Chameleon doing leaf walk FAST or Shaking

[Diinomos]

Hey everyone! So I've had my new chameleon for the past 4 weeks or so, the breeders weren't sure of the age but with a bit of research my little guy looks about 1 month old or less.
Chameleon Husbandry Info:
The room I have him in or my house in general is relatively Humid, so I only spray his cage for a few seconds in the morning before he wakes up. His Humidity Levels stay around 65-75% in the morning so I got a dehumidifier since I saw that it should be around 50% (Is this a good choice?). I then do a heavy mist at night after he sleeps to get 70-85% at night. I have a Reptisun linear UVB bulb and a 100W heat lamp and his basking Temps are 80-85% mid Temps are about 70% and lower Temps are about 60-65%. I gut feed small worms the night before and place them in his cage in the morning (saw this recommended by Neptunethechameleon) and he eats 10-15 worms every day. I dust them in calcium every day but I heard there can be calcium overdoses so I'm thinking of dusting worms in calcium every other day. I'm giving him reptivite every other Sunday and reptivite with D3 every other Sunday (I alternate every weekend). I always offer water with the dripping system about twice throughout the day just in case he's still thirsty which I use Tap water with drops of Reptisafe according to the amount. I only handled him about 3 times the first 2 weeks to help him get more comfortable eating and he got used to eating out of the bowl I made for him so i dont handle anymore. I feed him small moths that I find around the house from time to time which seem to be his favorite because of how eager he is to catch them.

Problem: He began to shed about 2 days ago so I sort of expect different behavior, but something I just noticed today was him doing the leaf walk like usually but very very fast. I was able to get a video on it. He was on his way to get into bed but this is the first time I see him moving so fast and I couldn't really find anyone having the same issue. Another thing I couldn't find online was chameleons pooping very dry. His urate seems fine with a small amount of orange at the ends but his poop looks incredibly dry. I suspect I am finding it after a while when the basking like ends up drying it but just in case it helps to identify the issue I wanted to add it. I'll be taking him to the vet on Tuesday but I wanted to know what you guys thought on this and if there's anything I can do earlier. While I was out, my sibling said they say him shaking side to side fast when they watched from far away and they did it slower when the got close to make sure they were okay. When I got back and saw him moving fast, even though he saw me he kept moving fast. The photo of the poop is a few hours after pooping (I'll see if I could get a better pic tomorrow if that helps but his urate was wetter but his poop looks relatively the same)

If you guys need more info let me know, I also attached a photo of his enclosure which is a combination of fake plants and pothos (the hanging ones) and tropical plant (the one at the very bottom but he doesn't really go there since it's so low). The dehumidifier is the white box at the very bottom.
Shaking Chameleon Video 1
Shaking Chameleon Video 2

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a bit of time and I’ll go thru everything.

 

[MissSkittles]

Chameleon Husbandry Info:
The room I have him in or my house in general is relatively Humid, so I only spray his cage for a few seconds in the morning before he wakes up. Even though your humidity is high, you need to be misting his enclosure for a couple of minutes at least twice a day (AM & PM) to help stimulate his drinking. His Humidity Levels stay around 65-75% in the morning so I got a dehumidifier since I saw that it should be around 50% (Is this a good choice?). Ideal daytime humidity levels are between 30-50%. I then do a heavy mist at night after he sleeps to get 70-85% at night. Perfect! I have a Reptisun linear UVB bulb What is the strength of your uvb? It should be a 5.0 and a 100W heat lamp and his basking Temps are 80-85% For such a little one, basking temp of no higher than 80 is best. mid Temps are about 70% and lower Temps are about 60-65%. A good temp drop (below at least 70) during the night is needed if you’re boosting his humidity so high. Also, since little ones like to walk along the screen top, it’s best to elevate your lights at least a few inches above the screen to prevent burns. I use cheap little wire baskets from the dollar store for this. I gut feed small worms the night before and place them in his cage in the morning (saw this recommended by Neptunethechameleon) and he eats 10-15 worms every day. What kind of worms and what are you feeding to them? Variety is best both for feeders and what you gutload them with. Also, make sure the feeders are the right size. Anything larger than the space between his eyes is too big. At less than 3 months old, they should be fed as much as they can eat in about 15-20 minutes, twice a day. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. I dust them in calcium every day but I heard there can be calcium overdoses so I'm thinking of dusting worms in calcium every other day. I'm giving him reptivite every other Sunday and reptivite with D3 every other Sunday (I alternate every weekend). You do want to lightly dust all feedings with calcium without D3. You are giving multivitamins twice, which is too much. Just use the Reptivite with D3 for one feeding every other week. It’s the multivitamin and D3 combined. I always offer water with the dripping system about twice throughout the day just in case he's still thirsty which I use Tap water with drops of Reptisafe according to the amount. Ok, but make sure the enclosure has time to dry out in between mistings/dripper. I only handled him about 3 times the first 2 weeks to help him get more comfortable eating and he got used to eating out of the bowl I made for him so i dont handle anymore. I feed him small moths that I find around the house from time to time which seem to be his favorite because of how eager he is to catch them. While some may disagree, I’m overly cautious about feeding anything that I don’t know where it’s been and what it’s been exposed to. Flying treats are awesome, but instead you could let some bsfl or waxworms pupate into flies/moths and then give those instead.

Problem: He began to shed about 2 days ago so I sort of expect different behavior, but something I just noticed today was him doing the leaf walk like usually but very very fast. I was able to get a video on it. He was on his way to get into bed but this is the first time I see him moving so fast and I couldn't really find anyone having the same issue. Yes, he is moving very fast in the one video. I don’t really see any issue though. My male veiled used to do similar when he was in a rush. Another thing I couldn't find online was chameleons pooping very dry. His urate seems fine with a small amount of orange at the ends but his poop looks incredibly dry. I suspect I am finding it after a while when the basking like ends up drying it but just in case it helps to identify the issue I wanted to add it. I'll be taking him to the vet on Tuesday but I wanted to know what you guys thought on this and if there's anything I can do earlier. Well, if you’re feeding him mealworms, that may be why his poop is looking dry. Those are a bit harder for chameleons to digest. Do make sure to take a fresh poop when you go to the vet and have it checked for parasites. While I was out, my sibling said they say him shaking side to side fast when they watched from far away and they did it slower when the got close to make sure they were okay. When I got back and saw him moving fast, even though he saw me he kept moving fast. The photo of the poop is a few hours after pooping (I'll see if I could get a better pic tomorrow if that helps but his urate was wetter but his poop looks relatively the same)

If you guys need more info let me know, I also attached a photo of his enclosure which is a combination of fake plants and pothos (the hanging ones) and tropical plant (the one at the very bottom but he doesn't really go there since it's so low). I definitely suggest replacing all of the fake plants with real ones. Veileds like to nibble their plants and have been known to eat a fake leaf and become impacted. I hang my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures to give my chameleons more privacy. Adding a taller center plant like a schefflera would be great. For some plants though, you’ll need to add a plant light. The dehumidifier is the white box at the very bottom. You may want to move the dehumidifier outside the enclosure to better protect it from poo and water.
You’ve got a great start and just need a few changes. I do need to ask…are you sure you have a boy? Do you see little nubs sticking out (tarsal spurs) on his back heels?
Neptune the chameleon is awesome. I also suggest checking out https://chameleonacademy.com/ for so very much that you didn’t even know you had questions about. By the way, your chameleon is a little cutie.

 

[Diinomos]

Omg thank you so much for replying so fast. A few clarifications, yes my uvb is 5.0. I think he's a boy because the first times I did handle him his legs were lifting him enough to see a little hump between his legs, but ill check tomorrow if hes got those little bymps since hes sleeping in a really hidden spot! He used to screen climb and I watched him from afar like a hawk to make sure it wouldn't happen since I didn't have anyone to watch over him early on for me to get a guard from the top but he hasn't screen climbed since 2 weeks ago so I think he got the hang of it! I'll definitely elevate his heat lamp though! And I will go ahead and move the dehumidifier outside too! I'll go ahead and heavy mist in the mornings too and I do make sure the enclosure seems dry before dripping more water. I do make sure to get the smallest worms I find from the container I got at my local mealworm farm and gutload them with potatoes, apples, Grapes, and strawberries. That's true, the moths I find around my house can be bad if they ate something toxic for him. I was actually considering on getting waxworms and letting them turn into moths since it looks like he likes them so much! I'll update whether he continues moving so fast! It definitely makes sense why his poops are so dry because of the mealworms then. I got him dubia roaches for variety but the roaches they gave me look too big for him to eat so I didn't think it's a good idea giving them. I started a dubia roach farm and will see if I could use the babies from there for him! Yeah i also wanted to replace the plants with real ones as best as i could, maybe even a Hibiscus plant since i heard they like and can eat those! Again, thanks so much for the quick reply! I'll let Pascal know what you think of him! (yes his name is inspired from Tangled HAHA)

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I'm not seeing anything with the leaf-walk either.