Early to bed??

[chrisw]

I own 6 chams of various types and ages. The lights in my cham room come on around 7:00am and go off around 7:30pm. All of my chams wake when the lights go on and start to "get settled" about 40 minutes before the lights go off. However, one of my newer chams, an Oustalet's male, retires for the day around 1:30pm. Can't figure him out - he is neither old nor particularly young. He feeds fine and is quite social - looks healthy in every way. I bought him from someone on the East Coast so he can't be jet-lagging!! I have had him for about 8 weeks and his behavior has been consistent. I figure the previous owner could have had him in an indoor area where the "day" was very short - maybe to save money on electricity. Of course he could be stressed or sick - but doesn't look it. He hand feeds or cup feeds daily with no issues. Any ideas?

 

[laurie]

That is one of the many chams I have never owned but going to bed that early sounds like a problem with any chameleon. Does he actually "go to sleep" or just close his eyes a lot?

 

[chrisw]

No - goes to sleep. He eats fine in the morning, spends a few hours basking, and moves around the cage to drink when the mister kicks in. At around 1:30pm , maybe 2:00 - he finds his favorite sleeping spot and spends about 30 minutes there curling up and getting settled before finally closing his eyes for good. Goes to the same exact spot everyday - everything about what he does appears normal except the time he does it. Even turns a nice calm milky brown.

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

Does he wake up before the lights come on in the morning? Or when they come on? Because a 5-6 hour day for a cham is quite short. All mine, when they were kept indoors started getting ready for be about an hour before lights out, never 6 hours before lights out. I would have him vet checked regardless of his healthy appearance.