starryskiezz
Member
Hey! So I'll let the more experienced members critique temps and stuff. But I've had a similar situation before, and what I realized was that my chameleon Bames was not given enough time to sleep! I'm a university student, so I sleep weird hours sometimes. When Bames was younger, he was sleeping a lot more than I felt was normal, and I remember being concerned that he was sick with a respiratory infection! So I took him to a vet, and he was deemed very healthy, and the smallest chameleon the vet had seen!
Anyways, chameleons I believe need about 12 hours (correct me if I am wrong please) of pitch black dark to rest. I realized that due to my weird student-y sleep schedule, I wasn't letting Bames sleep the hours he needed to! Once I started regulating my sleep schedule a bit more, he was fine. Also, he was younger so that may have played a role.
The first thing you would want to check though is listen for any wheezing or look for any mucus coming from his mouth... if your chameleon is sick, that could quickly turn very dangerous for them! However, what makes me think that it's not sick it that your cham has a healthy appetite and seems to have energy to run away. As much as they're good at hiding illness, a sick cham often will struggle with eating. But if you're unsure, DEFINITELY go see a vet who specializes in reptiles/small animals.
Hopefully your lil angel is okay! <3
Anyways, chameleons I believe need about 12 hours (correct me if I am wrong please) of pitch black dark to rest. I realized that due to my weird student-y sleep schedule, I wasn't letting Bames sleep the hours he needed to! Once I started regulating my sleep schedule a bit more, he was fine. Also, he was younger so that may have played a role.
The first thing you would want to check though is listen for any wheezing or look for any mucus coming from his mouth... if your chameleon is sick, that could quickly turn very dangerous for them! However, what makes me think that it's not sick it that your cham has a healthy appetite and seems to have energy to run away. As much as they're good at hiding illness, a sick cham often will struggle with eating. But if you're unsure, DEFINITELY go see a vet who specializes in reptiles/small animals.
Hopefully your lil angel is okay! <3
Be patient though, because it takes chameleons a long time to warm up the majority of the time. They're very sassy and some days might tolerate you and other days just decide they have a bone to pick with you haha. My cham gets mad at me for the most random reasons, especially as he gets older... he'll huff at me and I just kiss him until he accepts me annoying him. I have had mine since he was very young, but even now I sometimes have to just force my affection on him until he accepts it muahaha. That being said, find your chameleon's favorite thing to eat (for my veiled, that was gutloaded crickets) and just patiently wiggle them around in front of the cham. As you get more used to your cham you'll be able to tell if he's not hungry, or not eating because he's mad or something, and when he is about to eat (ie. he will focus both eyes and murderously/determinedly look at his prey, then BAM). I personally found Bames wasn't too into hornworms, but he LOVES super worms and crickets. When I first got him if he didn't eat, I just remember sitting there patiently trying over and over again to feed him. Another thing that will help besides patience (and a consistent feeding schedule) is to try and bring your cham out and have him somewhere by you, or to have his vivarium near by you while you work! For example, since I am in my fifth year of a degree, I often would perch baby Bames on my laptop while I worked, or he'd decide to come sit on my head while I studied.
