On the Ground
- Thread starter zero742
- Start date
jvillereptile
New Member
did his cage cool down at all my hameleon move to the bottom ofthe cage when it gets to cold for them
jvillereptile
New Member
my female before she diedkept digging under the tree and would just sit in the burrow when the weather was to cold for her but now with i little one i don't let the cage drop past 65 at night i also cover the cage on colder night
LunaC
New Member
More info please
Chams and other reptiles are not able to regulate their body temperatures. They are not mammals. If your cham is pacing the bottom of his cage, I don't believe it has anything to do with the ambient, basking or night temps, unless it's just too dang hot!
Chams DO prefer a night-time drop, up to 10 degrees with good circulating air. I always make sure the room temp goes down at night, summer and winter. Research will show you they NEED a cooler night temp than day temp!
Chams generally do show a decline in eating before a shed, but they should not be dropping down to the cage bottom and pacing.
Zero, how old is your cham? What size cage is he in? How long have you had him? In my personal opinion, it sounds like he is stressed out about something. Have you changed anything recently? Is he in a high traffic area? Do you handle/watch him alot? Got a pic you can post? Are you absolutely certain he is hydrated? What is his usual diet?
Sorry for all the ???? but it all may help in getting to the root of the problem.
Chams and other reptiles are not able to regulate their body temperatures. They are not mammals. If your cham is pacing the bottom of his cage, I don't believe it has anything to do with the ambient, basking or night temps, unless it's just too dang hot!
Chams DO prefer a night-time drop, up to 10 degrees with good circulating air. I always make sure the room temp goes down at night, summer and winter. Research will show you they NEED a cooler night temp than day temp!
Chams generally do show a decline in eating before a shed, but they should not be dropping down to the cage bottom and pacing.
Zero, how old is your cham? What size cage is he in? How long have you had him? In my personal opinion, it sounds like he is stressed out about something. Have you changed anything recently? Is he in a high traffic area? Do you handle/watch him alot? Got a pic you can post? Are you absolutely certain he is hydrated? What is his usual diet?
Sorry for all the ???? but it all may help in getting to the root of the problem.
neil nosy be
New Member
Hi all
I whould have to agree with lunaC on this one for a cham to be walking around the bottom of his/her cage means that there stressed/unhappy with something in there enveroment(the only exception whould be a gravid female looking for a nesting site)
Neil
I whould have to agree with lunaC on this one for a cham to be walking around the bottom of his/her cage means that there stressed/unhappy with something in there enveroment(the only exception whould be a gravid female looking for a nesting site)
Neil
Last edited:
This is what Corey did before she got really sick -- I think that she was distressed with her gut backing up. I wish that i had recognized it, maybe if I had caught it sooner I could have saved her.
I just thought she was getting ready to lay eggs -- she was even digging around on the bottom of her cage.
I just thought she was getting ready to lay eggs -- she was even digging around on the bottom of her cage.
jvillereptile
New Member
when a chameleon is stressed out they turn black and my chameleon move to the bottom of the cage when ever the cage get to cold and the book i have says the same thing Care and breeding of chameleons by Philippe de Vosjoli, and Essential care of chameleon by the same author. and for jam it sound like your chameleon died of eggbound
zero742
New Member
LunaC said:
He is about 3 months old, he is in a 18" x 12" x 20" Fresh Air Habitat, he is not in a high traffic area at all. He's actually in my room, which I am in maybe 6 hours out of the whole day combined. Usually I'm at class or in the library studying. I usually only handle him to move him out to his larger scheffelera once or twice a week to bask in the window, which he seems to enjoy, but even when I do that I'll usually use the climbing onto the stick method, without forcing him into my hand, he'll usually just climb down the stick and up my arm. Don't really have a digital camera at school, but I can try and use one of my friend's. He has been a little dehydrated on and off through the past week or so, but he seems to be doing better with that. His usual diet is anywhere from 8-10 medium to large silkworms per day as well as 5 or 6 crickets. Any more questions are welcome, as I just want to make sure everything is fine with him.
LunaC
New Member
Sounds good, so far, Zero....
His cage is fine for now, size wise. Does he have lots of foliage to hide in? What is your hydration/misting schedule? Does he have a dripper? Do you actually SEE him drink? His humidity should be around 50-60% most of the time. What kind of UVB lighting/basking bulbs do you use? Do you gut load his prey and provide weekly Calcium D3 and vitamin supplementation?
I see his usual diet is anywhere from 8-10 medium to large silkworms, and 5-6 crickets per day. At his age I truly don't believe he should be eating anything but small-medium feeders. 1 large silkie is equivalent to 3.5 crickets. That's alot of food a day! The general rule of thumb is not to feed anything longer than the width of the cham's head. Also, young cham's are known to regurgitate, so be sure you aren't overfeeding or offering prey too large for him to swallow or digest. Does he poop regularly and are his urates nice and white?
It is possible he is too cold, if you aren't providing a basking area, but normally chams will move to a warmer spot if too cold or a cooler spot if too warm.
I'm glad to hear he's doing better with the hydration issue. If he's not getting misted regularly or provided drinking water more than once a day, you may have to explore other options for getting that all-important water/humidity to him. All the best..
His cage is fine for now, size wise. Does he have lots of foliage to hide in? What is your hydration/misting schedule? Does he have a dripper? Do you actually SEE him drink? His humidity should be around 50-60% most of the time. What kind of UVB lighting/basking bulbs do you use? Do you gut load his prey and provide weekly Calcium D3 and vitamin supplementation?
I see his usual diet is anywhere from 8-10 medium to large silkworms, and 5-6 crickets per day. At his age I truly don't believe he should be eating anything but small-medium feeders. 1 large silkie is equivalent to 3.5 crickets. That's alot of food a day! The general rule of thumb is not to feed anything longer than the width of the cham's head. Also, young cham's are known to regurgitate, so be sure you aren't overfeeding or offering prey too large for him to swallow or digest. Does he poop regularly and are his urates nice and white?
It is possible he is too cold, if you aren't providing a basking area, but normally chams will move to a warmer spot if too cold or a cooler spot if too warm.
I'm glad to hear he's doing better with the hydration issue. If he's not getting misted regularly or provided drinking water more than once a day, you may have to explore other options for getting that all-important water/humidity to him. All the best..
