Cham sat on floor - please help!

L

lizgentry

New Member
Hi Guys

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Exo terra, 30cm x 30cm x 45cm. Mesh top, glass sides - being replaced in 2 days with 24inch x 24inch x 36inch all mesh.

Lighting - Powersun 100W lights on at 6.30am and off at 7.30pm

Temperature - Basking, 85 - Bottom 75 - Ambient - 78 to 80


Humidity - Between 50 and 70% Misted twice daily.

Plants - 1 x ficus

Placement - In bedroom so very low traffic, basking spot is around 4ft off floor.

Location - South East UK

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Female veiled, 5 months old, in my care for 4

Handling - Once a week.

Feeding - 10 - 12 medium locust every day. Gut loaded with fruit & Veg

Supplements - Nutrobal, every day.

Watering - Light misting everyday. Water bowl provided, she does drink from it, water changed everyday.

Fecal Description - Two lumps of brown, solid. 1 white with orange end with clear slimy stuff. Never tested for parasites.

History - Suffered burn around 3 1/2 months ago although fully healed now. Put plant pot in 2 days ago to act as laying bin just incase she is with eggs (doesnt look wider but her body looks taller - if that makes sense)

Current Problem - Woke up this morning (1/2 hour after her light went on) and she was lying on the floor next to her waterbowl. Didnt think anything of it as she often does this for drinking. Went in to bedroom 2 hrs later and she was still there. Picked her up (to check she hadnt fallen and hurt herself) She puffed up and started hissing - felt very cold. Climbed on to one of her branches (movement seems fine) offered her food which she took. Have just checked on her now and she is under her light, dark colours and flat body. I am worried because of the time she was laying on the floor this morning. Could this be a sign of anything?

Thankyou!
 
Would cut down on the nutriobal as every day is waaay too much. i use nutrobal once a week and calcium twice as week as they can have too much.

Is she shedding? this maybe the reason shes near her water source alot as mine takes alot of water on the day before he sheds.
 
You are feeding her a lot of food.... She might have eggs... Get rid of the bowl. Do not provide sitting water like that. She could fall in and the bacteria will build up. Chameleons need to be misted heavily. If she runs from the mist than put HOT water into the bottle, it will be 'warm' as it hits her. You should mist her for at least 3-5 minutes straight two or three times a day.

How high is your powersun from her basking spot?

As for her food... you feed her a lot. I am thinking she is loading up with eggs and will need to lay in the next month or sooner. To encourage this put up a barrear so she can't see out. Don't cover the cage, yous till need it to vent. Stand up some cardboard or hang a sheet a foot or so away from the cage (so air can move about, but she can't see out) will give her the privacy she needs. If she sees movement she'll leave the hole she is digging or not even try to dig if she doesn't feel secure.

the powersun isn't really what you want for a cham in a cage. They put out a LOT of UV. I would suggest moving to a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 and a 50-60w heat lamp (normal household spot). put both above a basking spot, about 6" from the basking area and you will be providing good light for her to bask in.

The ambient temps seem a little warm... if you can cool them down a tad it would be good. and rasing the basking temp would be good too... they can take it up to about low 90s in the basking area.... but she is young so you are in an OK range... just a tad cool, so it could go warmer by a bit.

You shouldn't see her hiding low in the cage. If she is there is something wrong. The UV might be too much, the heat is too high or she wants to lay some eggs.

I would also set up a dripper. You can use a large cup with a pin hole in the bottom and use a cup or bowl that is covered with screen to catch the water or let the water run off into some sort of drainage..... or the plant pot... Chams drink from moving water. So making the water drip on leaves is good, she'll know to lick the leaves.
 
You are feeding her a lot of food.... She might have eggs... Is there any way to tell she has eggs?

Get rid of the bowl. Do not provide sitting water like that. She could fall in and the bacteria will build up.Its only shallow so she cant fall in and it is cleaned and water changed daily. I put it in because she was dehydrated even with heavy misting just to see if it would help and she does drink from it. When i receive the new cage next week i will be setting up a dripper.

How high is your powersun from her basking spot? Around 12 inches away from basking spot.

The ambient temps seem a little warm... if you can cool them down a tad it would be good. and rasing the basking temp would be good too... they can take it up to about low 90s in the basking area.... but she is young so you are in an OK range... just a tad cool, so it could go warmer by a bit. Will do, thanks.

You shouldn't see her hiding low in the cage. This is the first time i have seen her down there for any length of time, normally she is wandering around up top.

Thanks for the advice! :eek:
 
With regard to the dusting - I had Lily on this schedule from when I got her at 6 months - Plain calcium (Calypso) Mon, Weds & Fri and Nutrabol every other Sunday.

At that age it possible that she could be cycling eggs, or she may just be becoming receptive. Lily would wander around when she was receptive, although she didn't sit on the floor for any length of time. One thing I did observe with Lily was when she started to cycle her clutches she would turn more brown (where she was normally bright green) and she would look 'ill' and bloated. She would also feel cold as she would hide at the back away from the heat lamp. Her clutch would be laid about 3 to weeks later.

The fact that she's still eating and drinking is a good sign. When they are close to laying a clutch you will be able to see and feel the outline of the eggs just above her back legs when she's resting and relaxed. The 'lumps' are about the size of a jellybean or large baked bean. Before laying they will also stop eating or eat very little for anything up to a week or so.
 
Thanks Miss Lilly!

I think, from everything you have said, she may have eggs.

About 3(ish) weeks ago she would spend all day just wandering around her viv and never really settled.

Her colours have gone really dull and dark too.

She doesnt so much look bigger but her body does look 'taller'. Although i have thought she looked a little bloated when she has been sleeping.

I am happy she is eating still (and will even hand feed now too).

If she is carrying eggs, would that explain why she was SO anti being handled today? I have never seen her puff up that much and hiss so loudly.

FYI - I have increased her basking spot temp by around another 3-4 degrees and placed a sheet in the way so she cant see out (just incase). She is now sat up in her ficus, just below her light.
 
I don't know about the handling - Lily never puffed, gaped or hissed, so I can't help with that. It could be that she's also becoming an adult and they can change and become more agressive. Could you post a photo of her? We may be able to help more if we can see what colours she's actually showing.

Do you have alaying bin in there for her to use? At her age I would leave one in the cage so she has access to it. Especially for a first clutch you may not recognise the signs that laying is imminent. It really helped me to keep a diary for Lily - I filled in a table that i designed on computer on a daily basis, so I could note how much and what she'd eaten, whether she pooped or not, how the poop and urates looked, etc etc. That was so useful to look back on and I still refer to it now when anyone posts about egg laying.
 
Any orange in the urate is a sign of dehydration. You want them to be all white. What are you using to measure temps? Powersun's put out a TON of heat and 12" really does not seem like enough. Hopefully you have a digital thermometer.
 
Ok have just taken a pic.

First one is her about a month ago.
Second one is her about 5 mins ago.

036-2.jpg

SL370671.jpg
 
When someone gives you a suggestion, dont just think that you know everything, and then not use their information.;)
ditch the water bowl. Heres the reason why: She could fall in and the bacteria will build up.
Or change the water every hour, to get rid of the bacteiria problem, and screen off the top so she cant get in.

Please don't think you know everything. Because you don't. Nobody does.

No offence, and good luck!

-Steve

EDIT: Did you cut off a chunk of carpet from your floor and stick it in there? That looks like it could get caught in her toenails. Get rid of that too, please!

EDIT#2
Some of my old threads relating to this...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/licking-floor-23153/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/very-urgent-help-21415/
 
chameleon97 said:
When someone gives you a suggestion, dont just think that you know everything, and then not use their information.;)
ditch the water bowl. Heres the reason why: She could fall in and the bacteria will build up.
Or change the water every hour, to get rid of the bacteiria problem, and screen off the top so she cant get in.

Please don't think you know everything. Because you don't. Nobody does.

No offence, and good luck!

-Steve

EDIT: Did you cut off a chunk of carpet from your floor and stick it in there? That looks like it could get caught in her toenails. Get rid of that too, please!

EDIT#2
Some of my old threads relating to this...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/licking-floor-23153/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/very-urgent-help-21415/
Click to expand...

At no point did i say i know everything. - If i thought that i wouldnt be on here. I just added my comment to explain the reasoning behind why i put a water bowl in there. As i said - a dripper will be set up in 2 days.

No, i did not cut off a bit of carpet and stick it in there! That was put in there after it was reccomended to me by someone who know an awful lot about keeping chameleons. It has been in there for 5 months and i have had no problems with it.

Sorry, but i am offended at the 'please dont think you know everything' comment. I really dont think i have said anything that would make it seem like i think that. I just replied to someones post.

Again, if i did think i know everything, i wouldnt be on here asking for advice.

Thank you for the links, i will read them now.
 
Get rid of the bowl. Do not provide sitting water like that. She could fall in and the bacteria will build up. Its only shallow so she cant fall in and it is cleaned and water changed daily. I put it in because she was dehydrated even with heavy misting just to see if it would help and she does drink from it. When i receive the new cage next week i will be setting up a dripper.
Click to expand...

I can see why i may have offended you. I'm not trying to start an argument.

Anyways, When he said to get rid of the bowl, you ¨corrected him¨ by saying two things which made you think he was wrong. However, Please get rid of the water dish, or else:
change the water every hour, to get rid of the bacteiria problem, and screen off the top so she cant get in.
Click to expand...

And that repticarpet really isnt good for chams if they go to the bottom. acutually, they are good for almost nothing except for on your floor. Any animal with claws will get them stuck in there.
 
And its better to have two seperate bulbs for heat and UVB. then, you can put the UVB closer, and still adjust the heat lamp.

Sup. Schedule:
Calcium without d3 6 times a week
calcium with d3 twice a mont
nutrobal twice a month.

(i actually dont know what nutrobal is, but im assuming its a multivitimin, so twice a month)

And i just meant that you should use information, and not say its wrong. thats all.
 
Last edited:
I didnt mean it seem like i was correcting him - i was just trying to explain why i had put a water bowl in there.

The repticarpet was reccomended by someone who has quite a reputation around here - Mark Amey.

Anywho, in 2 days my new Terry Thatcher cage will be here (woohoo). The carpet will be gone, the dripper will be in, and a proper laying bin will be in there too aswell as her live plants (that took me forever to find!)

So hopefully this will be all current issues resolved!

Thanks very much for the advice :)
 
chameleon97 said:
And that repticarpet really isnt good for chams if they go to the bottom. acutually, they are good for almost nothing except for on your floor. Any animal with claws will get them stuck in there.
Click to expand...

Just so you know I have raised breaded dragons, which most definately have claws, for years on those carpets. Never yet had one lose a nail in the carpet. I think they are an excellent carpet for dragons. never used one for chams as I have lots of water going through my cham cages.
 
Yup nutrobal is a multi vit.

I have been to three suppliers today in search of calcium with and calcium without d3 and i cant find the stuff anywhere!

Does anyone know of a UK firm i can order from and get delivered?
 
laurie said:
Just so you know I have raised breaded dragons, which most definately have claws, for years on those carpets. Never yet had one lose a nail in the carpet. I think they are an excellent carpet for dragons. never used one for chams as I have lots of water going through my cham cages.
Click to expand...

Oh. One more thing I've learned today lol. I have heard many stories about it. But regardless im never using it lol.
 
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