Some odd behavior

[Geckoflora]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 2-3 year old male panther chameleon. Been caring for him for about 1.5 years now. Current weight is about 150 grams, if it helps
• Handling - Not often; I only pick him up maybe once a week at the very most. I do touch him daily though (explained below).
• Feeding - Crickets as the staple diet, giving some mealworms for variety every now and then. I also feed hornworms when I can get them. Gutloading crickets on Pangea cricket food and whatever extra veggies I have (usually endive + escarole). He gets 7-10 large crickets every two days.
• Supplements - Dusting crickets with Repashy calcium every other feeding. He also gets Reptivite Vitamin A and Repashy calcium + D3 twice a month each (rotating every weekend)
• Watering - Hand misting heavily with a pump/mister bottle, 3-4 times a day. I always offer him water by turning his bottle to the jet function and letting a stream dribble out in front of him; he usually drinks when I offer it, but not always. I let him drink until he's done. I have an automatic mister that I'll be setting up for him eventually.
• Fecal Description - These all look good from what I can tell. Sometimes slightly orange-tinted urates but usually mostly white. Defecates probably every 1-2 weeks
• History - He currently has a thermal burn on part of his head and spine. He's had it since spring of this year, but he hasn't shed at all since then so I'm not sure how well he's healing. He was prescribed silver sulfadiazine cream which I was applying most every days for awhile, but slowed down on. I've since started applying it more often starting probably 3-4 days ago, so I'm not sure if that could be related to the current behavior?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 2x2x4 foot screen cage with paper towel substrate
• Lighting - Arcadia 6% T8 UVB bulb, 18 inch
• Temperature - Currently has two heat sources: a 100 w CHE and a 75 w heat bulb. Spaced apart 3-4 inches and set to one side of the cage. It's hard for me to measure the exact temps, but it seems to be somewhere around 90-95 degrees in the area around the two heat lamps. I've been very cautious in my set up ever since my chameleon got a thermal burn earlier this year, and I always place heat lamps to the sides of vines/sticks/perches instead of directly above them since I don't want to risk burning him again. The cooler parts of the cage are probably around 75, and it gets maybe around 65-70 at night.
• Humidity - Not sure what the exact levels are, but humidity usually stays up as I mist multiple times a day and he has live plants + soil
• Plants - Two pothos plants and an umbrella plant as well as a few plastic hanging plants
• Placement - Located near a floor to ceiling window with about two feet between the cage and the window, set on a raised platform so the top of the cage is maybe 6-6.5 feet up. Set up beside another chameleon cage (obscured so they can't see each other much at all) and a few feet away from some other lizard cages
• Location - Northern Virginia, US

Current Problem - I'm not super concerned, but I've always received good advice here in the past so I figured I'd see what other people have to say. My chameleon (Ramses) has been acting a little off the last few days, so I'm just wondering if it's something that I'm doing that could be affecting him or maybe just something to do with winter time setting in?

He's usually a really big eater, but the last two feedings (today and two days ago) he hasn't shown any interest. He eats the crickets eventually, but doesn't really respond beyond looking at them when I put the crickets in his cage. He doesn't really try to hunt any of them. So that's a little unusual for him, but I figured maybe I'm just overfeeding and need to cut back.

I've also noticed him a few times sitting low on a branch with his eyes closed during the day, which he usually doesn't do. He opens them up when I come over or open the cage, but it's still out of the ordinary for him.

And maybe strangest of all was just about an hour ago. Usually, Ramses tolerates handling but isn't a fan, and will start changing color and getting antsy if he's taken out of his cage for more than a minute. The moment I put him back, he is very quick to get off of my hand. But today, I picked him up briefly just because he was climbing up on the wall of his cage and it makes me nervous, as his grip tends to slip sometimes on the screen. I took him out, let him look around for a moment, and tried to put him back. But for the first time ever, he seemed totally uninterested in getting off of me. I ended up moving around with him a little just to see, but he instead climbed up onto my shoulder and just sat there every time I leaned into his cage to see if he wanted to go back in. I even let him look at my skinks and the dogs passed by while I was handling him; he usually doesn't like seeing the dogs at all, but still didn't change color or seem to want to go back. After 10 minutes I finally had to peel him off of my neck/shoulder to put him back.

Those three things all kinda made me think it might be something to do with his temperatures being off? But he's got double heaters in there right now to make up for the winter cold, and I'm worried adding any more heat would be bad for him considering his previous burn.

Anyone have any idea what might be up with him? Or am I just getting concerned over his winter adjustment behaviors?

 

[timw1]

Closing of the eyes during the day and being more tolerant with being handled would have me concerned.

 

[hopps31]

In my opinion that seems like way to many bulbs/wattage for heat. Do you have an accurate way to measure how hot that side is getting? It is just as bad for them to be to hot as it is if they are to cold. Is he sleeping during the whole day or close to when his lights go off?

 

[Graves923]

Any lights on at night?

You mention that you feed mealworms on occasion. Id switch to superworms since the mealworms are harder to digest and could cause impaction. When was the last bowel movement? Has he lost any weight?

As for the temps, invest in a laser temp gun. You should be able to find one at a local hardware store relatively cheap. Check the temp of the basking bulb at the branch. I've experienced bulbs putting out less heat as they get older and will replace them when I notice the temp dropping off.

Also, how old is your UVB bulb?

 

[Geckoflora]

In my opinion that seems like way to many bulbs/wattage for heat. Do you have an accurate way to measure how hot that side is getting? It is just as bad for them to be to hot as it is if they are to cold. Is he sleeping during the whole day or close to when his lights go off?

I've been using an infrared thermometer to measure temperatures, so it's tricky to measure air temp. I don't think it's overly hot, though- the area that his cage is in is right next to a floor-to-ceiling glass window and in a half-underground basement, so it gets colder unless I add extra heat at this time of year. I moved his CHE and bulb away from each other a bit though just to be safe. The CHE is mostly just to keep air temp warmer, as it's not situated over or very close to any of his vines. The bulb is closer to a vine and he basks under that one more.

He's not really sleeping as far as I can tell, but I've found him twice just sitting with his eyes closed under his UVB light. Both times has been a few hours before his lights go off, but he does open his eyes right away when I mess with the cage.

Any lights on at night?

You mention that you feed mealworms on occasion. Id switch to superworms since the mealworms are harder to digest and could cause impaction. When was the last bowel movement? Has he lost any weight?

As for the temps, invest in a laser temp gun. You should be able to find one at a local hardware store relatively cheap. Check the temp of the basking bulb at the branch. I've experienced bulbs putting out less heat as they get older and will replace them when I notice the temp dropping off.

Also, how old is your UVB bulb?

No lights on at night, they go off around 7:00 which is a bit after it gets dark here but I'm trying to maintain a 12 hour period even though daylight isn't lasting that long.

I'll try the superworms! I only feed mealworms maybe once every 2-3 weeks, so I'm not sure if that could be enough to cause a problem at all?

Last bowel movement was within the last week I believe, but I can't always tell as his poop ends up in his plants a lot. He hasn't lost any weight as far as I can tell. I weigh him monthly and from October to November he actually gained a few grams. His December weigh day is coming up soon so I'll let you know if it dropped.

I do have a laser thermometer, actually! The vines themselves only register at around 85 degrees, but since he's taller and his back is several inches above the vine, it's definitely warmer on him, plus I have the CHE that is hopefully warming up the other air temp around it. The basking bulb is relatively new, less than a month old. The CHE is only a bit older but also fairly new.

My UVB bulb is brand new, I actually ended up changing it right around the time I made the post. The previous bulb was an ALT brand one that was in there for about 6 months. I know ALT isn't as good as the Arcadia bulb that's in there now so that may have made a difference.


Since posting, I haven't noticed him with his eyes closed again, though it's possible he's still doing it when I haven't checked in on him. He still wasn't super interested in his crickets but I figured that could be from overfeeding, so I cut back on his crickets for now to see if it helped.

I also stopped the silver sulfadiazine for a few days after posting to see if it made a difference, so that could also be affecting him maybe?

 

[hopps31]

My guys have been going to find there comfy spots and getting ready for bed about an hour before lights out since the time/weather change. Changing the UVB is great as that can make a big difference in overall eating and sluggish behavior. Hopefully he will go back to his normal self with some of the changes you made, fingers crossed!

 

[nino]

To maintain heat u might think about closing off one or two sides of the enclosure. I live in ny it’s cold at night so I closed the back and cover it with a towel for the night. My lil guy is 6 months old and eats great and seems to be thriving. Good luck hope u find out what’s changing his behavior.

 

[Geckoflora]

My guys have been going to find there comfy spots and getting ready for bed about an hour before lights out since the time/weather change. Changing the UVB is great as that can make a big difference in overall eating and sluggish behavior. Hopefully he will go back to his normal self with some of the changes you made, fingers crossed!

Yeah, mine do that to! Usually about a hour in advance of their lights going off. I just don't like seeing him closing his eyes at other times during the day. He definitely seems to be spending time under the new UVB so hopefully that was the fix for him.

To maintain heat u might think about closing off one or two sides of the enclosure. I live in ny it’s cold at night so I closed the back and cover it with a towel for the night. My lil guy is 6 months old and eats great and seems to be thriving. Good luck hope u find out what’s changing his behavior.

I'll actually be adding shower curtain (loosely) to some sides of the cage once I install the auto mister. They probably aren't as warm as towels but I figure it might help too. Thanks!