Worried about a new Cham

[Trestlechild]

I just took over responsibility for caring for a male veiled chameleon about a week ago. I'm not really a reptile guy, but it was pretty clear that the chameleon was not being well cared for previously so now I have him. I'm not sure if this is a health clinic or general discussion thread, but I think it belongs here.

I'm worried about two things: 1st, he might be in poor health from the previous situation. 2nd, I dont have experience with reptiles at all, much less Chams. I've done a lot of poking around the internet trying to determine if his care was adequate in the weeks leading up to me taking him on, so I've learned a bit, but I still want to check in and see what I can improve for the little dude.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - He's a veiled who has been in my care a week. He seems to be mature but I believe he is less than a year old.
• Handling - I don't handle him unless it seems necessary. He clearly doesn't like it.
• Feeding - I feed him crickets and superworms from pets mart. The crickets get calcium and vitamin D powder all over them so they look white when the go in the cage. 20-40 large crickets at a time, I put more when he finishes them. That's the feeding schedule he had before, too.
• Supplements - Flukers Repta Calcium
• Watering - I have a pump sprayer that I spray down everything in the cage with 3 times a day. I spray until the plants are soaked. I spray the Cham directly as well.
• Fecal Description - I've seen one poop. It seemed right. Brown and solid but not hard. No Insect parts visible. Urate has gotten whiter since I've had him. I've never seen it orange, but I have seen it yellowish. I have a pic I'll attach it. It looked speckled this time which I thought was different.
• History - I pretty much gave his history already. He was in probably a one square foot glass container without plants and I was pretty sure he was dehydrated. It was pretty awful.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - The cage I have him in now is 2.5 foot tall, 1.5 foot wide, and 3.5 foot long. It's glass with vents all over three sides. I realize that's not optimal, so I am planning to build a roughly 3 foot tall screen extension that begins where the top of his current cage ends. I am moving in two weeks, so instead of building it now I'm just making pans and I'll build after I move. Is there a DIY cage forum on here?
• Lighting - I don't know which bulb I have in there for him in the day unfortunately. At night I have a exo terra 100 watt night heat lamp. I have an exo terrra 13 watt reptile UVB 100 that's not plugged in because I don't have a lamp for it. Also I'm thinking about getting a solar glo and switching it out with the unknown bulb. I bought a dang sun ray and didn't realize you have to buy the fixture too. I think lighting is where I need the most help at this point. I'm about tired of buying bulbs and using them as paperweights.
• Temperature - I don't have thermometers yet. I'd like some advice on what to get and where to put them. I'm planning on buying some stuff after I get some input on this thread. That said It's pretty warm directly under the bulbs, easily in the 90's. On the other side of the cage it's closer to room temp which is low 70's. He moves back and forth so it seems like the range is good.
• Humidity - I also don't have humidity gauges. Same thing as thermometers I don't really know what to get or where to put them. Humidity in there is higher than in the house and is maintained by spraying and plants.
• Plants - He's got an umbrella plant and a pothos. They're potted in organic compost peat which is exposed. How do y'all keep your Chams from getting dirt stuck in their guts?
• Placement - Cage is in a bedroom that is also a place where people sleep. It is somewhat near an air vent but I don't think it creates a draft in his cage. I would not call it high traffic. Top of the cage is about 5 feet from the floor. It's on a little table.
• Location - I am in central Texas between San Antonio and Austin.

Current Problem - I'm worried about dehydration, uv levels, and just in general his health. I'm attaching pics of him and one of his urate that I mentioned. I tried to get good shots of his eyes and head. He's got water droplets on him from the last misting and he's standing on my girlfriend's head -- his favorite spot.

Thanks!

 

[Alexander1]

He definitely needs a basking light set up at the top of the enclosure somewhere, at his size he would need the temp around 88-94 degrees, make sure he has a basking under the light butnit too close to the top to where he may burn.
He also needs a uvb bulb preferably a linear flourecent. 5.0 bulb is best.
Use large rocks or some sort to cover the pottingsoil if you notice your chameleon likes to eat the soil.
Your Cham needs calcium without vitamin D3 every feeding, calcium with D3 about twice a month depending how much natural sun he gets, he will also need a multivitamin twice a month.
Make sure you guy load your feeders with drag vegetables and fruits, there are gut loads available, cricket crack, bug burger , super load, Dino fuel etc.
There are many threads and care sheets here dedicated to help with anything your cham may need

 

[Trestlechild]

Alexander,
Did you take a look at the pics?

 

[shomegirl]

Hi welcome. I don't know much about veileds. I do know you need to lightly dust the crickets and other feeders though, not make them look like ghosts, I made them look like that when I first started too. And that is too much. You want to dust them without D3 daily and with d3 every other weekend like on Sunday . The alternate Sunday they need dusted with vitamins. There is a caresheet on veileds in this forum as well. It will help you with everything as in what to feed and lighting. Lighting should be on 12 hours a day and off 12. If your daytime temps are good. They don't need any lighting at nights. Temp drops are good for them. As long as it doesn't get below 60-65 in your house at night. Maybe even lower. Crickets and other feeders need to be gut loaded with fruits and veggies as well. Others will chime in soon. Those that have more experience will help a lot.. good luck.

 

[Trestlechild]

Thanks shomegirl!

 

[Alexander1]

Yes, it's difficult to tell, did he puff up before you took that pic?
He doesn't have obvious sign of mbd which is what they start to develop without proper lighting.
His poop does look odd, was there a brown portion along with that? Get a fecal exam done as well, it's something that should be done 1-2 a year

 

[Trestlechild]

He was sort of puffed up from being handled. He had calmed a bit before I took the pics so he was not fully puffed. I've seen him puffier and more slender. I was cleaning out the bottom of the cage just now and found the brown part of the poop. It looks like I've seen before. Since I was cleaning up it's in a pile of all the debris from the floor, but I took a pic and you can see part of it.

 

[Trestlechild]

I snuck in and got this pic of him as he was crusing around so it's more typical.

 

[Trestlechild]

I figured out the other bulb. It's a zoo med daylight blue.

 

[Chameleomom]

Looks to be you need a lot more plants and coverage for him to feel safe. You need branches or vines having different thickness up and down the cage so he can regulate his body temp how he needs it.

 

[Alexander1]

Post a pic of your enclosure, be careful clean the bottom of the cage everyday.dead crickets and feces along with the water from mistings will help bacteria flourish.
As for your Cham he does look a little pale but he might be going into the shed. I would schedule a vet appointment with a expirienced reptile vet.
Keep him hydrated and fed until then.

 

[Trestlechild]

Chameleomom,
When I build the taller section I'm planning to put in a ficus, buy another pothos, and put both photos up top so they dangle. Does that sound good?

Alexander,
Pics are attached. I think he is going into a shed, he's got some skin coming off that wasn't coming off this morning. That spot he's in is the warmest in the cage. I think he's digesting a bunch of superworms at the moment.

 

[shomegirl]

Keep him misted a lot and humidity levels up. That will help with his shed. Just make sure the enclosure dries out before spraying it down each time. Also I use river rock of my soil so it doesn't get ingested.