Veiled chameleon basking a lot and seeming kind of inactive

[georg_the_cham]

So as long as your very highest branches are at that 20-22 cm. I have never raised one side so I do not know if that would effect the florescent bulb. But it is going to change how the reflector reacts depending on how angled up the fixture is. Might try to orient the fixture so that you have the distances you need but do not have to raise part of the fixture. This way the reflector is aiming the light directly down into the cage.

You should see an uptick in activity. The correct UVB directly impacts there energy and appetite.

Well, I checked on him through the camera from time to time the last few days and I still mostly see him on his basking branch. Sure, he‘s moving back and forth and changes direction on the branch, but all in all, he‘s practically just chillin there.
At least yesterday he tried a new sleeping spot… on the enclosure door - that looked really silly

His appetite is still pretty good!

His coloring seems a bit brighter through out the day, but that could be because of the brighter lights.

Is it to early to tell a difference already? And could it be bad for him to receive the UV rays all the time, cause he‘s not hiding under leaves or anything.

Thanks again and have a great [insert time of day in your timezone],
Chris

 

[Beman]

Well, I checked on him through the camera from time to time the last few days and I still mostly see him on his basking branch. Sure, he‘s moving back and forth and changes direction on the branch, but all in all, he‘s practically just chillin there.
At least yesterday he tried a new sleeping spot… on the enclosure door - that looked really silly

His appetite is still pretty good!

His coloring seems a bit brighter through out the day, but that could be because of the brighter lights.

Is it to early to tell a difference already? And could it be bad for him to receive the UV rays all the time, cause he‘s not hiding under leaves or anything.

Thanks again and have a great [insert time of day in your timezone],
Chris

They really like being up on the basking branches... Most while young spend a lot of their time there. As they start to mature they will patrol their enclosure more. As far as is it bad. Nope not at all as long as your UVI is withing the limits it should be. I would expect you will start seeing the difference in his behaviors, color, and appetite now with the new UVB light.

 

[Sonny13]

Well, I checked on him through the camera from time to time the last few days and I still mostly see him on his basking branch. Sure, he‘s moving back and forth and changes direction on the branch, but all in all, he‘s practically just chillin there.
At least yesterday he tried a new sleeping spot… on the enclosure door - that looked really silly

His appetite is still pretty good!

His coloring seems a bit brighter through out the day, but that could be because of the brighter lights.

Is it to early to tell a difference already? And could it be bad for him to receive the UV rays all the time, cause he‘s not hiding under leaves or anything.

Thanks again and have a great [insert time of day in your timezone],
Chris

My veiled and Jackson are also from the basking, therefore no worries it‘s normal behavior. Especially during the upcoming period, they’ll slow down and only bask.

Being brighter colored and having appetite is a good sign

 

[georg_the_cham]

Thank you Sonny and Beman!

I‘ll keep an eye on him and try not to stress about every movement to much
Indeed he seems to try new sleeping positions - yesterday he went to the upper enclosure wood piece, „stood“ up and chose that as his sleeping spot (See attached image)

Further I will source an exotic vet and try to get his feces checked - just to be sure!

I notice Georg has still some skin to shed stuck on one side of his body, the big shed happened, I think, about two weeks ago. Is this normal and will he get rid of it sooner or later?

 

[Beman]

Thank you Sonny and Beman!

I‘ll keep an eye on him and try not to stress about every movement to much
Indeed he seems to try new sleeping positions - yesterday he went to the upper enclosure wood piece, „stood“ up and chose that as his sleeping spot (See attached image)

Further I will source an exotic vet and try to get his feces checked - just to be sure!

I notice Georg has still some skin to shed stuck on one side of his body, the big shed happened, I think, about two weeks ago. Is this normal and will he get rid of it sooner or later?

Take a pic of the the stuck shed your seeing. I just want to make sure it is only shed and not another issue.

 

[georg_the_cham]

Take a pic of the the stuck shed your seeing. I just want to make sure it is only shed and not another issue.

Sure, see attached image.
I hope the quality is good enough for you to see what you need…

The other side looks way better, but has also small parts still stuck.

 

[Beman]

Sure, see attached image.
I hope the quality is good enough for you to see what you need…

The other side looks way better, but has also small parts still stuck.

Perfect I just wanted to make sure the shed looked normal and nothing below it which it does. If he by chance got wet while starting to shed then this can cause it to come off slower. Because it will stick to the skin when it gets wet. I have this issue a lot with Beman because he loves nothing more than sitting below his mist nozzles. So when he does go through a shed he can have patches that take weeks to fully let go.

 

[georg_the_cham]

Perfect I just wanted to make sure the shed looked normal and nothing below it which it does. If he by chance got wet while starting to shed then this can cause it to come off slower. Because it will stick to the skin when it gets wet. I have this issue a lot with Beman because he loves nothing more than sitting below his mist nozzles. So when he does go through a shed he can have patches that take weeks to fully let go.

Ah ok, well that could have happend tbh. I misted the enclosure some during his shed and he was walking around to scrub of the skin, so it‘s possibly he got a little wet on some spots.
It‘s good you don‘t see anything wrong with the stuck skin tho I‘ll keep checking on him (ofc) and see what happens

Thanks, Chris

 

[georg_the_cham]

Quick update: I feel like the new UVB was a good addition to the enclosure. I also mounted two more branches so he has a bit more places to stay at in his basking area.
It seems like he is moving around a bit more, at least as far as I can tell, and he also gone through his second shed (which went by pretty smoothly tbh).
I raised the heat bulb a bit so the temp gun reads about 29-30 on the upper branch - but I noticed he is still basking a lot and pretty dark-green while doing so. It seems a bit weird that he seems like he is cold even tho the temps are high enough. I thought that maybe the temps were even higher at the place where I got him from, so he is „used“ to that temps. Could that be possible?

Otherwise I‘m not really sure what could be up…

 

[elizaann2]

Quick update: I feel like the new UVB was a good addition to the enclosure. I also mounted two more branches so he has a bit more places to stay at in his basking area.
It seems like he is moving around a bit more, at least as far as I can tell, and he also gone through his second shed (which went by pretty smoothly tbh).
I raised the heat bulb a bit so the temp gun reads about 29-30 on the upper branch - but I noticed he is still basking a lot and pretty dark-green while doing so. It seems a bit weird that he seems like he is cold even tho the temps are high enough. I thought that maybe the temps were even higher at the place where I got him from, so he is „used“ to that temps. Could that be possible?

Otherwise I‘m not really sure what could be up…

Has he been tested for parasites?

 

[Beman]

Quick update: I feel like the new UVB was a good addition to the enclosure. I also mounted two more branches so he has a bit more places to stay at in his basking area.
It seems like he is moving around a bit more, at least as far as I can tell, and he also gone through his second shed (which went by pretty smoothly tbh).
I raised the heat bulb a bit so the temp gun reads about 29-30 on the upper branch - but I noticed he is still basking a lot and pretty dark-green while doing so. It seems a bit weird that he seems like he is cold even tho the temps are high enough. I thought that maybe the temps were even higher at the place where I got him from, so he is „used“ to that temps. Could that be possible?

Otherwise I‘m not really sure what could be up…

So your temps at basking are where they should be. They turn darker when they are basking. This is very normal and allows them to absorb more heat from their darker skin surface.
The correct UVB makes a big difference for them. Having more basking options is always a good thing. It allows them to use more area and pick where they want to be. Chameleons do spend quite a bit of time basking. Mine does it anywhere from 3-5 hours a day then will move around to other areas. Sometime he will move from the heat and just bask under the UVB lighting.

 

[georg_the_cham]

So your temps at basking are where they should be. They turn darker when they are basking. This is very normal and allows them to absorb more heat from their darker skin surface.
The correct UVB makes a big difference for them. Having more basking options is always a good thing. It allows them to use more area and pick where they want to be. Chameleons do spend quite a bit of time basking. Mine does it anywhere from 3-5 hours a day then will move around to other areas. Sometime he will move from the heat and just bask under the UVB lighting.

alright, thanks! Georg seems to be basking more than 5 hours - maybe he takes a few steps back and forth the upper branch, and maybe he moves around a bit the enclosure, but every time I check the camera he sits under the heat lamp.

When I see him moving around he has a pretty normal color, so I assume he‘s alright

 

[Sonny13]

It’s also the time of the year, seasonal change, where they tend to bask more because ambient temperatures are dropping. My veiled and Jackson bask (uvb) for at least 8 hours per day. The boehmei and panther for at least 4 hours.

 

[Beman]

^^^^^ yep that too.

 

[elizaann2]

I'm starting to see this myself. Darn seasonal changes....

 

[georg_the_cham]

It’s also the time of the year, seasonal change, where they tend to bask more because ambient temperatures are dropping. My veiled and Jackson bask (uvb) for at least 8 hours per day. The boehmei and panther for at least 4 hours.

UVB basking is a good point, Georg may be on his upper most branch but not directly under the heat lamp. So it is totally possible he‘s just soaking up that UVB

 

[georg_the_cham]

I'm starting to see this myself. Darn seasonal changes....

But, is it really?
I mean their whole world is artificial, right?

No matter the season the temps always stay at about the same, the lights are always on for the same amount of time, the plants are always green. So it‘s not like summer/winter, it‘s more like „always sunny in philadelphia“.

 

[Sonny13]

But, is it really?
I mean their whole world is artificial, right?

No matter the season the temps always stay at about the same, the lights are always on for the same amount of time, the plants are always green. So it‘s not like summer/winter, it‘s more like „always sunny in philadelphia“.

It's real and I notice it with all my chams. It's not only the few degrees of temperature inside, but more atmospheric pressure that changes and what they sense (according the things I read about it). Plus my chams all got visual outside and see the sunrise and-set.

 

[MissSkittles]

But, is it really?
I mean their whole world is artificial, right?

No matter the season the temps always stay at about the same, the lights are always on for the same amount of time, the plants are always green. So it‘s not like summer/winter, it‘s more like „always sunny in philadelphia“.

I live in Florida and year round my house temp stays in the mid 70’s. Yet every autumn my bearded dragon starts to slow down and then goes into brumation for four months. His enclosure temps are always the same. How does he know? No matter how far we remove an animal (ourselves included) from nature, we can’t ever remove nature from the animal.

 

[elizaann2]

But, is it really?
I mean their whole world is artificial, right?

No matter the season the temps always stay at about the same, the lights are always on for the same amount of time, the plants are always green. So it‘s not like summer/winter, it‘s more like „always sunny in philadelphia“.

I dunno.. they somehow know there is a change. My chams are different even on rainy days I've noticed. Even though their enclosure is literally the same. Maybe there is something like pressure in the air we can't really sense that they can.