Baby Nosy Be acting strange

[jpw0006]

Here's the deal. The 3 days ago I was using a branch to remove Sulley (that's his name) from his cage so I could clean and he jumped out falling about 4ft onto the carpet. He was pretty dark, almost black, when I picked him up. After I put him in the cage he changed to his normal light blue-ish color and slept for the night. Since then he has beed a little skiddish around me (which I totally understand), but will still eat from my hand. Where he has been acting weird since then, is now he tries to hide when I spray him (normally he went towards it), he hasn't been as active within his cage and tonight I found him asleep on the bottom of his cage in puddle of residual water from his dripper. Is there anything in particular that I should watch for or am I being paranoid? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[warpdrive]

Hi,

please fill this out. just copy and paste and include a photo of him if you can.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

sleeping on the floor of the cage doesn't sound right at all.

Harry

 

[morpheon]

How old is he? How long have you had him?

Obviously he got stressed out. Jumping or falling is commun for chameleons when they feel threatened.

Now, what happened? I sincerely don't know and this is the hardest part of this puzzle. However, offhand, here's a few reasons that could explain it, at least partially:

-The speed you moved the branch (and him) was too fast
-He didn't notice you when you arrived (low chance that it happened, but who knows)
-The branch that he was on was too thin and he accidentaly fell
-The cloths you wore had colors that he feared (this happens sometimes...)
-An animal or something moving very fast toward it scared him, even if it was very fast away
-He noticed another chameleon close (if you have more than one)
-His health isn't very good and doesn't have a strong grip anymore (i sure hope this is not the reason, but the chances are very low since he is still somehow scared of you)

It's 3:38am so i may be wrong, who knows! But this is what i thought first when i read your post. However, i would like to point out to the fact that 1) you were cleaning his cage, 2) you took the time to come here and try to get more information, and 3) you keep an eye on what is normal and abnormal for your pet. So no, you aren't paranoid and you have great qualities and i hope you will keep them!

However, you mentionned that he was sleeping "tonight" in some water... This is something i don't really like. Sleeping in some water is not something i have seen nor read before! So, was he sleeping with the lights on? He was awake for how long when he fell asleep? Is it possible that he got hurt when falling 4 feet, based on his behaviors during the last 3 days? How hot is your enclosure during the night and when he fell asleep?

I don't know what others think, but i would suggest at least moving him from the puddle of water, since water can drain all his heat, even if he's sleeping.

 

[Chameleonboy]

I think in this case pictures will and could really help us out in identifying a problem. That is of there is any problems.

-Clemonde

 

[steviejcsc]

Sounds like it could be stress... however, in the two chameleons that I have had, laying on the floor in water is a odd sign...
Fist off, standing water in the cage can be a lil bit dangerous. Do you have drainage in your cage? If not you could buy a small critter keeper, and put screen over it to catch the water from the dripper!
Alos, your 100% sure your chameleon is a male? I had a female that started going to the bottom of the cage and became egg bound....
More than likely he is just stressed, I would not mess with him a whole lot for a few days and see if he snaps out of it! (aside from misting and feeding)
Hope this help, again I only have limited experience with chameleons, but I have been keeping reptiles for about 7 years....

 

[jpw0006]

here is the details:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Baby Nosy Be. about 3 months old
How long has it been in your care? About 3 weeks
Handling - Only when I clean it.
Feeding - I give 1 waxworm a week, 5-6 gut loaded crickets/day in a feeder cup with 10-12 fruit flies free roaming in his cage
Supplements - I use herptivite 1-2 times/week, calcium and reptivite with D3 daily
Watering - I mist 2-3 times/day (30-40 seconds each time) and a fluker's little dripper every 2-3 days. He drinks off of the leaves and himself.
Fecal Description - I have never had him tested for parasites, but his droppings are usually brown (yellow when he eats the waxworm) with a little white thing on the end

Cage Info:
Cage Type - My cage is a 10 gallon fish tank with an equal sized cage top. Since he jumped out I have ordered a new 16x16x24in screen cage that opens from the front and with bottom tray
Lighting - Lighting I use reptisun 5.0, a 50 watt heat bulb and 50 watt red bulb. I use the red bulb 2 hours after the lights go out and 2 hours before they come on. I leave the heat lamp and reptisun from 9am-10pm
Temperature - I have thermometers placed on his basking side and the opposite. his basking spot is usually 80-85 and the rest of his cage is normally ~75
Humidity - His humidity is usually about 50-60%, the glass bottom helps me control the humidity while they are young, then I usually transfer them to a 24x24x48 full screen cage.
Plants - no live plants
Placement - My cage is located by my bedroom window, underneath an air vent
Location - I currently live in Auburn, Alabama

 

[jpw0006]

To answer some of your questions and elaborate: When I found him last night, his cage was dark (as it was supposed to be), he was very dark and his cage was colder that normal (68). When I try to remove him from his cage I usually place a stick in front of him and let him crawl on it on his own. He did clearly jump.


I am still trying to get a picture to post, right now he looks healthy and was acting pretty normal today but is still very apprehensive with me (which I totally understand). As for last night, I took his cage into the bath tub removed all plants and removed the water while he was still in there. To keep him as stress free as possible, I placed a stick inside so he would walk out on his own. Once I put everything back in, he stayed towards the upper back part of the vines and went to sleep.

 

[Julirs]

3 month old chameleons do strange things. I do not think the fall you describe was likely to harm him at all. I am not sure why you use the red light at all, but it is not harming anything either. You do need to revise your supplementation. You are using WAY too much vitamin/mineral and WAY too much D3 supplement-and this could cause issues. Get a calcium with no D3 and use that 5-6 times weekly, use a calcium with D3 2X monthly up until about 6-8 months, and use Herptivite OR Reptivite (not both) 2X monthly up until 6-8 months.

 

[jpw0006]

Thanks Julirs, that makes me feel a little better about it. I will change my supplementation as well. I appreciate the advice.