Chameleon Just Fell!

Hi, my chameleon is 4 months old We are still unsure if hes a she, but i think its a she, because we cannot find spurs,ANYWAYS It just fellabout 8 inches onto a stick.. and uhm yehh i dunno if he might have broken something? hes got a scratch on his left knee (VERY tiny) and hes just laying now... He was walking for 10 mins.. nbut it is almost 11:00 pm now... so is he just tired?

Im probably just paranoid...

What do you mean, it's just laying? On the ground?
Surely at this hour the chameleon was asleep ... how did you know it fell?


-Brad

Are her lights off? Did you possibly scare her while she was sleeping? They can get pretty startled if you wake them up.

No, i was feeding her.. i held a kingworm in my hand and as she came to get it.. she got startled by a cricket i think.. and she fell down..

She looks alright, just has a little mark on her knee.. Wondering if a fall like that could harm her badly?

What time were you feeding her?
Latest feeding should be 4 hours before the sun goes down (when the lights should go off)
So ... she's laying on the ground?

-Brad

NewOwner said:

She looks alright, just has a little mark on her knee.. Wondering if a fall like that could harm her badly?

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Probably not.
I'm more concerned about you having her up so late and feeding her, that could cause some serious problems.

-Brad

she is laying on a stick now... trying to sleep. Sorry for having her up late.. didnt know that was bad.. Shes probably just tired..

Brad,

When you say the lights should go out.. i have a tube uvb and a 50 watt heat lamp, which keeps the temp around 22-29 in diffferant spots, do you mean turn them both off or just the UVB?

I turn just the UVB off...

You should turn both lights off

NewOwner said:

Brad,

When you say the lights should go out.. i have a tube uvb and a 50 watt heat lamp, which keeps the temp around 22-29 in diffferant spots, do you mean turn them both off or just the UVB?

I turn just the UVB off...

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You have a lot of reading and research ahead of you
TOTAL darkness at night. Lights should be off as soon as the sun is down and on when it rises.

-Brad

Wont she get to cold without the heat lamp..? it can go down to like 10 degrees Celcius in my room... :S

She will be alright.
But make sure the lights come on first thing in the morning so she can warm up.

-Brad

Allright.. Hope she'll be fine in the cold.. It can get pretty cold down here in b.c...

The temp drop at night is needed for chameleons. It slows their metabolism and helps them sleep well. Have you read Brad's site?
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/temperatures-and-thermoregulation.html

It has a section for temperatures and discusses night time temps.

NewOwner said:

Allright.. Hope she'll be fine in the cold.. It can get pretty cold down here in b.c...

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How cold does her cage get at night if you don't have a heater on her? If your letting it get down to 60ish your fine. If its going into the lower 50's you need to buy a Heat coil... not a night heat lamp... Ceramic heaters are perfect for night time heating.

Like brad said... NO LIGHTS should be on at night. NOTHING should be on.... no TV... no desk lamps.. darkness makes them sleep and if they lights don't go out they stress out.

So as the above posts states., NOTHING should be on.. So is it bad if my lamo on my nightstand is on until about 11pm while I read as the chams cages are in our bedroom, but we read an hour before bed. I watched Leo last night (as his cage is literally RIGHT next to the lamp) and he didnt seem bothered by it... Should i throw a towel over his cage?

Im not sure what 10 Celsius comes out to in F, but it sounds pretty cold..

I think you should do some reading man, having a chameleon up and eating that late at night is ridiculous. They need a good twelve hours of dark and 12 hours of light. Any more or less is not natural and should not be done.

Also, if it does get to cold in your room for your cham you can find a small space heater for 20$. I had to get one this winter. ITS FREEZING!!

I agree. We run a small one in our bedroom at night on low since the frogs, chams,a nd dogs are all in the room with us to keep it comfortable but not hot, and it kicks off when a certain temp is reached. I think we paid like 10 bucks at Lowes for it 3 years ago. and my chams and frogs are all on timers. lights on at 7am and off at 7pm.