Hi I have one veiled chameleon who has been staying on the ground for long periods of time. He is about a year old, his enclosure is 18 in wide, 18 in thick, and 36 in tall. Last night he slept on the ground and when he woke up today he's still on the ground. As far as care goes, his humidity rarely drops below 60% without my notice, I keep the temperature between 75 and 85 and feed him crickets with an occasional hornworm or meal worm. Just a week ago, he was an active little fella climbing about the tops of the cage on his leaves and stuff but the past couple days he's been acting extremely docile. Any thoughts or expertise would be appreciated. Thank you.
Veiled Cham staying on ground for long periods
- Thread starter kylvel
- Start date
camimom
New Member
Ok soo. the reason He is on the ground, is because He is not a He. He is a she.
And SHE is probably looking for a place to lay eggs.
So, watch this vid to see how to set up a lay bin for her.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/
ALso, read this care sheet on proper care of a female. and that glass cage and dirt in the bottom has to go.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
And SHE is probably looking for a place to lay eggs.
So, watch this vid to see how to set up a lay bin for her.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/
ALso, read this care sheet on proper care of a female. and that glass cage and dirt in the bottom has to go.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Lovereps
Avid Member
The sad thing is, you really can't rely on pet stores for advice on chams in most cases.
The bark chips are dangerous for chams and should be removed, like Camimom said.
What can happen is the cham tries to get a bug with her tongue, misses it and eats the bark chip by accident.
That can block the intestines which is then fatal if left untreated.
Here is an excellent forum Veiled cham, caresheet hat you can look over to be sure they didn't forget to tell you other very important things that she needs or that they didn't tell you things that were wrong and may do her harm if left unchanged
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Much of the time, they just don't know how to care for chams and people then get sold harmful things like red bulbs for nighttime light , which keeps chams awake at night and then the chams get sick from not being able to sleep at night.
Glad you've found the forum because we can help you to be sure that she has the things she needs .
You can cut and paste the questions from https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/, then add your answers and people here will let you know if anything should be changed to help her to feel better.
The bark chips are dangerous for chams and should be removed, like Camimom said.
What can happen is the cham tries to get a bug with her tongue, misses it and eats the bark chip by accident.
That can block the intestines which is then fatal if left untreated.
Here is an excellent forum Veiled cham, caresheet hat you can look over to be sure they didn't forget to tell you other very important things that she needs or that they didn't tell you things that were wrong and may do her harm if left unchanged
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Much of the time, they just don't know how to care for chams and people then get sold harmful things like red bulbs for nighttime light , which keeps chams awake at night and then the chams get sick from not being able to sleep at night.
Glad you've found the forum because we can help you to be sure that she has the things she needs .
You can cut and paste the questions from https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/, then add your answers and people here will let you know if anything should be changed to help her to feel better.
Virgil12
New Member
The infrared bulbs are bad for chameleons? the guy at the pet store where I got my little guy a few weeks back told me that if my house gets cold at night to used an infrared bulb to produce a little heat for him. I never bought one, but I am glad I read this! I figured that it would keep him up at night
Lovereps
Avid Member
Virgil12, they sure do see the light from infrared bulbs.
That's why, if nighttime temps actually drop very low--lower than what would be good for your cham--a ceramic heater is better.
Chams actually LIKE a nighttime temperature drop and even healthy, adult Veiled chams can have a drop into the 50's at night, so long as they have proper daytime temps.
You just need to be sure that the temperatures are within the range that your type of cham needs.
You can always ask on the forum what nighttime low temps are safe for whatever cham you have.
There are also excellent caresheets here on the forum in the Resources section which tell you exactly what temps, humidity, etc. each type of cham needs
You'll find them here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/
The Resources section also has great info on food, health, water and humidity, enclosures and more. Well worth spending some time reading.
Often the people in the store mean well but they don't have accurate knowledge about chameleon care.
xephyr17
New Member
I've basically made it a rule to cross-check everything pet store people tell me... they are most of the time basing their info on assumption, not experience.
Just a month back a bought a 1.5 year old male veiled from a woman who had named him "Superwoman" because she thought he was a female all this time because that's what Pet Smart said... boy, did I blow her mind when I told her.
Anyway, Goodluck with your female.
these guys know what they're talking about up there
Just a month back a bought a 1.5 year old male veiled from a woman who had named him "Superwoman" because she thought he was a female all this time because that's what Pet Smart said... boy, did I blow her mind when I told her.
Anyway, Goodluck with your female.
these guys know what they're talking about up thereI agree that you need to get her a laying bin as soon as possible and then address the other issues such as replacing the cage.
Although its not related to the current issue, did something happen to her casque (veil/crest)? It looks slightly deformed. What kind of UVB light do you have?
Although its not related to the current issue, did something happen to her casque (veil/crest)? It looks slightly deformed. What kind of UVB light do you have?
Maximillion
Member
Max's mom
I can only tell you what I have been through this last month with my Max.. He did the exact same thing he went from great to really bad it seemed over night.
We quickly took him to the vet and he has mbd. We were using the wrong lights, using lights at night which they say is a big no on==no and were not giving any calcium or gut loading his feeders. We now have a cricket cage and I know exactly what they eat, we changed his lighting to the correct uvb and deleted the red night light if you interfere with there sleep time it also harms them. They need 12 hours of darkness according to our vet. We dust his feeders and we give him liquid calcium 2 times a day. He in just one month went from crooked legs and floor dwelling to healthy color, climbing, and being a Cham ninja.....Yes he now hisses and snaps to try and warn you not to give him those drops but he also now leans into my hand for a quick petting as long as no one else is looking...
I can only tell you what I have been through this last month with my Max.. He did the exact same thing he went from great to really bad it seemed over night.
We quickly took him to the vet and he has mbd. We were using the wrong lights, using lights at night which they say is a big no on==no and were not giving any calcium or gut loading his feeders. We now have a cricket cage and I know exactly what they eat, we changed his lighting to the correct uvb and deleted the red night light if you interfere with there sleep time it also harms them. They need 12 hours of darkness according to our vet. We dust his feeders and we give him liquid calcium 2 times a day. He in just one month went from crooked legs and floor dwelling to healthy color, climbing, and being a Cham ninja.....Yes he now hisses and snaps to try and warn you not to give him those drops but he also now leans into my hand for a quick petting as long as no one else is looking...
Thank you everyone, my little girl, is feeling much better. Moderate MBD along with being pregnant caused this whole fiasco. My vet has informed me 100% on how to care for her and with calcium carbonate she's acting much happier. Not to mention the bonding experience from force feeding the poor little thing. She's much less skiddish when I go to grab her now and even PREFERS drinking water from a syringe rather than a dripper. Not sure how I feel about that but everything is getting better. Thank you all again for your tips and facts along with the extremely helpful links. You're all amazing!
