closed eye and at bottom of cage.

chameleonnewbie

New Member
Okay, so I barely got the chameleon and have been taking good care of him, but just today he was sitting on a stick at the bottom of the cage with his eyes closed. He isn't responding at all, so I thought he was dead. What could it be?
 
Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?

also ad the age of your light bulbs.
 
Veiled Chameleon, Female, approximately 4-6 months (told by seller, tiki tiki). Has been in my care since the 9th of this month.

I don't handle it very often, every 2-3 days.

Feeding it crickets w/ calcium +D3 powder twice a day, 2-3 crickets each time. Feed in the morning around 7 and in the afternoon at about 4. I use Rainbow cricket feed and some veggies as gutload. I clean the cricket cage, too!

Dusting with StickyToungeFarms Indoor Miner-all calcium/mineral supplement with D3.

I mist about 6 minutes 2-3 times a day and I use a dripper for about 10-15 minutes. I also have foliage inside that is a pothos plant. I don't see her drinkng.

Has brown droppings that are firm/ not watery. Not tested for parasites from what I know.

No history about her.

Screen Cage 36"x18"x18"

I have a 5.0 UVB Reptisun light in the Zoomed Terrarium Hood and I have a 75 watt Red heat lamp. I turn the UVB light off after 8-10 hours of being on and I keep the heat light on all the time.

My dad has a super fancy temperature gauge that works well(don't know what its called) but the basking is at about 95, the bottom is about 80-85 and it stays the same at night.

I don't measure the humidity as told I don't have to, but I mist the cage and keep it moist. (Not too little, not too much)

As above, I am using a Pothos plant.

The cage is actually in the corner of my room on the floor, but I was going to put it on a shelf/dresser today.

I live in Southern California and my light bulbs are brand new.
 
your cage is way too hot! She is probably at the bottom trying to find the coolest spot and it still is too hot. The heat light needs to go off at night! Your basking for a female veiled of that age should be about 80 degrees. Your cage temp should be in the low to mid 70's and it can even get cooler than that at night. She might be closing her eyes cause the light is hurting her eyes. Keep the 5.0 and get rid of that heat light. Put in a 40 watt housebulb in your dome and see if you can get your basking temp around 80 or 82. Also, get the cage up off the floor and put it on the dresser. Make sure the cage is dark and cool for her to sleep at night.

You need to be dusting your feeders with three supplements. Get a calcium without d3 and use that one at every feeding. Use the one with d3 a couple of times a month along with a multivitamin a couple of times a month also.
 
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Just a plane ol white light... Then at night let her cage cool off just keep her above 65 at night, a cool off is important.
 
Well, I am not sure who told you that but that is incorrect and you need to get your temps down. A regular housebulb is all you need for a basking bulb. Please get rid of that heat light, it is causing your cage to be too hot.
 
you can use a 60 but it has be far enough away then to achieve a 80 degree or so basking spot. You can play around with it. Try the 40 and lay it on the top and then put your thermometer under the basking spot and see what it says. Make sure your branch is about 8 inches down under the light so your cham cannot get too close and get burnt. If the 40 is too hot then go to a 20. Also leave your UVB light on 10-12 hours. I have mine on 10 now with the time change. When the days get longer I will go back to 12.
 
and I don't know who told you that you dont have to measure the humidity. It is very important also to your chameleons health! Your humidity should hover ideally around 50% and spike when you mist. You need something to measure the humdity with! Can I ask where you are getting your information from?
 
You said..."Veiled Chameleon, Female, approximately 4-6 months (told by seller, tiki tiki). Has been in my care since the 9th of this month"..do you have a place for her to dig to lay eggs if she needs to? If a female is old enough to produce eggs and has no place to lay them, she could become eggbound. Signs of impending eggbinding include but are not exclusive to...sitting low in the cage, eyes shut, lethargic, not eating, etc.

You said you feed her crickets w/ calcium +D3 powder twice a day...the D3 should only be used a couple of times a month. D3 from supplements builds up in the chameleon's system and causes health issues. As long as they can move in and out of the UVB light (which BTW should have no glass or plastic between it and the chameleon) the D3 produced from exposure to the UVB should not build up.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phos., its important to dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

I have no idea what Rainbow cricket feed is...but I use a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.).

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A since it won't build up in the system. This leaves the owner in control of when the chameleon gets any prEformed vitamin A as needed. PrEformed vitamin A will build up in the system and lead to health issues. Excess prEformed vitamin A may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD.

You said..."I have a 75 watt Red heat lamp. I turn the UVB light off after 8-10 hours of being on and I keep the heat light on all the time"...unless the temperature drops below the mid 60's at night, there is no need for heat at night...and there is no need for light at night at any time.

You said..."the basking is at about 95, the bottom is about 80-85 and it stays the same at night"...you've already been told that 95C is too warm.

Do you use a substrate?

Here is some information that might help too...
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.

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. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

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. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

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. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. 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 and your parents 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/
 
Okay, I do use a calcium dusting powder with no phosphate, but was told to use it every day. Also, I have taken down the heat lamp...so no need to say I was already told that, I know...everything else is set up fine, but I wasn't told to get a nest thing. What do I need for that?
 
If you put the light directly on the cage, make sure the hood/fixture keeps the bulb several inches above the metal. Regardless of the temperature 6 inches from the bulb, the bulb is REALLY hot. You don't want to create a burn opportunity.

You can use the calcium every day as long as it is not supplemented with D3. There's a delicate dance between D3 and Calcium. Calcium is okay all the time, D3 is not, but you need to give both.
 
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