new cham/rescue/rant on stupid pet owners

[Emohooker]

So this person found me on CL and I traded a saltwater tank I no longer had set up for him and his "set up". All I saw was pictures of him and he looked good. when I got to there house today to pick him up, they had him in a 12x12x18 exoterra glass terririum and if thats not bad enough he is 6 months old and Clearly out grown the tank, the tank had no bedding barley any hiding spots using a 30w heat bulb and a 5.0 bulb (curly kind). so I dont know ALOT about chameleons but I know enough to know this wasnt right, so I went ahead and took the deal so I could help him. I took him to a local reptile shop and they couldnt believe what this person had him in and hooked me up with stuff to make it better. I got a screen tank at the last expo I went to (got it in a door prize). and not only that when they looked at him they said he had symptoms of .... Dont remember the name but some bone issue. and said he should be fine with the help of the new light and a bigger cage with the calcium.

God I hate people that just got to a store and go "Whoa he looks cool! Lets get him even though we have never had a reptile before in our lives!" Gah and the stupid store owners for letting them buy it with no prior knowledge.

any whos here is pictures of hyzenberg and his new set up







Thanks!

[llovelace]

He's a looker, and will do much better in your care

[dr del]

Hi,

Of course with a name like Hyzenberg it's hard to be certain..... [/geekout]

But could it have been MBD (metabolic bone disease )?

Either way I wish you both well now he has moved into the luxury appartment.

I would put some more perches in at the top possibly just at the right distance from the UV tube with some screening ( in the form of plastic plants ) to help with security. Someone told me once those screen tops can cut out almost 50% of the UV though so you may want to get some smarter opinions on what to do about that.


dr del

[BPelizabeth]

Well he is beautiful and will feel like a Prince in his new home!! I am sure they were talking about MBD, which is caused by poor diet, lack of calcium and UV. I don't see any signs from that picture but possibly it is noticable when he walks. I do see what looks to be a fracture on his tail though so be really careful with that. Not much you can do but reptiles can heal on their own from fractures more quickly than we humans. Poor little man. Good luck and cannot wait to see some more pics.

[JLuck13]

Your cham is a great looking little guy!!! Ive had chams for longer than ive had snakes, so if you have questions feel free to ask!

Just a few things to point out to try and help you with this guy.

-Go to home depot and get wooden dowel and cut them down so they will fit in his cage, and then use thumb tacks to pin them in place and not rip any of the screen.

-take the bedding out of there. Chameleons do not need anything on the fllor of their cage and while they are chasing feeders around you do not want them injesting something

-How often are you misting him? It doesnt look like you have any drainage system setup and chams need to be misted alot more than people think, like for 2-3 minutes 3-5 times a day depending on how he is acting.

-One other thing to look for, i cant tell if you plant is real or fake, but veileds do eat leaves/plants and i know of a few that have died because of trying to eat a fake plant and it becoming impacted.

Thanks for saving the little guy

Here is a picture of my veiled, Reptar, and his setup

[Emohooker]

I do have a few questions,

as far as the bedding goes, I have it for humidity, the people at my reptile store said its just for the humidity and I have not once see him on the floor of his cage

and the plant is fake, When I upgrade his cage im gunna get some live ones, any suggestion on which ones I should get?

I mist his entire cage about 3 times a day to the point that the the cage is dripping with water

I was soexcited to get this little guy, I cant wait to get another and possiblly start breeding them once I get more experience with them.

I like the idea of getting those sticks.

Thanks again!

[Mr_BoaJangles]

The live plants with a drip system running into the plant soil will provide enough humidity, along with spraying down the cage and Cham once a few times a week.

Make sure he has some sticks up high enough for him to be 6-10 inches away from the UV light. Those bulbs are only effective up to 12" so if he cant sit comfertably up there he may not get enough sun.

I would also reccomend giving him a variety of feeders including but not limited to gut loaded crickets, wax worms, super worms, and roaches. The live plants play a good part in the diet too, as they will eat the leaves.