Help! Sleeping during the day

[GenSmash]

Hi!
I just got a 4 month female Sengal Chameleon last week. I am new to having one and did not realize until after I got her that she is probably wild caught. I have a vet appointment next week for her to check for parasites etc.
She has started sleeping a lot during the day and I know this is not a good sign. I know this could be symptomatic of my habitat so if you could offer any help at all it would be hugely appreciated.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Senegal, Female, she is about 4 months and have had her just over a week
* Handling - I handle her maybe once a day. She went right for my hand yesturday and I had her on a plant in the sun for about a half hour yesturday
* Feeding - Crickets that should be gutloaded when I get them, but I also gut load before I put them in the habitat. I put in 12 every three days and she has been eating them all in that time. Also meal worms.
* Supplements - I have not been doing this. Says it contains calcium.
* Watering - I have a little dropper that drops water about every four or five seconds throughout the day. I do see her drinking often. I mist the enclosure 3 times daily.
* Fecal Description - I have not seen a ton of feces but what I retrieved was greenish and stuck together
* History - I went back to the pet store and asked more questions- they got her from a reptile show and she may be wild caught. They said she was black quite a bit when they had her- since I have had her she is usually green tones but is occasionally black, so I wonder if she has stress issues.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Screen cage, 18 by 20'
* Lighting - Daytime I am using 100w power sun and at night 75w black light by zilla. I have the day light on for about 12 hours, generally starting around 10 am and then I switch on the black light.
* Temperature - The Highest temp is about 90 the bottom is 75 night time temp is about 80
* Humidity - Humidity is between 50 and 70. I mist the enclosure
* Plants - I do have two photos
* Placement - It is in my bedroom on a dresser, about 2/3 of the way to the ceiling. Not high traffic.
* Location - I am in Portland, OR

 

[Elizadolots]

I believe you'll be asked for this information:

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
*****************************************************************

I'll ask what might be a silly question but are you sure she's sleeping? Is it possible you only see one of her eyes and she has that one closed? I've done that with mine: get concerned that he's sleeping and then, when I peer around to the other side there's an eye staring at me.

 

[atsutane]

fill this out

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

what kind of bulb do you have? is it compact or linear uvb?

 

[GenSmash]

Filled Out

Saw that right after I posted so my original is edited with that info.
Thanks for the speedy replies!

 

[atsutane]

ditch the 2 in1 bulb. zilla has been reported for emitting uvc rays that can cause snow blindness and cause the appearance of sleeping but im not 100% sure for this bulb. but on the safe side use a cheap incandescent light for heat during the day and get a linear uvb tube

2c for the incandescent, $6 for a florescent fixture at walmart, and prolly 15-25 for the proper reptisun bulb

 

[graydon]

Id take her to a vet and get her checked for parasites. Get rid of the powersun like atsutane said. They are great for beardies but not chams. Check out the site sponsors and purchase a reptisun 5.0 but make sure its linear and not the coil, as the coil can cause blindness. For heat, a standard 50-60 watt household bulb will do the trick. Cham's need it dark and quiet for sleep so ditch the blacklight aswell. Also, no mealworms as they can cause impaction. Try superworms, silkworms, and hornworms

 

[atsutane]

heads up on hornworms, if they are wild caught they need to be gut fed till all the tomato gets out of the worms system, tomato is very bad for a cham

 

[graydon]

heads up on hornworms, if they are wild caught they need to be gut fed till all the tomato gets out of the worms system, tomato is very bad for a cham

Hornworms should not be fed at all if they are wild caught. I would never feed a wild caught insect unless I was 100 percent sure it was pesticide and bacteria free. Check out our site sponsors for captive bred feeders.

 

[GenSmash]

eye rims yellow

thanks! i just switched out the lights so i hope that does it. I just noticed the inside rims of her eyes are yellow. does this mean anything?

 

[graydon]

thanks! i just switched out the lights so i hope that does it. I just noticed the inside rims of her eyes are yellow. does this mean anything?

A picture would be most beneficial. Are her eyes sunken in?

 

[bridgofaith]

You should be gutloading your feeders yourself. You can't depend on the place you purchase them from to do it for you. Use things like oranges, turnip greens, kale, carrots, apples, ect. Mealworms are not a good feeder. They can cause impaction and do not offer much nutrition.

You should be using a phosphorus-free calcium withOUT D3 at least 5x a week. A vitamin powder such as Herptivite 1-2x a month and phosphorus-free calcium with D3 1x a month.

If she is wild caught you can almost be certain she has parasites. So a vet visit for a check up and fecal needs to be done.

I would use a Repti Sun 5.0 tube UVB light. NO light should be on at night. They need total darkness to sleep. You can use a basking spot bulb or just as good, a regular household bulb of about 50-65 watts for a heat source. The night time temp is high. They need a drop in the temperature at night.

 

[GenSmash]

Pics

I only have a web cam so the pics arent great.

 

[GenSmash]

Re

You should be gutloading your feeders yourself. You can't depend on the place you purchase them from to do it for you. Use things like oranges, turnip greens, kale, carrots, apples, ect. Mealworms are not a good feeder. They can cause impaction and do not offer much nutrition.

You should be using a phosphorus-free calcium withOUT D3 at least 5x a week. A vitamin powder such as Herptivite 1-2x a month and phosphorus-free calcium with D3 1x a month.

If she is wild caught you can almost be certain she has parasites. So a vet visit for a check up and fecal needs to be done.

I would use a Repti Sun 5.0 tube UVB light. NO light should be on at night. They need total darkness to sleep. You can use a basking spot bulb or just as good, a regular household bulb of about 50-65 watts for a heat source. The night time temp is high. They need a drop in the temperature at night.

Thanks so much! Great advice! I love my cham and really want to do all I can for her!

 

[Elizadolots]

She looks cute. I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that light rims on the eyelids are pretty normal. If you Google Chameleon Eyes, then hit the IMAGES link you'll see a bunch of light rimmed lizard eyes looking at you.

Examples:

 

[graydon]

I only have a web cam so the pics arent great.

She looks dehydrated from those pics. That powersun was probably cooking her. I would be misting 4 times a day for 2-3 min and maybe a 10 min shower is necessary (while shes on a plant of course). Did you remove the powersun?

 

[GenSmash]

Re

Ok that would make sense- I did remove that light and put a way less intense one in. Super frustrating that the pet store did not know what they were talking about when they told me to buy that. Time to give my little one a shower

 

[Elizadolots]

We've all had to do a lot of "relearning" after what the sellers told us to do. It is, indeed, frustrating.

Make sure that there's a place (or places) in her cage she can hide from the light if she gets too hot. It can be just a couple of leaves (real or artificial) over a vine or stick. As your cage doesn't seem overly large, a bit of shade is important.

 

[graydon]

Ok that would make sense- I did remove that light and put a way less intense one in. Super frustrating that the pet store did not know what they were talking about when they told me to buy that. Time to give my little one a shower

Pet stores give out incorrect information, it really sucks. Make sure you angle the shower head so it sprays off the side of the wall or shower door. Direct contact could hurt the eye

 

[kinyonga]

I never kept the basking area that hot with any Senegal's I had. I kept it in the mid 80's.

I agree that a fecal should be done.

Are the pads on her head protruding or sunken in?

She looks older than 4 months to me too.

Can you post a couple more (clearer) pictures please?

 

[Elizadolots]

GenSmash, does your cell phone have a camera? Or do you know someone with a digital camera? If you can enlist someone else to take the picture (or take the picture with her in her enclosure) it might be sharper and easier to see.