Veiled Cham - lying / sitting down in daytime

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Hi everyone....

My cham is spending quite a bit of time lying down on a branch on her basking spot. is this normal? she went through a stage of exploring her cage a month back but now she doesnt do much at all.... i think at the time she was looking for a male to mate with perhaps? her eyes arent sunk and shes gets plenty of water from a dropper which i use plus she has mellon and bananna every other day. ive also just managed to get hold of silkworms and she is loving them

she must be nearly a year old now
temps 26dc to 30dc
all in one uv and heat lamp arcadia 160w (very cold where i live) light sits a good foot off her basking spot.
feeding everyday still but like 2 silks and 2/3 locust dusted with d3 regular

just curious if anyone elses chams lie down in the day?

thanks guys

few pics of her

 

[Jamelon]

shes a big girl! lol just a question are you only using calcium with d3 to dust? its recommended to only dust with d3 twice a month and to dust with calcium w/o d3 the rest of the time, also do you use a vitamin supplement?

 

[Cainschams]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Please fill the form out and repost it in this thread.

She does look very big. Possibly overfed some. I would also suspect her to be gravid as big as she is. I do not have any experience with gravid veileds but I do with other species. I find they will do more resting in the middle of being gravid. Basking a lot and soaking up the UV rays. At the end they will become more restless and trying to find an appropriate spot to lay. I see what appears to be a laying bin in her enclosures? She may scratch at it or even lay in it but I would say it is too small for her. Once you notice her searching for a spot to lay and she doesnt go in the bin or I would have a larger one on hand to put her in.

 

[jannb]

Here's a blog that you might find helpful about egg laying and the laying bin.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[cantgetagoodsn]

It's probably your light. Most people on here will not recommend the UVB and heat all in one. Theyre too hot and bright for chams, it's more for a desert animal. You need whatever regular house bulb 40-50W should get you what you need temp wise, just try it out and see. And also for UVB you need the LINEAR, not compact, reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. My jacksons was doing something similar and it's because it was too hot in his basking. Changed the bulb and nearly immediately he was fine.

 

[morpheon]

I don't know the Arcadia type of lamp, but most mercury vapor bulbs are fine, and even recommended. I personnally have been using the Megaray one for years and i don't plan on changing it!

That being said, what are the UVs in the Arcadia lamp? UVA? UVB? UVC? 2.0, 5.0, 10.0??

Your chameleon looks pretty big. Is she pooping properly? I believe she may be pregnant. Do you know if she has been digging lately?? The fact that she used to be roaming around, and now stopped makes me worried. If you touch her stomach, can you feel some small eggs??

How are your supplements??

Your basking spot is probably too low. I'd higher it to easily 35 degrees, if not a bit more.

Have you noticed any changes in her eating habits too? Like eating more or less?


Either way, if i were you i'd go to see a vet, and have her checked for eggs.

 

[Cainschams]

It's probably your light. Most people on here will not recommend the UVB and heat all in one. Theyre too hot and bright for chams, it's more for a desert animal. You need whatever regular house bulb 40-50W should get you what you need temp wise, just try it out and see. And also for UVB you need the LINEAR, not compact, reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. My jacksons was doing something similar and it's because it was too hot in his basking. Changed the bulb and nearly immediately he was fine.

Many people use those types of bulbs with success. I dont think they are saying she is sleeping just less active and sorta relaxing on the branch. Hopefully my assumption is not wrong though. In the pictures she looks plenty alert.


Morpheon, I would not waste money or put stress on her with a trip to the vet just to see if she has eggs in her. It obviously looks like she does but probably just isnt ready yet. As I said, all of my animals do more basking and sitting around until around a week before they have to lay.


Ads, are the pictures recent? I wouldnt worry too much if she is not sleeping during the day. Just take in to consideration she will probably want a larger laying bin than she has.

 

[morpheon]

Jared: what makes me worried is the fact that the female was exploring a month ago, but not anymore. If it was a week or two ago, it wouldn't bother me much, but the fact that she isn't exploring anymore nor trying to dig a hole is something i don't like to read. That, coupled to the unknown supplementation and unknown UV lighting makes me worried about her eggs. I'm sure that you know what i am thinking about! So what do you think about that Jared?

She may be basking more because she is feeling cold. I know that Calyptratus usually like higher temperatures. Therefore, a 35 degrees hot spot (if not 38) would help. But the eggs/not exploring anymore is still something i'd investigate.

With that being said, i agree that knowing a little more about the chronology of the pictures and events would help a lot.

 

[Cainschams]

Jared: what makes me worried is the fact that the female was exploring a month ago, but not anymore. If it was a week or two ago, it wouldn't bother me much, but the fact that she isn't exploring anymore nor trying to dig a hole is something i don't like to read. That, coupled to the unknown supplementation and unknown UV lighting makes me worried about her eggs. I'm sure that you know what i am thinking about! So what do you think about that Jared?

She may be basking more because she is feeling cold. I know that Calyptratus usually like higher temperatures. Therefore, a 35 degrees hot spot (if not 38) would help. But the eggs/not exploring anymore is still something i'd investigate.

With that being said, i agree that knowing a little more about the chronology of the pictures and events would help a lot.

My assumption is that she was not gravid a month ago and acting as a normal cham would and now she is producing eggs she is just lazier. If the photos are from the past day or two I would not be worried about taking her to a vet. I would be worried about her not wanting to lay in that bin though. He also didnt say she was spending lots of time wandering the bottom of the cage.

We do need more info though.

 

[morpheon]

You may be right, and we'll be more confident once we get more infos!

 

[kinyonga]

Has she been drinking a lot more than before?
Does she show a dark background at times?
Has she shown any interest in the egglaying bin in the cage?

 

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thanks for all the replies everyone its really helpful to hear what you all say....

ok heres the form info first..

chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Veiled cham / female / had her 6 months now / got her around 6 months old.

Handling - Not alot / dont want to stress her / i can get her to freely walk onto me only with food on my arm tho. she did have a little spell like a month back where i would leave the droor open and she would come right out and walk on my hand and then walk on to the window seal but i beleive this was because she wanted the sunlight but now the suns never out. i also stroke under her chin somtimes and she doesnt puff up so i think she likes it.

Feeding - Locust-gutt loaded with lettice, dandi leafs, potato / silkworms-gutt loaded on the mulsh stuff that came with them / the odd wax worm / she gets mellon and bannana every otherday -2 to 3 bits

Supplements - repton supplement (pics attached) used every other day.

Watering - mist in morning for 2 mins and in evening / dripper set up / also use dropper every day - 2 to 3 drops of water. plus she gets water with the mellon. i see her drinkin off the leaves but she always drinks from the dropper.

Fecal Description - She has been a bit consterpated recently. poos normaly every 3 days but recently it was over a week! i noticed her wee was a bit orange (which means lack of water i beleive?) only recently (last week) she went off her food for a few days. never tested her poo.

History - Only history is i brought her from ameyzoo reptiles and the guy that sold her to me and all the equipent / supplements is called Mark Amey. Mark is a respected zoologist who has worked with the likes of David Attenborough on the life in cold blood series, he is a consultant for Zoomed and Acadia, and handles reps/mammals for films & docuemntaries. All the info and guidance he has given me i have taken in.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - reptibreeze 24 x 24 x 48".

Lighting - arcadia 160w d3 basking lamp uva uvb ir - pics attached. sits a foot of her basking spot.

Temperature - digital temp gauge. sits around 26dc to 30dc in basking spot around 22dc to 24dc cool spot. at night i have a small cyramic heater which keeps the room at 20dc at night cos it gets very cold here.

Humidity - normally around 50 to 60 but once sprayed it sits around 70.

Plants - use fake plants which i hang on the cage and have 2 real figs trees - see pic

Placement - cage is on a table high up as possible. in rear bedroom which backs on to a woodland area. the top of cage is 2.2m from floor level.

Location - Kings Langley, UK - It gets really cold where I live. Its 5dc outside today.

all the pics i have put up below were taken today.

ok guys im goning to try and answer your questios all in one go lol here goes.... (thanks by the way for all your help i know its a pain reading all this - if there is a way i can help this website by making a donation to this site i will so maybe someone can let me know??) if i havent replied to some of your questions its because its listed above.

i have read the raising kitty info and i am trying to stick to that regarding temps and feeding. I have also seen the laying bin info and i have a massive bin ready for her. the one in the cage is the tester so when she starts to dig/scratch i will know - still hasnt yet.

morpheon i have felt her stomach and i can feel some small lumps but there not visible. i assume they are eggs. i was told until she looks like a football with legs then she wont be ready to lay? the raising kitty info recommends to keep the temp in the low 80s?

Cainschams i have put more pics up (below) they where taken today.

she hasnt gone to the bottom of the cage nor has she tried to digg. i make sure the sand is smooth on top so i will know if she has been in it or not.

kinyonga she drinks the same amount (that i give her daily) however i have a dripper and work in the day so couldnt say if she drunk more in the day or not.... when she is basking she does go a darker shade and once she eats she goes bright again with the blue strips/dots and mustard/orange patches. no interest in the layin bin.

thanks every one again for your help.... pics.....

 

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[kinyonga]

I would be dusting with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings and use the one you are using only a couple of times a month.

Dusting with the phos.-free calcium helps make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in most feeder insects.

D3 and prEformed vitamin A can build up in the system so you need to be careful of them.

Giving D3 a couple of times a month lightly will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it and allowing the chameleon to produce the rest from its exposure to the UVB light.

I only use a vitamin powder twice a month also...and its one with a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A since it won't build up in the system. It leaves the chameleon's owner in charge of how much prEformed vitamin A the chameleon gets.

Calcium is important not only for bones, but it is used in other systems in the chameleon and in the shells of the eggs...so its important that she gets enough. It is needed by the muscles as well.

Your chameleon is quite chubby....has she grown slowly to reach that size or has there been a quick increase lately? How much do you feed her (or how much does she eat) a week?