sleeping during the day

[vgaines]

My 2 month old Veiled Chameleon has been sleeping during the day for the past few days. Is this normal for a baby cham.? She has not been eating a lot but did eat 3 phoenix worms yesterday afternoon. She gets in her basking spot and snoozes. Her poop looks normal..white w/ darker color at one end.

Thanks
Virginia

 

[camimom]

Hello.
Unfortunately, It is not normal.
Please fill this in, and we can try to help you from there.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[vgaines]

This info is in an older post but I reposted it again because I had to update some info.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Female (pretty sure) Aprox. 2 months old .. In my care since 2/14/2013
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a day
Feeding - 5-10 small crickets a day early afternoon, phoenix worms
Supplements - Calcium with OUT d3 every day. Calcium with d3 5th and 20th of every month
Watering - Hand mist two to three times a day for several minutes and a dripping system (home made out a plastic cup with tiny holes filled with ice) while I am at work? I have seen her drink but not every time. she runs from the spray
Fecal Description - White and brownish/yellow. Firm
. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Had a eye infection in February. Vet prescribed antibiotic eye drops. Eye is fine

Cage Info:
Cage Type - all screen/ 18x18x36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? REPTISUN 5.0 compact fluorescent blub and a 60 W incandescent bulb. What is your daily lighting schedule? My lights are on a timer. They come on at 7am and go off at 7pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created 80-85*f basking spot and aprox. 70*F at cage bottom. )? Lowest overnight temp? Temps drop into the mid 60's at night How do you measure these temps? Digital combination Thermo-Hygrometer
Humidity - ranges between 25%-80% How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Several mistings a day, live plant, and a drip cup. What do you use to measure humidity? Digital combination Thermo-Hygrometer
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes ,Hibiscus Getting ready to add a Hoya or Fusha. I have a nice size Ficus that I was going to let her free range on.
Placement - Where is your cage located?In my bedroom in front of a window. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No, No, and No. I keep my ceiling fan off and the cage is on opposite side of room from a/c vent
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage sits on a stand and top of cage is aprox. 5' high
Location - Where are you geographically located? Houston TX

The last few days she has not been eating a lot. She did eat 3 phoenix worms yesterday.(I ordered butter worms but they are to big for her)She has been sleeping under her basking spot a lot during the day. Also, she is keeping her right eye closed. When she does open it it looks normal. She did just finish up a full body shed. In fact she still has a tiny amount of dried skin left on her head. I have been giving her a shower once a day and doing extra mistings with warm water.

Thanks,
Virginia

 

[camimom]

Well care wise, it all looks good.
My only suggestion would be to mist more, as the yellow urate means shes dehydrated.

IS there any light at night that could be keeping her awake?

Can you post photos of her and her cage?

 

[vgaines]

She is in my bedroom and there are no lights at night. After her lights go out (I didn't change the timer to match DST) at 8PM the only light may be from my laptop screen.






Her urate is white now. I have been misting a lot more and have put a clear shower curtain around three sides to help hold in humidity

Sorry I don't know why the pictures posted sideways....

 

[bradley]

I just wonder - why are you handling once a day?

I personally would get rid of the compact uv bub. they say they have been improved but you may have an old one. They don't give out much uv either and only over a very small area. Change it to a linear 5.0 and see if that helps.

 

[camimom]

SHe doesnt look so bad.

i would sugget adding in more foliage in the top of the cage, she could stressed because she doesnt feel safe.

I would also suggest a shower method, and see if it helps her eye.

If nothing changes, then I suggest going back to your vet

 

[vgaines]

I just wonder - why are you handling once a day?

I personally would get rid of the compact uv bub. they say they have been improved but you may have an old one. They don't give out much uv either and only over a very small area. Change it to a linear 5.0 and see if that helps.

I just picked up the light a little over three weeks ago for $31.00. Frustrated because these companies are selling these lights and they are not the best to use. I was wanting to get a linear grow light is there a bulb that will take care of both? I am on a tight budget..

I had to get her out twice a day for a week to clean her eye and then to apply eye drops in her infected eye. The last few day I have been taking her out once a day to put her in the shower because she was keeping her eye closed and I wasn't seeing her drink during her mistings.

Also, the CFL says that it needs to be replaced every year. The girl at the pet store also said that this light lasts longer than the cheaper ones. Is that true?

 

[vgaines]

SHe doesnt look so bad.

i would sugget adding in more foliage in the top of the cage, she could stressed because she doesnt feel safe.

I would also suggest a shower method, and see if it helps her eye.

If nothing changes, then I suggest going back to your vet

I am getting ready to add a hanging plant. I may try to cut the large branch I have in there and see if I can get the ficus plant in there. I can use the branch is several enclosures..

 

[vgaines]

SHe doesnt look so bad.

i would sugget adding in more foliage in the top of the cage, she could stressed because she doesnt feel safe.

I would also suggest a shower method, and see if it helps her eye.

If nothing changes, then I suggest going back to your vet

I just re-arranged Raines enclosure to get more foliage at the top. I figured out how to raise the bottom a little so that the branch goes all the way to the top. I also re-did the fake vines and raised the hibiscus off of the bottom. I think it looks better.. What do you think? I am gonna changed to a bigger dripper later today.
top of cage

(this picture is sideways)

 

[camimom]

It looks good.

Depending on your finances, you may want to invest in an auto mister.

 

[Lovereps]

The cage looks very good.

Sorry to say daytime sleeping means illness.
Your vet should see her as a less costly followup visit, since she was just there for her eye and hopefully she will prescribe something to take care of whatever infection your cham girl has.
Sinus infections will often show as eye troubles, so it is a good possibility that she has a sinus infection.

Unfortunately, the fluorescent bulbs need to be replaced at the 6 month mark. they will continue to light up but stop putting out enough UVB at around 6 months.

I hope that Raine feels better soon, so you can stop having to worry about her and can enjoy her more.

 

[bradley]

You need a linear uv bulb. The Grow light will not provide uv for the chameleon.

 

[vgaines]

You need a linear uv bulb. The Grow light will not provide uv for the chameleon.

I have a brand new (less than a month old) 5.0 UVB CFL. I had a 10.0 and was told it was to strong for a baby. That is $70 worth of lights and I can not afford another light and fixture at this time. I picked up a 6500K CFL for the live plants tonight and will be adding that tomorrow morning. Would it be better for me to put the 10.0 UVB CFL back? Does no one use the CFL UVB bulbs? I really want the best for my girl but I do have a limited budget.

Thanks for all of the wonderful advice,
Virginia

 

[vgaines]

Vets tomorrow

I have made Raine an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Was gonna take her this morning but Dr. Scott does not work on Tuesdays. I will post an update as soon as we get back home tomorrow.

Thanks for the help,
Virginia

 

[vgaines]

frustrated

This is getting so frustrating.... Is there something I am doing wrong? I don't understand why Raine continues to have problems. I have put so much time and money into making her happy and trying to keep her healthy and it doesn't seem to be working. Please let me know if there is anything I need to change. I know, I know, I need a linear UVB bulb... Other than that is there something lacking in my care?

When I called the pet store to see if they had any chameleons they told me that they had a batch of well established babies... little did I know.... my next chameleon will be from a member of this forum if there is someone in the Houston area.

Thanks again for ALL advice. I have my big girl panties on so if you feel I am doing something wrong please tell me...

 

[Lovereps]

I know that you have been working very hard to help Raine and I feel for you knowing how much you care.
Every time any change has been suggested you have made the necessary changes.

As for compact UVB bulbs, plenty of people use them and I would keep using the 5.0. Linear bulbs are better in that they spread the UVB over a greater area but I don't think the 5.0 compact bulb is an issue.
In the past there were harmful UVB compact bulbs.
You can double check the bulb for peace of mind:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-tests.htm


At 2 months old she is still a baby and babies are more delicate.
I do not believe that responsible breeders sell their baby chams at 1 month old because they are still too fragile.

If she has not been eating rnough, maybe she is now lethargic from too few calories.
She should be eating a lot at her age--more than once a day.

You can ask the vet if you should boost her calorie intake by giving her some Pedialyte diluted with an equal amount of water, using a dropper, onto the tip of her nose.

I hope that she gets back to good health swiftly.
Hang in there, you're doing your best