Staying hidden in plant... first day he's done this.

SKnaak

New Member
We have had Blu for about two weeks now. Every morning so far he has come to the top to the lights almost by 7:00am when the kids are leaving for school. Today its 9:30 and he is just down in the back of the cage behind a plant (lower in the cage) I saw his eyes move so I know he is alive but I've never seem him hide and not move around in the morning... Thoughts?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
    • Blu is a male Panther. I have had him for about 2 weeks.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
    • So far maybe every other day for a couple of minutes.
    • He has been eating meal worms from my hand every other day I would say.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
    • He eats pretty good so far. eats meal worms, wax worms, and mostly crickets.
    • Putting in 5-6 crickets in the morning, some meal worms in the day.
    • I dust her worms with Reptivite every other day.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
    • Reptivite with D3 every other day.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
    • I have the little dripper set up on top of her cage dripping down some leaves from the ceiling of the cage.
    • Mist 2-3 times a day for about a minute each
    • I have seen him drinking, sometimes drinking a lot. I do not visibly see her drinking every day though.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
    • no
  • History - Purchased at a Petco.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
    • Screen cage
    • 18x24x48
    • Lots of vines/leafy plants throughout
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
    • Both UVA and UVB bulb.
    • Usually lights go on around 6:50-7:00am, off around 8:00-8:30pm.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
    • Basking spot (usually anywhere between 80-90 degrees F) and another wire that is hidden within the leaves of her cage to read the humidity
    • Lower in the cage is in the mid 70s usually
    • At night, around 75-79 degrees
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
    • not sure
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
    • Yes; I forget the name but was recommend by this board.
  • 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?
    • In my bedroom, up against the wall directly below my air vent. Air flow seems not to hit her cage since the vent is at the very top of my ceiling, so there is a large area between the top of the cage and the vent much higher.
    • My ceiling fan is a few feet away, but is only on for brief periods of time and not very often.
    • Not a ton of foot traffic through my room, except for myself and my parents occasionally helping with her.
    • Top of cage is 48" from the floor
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
    • Southern California
 
You haven’t had him long enough for him to develop a normal schedule. I wouldn’t worry since this is the first time, but if starts sleeping during the day or this behavior continues and his food/water intake start to drop off then you may have something that needs to be corrected.

However you do need to fix your supplements. And what are you gutloading with?

She should be getting calcium dust without D3 at every feeding. Also should be dusting with calcium with D3 twice a month. She also needs a multivitamin twice a month
 
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