Do your chameleons nap?

[SilverWolf]

Do any of your chameleons take a nap from time to time? Earlier today, Tricky fell asleep while on my hand. This was around 7 PM but I believe it was just because the room was dim at the time. There was still quite a bit of light, from the computer, Wii U gamepad and window, but he still closed his eyes and went to sleep. He stayed a sleep the whole time he was on my hand, even with a trip down and up the stairs. Before this he was crawling all round my shoulder, arm and back. It was when he walked on my hand that he fell asleep. When he woke up (while I was opening the curtains), he wouldn't leave my hand. So I had to really encourage him to get back in his enclosure but he's always like this, whether previously sleeping or not.

 

[Veiled chameleons121]

Yeh thats quite common my chameleon does that. it just likes the warmth of your hand

 

[emmadavies]

Do any of your chameleons take a nap from time to time? Earlier today, Tricky fell asleep while on my hand. This was around 7 PM but I believe it was just because the room was dim at the time. There was still quite a bit of light, from the computer, Wii U gamepad and window, but he still closed his eyes and went to sleep. He stayed a sleep the whole time he was on my hand, even with a trip down and up the stairs. Before this he was crawling all round my shoulder, arm and back. It was when he walked on my hand that he fell asleep. When he woke up (while I was opening the curtains), he wouldn't leave my hand. So I had to really encourage him to get back in his enclosure but he's always like this, whether previously sleeping or not.

exact same thing happened to me last night...glad to hear its normal

 

[leedragon]

if I am not misstaken thats a symptom of stress they close thier eyes so they don´t see the danger

 

[Lathis]

I would agree that it's a sign of stress, particularly for Jacksons. They have a more flight than fight response and seem to shut down when scared. Ferdinand has never "fallen asleep" in my hands. Chameleons usually (not all, there are exceptions) are not an animal that will just chill on your hand or shoulder.

My thoughts are three-fold:

1 - 7 pm is pretty late for a lizard that gets up with the sun. His regular sleep patterns may have been disturbed.

2 - He may have been feeling overwhelmed with the flickering lights, handling, and etc.

3 - Napping is definitely not normal for a chameleon. In fact, sleeping or closing eyes during the day is an early sign of sickness. If he does this regularly, it's time for a vet visit.

If this was a one time issue, it may not be anything to worry about. Generally at that late hour, I would say leave him be and let him sleep or get ready for sleeping.

 

[leedragon]

I would agree that it's a sign of stress, particularly for Jacksons. They have a more flight than fight response and seem to shut down when scared. Ferdinand has never "fallen asleep" in my hands. Chameleons usually (not all, there are exceptions) are not an animal that will just chill on your hand or shoulder.

My thoughts are three-fold:

1 - 7 pm is pretty late for a lizard that gets up with the sun. His regular sleep patterns may have been disturbed.

2 - He may have been feeling overwhelmed with the flickering lights, handling, and etc.

3 - Napping is definitely not normal for a chameleon. In fact, sleeping or closing eyes during the day is an early sign of sickness. If he does this regularly, it's time for a vet visit.

If this was a one time issue, it may not be anything to worry about. Generally at that late hour, I would say leave him be and let him sleep or get ready for sleeping.

thank you you explained what I wanted to say in a clear way

 

[Psychobunny]

I would agree that it's a sign of stress, particularly for Jacksons. They have a more flight than fight response and seem to shut down when scared. Ferdinand has never "fallen asleep" in my hands. Chameleons usually (not all, there are exceptions) are not an animal that will just chill on your hand or shoulder.

My thoughts are three-fold:

1 - 7 pm is pretty late for a lizard that gets up with the sun. His regular sleep patterns may have been disturbed.

2 - He may have been feeling overwhelmed with the flickering lights, handling, and etc.

3 - Napping is definitely not normal for a chameleon. In fact, sleeping or closing eyes during the day is an early sign of sickness. If he does this regularly, it's time for a vet visit.

If this was a one time issue, it may not be anything to worry about. Generally at that late hour, I would say leave him be and let him sleep or get ready for sleeping.

I agree, but if the jackson cham in question has it's tail tightly curled up, that would indicate it's intentions to (be indisposed) go to sleep.
Chams curl their tails so something (a preditor) cant pull them from their perch. So, curling up the tail in advance would mean they expect to sleep.

PS. 7pm is past their bedtime. They should be left alone, it's a time when they are likely to feel most vulnerable.

 

[Bush baby]

Yeah, sleeping on your hand and/or during the day may be a sign of stress or early sickness; of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. If he does it routinely but is other wise acting healthy, then you could say it's just one of his quirks but this kinda goes against natural/normal cham behavior.

 

[Lathis]

I agree, but if the jackson cham in question has it's tail tightly curled up, that would indicate it's intentions to (be indisposed) go to sleep.
Chams curl their tails so something (a preditor) cant pull them from their perch. So, curling up the tail in advance would mean they expect to sleep.

PS. 7pm is past their bedtime. They should be left alone, it's a time when they are likely to feel most vulnerable.

Ferdinand will curl his tail lightly like that when he's happy, in addition to sleepy time - like during a nice warm shower or sitting in the sun. 7 PM is definitely past his bedtime, though. He would be a major grump log if I bugged him that late

 

[AACblackout]

My chams wake up at 8 and goto sleep at 8pm 12 hours up and 12 hours down! Does that sound ok

 

[SilverWolf]

Okay I have to go ahead and say this, since several people are insisting 7 PM is past a chameleon's "bed time." This is not the case for, Tricky. His "bed time" is after 8 PM, around 8:30 PM. He awakes around 6 - 6:30 AM. The reason for this is because the sun is still perfectly out and about and bright here. Even when it is setting, there is still just as much light at 7 PM as there is at 6:30 AM.

I don't think that he fell asleep do to stress. Keep in mind he was walking around my arm and shoulder before this, without any stress colours or spots and when he walked on my hand is when the blinds closed. Have you noticed your chameleons tend to sleep when it is dark and wake up when there is light? Whenever I come into the room to get something for a brief moment and turn on my light, it usually wakes him up. If you put your chameleon in a dark area during the day, they would likely fall asleep. This doesn't mean they're stressed, it is just because they associate darkness with night, and think it's time to sleep. It was quite dim when he got onto my hand and I believe that's why he fell asleep. He NEVER sleeps during the day. He woke up as soon as the light entered back in the room (near his lit enclosure and blinds opened now).

EDIT: I WILL say though, that as it is getting closer and closer to autumn, and then winter, the sun will be setting earlier and earlier and it already is. So eventually his bed time probably will be right at or possibly even past his bed time soon. But for now, 7 PM is not passed his bed time. I also want to mention that the only other time this happened (falling asleep on me) was twice, quite a bit ago. And this only happened when it was very dark where we were. Again, this tells me that he notices darkness, thinks of it as night and tries to sleep because of it. If you still think there is a problem, let me know.