Sleeping during the day???

reptigirl21

New Member
I need some help! I have a 4 month old veiled chameleon just brought her home last week and she is sleeping during the day, every time I go to check on her she is asleep and doesnt open her eyes until I say something to her. From what I know this is not a good thing, I have a UVB light resting on the top of her large ReptiBreeze enclosure and a 100 watt bulb in a heat lamp about a foot above it which keeps her basking temp in the low 80's, I mist 3 to 4 times daily to keep the humidity in the 50s and she has a water drip going all day. I dont know what could be wrong with her am I doing something wrong?? Please HELP!
 
Sorry I forgot to give this info: I give her calcium supplements every day except when I trade it out for a multivitamin or d3 supplement which i plan to do twice a month and have done once already. She eats five large crickets a day and sometimes I trade 2 crickets out for a couple of meal worms which she will take from my hand. She is in her own room not in direct sunlight and her enclosure its about 6 inches from the floor. Please HELP!
 
Welcome to the forums. I'm sorry to hear that your little girl is closing her eyes. That can be a bad sign. I have also seen the lights cause them to close their eyes. I would recommend turning off the lights all day tomorrow and see if that helps. Where do you live? Are you able to get her some outside time? That's the best thing in the world you can do for a chameleon as long as you don't cook them or freeze them. How are you checking your temps? A 100 watt bulb sounds like WAY to much. Whay kind of a UVB light do you have? I am linking my blog for new keepers below. This is how I recommend you keep a veiled chameleon.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
 
Thank you I will try doing that. I live in Idaho and it has been fairly warm lately but I dont have a setup to take her outside and have avoided handling her while she adjusts to her new environment, should I carry her outside and just hold her?? I have a "great choice" thermometer stuck to the inside of her enclosure by her basking spot and another near the middle that is a thermometer and humidity gauge. The bulb I use barely keeps her basking spot in the low 80's Im worried that if I switch it wont be warm enough? What would you recommend? Im gonna be totally honest im not completely sure how to tell what kind of UVB I have..
 
Thank you I will try doing that. I live in Idaho and it has been fairly warm lately but I dont have a setup to take her outside and have avoided handling her while she adjusts to her new environment, should I carry her outside and just hold her?? I have a "great choice" thermometer stuck to the inside of her enclosure by her basking spot and another near the middle that is a thermometer and humidity gauge. The bulb I use barely keeps her basking spot in the low 80's Im worried that if I switch it wont be warm enough? What would you recommend? Im gonna be totally honest im not completely sure how to tell what kind of UVB I have..

Check my blog above for all that I recommend. You really need a digital temp gun.

Is she in a screen cage? Maybe you can take the cage outside and just watch her to make sure it doesn't blow over or anything.
 
I would bet the thermometer is off. 100 watts is pretty high. Yeah, I would invest in a temp gun. Oh and by the way welcome :)
 
the thermometer I have doesnt turn off.. maybe it is broken?? thank you
not sure how the images work yet but if it works this is the top corner of her enclosure where the thermometer is

 
It doesnt look super strong to me but maybe Im just crazy. It isnt going to get warm enough today to take her outside so I put her enclosure in the sunlight inside will that work too? The Heat lamp is off but I left the UVB on should I turn that off as well? Im just worried it will be too cold for her if I leave the lights off all day
 
It doesnt look super strong to me but maybe Im just crazy. It isnt going to get warm enough today to take her outside so I put her enclosure in the sunlight inside will that work too? The Heat lamp is off but I left the UVB on should I turn that off as well? Im just worried it will be too cold for her if I leave the lights off all day

The only way you could tell if it's too strong is to check it with a UV meter or notice that it might be bothering her eyes. Inside UVB will not pass through glass. If you raise the window she might get a little after it passes through double screen (window screen and the screen cage). As said before you need a good digital temp gun to check the temps. There's a link to the one I use in my blog above. Where do you live and how cold it it in your house?

She could also have an infection or something else wrong. If the outside time and the lights off doesn't help in a day or two I would get her to the vets.
 
I ordered the temp gun you suggested and hopefully it will get here soon. I live in Idaho and it is low 70s in our house today, I keep her upstairs because that is where it is warmest and on a warm day it can get to the very low 80s. I cant open the window because it will let the cold in and probably freeze her but she seems to be enjoying the warmth of the sun, she moved to where she was sitting in it so she could bask, eye facing it closed and eye away open
 
you need to post some picts of the cage, if it is about the light then turn all ligts off for a day or two tills your animal opens his eyes again, make sure the lights are in a safe distance from the animal and there is enough with plants so it can get away from it if needed
 
Ok I hope this works, this is a pic of her lighting system and she is in it as well not too happy with me snapping a picture

k00h1u.jpg
 
I would bet the thermometer is off. 100 watts is pretty high. Yeah, I would invest in a temp gun. Oh and by the way welcome :)

Sup, a foot away seems a little close for that much light "powa", try moving it up 16 inches away. Also get a bunch of thermometers, an analog and a digital. Get a harbor freight thermo-gun too if you can. I just bought 4 liquid crystal thermometers for a dollar each at petco yesterday. Look for deals and stock up on extra *discount* stuff beforehand. Good luck dude.
 
can you put a current picture? the whole cage would be good to see

otherwise you should put more plants and move the light higher up from the cage, it should be an larger distance
 
Low 70's is perfect. I try and keep my ambient temp as close to 70 as possible but in Southern California it is hard. The only place you need hotter temps is the basking spot. They need a temperature gradient from 70 to mid 80s at the basking spot. An ambient temp of low 80s is too hot
 
I have all the lights off currently as recommended and put her enclosure by the window so the top is in the sun and the bottom is cooler, the drainage system is temporary I need to get my dads help to build something permanent for her but it works for now. This is her set up right now:

4pzd6c.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom