Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a veild cham that I bought from a freind since he was going to sell it to a crappy pet store, and now he is drabby in color (browns), eyes slightly sucken in, and very skinny w/ some mbd. He is eating and drinking fine and today he spent most of the day on the floor of his cage until i feed him. He has all lighting requirements and his basking spot if perfect. I dust his food with calcium supplement every feeding. Pleas help!
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1.2 Hypo Tang Leos, 1.0 Blizzard Leo, 0.1 het Blizzard Leo, 2.0 Tremper Albino Leos, 1.0 Knight Anole, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx, 0.1 Green Iguana, 1.1 Ball Pythons, 1.0 Green Anole, a Common Snapping Turt, and a 1.0 Veild Chameleon!
www.geocities.com/multiplemorphherpetoculture

Sorry, but everything can't be "perfect" if the cham is as you described. This cham is indicating severe stress.....
There is no need to dust with every feeding. Less is more!

How long have you had him?
How big is the chameleon? Age?
What size cage is he in?
Is there real plants and branches in the cage?
What lighting (kind and wattage) is being used?
How long are the lights on?
How are you providing water?
How are you feeding? What are you feeding?
What room of the house is he in?
Is the cage near a window?
Have you contacted your vet yet?

With this info, maybe we can figure out the trouble spots.
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I've had him 1mth
in a 65gal reptarium
many bendable nives and fake flora
100watt incandescent (basking area)
60watt on the cooler end
8.0 ESU florescent UV
lights are on 12 on 12 off exactly
1dzn dusted Lrg Crickets
hes in the basement, low traffic area very quiet
no windows
my vet is calling me back tomorrow
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1.2 Hypo Tang Leos, 1.0 Blizzard Leo, 0.1 het Blizzard Leo, 2.0 Tremper Albino Leos, 1.0 Knight Anole, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx, 0.1 Green Iguana, 1.1 Ball Pythons, 1.0 Green Anole, a Common Snapping Turt, and a 1.0 Veild Chameleon!
www.geocities.com/multiplemorphherpetoculture

reptariums are known to block up to 80% of uv lighting. you really need some real plants in there, it helps with humidity and their happiness. platic plants are for plastic chams........
i don't really think that you need the light on the other end, they need a temperature gradient to be able to thermoregulate. what are the temps on both sides with the lights?
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

That is way over supplementation. The results mimic MBD so be careful a vet does not give him more calcium without testing the levels in his blood or they could kill instead of help him.
Please read the article in www.chameleonjournals.com In the section called Vet Topics The article is called Calcium and D3

Okay... let's see what we can do.

>>I've had him 1mth
>>in a 65gal reptarium
At least it is screen - not an aquarium. But, as mentioned, the fabric can block most of the UV put out by special reptile bulbs.

>>many bendable vines and fake flora
Bendable vines are good... but you really need to get live plants. Do you have a Home Depot in your area? Go down to their plant dept and pick out a 10" golden umbrella plant - or a croton plant - and use that for height and hiding places. The best thing about buying these plants from HD is their 1yr guarantee on the plant.

You can also place a 6" pothos lower in the enclosure. The leaves on any of these plants provide excellent surfaces for drinking. If you can, place river rock over the surface of the dirt of the plants - this way, you don't have to change the dirt. Wash the plants (either outside or in your shower) with a mild soapy water, and then rinse, rinse, rinse. To prevent the soil from getting to soggy while you do this - cover it with plastic garbage bag or grocery sack. Once the plants dry off, put them in the enclosure and arrange your vines around the plants.

You didn't mention watering... you need to mist at least twice per day, and provide dripping water twice. Keep in mind that chameleons not only drink to hydrate themselves, but their bodies absorb moisture through their nasal linings. The humidity needs to be kept up while he is re-hydrating.

Even a shower (on one of his plants) can help re-hydrate him. You might also try Pedialite (buy the small bottles - it loses its punch after opening - read the label). This can be offered with an eye dropper - or even the drip-cup.

>>100watt incandescent (basking area)
>>60watt on the cooler end
Too much heat. The 60 watt should be sufficient on one end - but be careful not to rest the light too close to the plastic netting of the reptarium - it may melt.

>>8.0 ESU florescent UV
>>lights are on 12 on 12 off exactly
This is good. But when winter comes - it can be adjusted to 10-14.

>>1dzn dusted Lrg Crickets
Don't forget to vary his feeder insects - and dust with Rep-Cal calcium once a week - if he less than 6" or longer (snout to vent). If larger, twice per month should be sufficient. A mineral dusting (Miner-All) is good monthly.

>>hes in the basement, low traffic area very quiet
>>no windows
Many folks report that the basement can be good - but others find it too dank and depressing. If he was in an opposite environment with your friend (upstairs or by a window), the change may have upset him. Once he is not so dehydrated, you may want to try taking him outdoors for brief periods of sunlight. If he is in the basement with all your other herps - and can see some of them - especially snakes - he will be depressed - even freaked out of his skin. I would be too, thinking I could be eaten by something across the room.

>>my vet is calling me back tomorrow
Great... hopefully, he is a herp vet, and will have some experience with veiled. Be sure and tell him about the environment he is kept in. Most of this is really important to proper husbandry.

Keep us posted...
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The fact that you have a cool end and a warm end in such a small enclosure makes it sound like your cage is laying on it's side.....long way horizontally. If this is the case, put the cage on its other end so that he has more room to roam vertically. In a chams world, this setupo has much more roaming room.
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Matt

then temp under the 100watt is 85-90 and under the 60 watt is is 80 I am going to remove the 60watt. Thanks for all the feed back!
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1.2 Hypo Tang Leos, 1.0 Blizzard Leo, 0.1 het Blizzard Leo, 2.0 Tremper Albino Leos, 1.0 Knight Anole, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx, 0.1 Green Iguana, 1.1 Ball Pythons, 1.0 Green Anole, a Common Snapping Turt, and a 1.0 Veild Chameleon!
www.geocities.com/multiplemorphherpetoculture

np
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1.2 Hypo Tang Leos, 1.0 Blizzard Leo, 0.1 het Blizzard Leo, 2.0 Tremper Albino Leos, 1.0 Knight Anole, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx, 0.1 Green Iguana, 1.1 Ball Pythons, 1.0 Green Anole, a Common Snapping Turt, and a 1.0 Veild Chameleon!
www.geocities.com/multiplemorphherpetoculture