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Veiled Chameleon Acting strange

P

prodigal1011

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I bought a beautiful male cham about 3 months ago from a breeder here in south Florida. He is about a 9 months old and is as awesome as they come. Recently I changed from having a exo-terra professional mercury vapor bulb that was hung about 12" above the enclosure, to 2 zoo med aquarium type fixtures with a reptisun 10.0 and a 60w basking bulb.

The temps are identical to before:
Ambient temp of 85
Basking area of 95
Night time 77

He has a live ficus and an 16x16x30 enclosure (ordered a larger custom one which will be here on Monday). I have a drip cup and the enclosure gets a light mist twice a day.

Problem: The last few days, he has been spending most of his time in one spot under the reptisun with his eyes closed at the top top of the enclosure. It's like he can't get close enough to the light. I tried changing the 2 fixtures around and he still stays in the same area. His appetite has changed also. He doesn't seem to be as interested in food as he normally would be. He did just get done shedding, which always seems to effect there mood for a day or too.

I'm just trying to find out if I should be worried about this behavior or just see how he progresses through the week. I've owned carpet and jacksons chams in the past, but never had experience with a veiled until this guy.

Any help, suggestions would be appreciated.
 
A cham spending time under a light at the top is not a problem - a sleeping cham during the day could be. Just so I understand clearly, what type of fixture is your basking light in? What type/style basking light is it (I understand it's 60w)?

One thing that jumps out is, "the enclosure gets a light mist twice a day." A light mist may not be enough. I think "rain" when dealing with chams, not "mist".

Chams going off-food for a few days is not unusual, especially as they mature. What is his staple diet? Do you supplement with worms/roaches or anything else for "treats"? Do you free range your feeders or cup feed? Over the years, I've come to the opinion (and just my opinion only), that chams may well do better when allowed to hunt their feeders, not cup feed. Seems to stimulate their appetite better.
 
The hoods are Zoo Med 12" terrarium hoods

One with a Reptisun 10.0 and the other with a 60w daylight blue reptile bulb.

I'll post a pic of the entire enclosure tonight.

I try to make things interesting with my chams, but his main stable is gut loaded crickets lightly dusted 3 times per week. I mix in small superworms, mealworms, and give him some turnip greens. I'll feed him using tongs, cup feed, and I let crickets run around on the ficus. He usually has the tongue on fully automatic when it comes to eating cricks loose in the cage. The last couple of days, he's slowed down a bit.

A light mist might not have been the best description. I mist enough to leave a sufficient amount of water on the ficus leaves for him to drink. He seems pissed off if I mist his enclosure too much.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Well, I have a good feeling something may be wrong. I went home for lunch, fed and sprayed everyone as usual, but Poseidon was hanging on his vine, directly under the light with his eyes closed.

I'm thinking something must have stressed him out of maybe even the lighting change effected his mood. I covered his cage with a towel and we'll see how he fairs when I get home.

This has to have happened to someone else?
 
Okay, I have a vet appointment for Saturday. He's basically just sitting under his light eyes closed. Completely stationary.....

I'm gonna try to give him a shower tonight and see how he likes it. Here's a pictures of what he's doing.

62029_10150261731070165_584710164_14843556_3823652_n.jpg


58609_10150261730850165_584710164_14843553_6302594_n.jpg
 
Hate to bump an older thread, but I feel like it would be good reference for anyone with similar problems.

UPDATE: After seeking my local herp vet, we brought him in to be examined. Even though he wasn't very happy about it, we immediately started him on Bactin for an upper respiratory infection after hearing some slight weezing in his chest, and an extra buildup of mucas in his lower jaw.

Less than a week later after only 5 treatments he was completely back to normal. We continued to treat him for another 3 days as directed, and more than 2 months later he is doing great!

I never would have diagnosed this as a respiratory infection. I couldn't hear any weezing or popping, no gasping for breath, nothing that would suggest a RI. Glad I have a great vet down here!
 
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