Not sure what’s wrong, cham sleeping early and not basking

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? I have a little under 2 year female veiled chameleon. I’ve had her for almost 2 years
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Rarely, if not never
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I am feeding her every other day, 6-8 crickets gutloaded with cricket crack and veggies (I follow the guidelines of what fruits/veggies to feed the crickets)
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? On her feeding days, I dust the crickets with Repashy Superfood Calcium plus LOD
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a mistking that goes off at 730 am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm and 2:00am: the sessions are 3 minutes. I see her drinking soemtimes however I know they don’t like to be watched so I try my best not to be near her when it’s misting
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her poop is brown, and her urate is the yellowish white. She has never been tested for parasites
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I have never taken her to the vet, because she hates to be handled and I have yet to master her feeling comfortable enough to come out of the cage with me. I rarely If ever handle her.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I have a mesh 2x2x4
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I have a heat lamp, that is on from 8am to 5-6pm, and a UV reptisun t5ho 10.0 (I have just ordered the 5.0 and am waiting for that to come in)
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a Govee temp and humidity gauge, which reads 69 F temp right now (the gauge is more towards the bottom half of the enclosure) lowest overnight temp would probably be high 60’s
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I am measuring humidity using the Govee gauge. Right now / during the day it’s around 40, overnight it’s between 50-60 (when the mister is spraying and the heat lamp is off)
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have a pothos, which I just got about 2 weeks ago. I also have this tall plant, I forget the name but I will Google it (I’ve had it for about a year now, I made sure it was on the safe plant list.)
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? The cage is located in my bedroom. It’s a low traffic area. It is not near any fans or air vents. The cage itself is on a dragon stand , so it’s quite tall
• Location - Where are you geographically located? New Hampshire

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
The past two days, she has been spending her time on the branches at the bottom half of the cage. I have not seen her bask. She usually spends all day basking. She has also been tucking herself behind leaves and falling asleep at 4:45-5:00 the past two days, when she usually sleeps at 7:00. She has been moving, but I’m getting concerned why she’s sleeping and not basking. She is not sleeping during the day, she is awake. Physically from the outside she looks fine, just dark. Although I know internally things could be wrong. Any help and advice is appreciated. I’m not sure if this calls for a vet visit. I apologize if I’ve missed any information
*ps I have a few branches coming in the mail, I ordered them a week ago they should be arriving soon

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

I forgot to add recent pics of her, let me see what I have

 

[Beman]

Do you have any pics of her?

 

[Beman]

Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I am feeding her every other day, 6-8 crickets gutloaded with cricket crack and veggies (I follow the guidelines of what fruits/veggies to feed the crickets)

Feeding too much. At this age she should be getting 3 feeders every other day. How many eggs did she lay in the last clutch? And this was the beginning of December right? They lay roughly every 120 days. Do you have a permanent lay bin in the cage?

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a Govee temp and humidity gauge, which reads 69 F temp right now (the gauge is more towards the bottom half of the enclosure) lowest overnight temp would probably be high 60’s

What is the actual basking temp below the heat?

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I have a heat lamp, that is on from 8am to 5-6pm, and a UV reptisun t5ho 10.0 (I have just ordered the 5.0 and am waiting for that to come in)

Keep in mind with the 5.0 bulb you want 8-9 inches to the basking branch below it for the right UVI levels.


Has your house been cooler then usual? Anything change in the room she is in? No other things your seeing correct? not wheezing or gaping?

 

[GrayMadder]

Do you have a lay bin for her?

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Feeding too much. At this age she should be getting 3 feeders every other day. How many eggs did she lay in the last clutch? And this was the beginning of December right? They lay roughly every 120 days. Do you have a permanent lay bin in the cage?

What is the actual basking temp below the heat?


Keep in mind with the 5.0 bulb you want 8-9 inches to the basking branch below it for the right UVI levels.


Has your house been cooler then usual? Anything change in the room she is in? No other things your seeing correct? not wheezing or gaping?

Okay I can go down to 3 crickets. She usually eats the 6-7 right away though, I’m worried she’ll be hungry. For the basking temp right below I can check tomorrow with the gauge (since she’s asleep I don’t want to wake her). My house hasn’t been much cooler than usual, there is heat upstairs so it hasn’t varied that much. And yes I do have a lay bin, I have to buy sand to fill it back up but I will put it back in this month. She laid on December 3rd and had 45 eggs

 

[Beman]

Okay I can go down to 3 crickets. She usually eats the 6-7 right away though, I’m worried she’ll be hungry. For the basking temp right below I can check tomorrow with the gauge (since she’s asleep I don’t want to wake her). My house hasn’t been much cooler than usual, there is heat upstairs so it hasn’t varied that much. And yes I do have a lay bin, I have to buy sand to fill it back up but I will put it back in this month. She laid on December 3rd and had 45 eggs

So 45 eggs is a lot. We want to get that down. So this is where cutting back food intake and making sure temps are correct is extremely important because both cause more eggs. So for her basking temp your looking for a 78 degree temp at the branch.
Then for feeding it is no more then 3 feeders every other day or 3 feeders 3 days a week.

Now the only time this changes is right after she lays. You will want to give her a few days of feeders dusted in calcium without D3 to get her energy back.

While she does not look obese she does look over weight so the food reduction will help this as well.

Veileds are bottomless pits so they are always hungry. I know it is hard to reduce food but overweight is not a good thing in chameleons. Besides laying clutches that are far too large and have their own risks. You have the other affects...
The fat starts by forming in their abdomen taking up room that their organs need. Putting pressure on their organs. Then filling their casque and arms. This causes multiple health issues including organ failure, gout, and kidney disease to name a few. So we have to limit them. We keep them lean and healthy.

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

So 45 eggs is a lot. We want to get that down. So this is where cutting back food intake and making sure temps are correct is extremely important because both cause more eggs. So for her basking temp your looking for a 78 degree temp at the branch.
Then for feeding it is no more then 3 feeders every other day or 3 feeders 3 days a week.

Now the only time this changes is right after she lays. You will want to give her a few days of feeders dusted in calcium without D3 to get her energy back.

While she does not look obese she does look over weight so the food reduction will help this as well.

Veileds are bottomless pits so they are always hungry. I know it is hard to reduce food but overweight is not a good thing in chameleons. Besides laying clutches that are far too large and have their own risks. You have the other affects...
The fat starts by forming in their abdomen taking up room that their organs need. Putting pressure on their organs. Then filling their casque and arms. This causes multiple health issues including organ failure, gout, and kidney disease to name a few. So we have to limit them. We keep them lean and healthy.

Okay thank you, I feed her tomorrow so I will cut down to that right away. I will measure the heat lamp at where the basking branch is and make sure it’s correct. As far as what I should do next, do you think this is a vet visit? Or should I see what happens tomorrow and report back? I appreciate all your help so much.

 

[Beman]

Okay thank you, I feed her tomorrow so I will cut down to that right away. I will measure the heat lamp at where the basking branch is and make sure it’s correct. As far as what I should do next, do you think this is a vet visit? Or should I see what happens tomorrow and report back? I appreciate all your help so much.

See what happens tomorrow hun. They will go through cycles where they know the seasons have changed. All of mine start to bed down between 4 and 5pm even though their lights dont kick off until 7. But sunset is also right about the time they all settle in. Temp changes can impact them as well. If you were getting a low temp drop at night this can also make them not as active the next day.

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

See what happens tomorrow hun. They will go through cycles where they know the seasons have changed. All of mine start to bed down between 4 and 5pm even though their lights dont kick off until 7. But sunset is also right about the time they all settle in. Temp changes can impact them as well. If you were getting a low temp drop at night this can also make them not as active the next day.

Thank you so much. I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow, fingers crossed she’s ok

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Okay day three... similar patterns. Haven’t seen her bask today either. Spending time on the lower branches. I fed her and she was moving around just fine. I included some pics to show you where she spends her time. What do I do now?

 

[Beman]

Okay day three... similar patterns. Haven’t seen her bask today either. Spending time on the lower branches. I fed her and she was moving around just fine. I included some pics to show you where she spends her time. What do I do now?

That is really low in the enclosure. Did she eat?

I think you need to put the lay bin back in just in case.

I wish I could see her better. And no changes at all in the enclosure or the room?

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

That is really low in the enclosure. Did she eat?

I think you need to put the lay bin back in just in case.

I wish I could see her better. And no changes at all in the enclosure or the room?

I’ll put the lay bin in tomorrow.

Yes, she ate quite quickly (I lowered the amount of crickets too).
As for the enclosure, not really. I added the plant two weeks ago and things were fine and normal, this just started happening 2-3 days ago which is why I’m nervous. She doesn’t ever have spots like she usually does when scared, so I don’t think it’s something that’s making her uneasy. Just not sure what’s going on

 

[Beman]

I’ll put the lay bin in tomorrow.

Yes, she ate quite quickly (I lowered the amount of crickets too).
As for the enclosure, not really. I added the plant two weeks ago and things were fine and normal, this just started happening 2-3 days ago which is why I’m nervous. She doesn’t ever have spots like she usually does when scared, so I don’t think it’s something that’s making her uneasy. Just not sure what’s going on

Does the coloration look at all like when she laid prior.... I know we are saying 120 days until next clutch but this can come sooner for some. Or at least I have seen it happen in the forum. No first hand female experience though....


@MissSkittles @AmandaS your thoughts?


What about the room... Any changes? Hung a new picture. Leaving drapes open that were normally closed, changed the color of the curtains? Anything?

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Here’s some

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Does the coloration look at all like when she laid prior.... I know we are saying 120 days until next clutch but this can come sooner for some. Or at least I have seen it happen in the forum. No first hand female experience though....


@MissSkittles @AmandaS your thoughts?


What about the room... Any changes? Hung a new picture. Leaving drapes open that were normally closed, changed the color of the curtains? Anything?

The only thing I can think of (I open the shades for her everyday to get sunlight to come through the room) is it snowed a lot the past few days so it’s completely white outside

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Okay just found a loose/ bamboo rod in the enclosure that twists if that makes sense, maybe she got spooked on it and it spun? I’m tightening it now

 

[Beman]

The only thing I can think of (I open the shades for her everyday to get sunlight to come through the room) is it snowed a lot the past few days so it’s completely white outside

Try closing the shades... See if this makes a difference. Beman is my most reactive to changes of my three. And I mean any changes. The neighbor got a new car... from a grey compact to a red SUV. Their driveway is right next to the window that he has direct eye line to. Normally he rarely saw it parked there but she was off for a week. I could not open the curtain all week because he would see the huge red suv there and freak. The next week she went back to her normal schedule of being gone all day. No reaction at all from Beman when the curtains were open again. Took me several days to actually figure out why he was hiding and not acting normal.

 

[Gabriellehernandezxxx]

Try closing the shades... See if this makes a difference. Beman is my most reactive to changes of my three. And I mean any changes. The neighbor got a new car... from a grey compact to a red SUV. Their driveway is right next to the window that he has direct eye line to. Normally he rarely saw it parked there but she was off for a week. I could not open the curtain all week because he would see the huge red suv there and freak. The next week she went back to her normal schedule of being gone all day. No reaction at all from Beman when the curtains were open again. Took me several days to actually figure out why he was hiding and not acting normal.

Wow. Chameleons are truly fascinating haha. Okay I will leave the shades shut all day tomorrow

 

[Beman]

Here’s some

I think you should definitely get the bin back in. She is plump. Just in case this is what is going on.