How Long Do Chameleons Sleep?<\/h2>\n
Like us, chameleons’ sleep time will depend on their daily activities, how much they ate, and time of year.\u00a0 Also, how long they sleep also depends on the species of the chameleons.<\/p>\n
On average, most species of chameleons will sleep for at least 12 hours each night.\u00a0 The time of the year will play a factor in their sleeping time.\u00a0 During the summer months when daylight hours are longer, they will sleep less.\u00a0 On the other hand, during the winter months when the daylight hours are shorter, they will sleep longer.\u00a0 For this reason, the lights in the chameleon cage should follow the same light pattern as in their natural habitat.<\/p>\n
Another factor that contributes to how long they sleep is food.\u00a0 Chameleons that are fed a lot of food during the day will not sleep a lot.\u00a0 Too much food in their belly could cause them to feel full and prevent them from having a good night’s sleep.\u00a0 It’s best to feed them a small amount of food throughout the day<\/a> than one large meal at one time.\u00a0 Also, feeding them at night should be avoided.\u00a0 Chameleons that are fed at night tend to not sleep because it causes them to stress out and disrupt their sleeping patterns.<\/p>\n Like us, the more active they are during the day, the more they will sleep at night.\u00a0 Chameleons that move around a lot during the day tend to sleep longer at night.\u00a0 This is due to a lot of energy being consumed by them.\u00a0 If you play with your chameleons often during the day, they will sleep for a longer period of time.<\/p>\n Lastly, the species of the chameleons will dictate how long they sleep.\u00a0 Chameleons that are native to the rainforest will have a longer sleep time.\u00a0 On the other hand, chameleons that are native to the deserts will sleep less time.\u00a0 For this reason, when choosing your chameleon<\/a> as a pet, make sure to know what species they are so you know how long they need to sleep.<\/p>\n Most chameleons sleep with one eye open and one eye closed.\u00a0 However, some chameleons actually close both eyes, but not completely closed. You can tell if they’re sleeping by looking at their eyes.\u00a0 If they are sleeping, their eyes will look like a little slit.<\/p>\n Chameleons tend to sleep with one eye open to watch out for predators and other dangers that might be a threat to them.\u00a0 Usually, when they sleep, their right eye will close and the left will be open.\u00a0 After an hour or so, the right eye will open and the left will close.\u00a0 This is to give each side of the brain a rest while watching for danger.<\/p>\n Chameleons do not sleep during the day.\u00a0 If you see your chameleons sleep during the day, this can be a sign there’s something wrong with them.\u00a0 The chameleons could be sick, or there are too many lights in the cage that is irritating their eyes.\u00a0 Another reason could be dehydration causing them to sleep.<\/p>\n However, if you catch your chameleons closing their eyes for a couple of minutes, there’s nothing to worry about.\u00a0 This could be a result of stress in their environment such as introducing another chameleon into the cage or their cage is moved to a different location.<\/p>\n If you have baby chameleons in the cage, they will usually close their eyes for a couple of minutes during the day.\u00a0 This is them being introduced into a new environment for the first time.\u00a0 To prevent stress for baby chameleons, try placing them in their own cage and far from other chameleons.\u00a0 After a couple of weeks or so, you can put the baby chameleons in the larger cage with the other chameleons.\u00a0 However, make sure to monitor the baby chameleon closely so they are not scared and stressed out.<\/p>\n Chameleon do sleep in the dark.\u00a0 The darker it is the better it is for them to sleep.\u00a0 In the wild, when the moon isn’t out, it will be pitched black so they’re used to that.\u00a0 Also, chameleons are not nocturnal lizards so they can’t see in the dark.\u00a0 For that reason, they spend the night sleeping.<\/p>\n When setting up your cage, find a location in your home that is almost completely dark when it’s night time.\u00a0 Most people like to leave night lights around the house at night.\u00a0 As long as the lights don’t directly shine on the chameleons, it should be fine.<\/p>\n If you live in an apartment in the city where it’s usually well lit at night, some people prefer to move the chameleons to a different location when they are about to sleep.\u00a0 That is perfectly fine but watch your chameleons carefully for stress.\u00a0 Some chameleons get stressed out when they have been moved around a lot.<\/p>\n Another option is to simply wrap a blanket around the cage.\u00a0 This will provide total darkness for the chameleons to sleep.\u00a0 When you just starting, check every few hours to see if your chameleons are sleeping.\u00a0 If they are sleeping, then this option will be perfect for your chameleons.\u00a0 If they are not sleeping, find another way to help your chameleon sleep.\u00a0 Remember, in their natural habitat, it’s near pitch black at night.\u00a0 So as long as you can mimic their natural habitat, chameleons will sleep well in the dark.<\/p>\n At night, the air temperature will drop a couple of degrees or more.\u00a0 As for the chameleons, since they are cold-blooded animals, they can cope with the drop in temperatures.\u00a0 Their bodies will adjust their internal temperature to match the surrounding temperature.<\/p>\n The drop in temperature at night is needed to slow down their metabolism and induce deep sleep.\u00a0 Since these are non-nocturnal animals, they need to sleep at night.<\/p>\n The ideal temperature is about ten degrees different from day time to night time.<\/strong>\u00a0 A bigger change than that can cause the chameleons to be stressed.\u00a0 However, certain species of chameleons can tolerate any amount of temperature change.\u00a0 Veiled chameleons, in particular, are hardy and can even cope with a light frost on them.<\/p>\n If your chameleons can’t handle the temperature shift, it’s a good idea to buy heating lights.\u00a0 Unlike regular lights, heat lights<\/a> are red and just like the name implies, it produces heat.\u00a0 You simply hang the light close to their sleeping area and turn the light on for the night.\u00a0 Since it’s red-colored lights, it won’t affect the chameleon’s sleep.<\/p>\n However, in some situations, you might need heat lights.\u00a0 In their native habitat, which is a tropical climate, the temperature is usually warm throughout the year.\u00a0 During the day, it might be around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and at night the air temperature might drop to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.\u00a0 Most species of chameleons can handle 10 degrees difference.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you live in a cold climate zone, heat light might be needed during the winter months.\u00a0 Since most homes have a central heating unit, some areas of the home might be colder than in other areas.\u00a0 By placing a heat light in the cage, you can maintain optimal temperature during the night.<\/p>\n When placing the heat light in the cage, place it somewhere close to where the chameleon usually sleeps<\/a>.\u00a0 Usually, this will be close to a plant’s leaf. When placing it close to the leaves of the plant, make sure the heat setting is not too hot or you might kill the plants.<\/p>\n There are a couple of different heat lights available on the market.\u00a0 Most will be infrared bulbs with red colors.\u00a0 Some come as a combo with UVB (ultraviolet B-rays<\/span><\/span>) and heat bulb all in one. UVB Lighting is essential for chameleons to process calcium in captivity.\u00a0 By having both setups, you can have the UVB lights<\/a> operate during the day, and the heat light on at night. \u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Chameleons will usually turn light green at night.\u00a0 This is their natural defense to blend in with their surroundings when sleeping.\u00a0 Some species turn to bright green and even some bright red.\u00a0 The color changes at night can also be caused by their moods as well.<\/p>\n In captivity, the majority of chameleons will be light green and bright green.\u00a0 If they are any other colors than green, you should pay close attention to them.\u00a0 This can be a sign leading to stress and illness.\u00a0 Over the next couple of days, watch and see if they turn back to the light or bright green.\u00a0 Investigate what could be the problem if they don’t turn back to green.\u00a0 If the chameleons are sick, they will usually stay in one area day and night, and won’t eat much.\u00a0 If you suspect it could be stress, try moving them to another location or remove the chameleon from the cage and place it in its own cage.<\/p>\n As you can see, chameleons do sleep and they need that sleep to keep them healthy and strong.\u00a0 Just like day time, at night time, chameleons need the same care as well.\u00a0 The cage should be located in a dark location away from bright lights and noise.\u00a0 Also, the cage should be set up with plants for them to sleep under.\u00a0 By mimicking their natural habitat, you will be able to give your chameleon a good night’s sleep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All living creatures on this planet need rest to restore their bodies.\u00a0 Some sleep during the day, while others sleep during the night.\u00a0 Sleep helps … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3295,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252\/revisions\/3295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reptilesguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Do Chameleons Sleep With Their Eyes Open?<\/h2>\n
Do Chameleons Sleep During The Day?<\/h2>\n
Do Chameleons Sleep In The Dark?<\/h2>\n
Chameleons Ideal Sleeping Temperature<\/h2>\n
Heat Lights At Night<\/h2>\n
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Do Chameleons Change Color When Sleeping?<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n