eyes closed

[monicak8777]

last night I got another veiled at a petstore and he seemed to be very well taken care of by the pet store people. so I brought him home with me and I noticed after I got him home that he seemed to be dehydrated holding his mouth open so i misted him whenever he needed it and his stool was also kinda yellow, also another sign of dehydration. now today I hold him and he is closing his eyes.. I know this is not a good sign.. can this also be a sign of him just dehydrated? he will be on my hand and start walking and have his eyes closed..

 

[carol5208]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ Please fill out the form. You say he was well taken care of at the pet store, do you know what kind of lighting they were using. That could be the cause of his eyes being closed. Also, opening of the mouth does not usually mean they are dehydrated, more so they are trying to thermo regulate their body temp (your temps could be too high) or possibly a Upper Respiratory Infection where they are gaping for air. Not saying thats what it is but open mouth does not signal dehydration. Orange urate usually is a sign of dehydration, along with sunken eyes. Please post a pic of the chameleon if possible The form, just try and fill out what you know about his previous care if possbile. I just saw that you only had him since last night! Sorry!

 

[monicak8777]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ Please fill out the form. You say he was well taken care of at the pet store, do you know what kind of lighting they were using. That could be the cause of his eyes being closed. Also, opening of the mouth does not usually mean they are dehydrated, more so they are trying to thermo regulate their body temp (your temps could be too high) or possibly a Upper Respiratory Infection where they are gaping for air. Not saying thats what it is but open mouth does not signal dehydration. Orange urate usually is a sign of dehydration, along with sunken eyes. Please post a pic of the chameleon if possible The form, just try and fill out what you know about his previous care if possbile. I just saw that you only had him since last night! Sorry!

I'm not sure exactly what the pet store owner used but he told me to use these certain lights that I'm thinking is the problem.. he told me to use Repti Glo tropical terrarium lamp 26W. 5.0 uvb... and for basking he told me to get the zoo med basking spot lamp 75W.. I had a 50W I already had but he said that wasn't enough.. the cham is two months.

 

[Jamelon]

if your chams mouthh is staying open it probably mean that its too hot. 75W heat bulb will definetly be too hot for your cham, i had a 60W one and it was too hot, you want the temps to be around 80 for a 2 month old. I use a 40W household bulb and it keeps the temp right at 80

 

[monicak8777]

if your chams mouthh is staying open it probably mean that its too hot. 75W heat bulb will definetly be too hot for your cham, i had a 60W one and it was too hot, you want the temps to be around 80 for a 2 month old. I use a 40W household bulb and it keeps the temp right at 80

I thought the 75w seemed too much. I have a 50w for my female cham I've had for a month and she's been fine and the temps of her cage have been perfect also. I'll just remember not to take that guys advice anymore

 

[jandie]

this may sound crazy...i dunno....seems like everything i've read through the forums would suggest it is....but we have the zoomed powersun bulbs on all of our chams....i keep a close eye on the temps in the cage, especially in the basking areas.....and i have rarely seen any of our chams (we have 5) needing to regulate or signs of being dehydrated. but the powersun bulbs we have on them are 100w and they were recommended by several different people/places. granted, they have plenty of room to move lower and out of the light, they're all at least 4-5 mos old and there's a good space between the tops of the cages and we use the deep dome lights....but we've had really good luck with this lighting system so far. and the plants seem to do well with them (i typically have a "black" thumb with live plants!)

 

[Carlton]

I'm not sure exactly what the pet store owner used but he told me to use these certain lights that I'm thinking is the problem.. he told me to use Repti Glo tropical terrarium lamp 26W. 5.0 uvb... and for basking he told me to get the zoo med basking spot lamp 75W.. I had a 50W I already had but he said that wasn't enough.. the cham is two months.

The problem people run into is assuming a particular watt bulb will be correct in all situations. What IS important is the temperature at the basking perch. Measure the temp right where the cham will be sitting to bask. If it's too hot, move the bulb or the perch farther away from the bulb. If it's not warm enough, either move the bulb closer or try a larger watt. Don't just assume any bulb of any power will always give you what you need. Test!

So, remember...If you happen to have a 50 watt bulb on a cage and it provides the right basking temp, its the right bulb for that specificcage. If the room gets cooler in winter and that bulb just doesn't provide the right temp you can always use a larger watt bulb during that time.

 

[jr andrade]

I think 80 degrees is too much for a baby....id keep temps around 68-75 ish

 

[carol5208]

I think 80 degrees is too much for a baby....id keep temps around 68-75 ish

They are talking about the basking temps, not the ambient temps.

 

[JDH]

One other thing that seems to be overlooked in these discussions is the fluctuation in room temperature where your cage is setup. Also, I find it interesting that many people often recommend a specific wattage bulb.... As Carlton pointed out it depends on the distance from the basking perch and the temperature of the room. If the room temperature gets warmer during the middle of the day then basking temperature will rise with the ambient temperature. I have seen a 5+ degree swing in my cage before I switched to a setup that controls the output of the light to maintain the temperature I want regardless of the ambient temperature. Our house temperature changes from day to day so this works for me, but some might think that's over the top.

I would recommend you take several temperature reading of the basking spot throughout the day for a while and adjust the wattage of the bulb or distance until you reach the desired temperature during the 'hot' part of the day.

I'm not going to comment on the proper temperature as there appears to be a wide range of opinions from people with way more experience then I have.