Hi everyone,
First post as I am a total newcomer to all this. My new veiled chameleon Wilson is 1yr old and I purchased him 2 days ago. In that time he's eaten about 18-20 large crickets (gut loaded and dusted). I've read that chameleons will sometimes go on hunger strikes but I think he might have eaten too many and he seems tired all of a sudden. He must be full because I saw a cricket walk in front of him TWICE and he clearly saw it but didn't eat it.
He was alert and brightly colored until about an hour ago and I'm worried about him. When I went to check on him he was sitting directly under his basking lamp and he was darker than I've ever seen him, and draped over his branch. Honestly he looked like he was in pretty bad shape but when he saw me he perked up (probably was getting up to hide from me), and turned back to his normal green and yellow color.
It's been cold here in Boston the past few days so I've been keeping a close eye on the thermometers in his cage, the one directly next to where I found him lying down said 76 so my first thought was that he was probably just really cold. That could explain why he was so dark and huddled under the lamp. I put a space heater next to his cage blowing next to it (not directly in) until the thermometer read 90 (about 20mins). He seems better and I haven't caught him lying down like that again but I wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.
Also, is it ok to have more than one basking lamp if I know his cage is on the cooler side? Right now I have a UVB and 2 basking lamps and it's still cooler than I know he probably needs it to be. Is using my space heater ok for the lil guy?
NOTE: Forgot to mention he is just finishing up a shed, poor thing having to go through that and then suffering through a big move as well. He has a few big chunks of peeling skin on his face and legs still which I know is normal. He is very resilient and friendly from what I've observed so far, but I still want to hear from people who have some experience with these beautiful animals! Thanks!
Sarah
First post as I am a total newcomer to all this. My new veiled chameleon Wilson is 1yr old and I purchased him 2 days ago. In that time he's eaten about 18-20 large crickets (gut loaded and dusted). I've read that chameleons will sometimes go on hunger strikes but I think he might have eaten too many and he seems tired all of a sudden. He must be full because I saw a cricket walk in front of him TWICE and he clearly saw it but didn't eat it.
He was alert and brightly colored until about an hour ago and I'm worried about him. When I went to check on him he was sitting directly under his basking lamp and he was darker than I've ever seen him, and draped over his branch. Honestly he looked like he was in pretty bad shape but when he saw me he perked up (probably was getting up to hide from me), and turned back to his normal green and yellow color.
It's been cold here in Boston the past few days so I've been keeping a close eye on the thermometers in his cage, the one directly next to where I found him lying down said 76 so my first thought was that he was probably just really cold. That could explain why he was so dark and huddled under the lamp. I put a space heater next to his cage blowing next to it (not directly in) until the thermometer read 90 (about 20mins). He seems better and I haven't caught him lying down like that again but I wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.
Also, is it ok to have more than one basking lamp if I know his cage is on the cooler side? Right now I have a UVB and 2 basking lamps and it's still cooler than I know he probably needs it to be. Is using my space heater ok for the lil guy?
NOTE: Forgot to mention he is just finishing up a shed, poor thing having to go through that and then suffering through a big move as well. He has a few big chunks of peeling skin on his face and legs still which I know is normal. He is very resilient and friendly from what I've observed so far, but I still want to hear from people who have some experience with these beautiful animals! Thanks!
Sarah
