why is my veiled pawing at the glass?

salvadordali · Oct 6, 2014

i recently brought home a beautiful, healthy, young veiled to my home! he is in a tank that is glass on all sides except the roof and one side--i know veilds dont do too well in glass, and i am saving up for a permanent, screen mesh home for him. in the meanwhile, i have a fan near his screen side that allows him some ventilation. i keep his humidity at 80% and his temp at 85-90 degrees F. the lowest it gets at night is 68. He has lots and lots of vines and plants to crawl on, on all sides and at all different height levels. i believe his tank is 16"x16"x48" and he is smaller than the size of my palm.

most of the time, he's wandering aimlessly around, sampling the plants for water, snatching up crickets, basking, etc. however, i notice that sometimes, he goes down to the bottom and just crawls back and forth in front of one glass wall of his tank. he sometimes tries to just crawl the glass, or paws at it excessively. i bought a chameleon book that said that glass patrolling means his lighting, humidity, or temperature are inadequate. i put in the lighting that the woman at the pet store recommended when i bought all of his supplies, full spectrum UVB in a lamp with a clamp.

is there something i'm doing wrong, or could be doing better? is it his housing? i unfortunately do not have enough to get him a different one for at least a few months. is he unhappy? his coloring is always bright and colorful. i have pictures of his setup.

Carlton · Oct 6, 2014

salvadordali said:
i recently brought home a beautiful, healthy, young veiled to my home! he is in a tank that is glass on all sides except the roof and one side--i know veilds dont do too well in glass, and i am saving up for a permanent, screen mesh home for him. in the meanwhile, i have a fan near his screen side that allows him some ventilation. i keep his humidity at 80% and his temp at 85-90 degrees F. the lowest it gets at night is 68. He has lots and lots of vines and plants to crawl on, on all sides and at all different height levels. i believe his tank is 16"x16"x48" and he is smaller than the size of my palm.

most of the time, he's wandering aimlessly around, sampling the plants for water, snatching up crickets, basking, etc. however, i notice that sometimes, he goes down to the bottom and just crawls back and forth in front of one glass wall of his tank. he sometimes tries to just crawl the glass, or paws at it excessively. i bought a chameleon book that said that glass patrolling means his lighting, humidity, or temperature are inadequate. i put in the lighting that the woman at the pet store recommended when i bought all of his supplies, full spectrum UVB in a lamp with a clamp.

is there something i'm doing wrong, or could be doing better? is it his housing? i unfortunately do not have enough to get him a different one for at least a few months. is he unhappy? his coloring is always bright and colorful. i have pictures of his setup.

If his coloring is "always bright and colorful" that's a sign that he is somewhat agitated...not necessarily happy. How long has he been in this setup? It can take several weeks for a new cham to settle into a new situation, and if he wasn't housed in a mostly glass enclosure before, he's confused. He can see past the glass but can't figure out why he can't get anyplace. Some chams will pace and paw at it in frustration for hours on end. One thing to try is to block the areas he paws at with some type of visual barrier so he learns he can't get out there. If its at the bottom, maybe taping something solid around the outside would help. You could also try attaching some plastic mesh or netting on the inside of the glass so he can climb that instead of paw at the glass itself.

What is the BRAND of UV bulb you are using? Is it a coil type or an incandescent bulb? The brand is important, as so-called "full spectrum" reptile lights don't really produce the correct spectrum of UV. If its a coil type ReptiSun 5.0 its OK.

salvadordali · Oct 7, 2014

Carlton said:
If his coloring is "always bright and colorful" that's a sign that he is somewhat agitated...not necessarily happy. How long has he been in this setup? It can take several weeks for a new cham to settle into a new situation, and if he wasn't housed in a mostly glass enclosure before, he's confused. He can see past the glass but can't figure out why he can't get anyplace. Some chams will pace and paw at it in frustration for hours on end. One thing to try is to block the areas he paws at with some type of visual barrier so he learns he can't get out there. If its at the bottom, maybe taping something solid around the outside would help. You could also try attaching some plastic mesh or netting on the inside of the glass so he can climb that instead of paw at the glass itself.

What is the BRAND of UV bulb you are using? Is it a coil type or an incandescent bulb? The brand is important, as so-called "full spectrum" reptile lights don't really produce the correct spectrum of UV. If its a coil type ReptiSun 5.0 its OK.

he has been in this setup for only about a week now. i had a feeling it would take him a while to settle down (kind of like a cat when you first bring them home), so i havent been trying to handle him or stress him with movement/sound. he does pretty well 80% of the time, behaviorally--he still doesn't like my hand, did a weird headbanging thing in my direction when misting this morning. i think a visual barrier might help--he does seem to be pawing in the direction of his reflection. i have some plain, dark cloth that might work well? he was in a glass enclosure at the pet store he was living in, but way too small, i think--i would say 6"x10"x12", and the cham is probably 5" himself, not including the tail!

the brand of light i have says Zoo Med Repti Basking Lamp 150W and the fixture box says Fluker's 8.5" clamp lamp for incandescent bulbs. all i really know is that the woman at the pet store (petsmart in folsom, ca) told me that this is what she recommended for his tank--she guided me in getting pretty much everything.

thank you so much for your help!

salvadordali · Oct 7, 2014

also, about his coloring....what can i look out for that gives me clues as to how he feels/how he's doing? when he basks, he gets very pale and very green/blue...when he's away from light, and not bothered by anyone, or resting, he's sort of brown/green with only a little blue. i haven't seen him do anything else.

Carlton · Oct 7, 2014

--he still doesn't like my hand, did a weird headbanging thing in my direction when misting this morning.

Could be a sort of threat gesture toward your hand...pretty common.

i think a visual barrier might help--he does seem to be pawing in the direction of his reflection. i have some plain, dark cloth that might work well?

If you put it inside, don't use a natural fiber cloth (cotton, wool). It will hold water and may mold eventually. If he shows intensifying brighter colors or is puffing himself up when he's displaying to the glass, he could be reacting to his own reflection. Sometimes the lighting angles happen to be just right. When he's relaxed and mellow he won't be as bright and his markings won't be as contrasty.

the brand of light i have says Zoo Med Repti Basking Lamp 150W and the fixture box says Fluker's 8.5" clamp lamp for incandescent bulbs.

This is NOT a UVB-producing bulb. Its basically a fancy basking bulb that offers light, heat, and UVA, but not UVB. A regular household incandescent bulb will do the same. Incandescent bulbs don't transmit the correct level of UVB. You'll need to add a UVB-producing fluorescent such as the ReptiSun 5.0 or one of the Arcadia bulbs.

salvadordali · Oct 9, 2014

i came into a lamp yesterday that a friend lent me whose bearded dragon had passed away--it says UVB full spectrum desert light. is that alright?

he seems to be pawing less since he's been eating more! i have some gut loaded crickets and he was given a few live superworms--he ate a bunch, took a dump, and is now a bit duller and not puffed up. at rest, his tail fully coils and he gets much more brown. he is even much less fussy when i water him! he still puffs up a little, but since he's eaten, he hasn't hissed or gaped his mouth at me at all!

i didn't think he was that hungry, he had been fed at least every couple of days...i'm keeping food in there constantly now! i invested a little dough into a bunch of crickets, a cricket keeper, cricket food, and some superworms (as a treat). he reacted as soon as i put some food in!

i also bought him a lizard ladder (a plastic mesh triangle attached in a triangle with suction cups) and put it in his pawing spot, as well as added some dark paper to the outside of the glass. he seems to pretty much be ignoring the spot entirely now!

thank you so much for your help--he seems much more calm, and much less agitated <3

TreyLcham · Oct 9, 2014

salvadordali said:
i recently brought home a beautiful, healthy, young veiled to my home! he is in a tank that is glass on all sides except the roof and one side--i know veilds dont do too well in glass, and i am saving up for a permanent, screen mesh home for him. in the meanwhile, i have a fan near his screen side that allows him some ventilation. i keep his humidity at 80% and his temp at 85-90 degrees F. the lowest it gets at night is 68. He has lots and lots of vines and plants to crawl on, on all sides and at all different height levels. i believe his tank is 16"x16"x48" and he is smaller than the size of my palm.

most of the time, he's wandering aimlessly around, sampling the plants for water, snatching up crickets, basking, etc. however, i notice that sometimes, he goes down to the bottom and just crawls back and forth in front of one glass wall of his tank. he sometimes tries to just crawl the glass, or paws at it excessively. i bought a chameleon book that said that glass patrolling means his lighting, humidity, or temperature are inadequate. i put in the lighting that the woman at the pet store recommended when i bought all of his supplies, full spectrum UVB in a lamp with a clamp.

is there something i'm doing wrong, or could be doing better? is it his housing? i unfortunately do not have enough to get him a different one for at least a few months. is he unhappy? his coloring is always bright and colorful. i have pictures of his setup.

when u say u keep his temp at 85-90F do u mean his basking spot or the whole terrarium. The basking spot should be around 85-90 and the rest of the cage can be from 70-80 if at all possible. Also my panther chameleon helps let me know when he wants a new setup by climbing the scream more and just by changing up the way the vines are positioned every 1month will keep him happy and not bored. Also do u have substrate or is it a bare bottom tank, and are u spraying him with a mist bottle at least 6times a day?

wilmar · Oct 10, 2014

If the humidity is constantly 80% then it is possibly too high. My veiled seems OK with between 40 - 50% humidity.

Carlton · Oct 10, 2014

salvadordali said:
i came into a lamp yesterday that a friend lent me whose bearded dragon had passed away--it says UVB full spectrum desert light. is that alright?

<3

The BRAND of this light is important and should be printed on the bulb itself somewhere. Is it a linear tube fluorescent or a round incandescent bulb? If it is not a ReptiSun or ReptiGlo UV it is not going to work for UVB radiation. How long did your friend use the bulb? After about 6 months of daily use the amount of UVB radiation it produces drops significantly.

why is my veiled pawing at the glass?

salvadordali

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