Chameleon sleeping upside down

Vince

New Member
I have noticed that my cham is sleeping upside down on the screened top. Is this okay or should i wake him and move him down to a branch?
 
Welcome to the world of chameleons. They don't seem to have a preference of upside down, right side up or sleeping in some weird positiions. My adult female veiled likes to sleep on a string that I installed to hol a stick steady. A string! geesh
 
hes probably fine. mine hangs upside down all the time. i bet you are fine until he has a bad dream and jumps :O
 
cool thanks, i didnt want to have to bother him. Cant beleive it took him this long to figure out how to get to the top!
 
They do sleep in all sorts of odd positions. I've seen mine sleep upside down lots of times:p. I wouldn't worry about it, provided it doesn't seem to be harming his feet or claws. You don't want him pulling out his claws from the strain of his weight on them.
 
my panther sleeps any where any how, at first i was worried when i saw him upside down but its quite surprising just how good there grip is
 
he is just 3 and a half months. I was jut worried because he was hanging from his toenails, crazy guy.:)

Any way i couldn't believe it this morning i woke up and he was sleeping on a branch. Some how he found his way down in the middle of the night. I thought maybe at first he fell but it would have been a lucky fall for him to land on the branch he was on.
 
You could line the inside of his cage with plastic fencing to protect the toenails. I have picutes of this in my album in My Profile if you'd like to see it. You can buy it cheap at the Home Depot.
 
I turn my chams basking light off first. It begins to cool the cage down and also signals him that it's time to find a sleeping place.

Then a 1/2 hour later, I turn off his UVB.

By that time, he has chosen his place and is settled in ready for nighty-night. :D
 
good idea

That is a good idea Toni. I may start doing that at night from now on. Usually I just turn off both the heat lamp and UVb bulbs. I then turn on my red heat lamp cause my apartment gets very cold at night now that we are experiencing winter temps below 30s.
 
ToniandGizmo - "I turn my chams basking light off first. It begins to cool the cage down and also signals him that it's time to find a sleeping place."

I do the exact same thing with both my chameleon and my iguana. It lets them know it is time to go to sleep and takes away the shock of all the lights going out at once.
 
thanks a lot that sounds like a great idea. I will start doing that from now on.

I have always wished i could find a timer that dimmed the lights until they shut off to simulate real life sun. But shutting the basking off first and then the uvb is the next best thing.

The only thing then is i either need two timers on the same cage, or i have to be here every time the light go out:eek:
 
they sell a timer that has multiple daily cycles (day and night). I got mine for i think 30 at a local pet store.
 
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Hey Vince...totally off topic, but I see you are from marquette...beautiful Up there! Did you go to Northern? I made a trip up to the UP a couple years ago, can't wait to get back. Any snow yet?
 
I agree with the light idea ... But sometimes they will just find the funniest places to sleep.

IMG_5471.jpg
 
hey Danielle, i am actually attending Northern hopefully just for another year. It is a great place. We do have about 6 to 12 inches right in Marquette but away from Superior there is lots more:D
 
thanks a lot that sounds like a great idea. I will start doing that from now on.

I have always wished i could find a timer that dimmed the lights until they shut off to simulate real life sun. But shutting the basking off first and then the uvb is the next best thing.

The only thing then is i either need two timers on the same cage, or i have to be here every time the light go out:eek:

They do sell basking light fixtures that have a dimmer dial instead of just an on/off switch. All 4 of the lights on top of my cham's screen top are on dimmers. Just not the UVB tube. They're very handy. I turn them each off slowly to simulate the sun
 
If you think that sleeping upside down is weird.. :D:D
 

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That is a good idea Toni. I may start doing that at night from now on. Usually I just turn off both the heat lamp and UVb bulbs. I then turn on my red heat lamp cause my apartment gets very cold at night now that we are experiencing winter temps below 30s.

If it gets that cold at night I would replace the red light with a ceramic heat bulb. Chams need the dark to sleep, even a red or black night bulb will disrupt their sleep.
 
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