Small Cham Always Basking Under UVB

[UrbanChameleon]

Hey everyone! I've been sick with Strep Throat this past week, so I've been observing Bodhi from my bed. There's not much else to do other than playing MW3. But I've noticed for the past 4 days or so he has been basking sitting under his UVB. About two days ago he spent more time under his basking light but that was it. He is constantly under his UVB.. as close as he can get to it. I honestly think it is just his favorite spot but it has thrown up a couple of concerns. Is there such a thing as too much UVB from his light? Should I cut back on giving him his Cal w/ D3 twice a month? Is this normal?

His UVB is a 5.0. The whole front of his cage doesn't have any lighting, just the back. The only time he goes over there is in the mornings when waiting on his feeder cup. I started putting it over there so he could get a break, even if it's just a couple of minutes. I'm pretty positive he likes it because he can still get heat from his basking light in that spot, but not too much. I'm a little worried and figured I could get some experienced advice from you lovely people.

 

[camimom]

How old is his uvb bulb?
If its older than 6 months, its possible its not producing enough uvb for him and he is trying to get more.
What kind of bulb is it? brand?

 

[UrbanChameleon]

How old is his uvb bulb?
If its older than 6 months, its possible its not producing enough uvb for him and he is trying to get more.
What kind of bulb is it? brand?

It's just about two weeks old! It's the Exo Terra 5.0. He really doesn't seem to mind at all. It just concerns me because I don't want to overdose him on D3. I think I'm going to add more of his favorite foliage to the front of his cage when I get better. Maybe he will spend more time in the front if he feels safer.

 

[Escalade]

my cham spends more time under his uvb light to, he basks off an on but mostly under uvb

 

[gr33n]

Mine does the same. He hangs upside down and absorbs it.

 

[UrbanChameleon]

Mine does the same. He hangs upside down and absorbs it.

Alright that's really good! Whew. Since he is so little I didn't know if he could regulate as well as an adult. At least I'm not alone here.

 

[danibug23]

mine is total opposite he spends all day underneath his basking bulb, haha and the others spend all day doing laps around their cages.

 

[UrbanChameleon]

mine is total opposite he spends all day underneath his basking bulb, haha and the others spend all day doing laps around their cages.

Haha! I think both of us ended up with a picky cham! How are your chams with being handled? I went to coax Bodhi (2-3 months) onto my hand to clean his cage last week and the little butthead almost bit me! I almost don't want to do it again because I don't want to stress him out. Do you know if chams are more mean when they are younger or older? I need to get him used to handling now that he has been with me for about a month or so. I'm afraid if I don't he will try to murder me every time I have to clean his cage.

 

[danibug23]

chameleons will be chameleons they each have their own attitude most of them HATE being handled with some of them LOVE LOVE LOVE being handled its really nothing you can do i have a female and male veiled and a male panther, well my female is a total butt head and just basically screams at u whenever u open her cage and my male used to love being handled until he got into his "teenage years" and wants nothing to do with me lol and my 7 month old panther he doesn't mind it at all just if you do sudden movements he gets really scared. but once i bring out the mealworms or silkies they will be your best friend they are all like children they are nice when they want something haha but one of the forum member here Jannb has probably most of the sweetest male vieleds i have ever seen i love seeing her pictures of him kissing her its so cute just don't take it to heart if they want to rip your fingers off haha

 

[Dak446]

Is the average temperature of your cage a little low? Maybe he's trying to use it to warm up?

 

[UrbanChameleon]

chameleons will be chameleons they each have their own attitude most of them HATE being handled with some of them LOVE LOVE LOVE being handled its really nothing you can do i have a female and male veiled and a male panther, well my female is a total butt head and just basically screams at u whenever u open her cage and my male used to love being handled until he got into his "teenage years" and wants nothing to do with me lol and my 7 month old panther he doesn't mind it at all just if you do sudden movements he gets really scared. but once i bring out the mealworms or silkies they will be your best friend they are all like children they are nice when they want something haha but one of the forum member here Jannb has probably most of the sweetest male vieleds i have ever seen i love seeing her pictures of him kissing her its so cute just don't take it to heart if they want to rip your fingers off haha

They really do have their own personalities! I've seen some pics of Jannb's chams. They are the most beautiful/sweetest chams ever! I want to eat them up!

Bodhi is only about 2-3 months old and I saw SPERM coming out of his vent last week! I was blown away because he is so young! He is growing up pretty fast. As much as I would love too, I really don't want to handle him all of the time. I just need to be able to get him when it's necessary. That was the first time so I'll see how he does tomorrow when I have to clean the bottom of his cage. I seriously think he will chill out once he can climb up my arm, but that's only if someone doesn't find me bleeding out on the floor. Haha! I wonder what it feels like if they do get you. If it feels like a pinch, a baby biting you, or a snake bite. No matter what.. I don't want to find out. Once he gets bigger, I can try handfeeding worms.

 

[danibug23]

actually i have come to the conclusion mine will not bite you they will just swing and lunge at you to try and scare you away but when i get the glove on they know its on haha. idk if someone has ever been bitten or not.

 

[UrbanChameleon]

Is the average temperature of your cage a little low? Maybe he's trying to use it to warm up?

That could be it. I was having some temp problems since I got him. They were too high due to a faulty thermometer. I took the bulb out right away and kept moving down wattages. At a 40 watt the basking spot was in the high 90's. So I moved it down to 25 watts and it is usually 83 degrees. He seems pretty content with it. I was originally worried he had gotten used to the higher temps he was in for a day or two. I could do with a degree or two higher but the only other higher wattage is 40. I haven't seen anything in-between. Does that sound about right for a 2 1/2 month old Veiled?

 

[UrbanChameleon]

actually i have come to the conclusion mine will not bite you they will just swing and lunge at you to try and scare you away but when i get the glove on they know its on haha. idk if someone has ever been bitten or not.

Haha! You gotta show em' who's boss! I'm sure someone on the forum has been bitten. I need to get a glove. I'm sure he'll just get used to that and still try to bite my hand though. Haha. What kind of glove do you use? I see millions of pictures of people holding babies and it makes me a little sad that my guy doesn't want me too. I definitely don't want to force him into anything and make him uncomfortable unless I have too. I guess if he's trying to bite me.. at least that means he is healthy. I get super paranoid even when he changes to dark green for a second. I read WAY too much into the colors/patterns he changes into. I blame the forum. Haha!

 

[danibug23]

i just use a regular garden glove nothing to big that i can't feel them in my hand and smush them!! haha

 

[Canny Chams]

It may be the bulb. Nothin has really been proven wrong aout the exo terra 5.0, just alot has been proven right about zoomed 5.0

 

[UrbanChameleon]

It may be the bulb. Nothin has really been proven wrong aout the exo terra 5.0, just alot has been proven right about zoomed 5.0

That's what I've read in my research also. I was worried about the UVB bulb but didn't see any complaints with the Exo Terra bulbs. I actually had a spot bulb in his cage the first day or two that I had him. I saw some posts of people advising against that so I took it out. It wasn't pointing on him. It was actually melting my canopy top. But when I had it in there his coloration was gorgeous. Now I have just a regular 25 watt Day Glo or whatever Exo Terra calls them. It basically just emits heat. The spot bulb had more benefits and I can definitely tell the difference. The problem is that they are only made in 50 watt or higher from what I've seen in the local shops. Are there any basking lights you would recommend? He just seems more dull than what he was. He is happy and healthy, but looks wise I can tell. His colors are not as vibrant than what they were with the spot bulb.

 

[UrbanChameleon]

i just use a regular garden glove nothing to big that i can't feel them in my hand and smush them!! haha

Haha! That's what I figured! I will have to pick a pair up in a day or two. It's kind of funny. It reminds me of when people would do an "animal show" at school and bring out a Hawk. They would always have on those thick heavy duty leather/gardening gloves. I can't be the only one who remembers that from elementary school.

 

[Banders675]

mine does too

mine hangs upside down under his and it has a brand new bulb. I think they just like it. I take my dude outside a lot and let him hang out in the window and he still does the hanging thing.

 

[camimom]

actually i have come to the conclusion mine will not bite you they will just swing and lunge at you to try and scare you away but when i get the glove on they know its on haha. idk if someone has ever been bitten or not.

There was someone on here who goy bit so bad on the finger threy needed stitches.