Belle
Member
Hi - My seven month old Carpet Chameleon has started to 'put heself to bed' before it gets dark and today I saw her in her sleeping place and with her eyes closed BEFORE her lights even went out. I have read that a healthy chameleon NEVER closes its eyes during daylight so am a bit concerned.
I live in the UK and right now the sky gets light before 5am and it stays reasonably light outside until about 9pm. Boo's about six inches long (nose to tip) and is in a 4ft vertical glass-sided tank kept at between 65 and 80 degrees with a hotter basking spot, a 7% UVB, four vents with reptifans and 65-75% humidity. She has a dripper system, live plants in her tank and I hand-mist twice a day. She eats exclusively small banded crickets - about 6-10 size 3 most days. When it's warm enough she goes outside in an aviary I have covered with reptile mesh, to get real sunlight.
Her viv is in the darkest corner of the house but I cover it overnight in case she wakes too early. All the time I've had her, she been awake after the lights go out at around 4.30pm. I give her about an hour of 'dusk' before covering her viv, and take the cover off again around 6am to give her some 'dawn' before her lights come on.
However, today she was not only in her 'bedroom' but she had her eyes closed at 4pm - while both lights were still on. She opened her eyes up when I opened the door, but stayed where she was and was in her sleeping position (fat with tail curled)
She has had no health issues since I've had her. I left her in the care of a neighbour for a few days a few weeks back and when I returned I noticed that the tip of her tail had gone brown. She is using it well, and my neighbour (whom I trust!) could shed no light on what may have happened. Since then she has shed, but the tip of her tail (about 1cm) is still brown. Other than that, she's healthy and active.
Hope someone with more experience than me can tell me I have nothing to worry about! Thank you.
I live in the UK and right now the sky gets light before 5am and it stays reasonably light outside until about 9pm. Boo's about six inches long (nose to tip) and is in a 4ft vertical glass-sided tank kept at between 65 and 80 degrees with a hotter basking spot, a 7% UVB, four vents with reptifans and 65-75% humidity. She has a dripper system, live plants in her tank and I hand-mist twice a day. She eats exclusively small banded crickets - about 6-10 size 3 most days. When it's warm enough she goes outside in an aviary I have covered with reptile mesh, to get real sunlight.
Her viv is in the darkest corner of the house but I cover it overnight in case she wakes too early. All the time I've had her, she been awake after the lights go out at around 4.30pm. I give her about an hour of 'dusk' before covering her viv, and take the cover off again around 6am to give her some 'dawn' before her lights come on.
However, today she was not only in her 'bedroom' but she had her eyes closed at 4pm - while both lights were still on. She opened her eyes up when I opened the door, but stayed where she was and was in her sleeping position (fat with tail curled)
She has had no health issues since I've had her. I left her in the care of a neighbour for a few days a few weeks back and when I returned I noticed that the tip of her tail had gone brown. She is using it well, and my neighbour (whom I trust!) could shed no light on what may have happened. Since then she has shed, but the tip of her tail (about 1cm) is still brown. Other than that, she's healthy and active.
Hope someone with more experience than me can tell me I have nothing to worry about! Thank you.
