Sleeping during the day

[Schick2583]

Should I be concerned about my veiled sleeping during the day? He's approx 4-5 months old still seems to be eating and drinking but I have noticed him sleeping alot during the day he's actually sleeping on my finger right now while i'm typing. Is this something to be worried about?

 

[Brooklyn427]

I think you should give us some information on your setup, there is a sticky that you can copy and paste... with more information you will get double the answers! =D

 

[Schick2583]

Here's his setup for now. I was told this would be fine for now since he was only a few months. I have a reptibreeze screen cage that i'm putting together this weekend when I got it it was broken so I was waiting on replacement parts that cage is 18x18x36. But I also used shed-ease and shed aid on him on Sunday because he still has stuck skin on him from a shed from March 12th, and I also tried Humidifying spray. But I have only used these once. The humidity in his cage is between 55-65% and the temp is between 80-85 degrees and there is a dripper in the cage as well. He'll open his eyes to look at me then closes them real quick they don't appear to be sunken in but i'm not 100% sure what sunken in is considered. He has a uvb bulb on approx 12 hours a day and no light just a heat emitter at night. I watched him drink this morning when I turned his light on and there were roughly 6-8 crickets in the cup this morning now there's 2 so he's eating. Anything else you need to know let me know and I will try to answer. Thanks for the help

 

[pantherlover]

What kind of uvb light are you using? Is your basking bulb an incandescent bulb? What is your supplement schedule? What are you gutloading your feeders with? Is it both eyes?

The most common reason for a cham keeping its eye closed is debris in the turret. This is aided by increased misting or flushing the turret with saline solution. Sunken eyes mean dehydration or stress.

Eye problems are also linked to incorrect supplementing. Could have to do with a vitamin A deficiency. Does your multivitamin contain performed vit A or Betacarotine? How much feeder variety do you offer? Again, what does your gutload consist of?

...Some food for thought.

I would also get rid of the substrate when you upgrade to the reptibreeze...

Filling out the how to ask for help form will benefit you & your animal as there is a world of experience & knowledge on this forum.

Good luck.

 

[Schick2583]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male Veiled approx 4-5 months. Have had him since 2/26/2011
Handling - a little a day
Feeding - Crickets everyday mealworms every once in a while. Fill a cup with approx 12-18 crickets and let him go to town
Supplements - Reptocal with D3 and Zoomed reptivite
Watering - Dripper, mist between 2-4 times a day. Yes I see him drink
Fecal Description - black with a white tip. Never been tester
History - New to chameleons

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass cage with air vents in the front under the doors and screen top.
Lighting - UVB bulb approx 12 hours a day and heat emitter throughout the day and night.
Temperature - 80-85 degrees drops down to around 70-75 at night. Analog temp guage and humidity
Humidity - 55-65% hasnt dropped below 50%
Plants - Not yet. I do have and will be usuing pothos and habiscus
Placement -Room with low/medium traffic approx 5 feet off the floor
Location - NJ

Current Problem - Sleeping a lot

 

[Schick2583]

I buy the crickets gut-loaded from the pet store I usually buy 2-3 dozen at a time but i feed the crickets Fluker's Orange Cube Complete Cricket Diet.

 

[carol5208]

what type of UVB is that? It may be too strong.

 

[Schick2583]

sorry its a 5.0 uvb

 

[carol5208]

5.0 uvb compact or tube?

 

[Schick2583]

5.0 compact

 

[carol5208]

how old is the bulb>?

 

[Schick2583]

do you think this is something I should contact a vet about? He's very green and still holds on very good.

 

[Schick2583]

the bulb is only 3 weeks old I only got the chameleon 2/26/11

 

[pantherlover]

For supplements I use Zoomed ReptiCalcium without D3 and Reptivite with D3. I dust with the Reptivite once a week. How often do you dust with D3?

Again, are you using an incandescent or compact fluorescent bulb for the basking light? Edit: Listen to what Carol is saying about the compact bulbs.

What are you gutloading your crickets with? Most crickets purchased from pet stores are gutloaded primarily with potato which is high in phosphorous. Remember you are trying to create a 2:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio in your feeders.

Also, handling your chameleon every day is generally not advisable. It could be stressing him out.

Analog thermometers are unreliable and you may not be getting accurate temperature readings. I'd recommend getting a digital one so you can be sure it's not getting too hot.

 

[carol5208]

no, the reason I was asking is that some of the older compacts from way back were causing some eye issues for reptiles. I thought maybe if you had one of these older bulbs. I need you to tell me who the manufacturer is and what is says on the box if you still have it.

 

[Schick2583]

Here's a pic. of the bulb.

 

[carol5208]

Do you have a basking bulb besides that in the cage?

 

[Schick2583]

no not right now just that. I was waiting on the replacement parts for my reptibreeze cage which is a 18x18x36 all screen cage. The cage he's in now is only a 12x12x18 and I was afraid of cooking him. The new hood I have is a dual hood so I was gonna use the UVB and a regular 60 watt bulb does that sound good enough?

 

[Schick2583]

Do you think using the shed aid and the shed-ease bath could have stressed him out or anything to make him get like this? Also do you recommend the humidity mist it says it promotes shedding or should I just stick to good old water?

 

[ataraxia]

ive noticed an alert male in the cage closing his eyes when i hold him. not all do this but personally i think they are just scared. as far as him sleeping in the cage. im going to put money you probably have two things going against him. first ditch the flukers light. get a linear tube uvb and a regular house bulb for basking. second your ambient temps in the cage are in the 80's which makes your basking spot probably even warmer. this is going to be hard to do in a cage your size and that it is glass. this is the reason many of us use screen cages. easier to pin point temp to a location, bigger flux in temps throughout cage, more ventilation for heat and humidity, this list goes on. many do keep in aquariums and have success. personally its a win going with a screen cage.

Cage:24x24x48' SCREEN cage lots of rope, vines and live plants if you can. live plants will help with the humidity. make sure you cover the soil with screen or large rocks. put cage as high up in the room as you can. not near any vents, fans or windows.

Lighting: 5.0 reptisun or reptiglo linear tube (length depends on cage size)/house hold bulb for basking. the house bulb watt will depend on how far your nearest branch is from the light and your ambient room temps.
***change UVB bulbs every 6 months.

Temps: basking temp around 90* for a male low 80's* for female / ambient temps 72* measure by digital guages.

Hydration: manual spray 2-5 minutes/2-3 times a day. provide a dripper.

Feeders: gutload (24 hours before feeding) with fresh veggies and fruits and once a week with sticky tongues gutload. Crickets, mealworms, superworms, silkworms, hornworms, dubai roaches, reptiworms, BB flies.

Supplements: repcal calcium w/o d3 every feeding, repcal calcium w/d3 twice a month, repcal herptivite twice a month

*For females at about 6 months of age provide a laying container. When the female is getting ready to lay she will often go off food and will become restless, spending more time near the bottom of her enclosure and frequently pacing it's edges. A laying container should be about 14X14X14 . You need to have 12 inches of substrate in the bottom of the container. you can use washed play sand. It’s very important to have the sand moist .so that it will hold a tunnel and not cave in on your female. take a big spoon and dig a tunnel all the way to the bottom to make sure it’s going to hold the tunnel. If it’s too dry or too moist they will refuse to use it. Some females will dig several test holes before they finally get one they like. I usually leave my test hole and sometimes your female will use them. (read more info on laying bins @ jannb's blog)

very nice cage set up btw. IMO its just not a good set up for a chameleon. would be absolutely awesome for a gecko.