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i have an adult male veiled chameleon (age unknown)hes about 10 inches nose to tail.. recently his tail has turned almost black at the last 2-3 inches and very rough in texture. he cant curl it up in a neat spiral anymore, and the end just twitches a bit when he tries to move it. it almost looks like its rotting. his tank is always clean, and he is well fed. what have i done wrong? any help would be greatly appreciated.

If it is black it is probally dying. Has he shed recently? Look for a ring of unshed skin where the blackness starts, it could be constricing blood flow. You should go see a vet.

-Jon Colton
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1.1 veiled chameleons
0.0.1 normal cornsnake
2.2 leopard geckos

www.funnymanreptiles.com

The tail tissue is dying for some reason, and unless it is removed he will end up with massive infection. Why this happened I can't say. Has he fallen and injured himself? Tail caught or shut in a door? You will need a vet right away, and a herp experienced one.

I'm sorry I can't offer any other advice than already offered, but one thing caught my attention. You said his tank is always clean. Is he in a glass or acrylic aquarium type tank?

he is in a glass aquarium. no plastic or anything like that. i tried to swab the end of his tail with a very small amount of peroxide to see if any fizzing ( presence of infection ) happened but nothing. he just hissed at me and then ate three mealworms... i have asked around about good reptile vets in town and none seem to have a very good rep. the end of his tail is also very lumpy...

all responses and advice are greatly appreciated. thanks

With all due respect, an adult cham should not be kept in a tank!
Tanks are fine for babies, up to maybe 4 months, but beyond that age, a chameleon needs a large open-air habitat.
As was asked before, has he recently shed? Could there be old shed skin constricting the blood-flow to his tail? Any recent falls or injuries?
Do you have substrate at the bottom of the tank? How high is the humidity? What about the temps inside the tank?
A picture of his tail might be more helpful, but really only a qualified vet could advise your course of action.
And for the welfare of your cham, I really hope you'll consider a more suitable cage. Sorry I couldn't help more.

ok, im new at all this, so i had no idea about the tank situation. i will definetly move him to a new house. as for humidity and temp levels, im unsure. in the morning when his lights go on there is condensation on the inside walls of the tank, and its warmer than my house which is around 25 degrees celcius. the substrate is "lizard litter" which ive used in the past for frogs, snakes, snails etc. i dont handle him,(hes incredibly grumpy) and hes had no falls or injuries that im aware of. when he was purchased about six months ago he was pretty bashed up from the pet store...(really seedy place, we had to rescue him, he was very malnourished) he had sores and missing toes etc. he seems to have no problems with shedding, but its always in lots of pieces, and he eats the shed skin. he will be moved to an open air environment asap. thankyou so much for your help.

Hi,

Sounds like you care about this guy and glad you are willing to make some changes, here are a few more:

1: Chams really do not need any substrate, in fact it can be quite detrimental b/c it can harbor fungal spores and bacteria which are airborne and your cham could be breathing in.

2: you will definitely need to monitor temps and humidity. I suggest getting a good digital gauge (not the little cheapies in pet stores). Home depot carries one that measures both for about $18, but it is only a rough gauge or actual temps. A heat gun is a worhtwhile purchase (about $25). He should have basking of about 90F and should have at least a 10degree drop at night. Keep in mind that b/c he is in glass the temps and humidity can get quite high. Once you have him in an all screen cage (minimum 2'x2'x4') it will be a bit more difficlut to regulate temps - especially humidity - but is crucial. It will take some adjustments. If you live ina cold region the winter can get tough to keep temps up but many of us have devised some rather simple and efficient solutions.

We can help you with the rest of your setup and care if you could answer some questions. Got to the link below and to the "Questions" section. You can copy and paste it right into a post and answer the best you can. Also, look at links on that site for some recommended reading.

As for the tail - see a vet. Do you have one?? There are links to them by region, state, province, etc. on that same page below).

Hope this helps!

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

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sig file edit for oversized logo/graphic 8/12/05

thanks so much. all these suggestions are greatly appreciated. i want him to do well since he came from such a crappy environment!