Chameleon goes crazy sometimes

[RyanBRZ]

I've seen my chameleon go crazy 2 or 3 times in the past 2 weeks or so. Out of no where he puffs up and moves quickly around the top of his cage, as if something is threatening him. Tonight he wouldn't stop so I shut down his lights for 5 minutes and that settled him down. Is this maybe a mating season thing?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

How is his coordination?

 

[RyanBRZ]

How is his coordination?

He's otherwise normal, he snaps out of it and he is his normal self. Willingly eats, climbs around as if nothing is wrong. It's happened a total of 3 times now since I've had him (3 months).

 

[amfire125]

You can't think of anything environmental that might trigger this behavior? Is anyone entering the room, any kind of lighting in the room changing/flickering, any loose bugs in the enclosure? I know you worked a lot on the husbandry before you got him, but have you also been monitoring temps and humidities to make sure things are good (to avoid getting sick)? How does the bottom of the enclosure look (cleanliness)? The 3 times you've seen him do this weird behavior have all been in the past 2 weeks, right? maybe something has changed without you noticing? Just trying to help you brain storm some ideas here, haha.

Oh also, are there any mirrors or other reflective surfaces in the room he's housed in? It's possible he can see himself somewhere in a reflection and thinks its another chameleon and he's being territorial, especially based on your description of the behavior.

 

[RyanBRZ]

You can't think of anything environmental that might trigger this behavior? Is anyone entering the room, any kind of lighting in the room changing/flickering, any loose bugs in the enclosure? I know you worked a lot on the husbandry before you got him, but have you also been monitoring temps and humidities to make sure things are good (to avoid getting sick)? How does the bottom of the enclosure look (cleanliness)? The 3 times you've seen him do this weird behavior have all been in the past 2 weeks, right? maybe something has changed without you noticing? Just trying to help you brain storm some ideas here, haha.

Oh also, are there any mirrors or other reflective surfaces in the room he's housed in? It's possible he can see himself somewhere in a reflection and thinks its another chameleon and he's being territorial, especially based on your description of the behavior.

No changes in lighting and there is very minimal traffic going by his cage. For the past 2-3 weeks I have been feeding crickets free-range so there are live crickets roaming around, he kills the majority of them by the end of the day, but you can usually find 1 or 2 stragglers in there.

Temps and humidity are good, he just had a shed 2-3 days ago that came off like butter. He mostly hangs out up top where the lights are but he roams to the lower areas throughout the day to thermo-regulate. I keep the bottom of his cage very clean, I did moisten a papertowel with windex for the final wipe, maybe that was a no no? There are no reflective items near his cage.

 

[MSPINAZ1]

maybe someone on here more knowledgeable than me can comment. but no windex. the smell of that alone could be causing some of the issues.

 

[iMi]

I have seen mine do the same, but very rarely. His cage is by the window in my office. He's actually pretty chilled in general. Tolerates handling and rarely gets worked up. One day out of nowhere he started hissing and getting all bent out of shape. He's done this maybe two or three times. First, I thought it was him seeing his reflection. That could be it, who knows. It could have been a bird flying outside. If nothing changed in your setup, I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as he's healthy otherwise.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

maybe someone on here more knowledgeable than me can comment. but no windex. the smell of that alone could be causing some of the issues.

No I'm with you windex is no Bueno. I use the Wipeout I think it's called specifically made for cleaning terrariums. Always let it air out before I put him back in too.

 

[amfire125]

Definitely no windex! I use a diluted vinegar solution (I literally use a cheap spray bottle, fill it about 75% of white vinegar, 25% water) for the bottom of my cage cleaning. To not get too crazy with the vinegar I'll spray a paper towel with the solution, then wipe down the cage bottom, repeat forever, lol, and when it finally looks pretty clean I go back over it with just water on paper towel to try to get up some of that vinegar in case it irritates him...but honestly it probably doesn't. It might irritate feeders more than a cham. I also will clean the bottom of the cage at night when my little guy is sleeping to lessen the stress and whatnot. Just pick you up some white vinegar from the grocery store, or any old store, haha. Best cleaning tool ever around pets in my opinion.

Still, not sure if the windex is causing the odd behavior or not...but I would definitely stop using it.

 

[salty dog]

Can you fill out the help form?? Otherwise it will just be a guess.... what exactly is your temps? What lighting do you have?, can you post a picture of your cham and setup, and fill out the (help form)

 

[RyanBRZ]

I'm honestly not too worried about him, it was more out of curiosity that I asked.

I keep the basking area at 85, humidity is a bit low due to the time of year, ranges from 20-40% but I occasionally turn on the mist king manually to give him a bit more or use a spray bottle, especially while shedding. I have a 65 watt basking bulb and a LED pool light to help with my plants, he also prefers to be under the LED pool light.

I'm working on replacing the pothos closest to the top as I believe the UVB bulb is killing it. Also going to put a stand under the umbrella plant to give him more usable plant area. This is an older pic, there are now 2 lamps up top, pictured is the LED.

 

[amfire125]

Oh wow that humidity is definitely too low! I've been supplementing with a humidifier in the winter FOR SURE. Don't you have a panther chameleon too? They need it even higher than veiled's [on average].