Merlin sleeping on floor

[JoCarp]

So, last night I went up to check on the temperatures about an hour after lights out to find Merlin sleeping on the floor. He was upright and curled up like normal. He just finished shedding, he normally sleeps on the lowest vine but I have not found him going to the ground until now. I have noticed him climbing the screen the last couple of days so I wonder if he's looking to get more space? He's in a 18x18x36 right now and will be ~6 months on September 1st. His poop looks normal and well hydrated, and when I picked him up off the floor to put him on a vine he had a strong grip, and even hissed at me so I don't know that anything is really wrong, just worried since he's been on the walls, ceiling and now floor which he did not do initially. There are pictures and more explanation on my regular thread as well since I cannot repost the pictures I put there:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/chameleon-came-today-142055/index4.html
The last picture at the very bottom of that thread is where I put him after finding him sleeping on the ground where he slept the remainder of the night (pic taken in the morning at lights on). The humidity was around 78% at the top and lower at the bottom so maybe he just wanted a break from that?
I wanted to repost this since I don't think anyone sees my question under the main thread I have going above. If anyone can just let me know that his limbs look alright or if anything in the pictures jumps out as wrong. Merlin is my first chameleon and I'm sure I'm being overly paranoid, but want to make sure!
Thanks!

 

[Craigwyatt]

Can you post a new pic of him. Sleeping on the bottom of the cage is not normal and it can be a very bad sign that something is wrong. I don't mean to scare you and I pray that I'm wrong.

 

[JaxyGirl]

I'm thinking your Cham is too warm. I noticed on a post from yesterday that you raised the temp in your enclosure. What is the temp of his basking area? And the temperature of the room you keep him in? His basking spot should be 85-90 degrees.
Also you should not have a ceramic heat emitter on ever. Especially at night.
The heat should come from his basking bulb during the day only then it needs to shut off at night. During the summer because the inside of my house is warmer I use a 25-30 watt incandescent bulb for a basking spot. Chams need to cool down a few degrees at night.

 

[JoCarp]

I'm thinking your Cham is too warm. I noticed on a post from yesterday that you raised the temp in your enclosure. What is the temp of his basking area? And the temperature of the room you keep him in? His basking spot should be 85-90 degrees.
Also you should not have a ceramic heat emitter on ever. Especially at night.
The heat should come from his basking bulb during the day only then it needs to shut off at night. During the summer because the inside of my house is warmer I use a 25-30 watt incandescent bulb for a basking spot. Chams need to cool down a few degrees at night.

His basking spot get up to 92* or so, ambient is probably around 76-78*. At night his temp drops to approximately 68-72*. I got the ceramic heat emitter on a dimmer per the instructions of the breeder when Merlin had some bubbly saliva. I'll go back to the basking bulb next to his arcadia though. I think/hope you're right about him being too warm. Should my night time temps get down to mid to low 60s? Just seems too cold but again, I'm still new at this kind of reptile.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[JoCarp]

Can you post a new pic of him. Sleeping on the bottom of the cage is not normal and it can be a very bad sign that something is wrong. I don't mean to scare you and I pray that I'm wrong.

I'll get a fresh picture tonight, the last one at the bottom of the thread in my link is the most recent from this morning. The others in that post were from yesterday afternoon, so they are pretty recent.

 

[JaxyGirl]

His basking spot get up to 92* or so, ambient is probably around 76-78*. At night his temp drops to approximately 68-72*. I got the ceramic heat emitter on a dimmer per the instructions of the breeder when Merlin had some bubbly saliva. I'll go back to the basking bulb next to his arcadia though. I think/hope you're right about him being too warm. Should my night time temps get down to mid to low 60s? Just seems too cold but again, I'm still new at this kind of reptile.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Check out this forecast in Madagascar. It's very interesting
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/madagascar/antananarivo

 

[JoCarp]

Check out this forecast in Madagascar. It's very interesting
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/madagascar/antananarivo

I'm really glad you shared that, helped to put it into perspective for me! I will be altering my husbandry accordingly! Little lower daytime temps, no heat at night so night temps will be lower too(never had light at night obviously), and higher humidity all the time.

Thanks again!

 

[JaxyGirl]

I'm really glad you shared that, helped to put it into perspective for me! I will be altering my husbandry accordingly! Little lower daytime temps, no heat at night so night temps will be lower too(never had light at night obviously), and higher humidity all the time.

Thanks again!

It's crazy how eye opening it is looking at the actual weather forecast isn't it?
I was surprised myself!! I recently got two 5 month old Panther chams. I've always had Jacksons and their care is slightly different. So I'm learning as I go too. Hopefully lowering your temps slightly will help your little guy and that's his only issue

 

[JoCarp]

It's crazy how eye opening it is looking at the actual weather forecast isn't it?
I was surprised myself!! I recently got two 5 month old Panther chams. I've always had Jacksons and their care is slightly different. So I'm learning as I go too. Hopefully lowering your temps slightly will help your little guy and that's his only issue

Yea, I never thought to do that (even though it makes perfect sense). I'm optimistic that it will help the issue! I'll keep everyone posted on the original thread listed above.

Make it a great day,

 

[Carlton]

Yea, I never thought to do that (even though it makes perfect sense). I'm optimistic that it will help the issue! I'll keep everyone posted on the original thread listed above.

Make it a great day,

Also consider that he's a cbb cham and may be several generations removed from the species' "natural" climate cycles. The climate pattern where he and his sires were raised might affect him too.

 

[JoCarp]

Also consider that he's a cbb cham and may be several generations removed from the species' "natural" climate cycles. The climate pattern where he and his sires were raised might affect him too.

That's a good point, I'll find a happy medium. I know the breeder (sponsor here) keeps his a little warmer with a little less foliage in the enclosures than what most say here, which is what I was trying to mimic.

 

[JoCarp]

So I went home and Merlin had his eyes closed (due to a little skin from this recent shed still being around his eyes I think). He is scratching them on his vines etc. and I keep running his mister a little more than normal and have his humidifier going to help him finish it off. I did switch out his ceramic heat emitter back to a basking bulb and he seemed to perk right up. He ate his crickets and marched right over under the basking bulb so I'm optimistic that the heat emitter was throwing him off. I'll take a picture of him over lunch so you all can see how he looks.

Thanks again for all the help everyone!

 

[JoCarp]

Merlin's eyes are closed

So I went home over lunch and his eyes were closed. I'm attaching a picture of his overall set up, a few of him fairly close and one close up of his head/eye. You can see a small "scale" of skin left on his eyelid, which is what I think is bothering him. He keeps bulging his eye turret and rubbing it. the other eye doesn't have a big piece like this one, but just a small "halo" of the skin around his eyelid. Is there anything I can do to help him outside of making sure his enclosure is good and humid?
On a side note, his enclosure is fairly bare as that is what his breeder said he grew up in. I sent a picture of it to the breeder who told me I'm fine as it is similar to what he's used to.
Outside of that, please let me know if you see anything that looks out of place or wrong w/ either Merlin or the set up.

Thanks,

 

[JoCarp]

Bump

Sorry to be "that guy", but does anyone have any input?

 

[JaniP]

Your enclosure looks really nice but I'd personally give him some more leaves to hide in off the sides.

As for his eye, maybe a nice warm shower with the spray directed at the shower wall to mist on to him would help?

 

[JoCarp]

Merlin looking much better

As of yesterday Merlin is looking much better. Colors are back to vibrant blues, greens and some orange. I put in some blue bottle flies and he had a hay day chasing those around! I really think he just gets really uncomfortable when he sheds, and is cranky because of it. Since putting in a proper basking bulb and he got the last of his shed off he looks back to 100%. Really appreciate all of the input. I will give him a shower as suggested next time he sheds to ease the shed for him.
Thanks everyone!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Sorry to be "that guy", but does anyone have any input?

I believe you mentioned that he climbed his screen a lot. He might have worn his toenails down or even ripped them out. If they don't have nice toenails, they can't grip and will fall. If he has fallen at night, he'll might just stay on the bottom.

The bamboo horizontal sticks are very slick. You haven't given him anything that is really natural to grip. Without a wide range of perches, his feet won't get exercise. Often a chameleon will choose to sleep on something very thin. Try a natural plant rather than a plastic plant.

As others have mentioned, he might be too hot.

Then of course, there is the unresolved eye issue. Eye issues need to be dealt with immediately or they can develop into something serious. A bit of shed in the eye can cause an ulceration either from the shed itself or from his rubbing on a branch. That ulceration can turn into an infection. What starts as a pretty minor issue can blind him.