Acting wierd at random times

[hayden]

I have been having a few weird observations with my 2-3 month old veild cham.
He will randomly shut his eyes one at a time like he is blinking?
He will open his mouth at the top of the cage as well.. figured that it was too hot for him so i moved the plant that he was on down.
ive seen him bite on the artifical plants so i went to go get some (organic) kale for him to nibble on but wont eat it.
i havent really seen him drink water. could be when im not looking but does not seem dehydrated.
he doesnt accept fruit or vegatables so i have been trying to figure out a way on that.
if anyone has any suggestions on what ive listed above i could use some help. been doing A LOT of research but it really goes back and fourth.

thanks!

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Hello Hayden and welcome to the forums. You have come to the right place for help. This is such a great site!

Anyway, the blinking with the eye is usually your chameleon cleaning his eye. It looks really weird at first because he closes the eye and moves the eye ball around in the turret, but do not worry it is normal.

Some chameleons are very shy drinkers. Thats why it is recommended that they have access to a water dripper all day. With chameleons it is east to see if they are dehydrated. Their poop is actually, poop and pee all in one. There are two parts to a chameleons poo, the brown fecal matter and the white portion which are his urates. If the urate portion is white and in contrast to the brown poo. you are good and he is drinking enough. if it is orange or yellowish, you need to water more.

Attach a pick of your chameleon, we would love to see it and we can give feedback on whether he looks hydrated or not.

 

[MollyT]

Mine doesn't like for me to see him drink. I think I had him three months when I first saw him drink from his dripper. I don't know what to tell you about him not eating kale but eating leaves off of his plant, bc mine does that too! As soon as I caught him eating his leaves I went and bought some mustard greens and kale. He won't have any part of either....just wants his umbrella plant leaves! Weird behavior, with my guy anyway, just seems kind of normal at this point! haha

Like the last post said, as long as his urates are white and his eyes look full and not sunken in, he is getting enough water. Good luck and welcome to the forums!!

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum Don't worry about him not eating veggies, as long as his insects are well fed he will get what he needs......here is a great all-round caresheet for Veileds that I always recommend - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[hayden]

thanks for the replies! Ive been misting several times and day... and have a small waterfall for him to have a constant supply of water when im not there. I do flush the water out on a regular basis(3-4days) but im probably going to add a filter to it to make sure it is completely safe. on the precaution side- i have been slightly misting him. When i feed him crickets and mealworms i only have calcium with d3 dust so i use that every time i feed him. at least that was what i did with my leopard geckos. I am going to assume thats bad so what kind of dust would you suggest? there is a small container for the meal worms at the bottom of the enclosure if he ever gets hungry and cant find crickets, i also placed kale all around the tank before misting. one of the pictures is him sleeping as soon as lights are out. the first one is when i was browsing chameleons and decided we were a match. i've moved the thermometer more up toward the basking light to get a general idea of what he normally sits at, and there are now a few vines for him to go down below to hunt. ill post more to the thread when im home.

Update** I've been watching him scratch limbs or the tree kind of often... when im there maybe once or twice in a three hour period- could be shedding flakes since he's growing?? i haven't noticed a large amount of skin shedding off him so im not sure if he's just itchy or what (the amount of time and how often is really just a guess)

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Do not use the Calcium with D3 at every feeding. If you don't have it already, you will need to get calcium powder without D3 and use a light dusting at every feeding. D3 should be used twice a month and too much can cause health problems. You will also need to get a multivitamin and use that twice a month too. I alternate Sundays with the D3 and multivitamin.

People on the forums do not recommend using waterfalls. Most chameleons will not drink from a water dish or waterfall and prefer to have a dripper.

 

[DavidBuchan]

He looks good, congrats Agreed on the powders......a 'plain' calcium (no phosphorous or d3) is needed for everyday use. It is possible to overdoes on d3. The waterfall is a really bad idea, they are just too difficult to keep clean. Chams use them as a toilet more often than they drink from them, crickets and other insects like to drown themselves and the bacteria build up ridiculously quickly. So if he does drink from it it won't be healthy at all.
Just from the pictures it looks ok, but I would have more branches that are a better fit for his tiny feet, as well as more foliage, this will make more of the tank useable and get him exploring more
The mouth opening you saw (gaping) is usually due to excess heat, so I guess he has stopped now...if it continues when he is cooler then it could be a sign of a respiratory infection. Hopefully the scratching is just a reaction to an imminent shed, that is also quite usual - at this age he will shed all at once and be done within a day

 

[hayden]

Yea i bought the waterfall cause they didnt have any drippers when i bought all of my stuff, figured misting till the drippers came in was unacceptable. ill probably buy a dripper today just to be safe. im sure hes a shy drinker. im going to get the non d3 and multi vitamin today and remove the crickets that are in there, and put good ones in. will probably have to put the change over on my calendar. a lot people at pet stores really dont know what they're doing cause that's what they told me to use

and should i remove the jungle mix from the bottom of the cage? i was told change it frequently like every month due to mold and other bacteria but then reading on here, if he gets that stuff in his mouth it could cause problems

 

[DavidBuchan]

a lot people at pet stores really dont know what they're doing cause that's what they told me to use

Yes, it happens a lot....hopefully it's just that they don't know much about how specialist chams are compared to most lizards.....sometimes it's just to get sales though I guess.....

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yes, remove the substrate. It can cause impaction

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

If you mist frequently until you get a dripper, you will be fine. You can also make one at home by poking a hole in a plastic bottle or styrofoam cup. If the hole is very small, water will slowly drip out

 

[DavidBuchan]

Personally I never had any problems with substrate, but it can sometimes cause problems. A little soil accidentally eaten won't hurt, it is mostly the bark types that have really done damage I think, causing 'impaction' (constipation). Either way if you leave it in you will have to keep an even closer watch that he doesn't start to eat it deliberately.

 

[hayden]

Well, i removed the substrate, bought some more vines and linked them together, bought the multi vitamins and calcium phospohate(no d3) and cleaned it all up. i gave him a shower, it seemed like he liked it but he got something in his eye he's been working on getting rid of it. unfortunately he's having a hard time and there's nothing i can do. all dried off and body temp going back up. let me know if he looks good in health!!
open to more suggestions or recommendations!

 

[hayden]

Im trying not to worry so much about him