Caught my veiled cham sleeping during the day help:/

[Gomez97]

Hello, i have a veiled chameleon about 4 months old and i just moved him to a new enclosure i built myself. he's been in there about a week now and instead of being the usual bright green he is. he has turned this pale brown and is hardly ever green. could it be the lighting in his enclosure, or the heat? i noticed him sleeping during the day today also. what can i do to make him back to his usual state? help please!

 

[reptileguy112]

Give us a pic of the cham and a pic of the enclosure

 

[kinyonga]

Please answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum so we can help you better.

 

[Gomez97]

pics

Give us a pic of the cham and a pic of the enclosure

here are the pics of my chameleon and enclosure

 

[reptileguy112]

you need a lot more vines at the top. what is your humidity, temp, how much do you feed and how often do you supplement?

 

[Gomez97]

more vines?
Humidity is 60-70
Temp is 85
i feed him about 5 large crickets a day and dust crickets everyday the calcium without d3

 

[reptileguy112]

Every two weeks you need to use calcium with d3 and every two weeks reptivite. Also keep doing calcium without d3 every day. How often do you mist the cage and what kind of UVB bulb do you have and how old is it. Yes, you don't have enough vines, put at least five vines closer to the top about six inches from the top

 

[Gomez97]

so use d3 and reptivite at the same time or separate days? i mist the cage twice a day. I'm using the bulbs that came in the chameleon kit they sell at petco and petsmart. its a blue uva i believe and a fluorescent

 

[Gomez97]

are these vines good enough for the top?

 

[reptileguy112]

That is okay but a few more could benifit. You need a UVB bulb or else NONE of your calcium is doing anything. Get a tube (not a coil or bulb) 5.0 or 10.0 UVB light like this ASAP!!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXO-TERRA-R...-light-/181719383863?var=&hash=item2a4f51bf37

 

[reptileguy112]

You could put those vines like twice as high

 

[Gomez97]

so when i buy that bulb, i should use that one and which other one?
these are the ones that I'm using right now

 

[kinyonga]

Since you haven't answered the questions in the how to ask for help thread I can't tell you what's up with your chameleon so ill just give you some information that might help...

Appropriate basking temperature allows for proper digestion and thus indirectly plays a part in nutrient absorption. Male veileds basking temperature should be in the mid to high 80'sF. Females in the low to mid 80'sF. You can use a regular household incandescent light bulb for the basking light. Wattage is determined by the temperature you need to provide.

The most recommended UVB light is the long linear Reptisun 5.0. UVB exposure allows the chameleon to produce the D3 needed to use the calcium in the system.

The crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms can be fed a wide range of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

The chameleon should be fed an assortment of insects such as crickets, hornworms raised on an appropriate diet, silkworms, roaches, locusts, superworms, once in a while wax worms, etc.


Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous we recommend dusting the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous - free calcium powder to help make up for it.

They should also be dusted twice a month with a phosphorous - free calcium / D3 powder to ensure that it gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues while D3 from exposure to UVB won't likely as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB when it wants to.

It's also recommended that you dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed ) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources of vitamin A cannot build up in the system and lead to overdoses like prEformed sources can and will leave it up to you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.

It could be the heat or the lighting or any number of things that have made your chameleon sleep during the day. We need more info.

 

[Gomez97]

I'm sorry! i didn't see your reply in the first place :/ sorry I'm fairly new and still getting use to the forum. Thank you for your help!

 

[Gomez97]

Chameleon Info:
Chameleon - The species is a veiled chameleon, male, and he's about 4 months he's been in my care for that period of time i got him when he was a baby.
Handling - once a week to take him outside for natural light and heat.
Feeding - i feed my cham crickets and super worms 5 large crickets and one super worm every 2 days. i feed the crickets the cricket food.
Supplements - the calcium without d3
Watering - i use a spray bottle and i mist twice a day. morning and afternoon
Fecal Description - White and dark
History - ordered from backwater reptiles
Cage Type - Screen cage. 3 sides with screen. made the enclosure out of wood so the 4th wall is a wooden back with a mossy time textured background
Lighting - I'm using a blue daytime light bulb and a fluorescent bulb 5.0
Temperature - average temp during the day is 85-90 and at night 60-70.
Humidity - 60-70 and i get these levels by misting with a spray bottle
Plants - I'm using a money tree
Placement - its in the corner of the living room and its not by anything. its 6 feet tall
Location - I'm in california, LA area.

Current Problem - chameleon is pale brown all day and no longer green, saw him sleeping during the day

 

[Andee]

You need more mistings, I would suggest 3 mistings a day, at least, for 2 minutes a time. He would benefit from a lot more greenery, real or plastic around his entire enclosure. He probably doesn't feel that secure right now. I would also get a linear strip uvb, compacts have been known to cause eye issues, which is why he could be closing his eyes during the day. If he's only four months he should be eating much more than just 5 crickets a day IMO. Are you offering more than five? Or is that just how many you are putting in there? Around 4 months my boy was eating 24 large crickets a day. Though his metabolism has always been high, I feel the average for a veiled/panther cham at that age is around 12-18 crickets a day. I would also start offering more types of feeders, more soft bodied insects.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Careful with the large crickets. I'd do medium at 4 months. The crickets should be the size between his eyes. They also don't make any noise. Try a better variety of feeders. Silkworms, hornworms, Phoenix worm, roaches and blue bottle flies would be a good start. At this age feed him as much as he will eat everyday. As an adult he may go to every other day
but not now. Also if you are doing silk and hornworms he won't eat as many because they are more filling. Meaning he won't eat 20 hornworms.
I just branched out an enclosure. It not fancy like a lot of these great DIY enclosures but I thought it would give you a good idea of branching. There will be more foliage in a few weeks since these haven't had a chance to fill out yet.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Whoops, forgot the picture.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Whoops, forgot the picture.

 

[Gomez97]

thank you I'm off to the store right now to get those supplies!