on floor

[mikericco]

i came home this yesterday and found my 4-5 month old veiled chameleon sitting on the floor of his cage it was very hot in the room so i just fiugured it was because of the heat but when i went in the today i found him again on the floor.. the basking spot temps is 85f. i picked him up just to take a look and he feels very cold.. any ideas why he would be down there

 

[dodolah]

let see some clear pics (not blurry) of the chameleon and your current setup in different angles.
plus, provide some info on your feeders, gutload, and supplement schedule.

 

[mikericco]

 

[mikericco]

these are the best i can get rite now

 

[dodolah]

ok.. if possible, perhaps you can post more close up pics of your chameleon.
But, from the look of the last 2 pics, he seemed all right.

As usual, a typical Qs for you:
What is your supplementing schedule look like?
Also, what feeder you usually feed him?
and what is the gutload you use to feed your feeder?
What brand of lightings?
How strong is his grip?
Any weird shaking during moving and climbing?

The problem that immediately come to my mind, when i see your setup, is your basking spot.
Perhaps the reason why your chameleon is on the floor cold is that he cannot bask properly.


there isn't a HORIZONTAL vine for your chameleon to bask.
You certainly have a vertical vine, but my suggestion provide him with a horizontal one so he can comfortably bask appropriately.

 

[mikericco]

i dust twice a week with the rep-cal and once a week with the reptivite.grip wise it very strong.i use zilla gut load cricket food..his light is a repti glo 5.0..its mostly crickets and some waxworms from time to time but i have seen him rocking side to side when i go near his cage

 

[mikericco]

ok i added a vine for him to bask on

 

[SYeretzian]

You should get a digital thermometer, those plastic ones are crap...it might be hotter than you think. Oh yeah, in the first few pictures it does not look like he could get close enough to the UVB light as well, think they are good up to around 8 inches, maybe less depending on how old the tube is.

 

[mikericco]

I have one that plastic one is a humdity

 

[Shaner]

i dust twice a week with the rep-cal and once a week with the reptivite.grip wise it very strong.i use zilla gut load cricket food..his light is a repti glo 5.0..its mostly crickets and some waxworms from time to time but i have seen him rocking side to side when i go near his cage

Hello,

From what I am reading, you are saying you are only dusting twice a week with rep-cal. I would say you should be dusting with Calcium almost every feeding. Your cham still seems pretty young from the pics, my guess is 4-7 month old range.

Dust your food every feeding or every 2nd feeding at least. It may seem like alot, but if it is too much for the cham you will get signs of it. Signs include White on the nostrils (looks like he/she was inhaling the powder through it's nose) if you see this then slow down the calcium for a bit.

The shaking should be nothing to worry about, as they mimic blowing leaves in the wind, it is a natural defense for them. But upping your calcium will ensure stronger bones and the less chance of getting MBD.

Do you have a drip system for your cham? If not you can make one real easily by poking a small hole at the bottom of an empty sour cream container or something like that so when are gone to work or out for the day, the cham is getting a source of water, plus it is a double bonus that the water run off can run into the live plants

I hope that helps, keep us updated on the cham, and maybe get a fake vine to give the cham some coverage near the basking area so your cham feels more secure.

Good Luck,
Shaner

 

[dodolah]

i dust twice a week with the rep-cal and once a week with the reptivite.grip wise it very strong.i use zilla gut load cricket food..his light is a repti glo 5.0..its mostly crickets and some waxworms from time to time but i have seen him rocking side to side when i go near his cage

imo, you need 1 more supplement which is calcium without D3 (I use Minerall 0).
Repcal has one without D3 (i believe the color of the packaging is green).

This is how I supplement:
Repcal D3 Twice a week
Repcal non D3/ Minerall 0 Twice a week
Multivitamin Twice a week
and no supplements for the rest of the days.

Very very small amount of dusting...
Does your cham bask right away on the horizontal vine?
see if he still exhibit such behavior by tomorrow.
If he still does it, keep your vet phone# handy.