not know whether those lamps are sold in the US, but i talked about those ones:
http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2187_Repti_Glo_Packaging.jpg
Those lamps are definitely proven to not give any useful UV and in many cases do not have any UV output at all, additionally they cause eyeproblems.
Maybe random was not the right word, i´m from germany so please excuse my bad english, i think the word i woul have needed is "general". i wanted to say that you cannot say that every chameleon needs the same amount of d3.
 
lumbasammler said:
Hello,
i do not know whether those lamps are sold in the US, but i talked about those ones:
http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2187_Repti_Glo_Packaging.jpg
Those lamps are definitely proven to not give any useful UV and in many cases do not have any UV output at all, additionally they cause eyeproblems.
Maybe random was not the right word, i´m from germany so please excuse my bad english, i think the word i woul have needed is "general". i wanted to say that you cannot say that every chameleon needs the same amount of d3.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but where is this information talking about them not having proper output... This is pretty far against the common what your saying so please back this up.... I will say that most on here don't use the compacts as they do not provide enough COVERAGE but a 5.0 seems to be the standard... What are YOU using for UVB if you don't mind me asking... I'm just confused as to where this information is coming from
 
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