Staying in the same place

[BenjiTheCham]

My chameleon has been staying in the same place lately and I’m not too sure why. He just sits in his branch day and night. He’ll come down to eat and he’ll bask for a bit afterwards but otherwise he stays there. Normally he’s pretty active and basks and chews on leaves and whatnot but I haven’t seen him do any of that.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, veiled. Around 12-14 months old I believe.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Never. I tried when he was younger but he hated it.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I normally feed a mixture of dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, and a other treat bugs that I have on hand. I’m out of dubias right now so his diet is mostly black soldier fly larvae. I gutload with whatever I have on hand (following the gutloading sheet)
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I believe it is he Repashy Calcium plus Lod. I use this every other feeding.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? MistKing mister. Once in the morning. Twice in the afternoon varying between 2-3 minute. And once for one minute about half an hour after his lights go off to add humidity at night since I do not use a humidifier/fogger
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I don’t see them often since I have a bioactive setup. When I do the urates are white or light yellow. He has never been tested for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He was from a local breeder. Nothing else that I can think of.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Glass, 36x18x24. I know it’s a bit small, I’ve been planning on upgrading for a while.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 12 hours on 12 hours off. T5HO 5.0 uvb. Normal heat lamp.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Mid 80’s basking spot. Mid 70’s everywhere else. Low 70s at night. I measure with a digital thermometer.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 40% during the day. I try to keep it as high as possible at night. Digital hygrometer.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have a couple philodendrons, a pothos, a pitcher plant (I bought to take care of the gnat problem), and a money tree. There is one fake plant. I know fake plants shouldn’t be used with veileds, but the leaves are bit and thick, and he’s never messed with it, but he Chomps away at the others
• 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? High-ish in the my bedroom. A low traffic area. There are vents in the room.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Minneapolis, Minnesota

I’ll also add that he is awake, and not sleeping.

 

[MissSkittles]

Your husbandry looks pretty good to my eyes. I think the only thing I’d suggest changing is the supplement. I‘m using Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding except two feedings per month I use the Repashy Calcium with LoD.

 

[Shanar808]

The supplement adjustment might help your chameleon with that, when I first started using Repashy calcium plus I followed the directions on the jar (which says every feeding) and my chameleon had abnormal behaviors. If we could see a pic of your whole enclosure we might could see if there are any possible issues with privacy or light distance that could cause this behavior too. Oh, and the age of your bulb (if you’re not monitoring with a solar meter) might affect your chams behavior if it’s too strong or too weak.

 

[BenjiTheCham]

The supplement adjustment might help your chameleon with that, when I first started using Repashy calcium plus I followed the directions on the jar (which says every feeding) and my chameleon had abnormal behaviors. If we could see a pic of your whole enclosure we might could see if there are any possible issues with privacy or light distance that could cause this behavior too. Oh, and the age of your bulb (if you’re not monitoring with a solar meter) might affect your chams behavior if it’s too strong or too weak.

Okay thanks. I just ordered the correct supplement

I had actually been wondering about the lights, I forgot to include it in the post. I realized I was a bit overdue for a new uvb bulb last week. I changed the bulb a few days ago. Could this be the issue? I haven’t seen any improvements since the bulb change. But that could be because he is hiding in the plant where he isn’t exposed to the light as much.

Im not at home right now, so I cant add a picture of the enclosure, but his basking is about 8 inches away from the bulb (if I remember correctly). And he has a decent amount of cover, but I’m still looking to add more.

 

[Beman]

The cage size is really too small for an adult Male Veiled. This can impact how they act. BSFL as the only feeder is not recommended. You want to add another staple in even if it is crickets.

How often are you feeding? You say you believe your using the repashy LoD version and that your using it every other feeding. Are you just not supplementing feeders on other days?

 

[Shanar808]

Okay thanks. I just ordered the correct supplement

I had actually been wondering about the lights, I forgot to include it in the post. I realized I was a bit overdue for a new uvb bulb last week. I changed the bulb a few days ago. Could this be the issue? I haven’t seen any improvements since the bulb change. But that could be because he is hiding in the plant where he isn’t exposed to the light as much.

Im not at home right now, so I cant add a picture of the enclosure, but his basking is about 8 inches away from the bulb (if I remember correctly). And he has a decent amount of cover, but I’m still looking to add more.

When you can measure the uv distance let us know and the bulb strength (5.0 or 10.0 or 6% or 11%).