baby veiled sleeping a lot

I got a male baby veiled chameleon about 5 days ago. He has been eating a few crickets a day and I have seen him drinking water most days. However, he is sleeping a lot and sometimes walking around with his eyes closed. When I take him outside and let him run around in the grass, he seems very active and full of energy. He has even caught a few flies and other bugs while he is out there, but in his cage he sleeps a lot. We got a package deal at LLL reptile that included a screened cage, vitamin supplement, a drip system, a ficus tree and a light that is supposed to be heating and and uvb lighting. I believe it is the 100 wt Zoo Med Powersun bulb. His cage is very big so he definitely has area to get away from the light. From reading other threads, I am thinking it is either the lighting or the vitamins. The vitamin dust I am using contains calcium and d3 and a bunch of other vitamins and minerals. Does anyone have any ideas on what it could be or if this is normal?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled, had him for 5 days, not sure of his age but he is tiny, his body is maybe 2 in.
Handling - daily, for about 15 min
Feeding - trying to feed him daily, the crickets are eating spinach, very small crickets, he has no problem eating them.
Supplements - its a dusting supplement with calcium and d3
Watering - a drip, its on for a couple hrs a day, i place him near it if he doesn't go to it all day, he has been drinking
Fecal Description - he has pooped once and it was white and dark brown, not solid but not liquidy.
History - don't know

Cage Info:
Cage Type - mesh cage, prob 4 ft by 2.5 by 2.5
Lighting - one light, supposed to do it all, mentioned the brand in 1st paragraph
Temperature - its between 70 and 80 in the room, plus he has a that light at the top of his cage to one side
Humidity - don't know, there's a live plant in the cage and there's a drip and I mist it occassionally
Plants - small ficus tree
Placement -its in bedroom, not much traffic, the blinds on the window are always drawn, so no natural light. His cage is on a side table so it's about 3 ft off the floor
Location - southern california

Current Problem - he is sleeping at least half the day.

Welcome to the forums!!!

Is he sleeping during the day? Do not dust calcium D3 evryday. 2x a month. Regular calcium with other vitamins every day. I have no experience w/ that brand of bulb, does it emit UVB rays? pictures are helpful.

ok thank you, i will buy the only calcium asap.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...s/-/zoo-med-100-watt-powersun-uvb-heat-bulbs/
this is the web address with info on the light.
Thank for responding so quickly, I am worried about my baby.

I just visited the site, they emit UVB rays, and may you post a pic. Of ur Cham?

If u have only had him for 5 days I would contact LLL and tell them what has been going on. Sleeping during the day is a big warning sign.

ok i will call them. Here are some pics of him, his name is Abraham Lincoln.

Good lookin little veiled and welcome to the forums.

I have raised chams under that light and it is fine. Now whether or not it could possibly be defective is a possibility but lets address other concerns first..

Typically babies will close there eyes if the humidity is extremely low, improper water techniques (not allowing the chameleons to clean eyes efficiently or causing dehydration), improper nutrition, cold and either improper or defective uvb lighting.

Southern cali...You really need to get a hygrometer to assess your humidity.

Water...A dripper is great but you still need to mist the cage daily. i personally recommend 3 times a day 2-5 minutes each session. This will require drainage or a clean up of the pool of water on the cage floor.

Supplement...What specific type are you using?

Cage...i would suggest getting more vines, sticks or whatever to fill up the cage towards the top. He will need this to first to feel safe, to hunt efficiently and most important thermo regulate. A pathos is a cheap plant that does very well.

Temps...This needs monitored. A digital therm with a probe is best. He needs a basking site of 90* You can achieve this by placing more limbs to the top under the light. Raising or lowering to insure the temp is perfect. I would not place that bulb any closer than 8 inches from the top of the screen.

I have addressed what concerns me. These all play a role in the well being of your little guy. If you have any questions keep them coming we are here for ya.

Also forgot to ask how long d oyou leave the lights on and does the room he is kept in have the lights on at night?

Hi!

What is the "dusting supplement"? There are some (Repashy for example) that have the small amounts of D3 which make it okay for daily use.

I agree, you need more stuff in that cage. Maybe you could get a couple of small pothos plants and hang them from the top? Have it so the top of the pot is about a foot below the ceiling of the cage, as the vines grow, pin them up on the sides...that will give your baby places to climb and hide (they live to hide). It will also help tremendously with humidity and let you get more drink options for your drip....set the dripper to drip on the top leaves, the drops will bounce to the lower leaves providing multiple drinking opportunities.

it seems to me so many of these sleeping during the day cases are because either people use something like a red night heat light or leave lights on in the room, ect. That beastie looking bulb may be bothering his eyes to since he isnt really sleeping if hes moving around with his eyes closed.

thanks guys! I had been putting a red light on him at night because I was told he needed the temp not to get too cold. Since it is summer and he is at my boyfriend's house in Moreno Valley, it probably is not getting too cold for him and I now realize the red nightlight is a bad idea. We started turning it off last night, so we will see how he does today. I also wasn't aware he needed his cage misted so much, so we will also start doing that today and I am planning to buy him some more vines for better hiding spots asap as well. I will let you guys know in the next couple days if he is getting better.

Abe died today. He was eating a cricket, which was the same size as the ones he had no problem eating before, but he appeared to choke on it. couldn't get it out of his mouth. I'm really sad.

Sorry for your loss, try to take any knowledge from this experience and stay positive.
wish you and yours the best