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 #1765082


Bamaldam
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 Please help me!!!!!

Hi.. I am not sure if any of you can help.. I am a first time vieled cham owner I came home yesterday to find my 1 yr old (thats what the pet store said anyways) hidden behind her fountain... It looked like she was stuck i moved it to get her out.. (she did not like that but i was worried) she was very weak and just layed in my hand.. i called he vet and asked him what i can do he told me to take her in the bathroom and turn he shower on hot and just stand there she became active very quickly.. tho i tried to feed her she could not extend her tounge.. so i pretty much had to put the crickets right to her mouth. she has a very dark black spot on her side underneath her right arm.. she looks ok today but i am worried she is sick. we feed her every second day at least ten medium crickets.. we gut load them she has a very tall enclosure.. with a pothos plant growing in it we occasionally give her wax worms (we dont want her getting to chunky) she has a basking lamp and two heat red lamps and a UVB lamp that are all set on timers.. we have a dripper as well and i spray it before work and when i get home the pothos plant really helps with holding humidity..I dont know what else i can do..



06/18/08  02:38pm

 #1765281


LunaC
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   Message To: Bamaldam   In reference to Message Id: 1765082


 Please help me!!!!!

First off, how long have you had her?

Quote:

hidden behind her fountain


Does she drink from the fountain? How often do you disassemble and clean/disinfect it?

Quote:

she has a basking lamp and two heat red lamps


Why so much heat? Why 2 red heat lamps? What are the temps at her usual basking spots? Right off the bat, it sounds way too hot and she could be seriously dehydrated.

What do you gutload your crickets with? Do you use supplements? If so, what kind and how often?

What kind of a UVB lamp do you use and how long since it’s been changed?

I know you have a dripper and you mist twice a day. Do you actually SEE her drink?



06/18/08  04:58pm

 #1765304


Bamaldam
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   Message To: LunaC   In reference to Message Id: 1765281


 Please help me!!!!!

we have had for six months.. we have only seen her drink out of it a few times we take it apart every two days to clean it.. i want to get rid of it its more if a pain than anything.. we built and extension for her cage so it is very tall when we only had the one she turned brown and black and she hid right under the red lamp and would not move.. it is just so tall we thought she needed some heat in other spots so she could move around if she wanted.. its about 75 in her basking spot. we gut load with flukers food we got from the pet store.. and i put carrots in there sometimes.. ewe dont use supplements what kind should we get??? the uvb lamp i ma not sure we threw out the box.. we got all of this stuff in a starter kit.. i just bought one a month ago to put in.. yes i see her drink from the dripper and when we fill up the fountain she will actually drink for the water bottle.. its really cute and when i mist it she drinks off the leaves..
06/18/08  05:13pm

 #1765369


LunaC
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   Message To: Bamaldam   In reference to Message Id: 1765304


 Please help me!!!!!

Yeah, I would definitely lose the fountain. They really are more of a pain than anything.

When you say her cage is very tall ... how tall? What are the actual dimensions? Sitting under basking lamps is what chams do ... mature chams don’t really move around much. They bask, they eat, they drink, they bask. They sleep.

If her hottest basking spot is only 75, then it’s too cool. If she sat under a red heat bulb that is only 75 degrees, she’s turned dark to absorb the heat. I keep my Veileds basking spots at between 90-98 and no heat at night. You can use regular household bulbs in inexpensive clamp lamps for basking/heat purposes. No need for expensive "specialty" bulbs or fixtures.

I’ve actually never used a commercial gutload except for Wild Eye Reptiles premium blend which I add to the fresh and FT fruits and vegies I feed my feeders. Start gutloading with fresh DARK green leafy plants (turnip, mustard greens, dandelion leaves) and rotate those with either fresh or FT fruits.

Since your commercial gutload probably isn’t as nutritous as fresh gutload, it would have benefited your cham (especially female) to supplement with Vitamins and a Phosphorus-free Calcium dust (with D3 and without). Since you bought her from a pet store, it’s likely she’s not received supplements. I use Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-All and Rep-Cal Herptivite for multivitamin supplementing and Rep-Cal Phosphorus-free Calcium with D3. My chams are all adults so I only supplement once a month or so. Females get twice a month light calcium dustings.

Hope this helps a bit
06/18/08  06:05pm


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