Chameleon sleeping all day

Livautumn97

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - veiled female chameleon we’ve had since last summer.
  • Handling - daily
  • Feeding - we feed her crickets and meal worms and try to do it daily with tweezers and we just see if she’s hungry or turns her head away if she doesn’t want any.
  • Watering - we have an automatic mister that goes on 8 times a day for about 30 seconds
  • Fecal Description - white ish droppings

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - combo glass & screen not sure on dimensions but it’s a big cage.
  • Lighting - 12 hours on 12 off
  • Temperature - it ranges between 75-83
  • Plants - yes a dracanea and a bromeliad
  • Placement - in our bedroom away from the vents, fans, and windows in a corner.
  • Location - Midwest

Current Problem - we were gone on a 10 day vacation and made sure she was set up for that time with enough food in her enclosure but after getting back she seems to be sleeping all day for the past few days and won’t eat.
 

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I see a few things that need your attention. Chameleons are more of a look at pet like a fish in a aquarium so you are over handling her. She needs a lot more foliage to hide in and branches at different heights throughout the enclosure. Here's one of mine just to give you some ideas on yours. Cut back on misting to early morning and evening. What supplements are you using and the schedule ?
 

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I see a few things that need your attention. Chameleons are more of a look at pet like a fish in an aquarium so you are over handling her. She needs a lot more foliage to hide in and branches at different heights throughout the enclosure. Here's one of mine just to give you some ideas on yours. Cut back on misting to early morning and evening. What supplements are you using and the schedule ?
Thank you so much for replying! I’m going out to get more plants and stuff for her enclosure. We did have another plant in there just removed it last night to clean her cage. How did you get your hanging plants up in the corners? That’s what we are struggling with to fill the top area of her cage! We use repti calcium for dusting/supplements & use that during her feedings. Im going to change the mister just to do morning & evening. How long do you recommend the misting should be?
 
Thank you so much for replying! I’m going out to get more plants and stuff for her enclosure. We did have another plant in there just removed it last night to clean her cage. How did you get your hanging plants up in the corners? That’s what we are struggling with to fill the top area of her cage! We use repti calcium for dusting/supplements & use that during her feedings. Im going to change the mister just to do morning & evening. How long do you recommend the misting should be?
Hi there and welcome! I highly recommend dragon ledges. You can get them from the dragon strand website. I use these in one of my enclosures and it’s a game changer!
 
Thank you! We just got more today! We had some more already in there just removed them last night to clean her cage. But we did get more plants & ordered more branches as well!
 
Hi and welcome. :) You’ve gotten some great feedback already, but now I want to talk your ears (eyes?:unsure:) off and help put it all together for your little cutie.
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - veiled female chameleon we’ve had since last summer. Has she laid any eggs yet? She seems to have her big girl patterns. I don’t see that she has a lay bin. More on this later.
  • Handling - daily I would suggest reducing this. It’s very stressful for them with almost no exceptions.
  • Feeding - we feed her crickets and meal worms This needs some improvement and try to do it daily with tweezers this is very risky and we just see if she’s hungry or turns her head away if she doesn’t want any. this should never be. It’s best to use some sort of feeding station - a cup, commercial feeder, diy version, etc. whatever will help keep the feeders contained and in the same spot so she knows where to find her food. They like variety and it’s healthiest. You also need to care well for the insect feeders, feeding them a variety of fresh produce. Healthy well fed bugs are more nutritious. Graphics below. Tong feeding is very risky and many chams have had injury to their tongues, including needing to have it amputated. It’s not worth the risk. How much are you feeding her? We need to be careful with our ladies. The amount of eggs they produce directly correlates to how much they eat. Overfeeding causes high egg production, which is not good. I feed all of my chams, but especially my girls, 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). For supplements, you need to be using a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. Then you also need to provide a D3 and multivitamin and the easiest is to use a quality combination product. Repashy calcium plus LoD or Reptivite with D3 are both great. You’ll then want to use this product for one feeding every other week.
  • Watering - we have an automatic mister that goes on 8 times a day for about 30 seconds Too often and not long enough. It’s much better to mist for at least 2 minutes, 2-3 times a day. They need that long to stimulate the drinking urge, clean their eyes, etc. It’s common to never see your cham drink. We look to the urate to judge hydration.
  • Fecal Description - white ish droppings That is the urate (urine) and white means well hydrated. A little bit of yellow or even a touch of orange is ok, but you want mostly white. It’s always ideal to have a vet wellness visit and a fecal check for parasites.
  • Because I talk so much, I’m breaking this into sections. So, to be continued. :)
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  • Cage Type - combo glass & screen not sure on dimensions but it’s a big cage. Yes, it does look to be a good size. The minimum for adults is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. The only problem is that she can’t use all of that empty space. You need to fill it in with lots of safe live plants and branches or vines. Dragon Ledges have been suggested and they are awesome! https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Many create their own version or use a garden trellis or some other scaffold type support. I’ve flipped stacks of plant pots over to raise and hold plants. whatever works. Fill that empty space and create a lush little tree for her. To give you an idea, pic of one of my enclosures below. You will want to keep a lay bin as a permanent part of the enclosure.
  • Lighting - 12 hours on 12 off Perfect schedule. Is that a T5 or T8 fixture? What is the strength of your uvb bulb and when was it changed last?
  • Temperature - it ranges between 75-83 Ok, but is that the basking area or where? How are you measuring it? You want/need a basking temp of 80, but no higher than that. Naturally other areas will be cooler. At night, you want it to cool down, preferably below 70.
  • Plants - yes a dracanea and a bromeliad Good start, but you need much more. Pothos is one of the very best plants for chams and our sweet veileds love to nibble them.
  • Placement - in our bedroom away from the vents, fans, and windows in a corner. Is she on a table, the floor? Height = safety so the higher above you she is, the safer she’ll feel.
  • Location - Midwest

Current Problem - we were gone on a 10 day vacation and made sure she was set up for that time with enough food in her enclosure but after getting back she seems to be sleeping all day for the past few days and won’t eat. How was she getting watered? Had you left any food in her enclosure for her insects to eat? Crickets are especially bad and will bite your cham at night if they get hungry.
If she wasn’t getting water, that is most likely the catalyst to cause her to become sick. If she was getting water, then the timing is perhaps coincidental. The stress of daily handling, an unhappy enclosure and lack of vitamin D3 and multivitamins have caught up with her. She needs to have these corrections made sooner rather than later. To jump start her return to good health, a vet visit is always the best action. They will ask about your husbandry, so be prepared to answer questions similar to the forum help ones. Do keep in mind that many exotics vets lack experience and current knowledge of chams and tend to lump them in with bearded dragons. Many of us travel a bit for a good cham vet. This may help. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/area-by-area-country-vet-list.32880/ You can also try a forum search for a vet of your nearest city area.
Because I just haven’t talked enough :rolleyes: I’m going to end this here and add an additional post about egg laying.
This was for my panther. I do use strong plant lights, which many of the plants need.
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One of these days I’m going to write a blog and save myself all the typing. I don’t know what you know about your girl and the whole egg laying process, so I’m going to review it all.
First, it all takes quite a lot out of our sweet ladies, so we do what we can to limit egg production through a basking temp no higher than 80 and reduced feeding of 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week. This works well for most, but each cham is different. It may take a couple of cycles to work. It can stop completely egg production. One of my girls hasn’t laid eggs in 3 years. This explains much. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
The best lay bin is an opaque bin that is at least 12” long and wide and preferably has some height also. Pic below of the kind I use. I drill some tiny holes in the bottom to drain excess water. Then I fill to about 5-6” deep with washed play sand. At laying time it needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Make sure to provide some stable ways in/out of the bin. I try to find my cham’s preferred poop spot and place the bin away from there.
When your girl is ready, she’ll enter her bin and start digging. It’s essential that she have total privacy at this time. Cover half of the enclosure with a light sheet. If she sees anyone, she may stop digging and can become egg bound. She may dig a few holes until she likes one. She’ll be face first in her hole and dig to the bottom. Then she’ll turn around and lay her eggs. If night comes before she’s done, she might sleep in her hole. Once she’s laid all of her eggs, she’ll completely cover up all of the holes she made and you know she’s done when she’s on her basking branch waiting to be fed.
Feed her very well for a couple of days and then return to her diet. Remove the eggs and count them. Hopefully there will be less than 20 or even 30. If there’s over 40, make sure you’re following the diet strictly. You may need to cut back by a feeder or two per week or her treats.
Are you familiar with the cycle? First she’ll become receptive, which is when you’ll see her very restless, constantly pacing her enclosure, trying to escape, screen climbing, etc. She’ll have put on her prettiest colors and patterns too and be bright and beautiful in order to catch the eye of a handsome boy cham. This can last about 2-3 weeks. Once done, she’ll slowly start getting plump and even lumpy. As soon as 3-4 weeks after being receptive, she can lay. Her appetite may decrease, she may become restless again, she may start going to the bottom to explore. Or, if you’ve been following ‘the regimen’, she may not do any of these or lay eggs. My girls get receptive and don’t lay. Over time, my one girl doesn’t even seem to get receptive anymore.
I hope I’ve been helpful to you. I also hope your pretty lady recovers fully and quickly. Do please keep us updated with her status and your progress with her enclosure upgrades. I’ll be looking forward to seeing yoir girl’s happy news and what beauty you can create for her home. :)
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If she is sleeping during the day then you need to take her to the vet asp. Something is already really wrong. Don't spray during the day. Heat and water will cause infections. Humidity raise during the night. Spray in the morning and evenings. 2 times should do it. Gutload the insects. Is very important.
 
@MissSkittles said…”One of these days I’m going to write a blog and save myself all the typing”…I think this would be a great idea! There’s always cut and paste too! I haven’t Written a blog or used the cut n paste either…but I have been eternally grateful to you for taking on the husbandry checks! Thank you…once again! 😘❤️❤️❤️😘
 
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