Baby Veiled Basking all the time

[Ksauber]

Just a quick question. I have a baby veiled cham who is around 3-4 months old. I just got him on Sunday, but every single day, all he really does is bask. He will move to drink water, and he is eating crix, but other than that, he is just sitting under the heat lamp. The basking temp is right around 9 degrees which seems to be in his range for his age, but I am wondering if he is not warm enough. Any info would be helpful

 

[carol5208]

I am guessing you meant 90 degrees?

 

[Ksauber]

79 actually lol

 

[camimom]

thats your issue.

79 is WAY too cold for a baby that age.

Get his temps up to around 83-85 and im sure you'll see him move more.

 

[Ksauber]

thats your issue.

79 is WAY too cold for a baby that age.

Get his temps up to around 83-85 and im sure you'll see him move more.

Oh really? I was worried it was too hot! I thought the care sheet for veiled son here said 76-78 for 3-5 month old veiled but I could be wrong! I will lower the light a little and see if that helps thanks!

 

[camimom]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

If you read the sheet, it says ambient temp is 72-80, but the basking is 85.

 

[Ksauber]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

If you read the sheet, it says ambient temp is 72-80, but the basking is 85.

I was reading the wrong care sheet. The one I was reading is located at https://www.chameleonforums.com/complete-veiled-care-sheet-52263/

I will definitely refer to the one you posted though. Thank you!

 

[Ksauber]

I had to swap the bulb for a higher wattage, but the basking spot is up to 86 now so hopefully that will get him a bit more active. He is on the 2nd day of a shed however so he may be a bit inactive because if that as well.

 

[fluxlizard]

Just a quick question. I have a baby veiled cham who is around 3-4 months old. I just got him on Sunday, but every single day, all he really does is bask. He will move to drink water, and he is eating crix, but other than that, he is just sitting under the heat lamp. The basking temp is right around 9 degrees which seems to be in his range for his age, but I am wondering if he is not warm enough. Any info would be helpful

When a lizard basks all day, it is because the lizards instinct is telling it to warm up and it's body is not able to acheive the temperature it is demanding. They don't read care instructions and their bodies know what to do. They've been doing it for thousands and thousands of years. Thermoregulation is just as important to their survival and just as instinctual as drinking and eating- they know what they need and how to do it. But just like we can mess up diet, we can mess up how we provide heat and do things that cause burns or cook our lizards, etc.

So that is the first thing to think about the other is age.

In nature, babies bask in the same sunlight as the adults- same temperatures. The only thing about babies is that they dehydrate and overheat more easily. So in a terrarium if they are in a poorly designed habitat without a true temperature gradient so they can escape the heat, or maintain the heat without being in the hottest part of the cage all the time. Also, chameleons do better forced to be a bit cooler than they desire than they do when forced to be a bit warmer than they desire. So for babies- it's a safety thing to recommend low basking temps. In general in fact- a little cooler is always safer than a little warmer, even for adults.

For adults- lower temps are recommended sometimes to lengthen the lifespan of veileds, especially females.

True temperature gradient- not a simple hot spot/on-off/ hot-cold situation. Lots of branches under the heat source so the lizard can choose lots of different temperatures at any given moment, as well as cool away from the light. If you do that, you can safely raise the temp a bit and your lizard will know what to do for itself and will not sit under the hottest spot all day, nor will it burn itself.

 

[Ksauber]

When a lizard basks all day, it is because the lizards instinct is telling it to warm up and it's body is not able to acheive the temperature it is demanding. They don't read care instructions and their bodies know what to do. They've been doing it for thousands and thousands of years. Thermoregulation is just as important to their survival and just as instinctual as drinking and eating- they know what they need and how to do it. But just like we can mess up diet, we can mess up how we provide heat and do things that cause burns or cook our lizards, etc.

So that is the first thing to think about the other is age.

In nature, babies bask in the same sunlight as the adults- same temperatures. The only thing about babies is that they dehydrate and overheat more easily. So in a terrarium if they are in a poorly designed habitat without a true temperature gradient so they can escape the heat, or maintain the heat without being in the hottest part of the cage all the time. Also, chameleons do better forced to be a bit cooler than they desire than they do when forced to be a bit warmer than they desire. So for babies- it's a safety thing to recommend low basking temps. In general in fact- a little cooler is always safer than a little warmer, even for adults.

For adults- lower temps are recommended sometimes to lengthen the lifespan of veileds, especially females.

True temperature gradient- not a simple hot spot/on-off/ hot-cold situation. Lots of branches under the heat source so the lizard can choose lots of different temperatures at any given moment, as well as cool away from the light. If you do that, you can safely raise the temp a bit and your lizard will know what to do for itself and will not sit under the hottest spot all day, nor will it burn itself.

Thank you for the info! I know that they have instincts to thermoregulate but I was just a little worried about cooking him! I am including a pic of the enclosure. The basking lamp is raised above the cage in the top right corner of the pic, and the basking spot is directly under it. I believe there are enough branches and vines that he can freely move to get his temps right, but feel free to give input. I want to do right by this little guy!

 

[Psychobunny]

Here is what you need to do:

Buy a good digital thermometer, with a probe.

Buy a few different watt household incan light bulbs (will need to experiment)

Anchor the probe firmly to the exact spot where he basks, about 8 to 10 inches from the light.

Monitor the temp of each bulb, giving an hour between changes.

For montanes, I have found that 25W gives them all they need w/o being too hot.
For veildes and panthers I use 40W at a basking distance of 8''.

Use a "reflector" style dome lamp fixture. ExoTerra makes nice ones.

What kind of UV bulb are u using?
I recommend the long, tube style simply because it covers more area.

But the distance he is from the UV is very important because if he is too far from it, he will not get much effect as the UV index drops dramaticly.

 

[Ksauber]

Here is what you need to do:

Buy a good digital thermometer, with a probe.

Buy a few different watt household incan light bulbs (will need to experiment)

Anchor the probe firmly to the exact spot where he basks, about 8 to 10 inches from the light.

Monitor the temp of each bulb, giving an hour between changes.

For montanes, I have found that 25W gives them all they need w/o being too hot.
For veildes and panthers I use 40W at a basking distance of 8''.

Use a "reflector" style dome lamp fixture. ExoTerra makes nice ones.

What kind of UV bulb are u using?
I recommend the long, tube style simply because it covers more area.

But the distance he is from the UV is very important because if he is too far from it, he will not get much effect as the UV index drops dramaticly.

I do have the probe thermometer in the right spot, and I have multiple watt bulbs, which I just switched to a 40, which got the temp up to the 86 degrees he is at now. Also I do have it on a reflector done. As for uv, I have a coil style on this cage since it is his small baby cage. I have a strip ready for his bigger cage. The uv is resting on the top of the cage, so he gets about 4 inches from it at the higher point.