Am I doing this right ???

[JamesEDEN]

This is my first chameleon and I want to know if am doing this right.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - veiled, male i believe, he is 4 to 5 months

* Handling - have only handled him around 2 times when i needed to do things to his viv.

* Feeding - Feeding him brown crickets.

* Supplements - I have been dusting with calcium supp every day, i have used a multi vit every month and the D3 supplement.

* Watering - I have been misting 3 times a day.



Cage Info:

* Cage Type - He was housed in a 3ft by 2ft by 2ft viv.

* Lighting - reptisun 5 uvb compact, 150w sun glo basking bulb both on for 12 hours daily and he has a heat wave bulb on at night. the temp in the day is around 70f to 95f and at night 60f

* Temperature - basking temp is around 85, lowest temp is around 60. lowest over night temp is around 50. measured with dual probe digi thermometer.

* Humidity - humidity is usually between 50 -60 measured with hydrometer.

* Plants - I have one WEEPING FIG in there and 2 PARLOR PALM with some fake plants.

He has his eyes closed a lot is that normal???

 

[JasonSinger]

I am not an expert but my first instinct is that the compact bulb is causing his eye issues - you should be using a UVB 5.0 bulb ... and the night temps are far to low and should be around 70

 

[Silkyslim]

I would say that his eyes are closed a lot because he can't get any sleep at night. Chams like lights out so they can get a solid sleep, it's even fine if the temps dip into the mid 60's at night so there really is no true need for heating at night in most circumstances.

Generally the compact bulbs have a bad rep with the forum members. Some older models of these bulbs were very harmful to the chams super sensitive eyes, causing blindness in extreme cases. It could be a possibility for your situation but there are also other forum member here who use the same bulb you have successfully.

My suggestion would be to start by ditching the night light and go from there. Pics also help tons and plus everyone loves looking at other chams and their homes.

I thought this article was a really good read as far as lighting goes:

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/dr.html
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/dr.html

 

[kicsylany]

Change the compact bulb for a linear tube one ASAP.

 

[carol5208]

OMG! 150 watt basking bulb is ridiculous! You should be using like a 40 watt bulb for basking. Your basking temp should be about 80. That probably is heating up your cage big time. What are your basking temps? Ditto on the 5.0 compact, get a tube to be on the safe side.

 

[carol5208]

If your temps are getting down to 50 at night, then yes you can use heat, but something with heat but no light. They need darkness at night to sleep. Some people use ceramic heaters.

 

[carol5208]

No it is not normal to have his eyes closed to during the day! Something is wrong and most likely it is your lighting and temps.

 

[nature18]

i agree that the temp and light bulb is what is making your chameleon close his eyes so you should defiantly change that

 

[kinyonga]

Maybe some of this will help...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. For a young panther or veiled, I keep the temperatures in the low 80's. Their small bodies can dehydrate, cool and warm up more quickly than the adults will.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

 

[ataraxia]

This is my first chameleon and I want to know if am doing this right.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - veiled, male i believe, he is 4 to 5 months

* Handling - have only handled him around 2 times when i needed to do things to his viv.

* Feeding - Feeding him brown crickets.

* Supplements - I have been dusting with calcium supp every day, i have used a multi vit every month and the D3 supplement.

* Watering - I have been misting 3 times a day.



Cage Info:

* Cage Type - He was housed in a 3ft by 2ft by 2ft viv.

* Lighting - reptisun 5 uvb compact, 150w sun glo basking bulb both on for 12 hours daily and he has a heat wave bulb on at night. the temp in the day is around 70f to 95f and at night 60f

* Temperature - basking temp is around 85, lowest temp is around 60. lowest over night temp is around 50. measured with dual probe digi thermometer.

* Humidity - humidity is usually between 50 -60 measured with hydrometer.

* Plants - I have one WEEPING FIG in there and 2 PARLOR PALM with some fake plants.

He has his eyes closed a lot is that normal???

i dont understand this (whats highlighted red).........you really need to make sure you have right temps and lighting. it is one of the most important things to have right in keeping a chameleon. whats your house ambient temp?

 

[nature18]

i totally agree