Baby chameleon one eye closed (alternating)

saradoggy10

saradoggy10

Established Member
I had my first panther egg hatched a few days ago! I've been trying for years to breed but ended up getting a free egg from some guy who I talked to at the reptile expo.
My new little guy is 6 days old now and I'm keeping him in a small exo terra I had lying around that's something around 12x12x15. (Got it at a garage sale)
Attached is a picture of his enclosure, with a 60w incandescent bulb for heat and daylight as someone previously suggested. I plan to hook him up with a UVB in a couple days now.

Anyway, I was watching him and filling out an ethogram, as someone obsessed with animal behavior does, and I noticed he was alternating closing one eye. It's only for a couple seconds each, and some time in-between.
Generally he seems pretty healthy, and he notices food though I haven't seen him actively catch anything. He looks like he still has some remnants of that yolk sac left so I'm not sure if he's eating.

Should I be worried? Is there anything else I can do for him?


I am aware of the low "success" rate with infant chameleons. I am fully prepared for any potential outcome no matter how hard I try.

But I hope he makes it!!
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From what I remember I had uv on them from day one, 6% T5 with UV reading at 3. I had an open bin and the temp around 80 so my set up was different. My first that hatched (Paddy), had very similar behavior and he would close his eyes during the day. He did not eat until he was about 5-6 days old. I was not sure if he was going to make it either. I was in contact with a very experienced member that did help me during that time as well. Are you feeding fruit flies?
 
janjan20 said:
From what I remember I had uv on them from day one, 6% T5 with UV reading at 3. I had an open bin and the temp around 80 so my set up was different. My first that hatched (Paddy), had very similar behavior and he would close his eyes during the day. He did not eat until he was about 5-6 days old. I was not sure if he was going to make it either. I was in contact with a very experienced member that did help me during that time as well. Are you feeding fruit flies?
Click to expand...
I am feeding fruit flies. He is showing direct interest in the flies so I do believe he's moving and hunting just when I'm not looking. He seems to be growing as well.
(It's one of those things where you will look at him and he'll be still but you turn your head for one second and he's elsewhere)
I got a light for him and will abandon the 60w standard incandescent. I have at least made sure it doesn't get *too* dry in there since it's winter. (Not actually a heat lamp, just a warm bulb)
 
saradoggy10 said:
I am feeding fruit flies. He is showing direct interest in the flies so I do believe he's moving and hunting just when I'm not looking. He seems to be growing as well.
(It's one of those things where you will look at him and he'll be still but you turn your head for one second and he's elsewhere)
I got a light for him and will abandon the 60w standard incandescent. I have at least made sure it doesn't get *too* dry in there since it's winter. (Not actually a heat lamp, just a warm bulb)
Click to expand...
That’s good, as long as the flies are disappearing…just based off of the first pic he/she is looking pretty good. If you can find a small pothos to add that should help with humidity too. I had a couple in my bin and they hold water well on the leaves for them to drink off of.
 
janjan20 said:
That’s good, as long as the flies are disappearing…just based off of the first pic he/she is looking pretty good. If you can find a small pothos to add that should help with humidity too. I had a couple in my bin and they hold water well on the leaves for them to drink off of.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the plant selection around me is pretty sad. I just finished a new cage for my full grown male and had one hell of a time finding an alive plant for him.
I plan to order some pinhead crickets on Friday, but I prefer to just get some local if I can since I don't like to keep them. The local pet store only has crickets about twice the size of pinheads, do you know how long it'll be before I can feed those to him?
 
A good way to know if he’s eating is pooping. If you find tiny poops in the enclosure, then he’s pooping.
It will be awhile before he can eat bigger crickets.
 
saradoggy10 said:
Unfortunately the plant selection around me is pretty sad. I just finished a new cage for my full grown male and had one hell of a time finding an alive plant for him.
I plan to order some pinhead crickets on Friday, but I prefer to just get some local if I can since I don't like to keep them. The local pet store only has crickets about twice the size of pinheads, do you know how long it'll be before I can feed those to him?
Click to expand...
Neptune has a page on plants and some places to order them online. Maybe that would be a good option for you?

https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/plants
 
Why don't you order your pinheads in? Rainbowmealworms sells them.

For feeding something I saw that Bill Strand does is he takes the egg carton and cuts out a section of like two. Then puts the banana in it and pours the fruit flies into it. Then since there is two sections connection you can hook it over a branch in your plant. This way the flies stay near the food and its easier for baby to actively eat.
 
Beman said:
Why don't you order your pinheads in? Rainbowmealworms sells them.

For feeding something I saw that Bill Strand does is he takes the egg carton and cuts out a section of like two. Then puts the banana in it and pours the fruit flies into it. Then since there is two sections connection you can hook it over a branch in your plant. This way the flies stay near the food and its easier for baby to actively eat.
Click to expand...
Ooh that's really clever!
I'm ordering pinheads in tomorrow, they'll be here soon.
 
I initially ordered pinheads and my cham (Paddy) did not eat them. Surprisingly they were too big, I highly recommend just getting fruit fly cultures to keep going, I got mine from https://joshsfrogs.com/.
Like Jann mentioned earlier they won’t eat them for a while. I don’t know exactly when I reintroduced them but it may have been about 3 weeks to a month.
 
Beman said:
Why don't you order your pinheads in? Rainbowmealworms sells them.

For feeding something I saw that Bill Strand does is he takes the egg carton and cuts out a section of like two. Then puts the banana in it and pours the fruit flies into it. Then since there is two sections connection you can hook it over a branch in your plant. This way the flies stay near the food and its easier for baby to actively eat.
Click to expand...
I used oranges lol! Man those things crawl everywhere lol!!
 
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