Sleeping the during day

[jlkukuk]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Female Panther Chameleon, not sure on exact age but young. We've had her for 4 days now.
Handling - Not very often, we take her out for a a minute or two at a time maybe twice a day.
Feeding - We have been feeding her gut-loaded small crickets, meal worms, and wax worms. She barely ever eats the crickets and she wasn't eating well until this morning and she ate 3 meal worms and a wax worm but nothing since.
Supplements - Fluker's high calcium cricket food for the crickets.
Watering - We have a fogger running most of the day, we also mist the cage 3-4 times a day, I've seen her drink once out of the bowl.
Fecal Description - White with a little yellow, just one poop since we have had her.
History - We had a 100w red light and 75w light, called the store because she seemed lethargic and temp was at 80 so we replaced the 75w with a 150w today.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 50 gal glass, acrylic top but thinking about getting a wire mesh top.
Lighting - A 100w red light and 150w regular light during the day (8am-10pm), 100w red light at night.
Temperature - Temperature is now at 90, we have a temp gauge at the bottom of the tank.
Humidity - The humidity is at least 70, not convinced the gauge works because everything is soaking wet and it doesn't seem to go much higher.
Plants - Three live plants, they said "Croton" on the plant info.
Placement - Cage is on top of a tank stand (like for a fish tank), in the kitchen.
Location - We live in Washington.


Current Problem - She wasn't eating until this morning, and hasn't eaten since. She also has been sleeping during the day a bit. She moves sometimes but not a lot, not sure how often she should be roaming about.

 

[K9Luvn]

Take out the red light... they do not need it at night. They need total darkness. They can take a drop in temperature at night time.

Not sure what heat light you are using... but 150 sounds very high. You need to have a UVB light

You also need to dust your feeders with Calcium without D3 everyday and Twice a month alternate a multivitamin and Calcium plus D3

Can you take a picture of you set up and your cham for us?

 

[jlkukuk]

 

[jlkukuk]

Take out the red light... they do not need it at night. They need total darkness. They can take a drop in temperature at night time.

Not sure what heat light you are using... but 150 sounds very high. You need to have a UVB light

You also need to dust your feeders with Calcium without D3 everyday and Twice a month alternate a multivitamin and Calcium plus D3

Can you take a picture of you set up and your cham for us?

I was worried about the lighting because she was sleeping so much during the day, we thought we were going to lose her. The manager at Petco is the who said we needed it to be at least 90 in there. Is there anything else I need to do? We have a 75w light but it doesn't keep it nearly that warm.

 

[jlkukuk]

Here is a picture of today, I woke her up with the camera but she looks like this when she sleeps

Compared to the first day we got her...

 

[K9Luvn]

Although your enclosure looks beautiful... it is not the correct set up for a chameleon. They need a tall not long screen cage. Also get rid of the water on the end put plants in pots with large river stone to cover up the dirt. They do not eat off the bottom of the cage so get rid of the dishes. Put tall plants and sticks that they can climb on. Please look at some of the other enclosures on the forum so you can see the screen cages that are tall and how others have designed them for their chams.

As said get rid of the red light. Set lights at a 12hrs on and 12 hours of cycle. What type of 150w bulb do you have... chances are it might be to hot in there.

Sorry I know you put alot of thought into it... but it is not what is best for the cham.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Hello and welcome to chameleon forums were here to help you and we are glad you came here for help.

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Female Panther Chameleon, not sure on exact age but young. We've had her for 4 days now. Because she is a female you will need a lay bin. I will find the blog for that and attach it soon. Females can lay eggs without being mated, or even by a male.
Handling - Not very often, we take her out for a a minute or two at a time maybe twice a day.
Feeding - We have been feeding her gut-loaded small crickets, meal worms, and wax worms. She barely ever eats the crickets and she wasn't eating well until this morning and she ate 3 meal worms and a wax worm but nothing since. Meal worms and wax worms aren't the healthiest, they are usually more used as treats. Can you order anything else.? Phoenix worms and butter worms are good. Dubia roaches and mantids. All good options.
Supplements - Fluker's high calcium cricket food for the crickets. Her feeders need to be supplemented, which is a powder you put on them right before you feed them to your little girl. Calcium without D3 every feeding, calcium with D3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month. That is also not the best for gut loading crickets. Some good gut loaders you can buy are bug burger from Repashy, cricket crack from tiki tiki, and also dino feul. All you can order from our sponsors. Fresh fruits and veggies are also very beneficial.
Watering - We have a fogger running most of the day, we also mist the cage 3-4 times a day, I've seen her drink once out of the bowl. Bowl.? No bowl. No standing water really. They harbor bacteria. She'll drink drops from the leaves.
Fecal Description - White with a little yellow, just one poop since we have had her.
History - We had a 100w red light and 75w light, called the store because she seemed lethargic and temp was at 80 so we replaced the 75w with a 150w today. No red light, a temp drop at night is needed and the light will prevent them from going to sleep, This might be why she is sleeping during the day. 80-82 is actually a good heat for a female. To hot and to much food can cause them to lay extremely large clutches of eggs, that can lead to health issues later on.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 50 gal glass, acrylic top but thinking about getting a wire mesh top. Glass cages are not adviced as they are bad for ventilation. They also aren't tall and they need room to climb up. Almost all the owners on here have screen cages.
Lighting - A 100w red light and 150w regular light during the day (8am-10pm), 100w red light at night.
Temperature - Temperature is now at 90, we have a temp gauge at the bottom of the tank. The temps need to vary from 82-around 70 at the bottom. They have to regulate the temp of their body so they need many different temps to go to.
Humidity - The humidity is at least 70, not convinced the gauge works because everything is soaking wet and it doesn't seem to go much higher. Make sure everything dries before misting her again.
Plants - Three live plants, they said "Croton" on the plant info.
Placement - Cage is on top of a tank stand (like for a fish tank), in the kitchen.
Location - We live in Washington.


Current Problem - She wasn't eating until this morning, and hasn't eaten since. She also has been sleeping during the day a bit. She moves sometimes but not a lot, not sure how often she should be roaming about. It might take her a while to get use to everything. She might not eat that much right off the bat, and that's find. Sleeping during the day is not a good sign though. You might want to get a vet appointment with a good reptile vet with cham experience just for a check over and to make sure your little girl is healthy and okay. And you need a bare bottom, substrate is bad. They can easily digest it when they shot for crickets and it can cause impaction among other health issues.

 

[K9Luvn]

Your doing a great job by being here to learn how to make the environment and health of your chameleon is the best it can be. Unfortunately the petstores are really not the best source of information on chameleons. Stick around and the more experienced keepers will help you get things all set up.

 

[ataraxia]

Honestly a bunch has to change to keep your chameleon alive. Here is a basic care sheet to base your care off of.

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.

Heres a link to some pictures of normal chameleon set ups.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/

Lighting: UVB 5.0 reptisun, reptiglo or zilla linear tube (length depends on cage size)/house hold bulb for basking.The regular house bulb wattage will depend on how far your nearest branch is from the light and your ambient room temps. Another all in one bulb i would recommend is a powersun or solar glo for your veiled. This is a all in one heat and uvb bulb.
***Change fluorescent UVB bulbs every 6 months.

Temps: Keep basking temperatures around 88- 90* for a male Mid 80's* for female / ambient temps 72* measure by digital gauges. Night time temp can fall to 50* without the need of any ceramic heat source. NO night time lights!

Hydration: You have different options to provide your chameleon with hydration. 1. Manual spray 2-5 minutes/2-3 times a day. 2. Automated system like a monsoon, habamister, mist king or aquazamp. With same misting sessions listed above 3. A good watering technique to go along with a misting schedule is a dripper.

Feeders: Gutload (24 hours before feeding). Crickets, silkworms, hornworms, dubai roaches, reptiworms, BB flies, moths, butterflies, preying mantis, katydids, locust, cicadas and other chameleon safe insects. Be sure to check any wild caught insect you are about to feed is safe for your chameleon.

Gutload: This is a extremely important step in caring for your chameleon. Dry gut load for your crickets, roaches, meal worms:

read sandrachameleons and ferretsinmyshoes blogs on some great gut load ingredients.

Wet gut load (same ingredients as blogs above):

Add Fresh vegetables and fruits. Blend with some water in a blender. Freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen remove from trays and put in gallon zip lock baggies and freeze.

Supplements: Plain phos free calcium w/o d3 every feeding, Phos free calcium w/d3 twice a month, Reptivite twice a month.

Female care: Check out jannb's blog on caring for a female. It is about a veiled but the care is the same for a panther.

 

[jlkukuk]

Although your enclosure looks beautiful... it is not the correct set up for a chameleon. They need a tall not long screen cage. Also get rid of the water on the end put plants in pots with large river stone to cover up the dirt. They do not eat off the bottom of the cage so get rid of the dishes. Put tall plants and sticks that they can climb on. Please look at some of the other enclosures on the forum so you can see the screen cages that are tall and how others have designed them for their chams.

As said get rid of the red light. Set lights at a 12hrs on and 12 hours of cycle. What type of 150w bulb do you have... chances are it might be to hot in there.

Sorry I know you put alot of thought into it... but it is not what is best for the cham.

The 150w is a Repti Zoo Med basking lamp. I turned off the red light.

My husband is the one who made the cage and everything so I'm trying relay all of the information. He said there is a filter on the end, it just isn't there right now for that water. He wanted to put fish in it or something.

The top isn't completely closed, it has little holes everywhere to ventilate.

 

[mychamtini112012]

150w is still to large. Go back to the 75w, if the bottom is 90 I can only imagine the basking spot. Way to hot.

The water will be useless, as well as the fish. They water needs to go. The cage needs to be screened. Even with the holes, it won't be enough air flow. Your cham needs to be able to climb up.

You really need to change these things before your chameleon pays for the price with her health.

 

[ataraxia]

read the posts above your last post. things have to change drastically.

150 watt is cooking the poor girl. you have to monitor your temps.

 

[jlkukuk]

We were monitoring the temp, they said 80 was way to low at the store. I wish we would have found this site first because it seems everything is wrong. We got a lot of bad info because they told us the setup was perfect for her *sigh*
Tomorrow I am going to try and get a new cage and stuff. Pretty much start all over. What do you recommend as the basics for her?
I don't know anything about laying bins so I need info on that.
Also how do they eat if you don't put the food in a dish at the bottom? We've tried to hand feed her but she just moves away, doesn't seem interested.
I read through everything you guys suggested and I really appreciate it.

 

[Elizadolots]

That cage is possibly workable, if not ideal, but you need to get a handle on the temperatures. For a baby of that age, I would think the basking temperature should be no more than 85 and that temperature should be in a very restricted area. Your chameleon should have the opportunity to get out of the heat and into cooler realms.

This would be easier to manage in a tall screened cage.

 

[jlkukuk]

That cage is possibly workable, if not ideal, but you need to get a handle on the temperatures. For a baby of that age, I would think the basking temperature should be no more than 85 and that temperature should be in a very restricted area. Your chameleon should have the opportunity to get out of the heat and into cooler realms.

This would be easier to manage in a tall screened cage.

I took down both the 100w and the 150w and have just the 75w right now. Will turn them all off soon since it's late.

 

[mychamtini112012]

We were monitoring the temp, they said 80 was way to low at the store. I wish we would have found this site first because it seems everything is wrong. We got a lot of bad info because they told us the setup was perfect for her *sigh*
Tomorrow I am going to try and get a new cage and stuff. Pretty much start all over. What do you recommend as the basics for her?
I don't know anything about laying bins so I need info on that.
Also how do they eat if you don't put the food in a dish at the bottom? We've tried to hand feed her but she just moves away, doesn't seem interested.
I read through everything you guys suggested and I really appreciate it.

80-85 is the best for a female. I had the same exact mistakes and problems as you, and now my veiled is living a good life. She'll need a screen cage, 2x2x4, real plants, lots of vines, sticks from outside are good if you wash them. A little dripper that can drip on the leaves is good for water all the time and like $10. You have the lights, so that's good. You'll still need to mist though.
I forgot the link, I'll get it right away.
Put the crickets in a plastic cup, let a vine hang over it so she can easily get to them.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Here's the link for egg laying.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[showjet95]

Where did you purchase her? (sorry if I missed it) You should go back there and tell them they have NO idea what the hell theyre talking about, and to stop giving out this horrible info to people that dont know anything about how to care for chameleons, because they obviously dont have a clue either.
Like many before me have been saying, screen cage (ALL screen), she needs alot more branches to climb around on, both vertically and horizontally. She needs to be misted a few times a day to keep the humidity up but also for her to drink the droplets off the leaves (this is how they drink) although some have been known to drink from a dish it is NOT common AT ALL. The food you will be feeding her i.e. crickets, flies, mantids, etc will die when they get into the water. Water needs to go for sure. Youll need a rubbermaid container underneath the cage to catch all the excess water that will come down. Forgot to mention its beneficial to have some sort of container above the cage with holes poked in it and filled with water at least once a day for the droplets to fall onto the leaves to coax her to drink. Handle her as little as possible, and make sure her cage is completely dark at night with no tv lights, etc flashing on it because that will keep her up and lead to stress and problems.
Im sure I left some stuff out but I tried to cover what immediately came to mind, hope that helps!

p.s. you dont need to put her food in a cup, if shes a healthy, active chameleon, she will find it and hunt it down as long as her tongue can reach it.

 

[jlkukuk]

Where did you purchase her? (sorry if I missed it) You should go back there and tell them they have NO idea what the hell theyre talking about, and to stop giving out this horrible info to people that dont know anything about how to care for chameleons, because they obviously dont have a clue either.
Like many before me have been saying, screen cage (ALL screen), she needs alot more branches to climb around on, both vertically and horizontally. She needs to be misted a few times a day to keep the humidity up but also for her to drink the droplets off the leaves (this is how they drink) although some have been known to drink from a dish it is NOT common AT ALL. The food you will be feeding her i.e. crickets, flies, mantids, etc will die when they get into the water. Water needs to go for sure. Youll need a rubbermaid container underneath the cage to catch all the excess water that will come down. Forgot to mention its beneficial to have some sort of container above the cage with holes poked in it and filled with water at least once a day for the droplets to fall onto the leaves to coax her to drink. Handle her as little as possible, and make sure her cage is completely dark at night with no tv lights, etc flashing on it because that will keep her up and lead to stress and problems.
Im sure I left some stuff out but I tried to cover what immediately came to mind, hope that helps!

p.s. you dont need to put her food in a cup, if shes a healthy, active chameleon, she will find it and hunt it down as long as her tongue can reach it.

Petco is where we got her.
Thanks for all of the info!

 

[jlkukuk]

80-85 is the best for a female. I had the same exact mistakes and problems as you, and now my veiled is living a good life. She'll need a screen cage, 2x2x4, real plants, lots of vines, sticks from outside are good if you wash them. A little dripper that can drip on the leaves is good for water all the time and like $10. You have the lights, so that's good. You'll still need to mist though.
I forgot the link, I'll get it right away.
Put the crickets in a plastic cup, let a vine hang over it so she can easily get to them.

Thanks, I'm hoping I can turn this around fast tomorrow