sleeping during the day?!

[SimonTheCham]

zoe just shed quite a lot and i got home today and found her sleeping. i know this is bad, so what should i do? her fogger was out of water, but is usually on. her dripper was off but i turned it on right now, and we use a night light as directed from our herp vet. we gutload her crix and she eats anddrinks plenty and we do see her eating and drinking. her urates are white.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

There is not a lot info to go by, but you need to get rid of the night light! Chameleons need dark to sleep properly, even a small amount of light will interrupt their sleep patterns. If you need additional heat at night (you shouldn't) use a ceramic heat emitter. Most chams do not need external heat sources at night unless the temps go below the mid 50's in your home at night. They actually need the temp drop at night.

Fill out this info and we can help you better:

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[SimonTheCham]

Your Chameleon - Female jacksons about 3-4 months old, has been with us for a month now
Handling - Every other day for about 5 mins
Feeding - Crix gutloaded, with cal twice a week d3 multivite once a month
Supplements - repti calcium and flukers
Watering - drippee and misting, i see her drinking.
Fecal Description - Urate is white
History - Is shedding eyes mouth and body, pet store cham good conditions. she hasnt been green in her cage though:/

Cage Info:

Cage Type - screen 18x18x24
Lighting - Uvb reptisun 5.0 all day off at night 75 watt basking light all day off night and 50 watt red light at night but were turning that off now (warmer)
Temperature - 80-85 basking 70 lowest area of cage i have 2 dial thermometers
Humidity - 70-80 hygrometer probe
Plants - Live pothos(3-4) spider(2)3 silk
Placement - Bedroom low traffic other pets in the room but cham cant see them they cant see her about 4 feet off the ground
Location - north eastern wisconsin


Current Problem - Sleeping durring day

 

[jamjam]

something that caught my eye you said gutload with cal and d3 multivite. thats not a gutload but rather supplements. what do you feed your feeders?

 

[SimonTheCham]

i suplement wih the calcium and things we gut load them with yams butternut squash romaine orange apple oats. it was just a missunderstanding

 

[Lpsouth1978]

I am not real well versed on Jacksons, so I will not be much help here, but hopefully someone will chime in and help you out. It is good that you have started turning the lights off at night, just be sure not to use that red bulb in the future.

Also, if your vet told you to use it, I would recommend that you search for an experienced Herp vet. Reptiles have very different and specific needs, so finding a vet that is experienced and specializes in reptiles (chameleons in particular) is very important. What works for another reptile may not work for a cham.

 

[SimonTheCham]

I am not real well versed on Jacksons, so I will not be much help here, but hopefully someone will chime in and help you out. It is good that you have started turning the lights off at night, just be sure not to use that red bulb in the future.

Also, if your vet told you to use it, I would recommend that you search for an experienced Herp vet. Reptiles have very different and specific needs, so finding a vet that is experienced and specializes in reptiles (chameleons in particular) is very important. What works for another reptile may not work for a cham.

we specifically searched herp vet and chameleon vet and thats how we gor ours, they seemed very knowledgeable

 

[Lpsouth1978]

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk at all, but if a vet told me to use a light, any light, at night on my chameleons, I would be looking for a new vet immediately. Not using a light at night is Chameleons 101. Your vet may be very knowledgeable about reptiles in general, but is clearly not well versed in chameleon care specifically.

 

[SimonTheCham]

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk at all, but if a vet told me to use a light, any light, at night on my chameleons, I would be looking for a new vet immediately. Not using a light at night is Chameleons 101. Your vet may be very knowledgeable about reptiles in general, but is clearly not well versed in chameleon care specifically.

We told her that our house got cold, and that was in the winter when temps were dropping

 

[Lpsouth1978]

We told her that our house got cold, and that was in the winter when temps were dropping

I get they the house was cold and you needed a heat source for her at night. In the future get a ceramic heat emiter. It will keep her warm without disturbing her sleep patterns.

 

[SimonTheCham]

thank you! i havent heard of a ceramic, what is it? and ive never seen it at our pet shop.

 

[Carlton]

thank you! i havent heard of a ceramic, what is it? and ive never seen it at our pet shop.

First, how cold does it get in the room? If it doesn't get colder than 50 F at night you do NOT need additional cage heat, ceramic or otherwise. What feels cold to you (with your stable body temp of 98.6 F) does not feel as cold to a cold-blooded herp.

If your room actually gets below 50 F at night, a small ceramic heat emitter can help, but it will also dry out the cage, and if this is a jackson's cham it can become dehydrated unless you are careful.

A ceramic heat emitter is an opaque coil shaped bulb that warms up when plugged in, but it does not produce light. You can get them from web herp supplies and larger pet supply houses.