Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I have posted once before. I have a baby vieled cham who I have had for 4 weeks now. He was about a month old the breeder said when I picked him up. The breeder said he had been breeding for 15 yrs. He is currently in a 10 gal tank but as soon as he gets a bit bigger and off of flightless fruit flys and pinhead crix he will get upgarded to a large (3x4x3) screen cage. He has a benjamini ficus in the cage and a few fake plants. He has a 40watt bulb a few inches from the top of the tank to give him a basking area of about 90F. He has a UVA/UVB bulb (reptimed 5.0 I think is what it is) and I mist 2x a day and have a little drip system when I am at work. There is a feeding dish that I keep some potato in for the crix to eat. He started out eating EVERYTHING but was a little thin. I think he had to compete for food. But this weekend I have noticed a few changes in him and want to make sure I should not be worried.

He has been showing colors a lot. About half the time I come in to check on him he is "fired" up. He has also been closing his eyes during the day. I know the forums say this is a bad sign. But I dont know what to think. And sometimes it will just be one eye. It isn't like he is dead alseep. Just closing his eyes. His eyes are not sunken. And they are not pussing or crusty. I put about 30 appropriately size food items in a day and they are almost always gone. I guess I am just overly worried and want to check and make sure I am doing everything right. Some reassurance about his change in mood would really help.
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

It sounds to me as if he is being stressed by something, maybe as subtle as a reflection in the tank glass or being able to see another animal that is moving a lot. Chams who spend a lot of time fired up are worried about something, and when they start getting exhausted from the worry they start shutting their eyes. Have you moved any lights around? If so, maybe the angle of light is creating a reflection on the glass where it was not visible before. Has the "view" from his tank changed? Try giving him more cover and see if he hides more.

Thanks for the reply. The only things that have changed are the following:

I checked on the bulb after reading the forums and the bulb that was in the light fixture only had 3% UVB. I changed this 3 days ago to a bulb that has 7% UVB. Could this be too much?

I put large shiny rocks in the plant bottom to keep him out of the dirt and help it so that he can't accidentally ingest potting soil.

Also, I have been in and out of the room a bit more as my incubator was right across the room from him. The eggs have hatched so this should calm a bit.

Should I upgrade him to his screen cage? I am worried about tiny critters all over my house though as pinheads and fruit flys can get thru that mesh. Also, is there any other suggestions? I am worried because I am actually taking him out of town with me this weekend cause I have no one here I can trust to feed and water him regularly and I am going home. PLEASE HELP. I do not want to stress him any more than I have.

Also - maybe I didn't mention it in the last post but he has gotten this weird habit of hanging upside down by the UV lamp. Then he closes his eyes. Could the lower UVB bulb for the first 3 weeks have really hurt? I have been very diligent in suppliments.

I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can for the little guy. Please - any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

Little chams often hang upside down on their screen tops. As long as the mesh isn't too hot right under the basking bulb I wouldn't worry too much.

What's the brand name of your UVB bulb? ReptiSuns are the best of the fluorescents, and they come in a 5.0 and an 8.0. The 5.0 is fine.

You could try an experiment to see if reflections off the tank glass is the problem. Tape something slightly opaque (cheesecloth or window screen maybe?) on the INSIDE of the glass and see what he does.

I don't see a big problem taking him with you. Just watch the temps in the car on your trip. You can keep him calm by wrapping something around the tank so it is darkened. Chams usually nap while they are travelling in a darkened box.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I am really worried as when I left for work he was sitting with his eyes closed and when I got home he was sitting somewhere else with his eyes closed.

I went and bought a bromelaid and a crotus (both on the non-toxic list) to add to my benjamini ficus. I also bought a tree-like ficus for the screen cage when he gets upgraded. So now he has so many places to hide. I checked on him an hour after the cage revision and he was checking things out and I actually caught him at the feeding dish. Hopefully this helps as now I will never be able to find him (hence his name Waldo).

I also removed the shiny rocks. Dont know why that would make him upset but I replaced them with more natural colored river rock.

The bulb I am using is an exo terra repti glo 8.0. It says minimum of 8% uvb. Should I look for a different bulb while in Chicago this weekend? (much more selection there)

Again - thanks for the help. I want to do everything right for this little guy.
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

There is a difference b/t the repti-glo and the reptisun (besides just brands) as far as consistency and output. I know one person who has used the 8.0 on all his herps and says everyone is fine so it is a personal decision, however, many of use stick with the tried and true ZooMed reptisun 5.0

Here is an incredible site with all the information you could ever wnat on UVB. Thsi link is to a chaRT OF OUTPUT BY BRAND, (oops - caps) but look around the site for more info.

2 months is still pretty young so be sure to monitor temps and humidty well. Keep him covered as much as possible during the trip so he will sleep and whereever you set him up once you reach your destination make it as "private" for him as possible.
UVB

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
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
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
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Lele's right...he is extremely young, and things can go wrong at this age despite good care. In so many species that have clutches of young rather than one or two, there are often some who simply don't thrive, and this usually happens within the first month or two. Still, it is a good sign that he's checking out his new hiding spaces and maybe it will reduce a stressor and give him the edge he needs. Hope so!

Thank you so much. He is bright green again and seems more active. Not sure where the added stress came from but he seems much happier now. I can only keep doing what I am doing and hope for the best.

Just a question - it is a male veiled cham and he was about a month when I got him. So he should be about 2 months old. He seems like he hasn't grown much. And he hasn't shed. But he sure eats a lot. Is this normal? How big should I expect him to be?

Thanks for the help
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!