Sleeping on the floor

[JackyCham]

Hi all,

I wonder if you could help me. I've started to notice my baby Jackson Chameleon (about 8 weeks old) has been sleeping on the floor. He's not sleeping during the day or anything but when I've had a quick look at him at night, he's sleeping on the floor.. is this normal?

Thanks
Ellie

 

[laurie]

I have never seen a baby Jackson sleep on the floor. Can you fill one the help form so we can see if anything stands out?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[JackyCham]

Thanks Laurie.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? It's a Jackson Chameleon about 8 weeks old, male and I have had him for 2 weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a week.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He is having fruitflies and small hoppers. I put some of each in the tank every morning and they all seem to go. I am gutloading them with spring greens which is what I give the locusts for my Iguana.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? to dust his food I alternate between Calcidust and Neutrabal every time I get a new tub.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I spray him with misting spray 3 times a day and he is always drinking. I mist until the tank is dripping wet.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? They are small brownish droppings, normally with a little white/yellowish lump. Re parasites, not that I know of.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Nope
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? My partner is the reptile buff and isn't with me right now so I'll try and fill this out as acurately as poss! We have a glass Exoterrier tank which is 4 foot tall and about 2 foot deep.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We have a strip UVB bulb and a heat bulb (not sure on wattage I'm afraid!) We also have a thermostat set for 82degrees. We have a timer that turns the UVB bulb off at 8pm and back on at 8am.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? The basking spot is about 85 degrees, not sure about the rest but, as I said above, the bulb is set to 82 degrees.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We are misting 3 times a day.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Nope
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? The tank is located in our spare bedroom which is very quiet. Not near any fans/vents/high traffic areas. The height of the top of the tank is taller than me, so about 6ft from the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located? England

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. He is sleeping on the floor at night.

 

[laurie]

The baby is most likely on the floor because he is trying to cool down to go to sleep. The cage is too hot. I keep baby jackson at around 70. i would never let it above that. You need to measure the humidity and keep it up. it would help if you had live plants. They increase humidity. i would feed him fruit flys as you are and new born crickets. I can't imagine a hopper small enough for a baby Jackson. Also if he is only 8 weeks, he is still super fragile. The very most you wan to supplement a baby jackson is very light calcium once a week. I would not use any other supplements at that age. I still only supplement adult jacksons one a week.Start with those changes and we can go from there. This is just what I do. Let us know how it goes.

 

[ataraxia]

good advice laurie. only thing i could suggest is to monitor your temps via a digital thermostat at the highest branch or vine from the heat bulb. if your probe is sitting at the middle of the cage and is set to 82. the basking spot will much higher. jacksons are a montane species and like it cool with high humidity.

 

[JackyCham]

Brilliant - thanks guys! I'll try changing the temperature.

Re crickets, I tried giving him micro-crickets when I first got him and he didn't touch any of them so not sure he's a fan?! Also, I've been told he's quite big for his ages and the hoppers are slightly smaller than his head so have been told this is ok?

Thanks
Ellie

 

[laurie]

Brilliant - thanks guys! I'll try changing the temperature.

Re crickets, I tried giving him micro-crickets when I first got him and he didn't touch any of them so not sure he's a fan?! Also, I've been told he's quite big for his ages and the hoppers are slightly smaller than his head so have been told this is ok?

Thanks
Ellie

The prey items need to be smaller than the space between his eyes not smaller than his head. If he is big for his age maybe he is older, which is good.