Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a male Veiled Cham about a week ago...he's been eating crickets/mealworms and has been drinking good. He's been very active up until yesterday morning. When he walks on the branches, he's very wobbly and has even fallen off onto the bottom of the cage. I've also noticed him sleeping during the day also, and he has not eaten since yesterday morning either. He is also shedding, and i thought maybe thats why he was acting strange, but the breeder i bought him from said that was not the case. I also just found out that they need calcium supplements and that the crickets should be gut-loaded...and i have not done that. Any advice on what to do? I feel so bad.....
Thanks.

Please provide your exact setup specs - lighting, temp, humidity, dimensions, type of enclosure, etc.

Supplementation is necessary. But if he was healthy when you got him, a few days of no supplementation wouldn't cause such a major problem.

Give us as much info as possible so we can help.

Ok....his cage is screened on all sides, 20 inches tall and 18 inches wide. We use a 100 watt Daylight Blue bulb and a 5.5" Clamp-Lamp. I turn it on when i wake up and turn it off before i go to bed. We use the "Little Dripper" system and i make sure that it drips onto a leaf, and I've seen him drink off of it. He has some branches and leaves, all which are not real. He was eating about 4 crickets and 4 mealworms a day. We just bought some gut-load(ReptoLife Plus) for the crickets about 10 minutes ago and bought a thermometer which is reading at 90 degrees, in between his shaded area and where the lamp is at. I also mist his cage about twice a day. I mentioned yesterday that he was in real bad shape, but I noticed today he seems a little bit better...it seems like he's almost just about done shedding. I don't know how Cham's act while shedding though. I think thats about it...if you have anymore questions, please ask.
Thanks.....Jodi

It sounds like it's too hot in there. Even for Veileds, a maximum ambient temp of aroun 77 is ok, with a basking spot (isolated area) up to between 85 and 90.
Try to get things cooled down a bit. Make sure he's hydrated. Try some fresh fruit and vegetable - strawberry, tomato, dark greens, berries, etc in a little cup. Good way to get him hydrated and vitamins.

Also, 20 x 18 is pretty small. I would consider upgrading to a bigger wire cage and cup-feeding if need be. Screen pulls out toenails, which don't grow back.
Be careful not to over-supplement. A good gutload is way better than constant dusting. Check out these sites:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.animalarkshelter.org/cin/
http://www.herpnutrition.com/
http://chamownersweb.com

Do you have any UVB on him? Get a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 bulb on him asap. Without good UVB he will die in a hurry. Those daylight blue bulbs stink for UVB.

Unless you wake up at 6am and go to bed a 6pm, you need a timer for your lights - 12-14 hours of daylight, 12 hours of dark. With constant daylight he may just be worn out from not enough sleep.

Hey, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I'm going to take into consideration what you said asap...and I'm going to research some of the sites you listed.

Thanks....Jodi