Sleepy chameleon

tyty

New Member
Hi, I got a baby veiled chameleon for my birthday last month. He is about 10 weeks old, and he is sleeping all of the time. I am afraid that something is wrong with him. Can anybody help me with some information?
 
Love to help you Tyty, please help us to help you by filling in this as fully as possible? :)

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
 
How to ask for help

I would copy and paste the information above in a reply and fill out the form as detailed as you possibly can so that someone can get a more accurate description of your husbandry. There are many factors that could cause a number of problems, but without more knowledge its hard to tell what those factors might be.
 
ok, he is about 10 weeks old, and I got him on March 8th. He is a veiled. I get him out in the afternoon when I get home from school. I always let him climb on me and I never grab him. He has stopped getting dark when I get him out now, but since he shed, he has been tired all the time. He is always really light in color also.
I was told I had to feed him only crickets until he got older. I feed him small or pin head crickets, about 10 a day in his cage dusted with calcium powder. I feed the crickets a food that I got from the reptile store. I give him 3 or 4 in the morning, 3 or 4 after school, and 3 or 4 at night before bed. Xxo-terra is the brand of calium plus d that I am using on the crickets.
I mist him in the morning until everything is good and wet. Then my mom comes home on her lunch and mists him again the same way. I then do it again after school and before bed. Occasionally I will see him drink the water off the screen, but usually only if he has just eaten.
My mom got him from a reptile store. He was just 3 weeks old. His feces looks a little like a bird droppings, it is brown and white.
His cage is about 3 ft tall by 18 in. deep. His light is set on top and is left on all the time for the heat. It is one of those that the shop recommended for all of bases.
There is a live plant that came with the cage, and as far as temp. and humidity, I am not sure..... I am just doing what the information sheet and instructions we got told us too. I am sorry, I feel that I may doing everything wrong at the moment. Do you think he is ok? I really do love him. I just want him to be healthy and happy. I follow all of the instructions to a tee.
 
His cage is on my dresser, and I live in North East Washington. No fans or vents next to him.
 
you shpuld be turning off your lights at night. Leave them on 12 and off 12. Why kind of lighting are you using and what are your cage temperatures?
 
Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Your chameleon shouldn't be sleeping during the day....but with you having its light on at night it could be that its not getting enough sleep at night. They don't need/shouldn't have light at night. Also...its only necessary to have heat on a veiled if the temperatures drop below the high 60's at night. A young veiled should also have more moderate temperatures in the cage during the day because their rather small bodies can cool and overheat more easily than an adult's can.

You also need to be careful that the chameleon doesn't aspirate water (get it in its lungs) when you are misting it.

Here are some basics to help you with your husbandry...
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species and age. For hatchling panthers I keep the temperature in the warmest area in the low 80's. For older panthers I keep it in the mid to high 80's for the most part.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month lightly as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
 
It is one of those that gives off both the UV and heat and light. i was worried that he would get cold if I turned the light off. The lady I bought him from said that because he was so small it might be better to leave it on at night. I just went in and turned it off though, do you think that is why he is so sleepy all the time?
 
you need to know how hot it is in the cage. Is it glass or screen? If you have it too hot in there you can kill him. If the lighting is incorrect it can make him close his eyes because it is too strong. you need to find EXACTLY what kind of light you are using.
 
Turning it off at night should give you the answer.

Look at the part about supplements too...you need three different ones.
 
I dust the crickets with EXO-TERRA calcium +d3. The Light is one of the triangle type shaped one. It sets right on top of the cage. I will start turning the light off at night. The cage has lots of plants in it, both real and fake to hide in. Thank you so much for the links. Have a great night.
 
Read my long post in this thread and you will see that its recommended to only use a phos.-free calcium with D3 twice a month and at most feedings use a phosphorus-free calcium powder. D3 from supplements builds up in the system and causes health issues.
 
you need to dust your crickets with PLAIN calcium, no d3 and the calcium with d3 twice a month along with a multivitamin twice a month. You need to tell us what kind of lighting you are using! What is the brand, wattage, etc. Again, if you are using the wrong lighting you can kill your chameleon!!! What are you measuring your cage temps with? What is your humidity? What kind of enclsoure, glass or screen. If you want us to help you you have to give us ALL the information!
 
Look up top, I answered all of the cage questions up top. I am looking right now for all the exact lighting info
 
Maaybe for reptiles but not for chameleons. Not all lights are made for ALL reptiles. If your chameleon is closing his eyes during the day SOMETHING is wrong. They do not sleep during the day. More than likely it is your lighting or your temps that are causing this. Get the box from the light and read what it says on there. I am not familiar with that light. Give me the wattage and exactly what it says.
 
Tyty, sometimes pics say a 1000 words, could perhaps use your phone/cam t take a few shots of him and the cage, lights etc. Somebody will help you to upload them.
If you can look at th brand of bulb and write it down this will be helpful.
There is so much you need to know that incoming information can be a little overwhelming,
we understand this, so try to tell us as much as possible when answering questions.
Im sure your little lizard is in no immeadiate danger though there will likely be many things you can do to improve his house/care.
Its very very important to know how warm your lizard is getting, this is the most basic
tenant of reptile care.
If you can get a good reliable thermometer (prefrably digital) and discover how hot it is under his light, and also how warm the air is in both the top and bottom of the cage.
Can you tell us what his cage is made of? Screen, glass etc, this is important too.
Heating & lighting are your main concerns, first before anything, then hydration (water).
Everything elsse people are asking about is important too, but heat/light/water is most important right now. Everything else can wait, so dont stress about it.
One step at a time. :)
 
I am using everything, and doing everything that I was told to do when I got him. I am trying to do the best that I can for him. I may have screwed up by not turning the light off, but other than that, I have followed all of the information that I had to a tee. I came here for help, so that I could help my chameleon and learn to make him the healthiest and happiest that I can.
 
You said...."as far as temp. and humidity, I am not sure"...that does not answer the questions in such a way that we can help you.
You came here for help and we are trying to help you. I've kept chameleons for over 25 years...and they live long healthy lives.
 
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