Chameleon pulls at screen. Like hes trying to escape.

[Kasai]

I've had a veiled chameleon (about a year old) for a few weeks now. Recently I noticed likes to pick at his screen (almost always near the bottom), like he's trying to get out. There's nothing on that side of the room other than windows that are blocked by blinds. Maybe he is attracted to just the sun light?


His Setup

Screen 24x24x48
UVB Bulb & 75 watt bulb (previously 100watt)
Dripper setup & daily misting
Scheffy plant with lots of vines and branches to climb
His basking spot is upper 70's to lower 80's. Was a bit higher with the 100watt.
He drinks from leaves daily, and eat's lots of supplemented crickets as well.

Any ideas? Maybe just a faze he's going through?

 

[BocaJan]

I have a female that does that when she is receptive. When she isn't ready to mate she doesn't do that.

 

[Hilikus311]

I've had a veiled chameleon (about a year old) for a few weeks now. Recently I noticed likes to pick at his screen (almost always near the bottom), like he's trying to get out. There's nothing on that side of the room other than windows that are blocked by blinds. Maybe he is attracted to just the sun light?


His Setup

Screen 24x24x48
UVB Bulb & 75 watt bulb (previously 100watt)
Dripper setup & daily misting
Scheffy plant with lots of vines and branches to climb
His basking spot is upper 70's to lower 80's. Was a bit higher with the 100watt.
He drinks from leaves daily, and eat's lots of supplemented crickets as well.

Any ideas? Maybe just a faze he's going through?

May be a dumb question but are you sure it is a male and not a female? do you know what to look for when sexing your cham?

 

[BigR]

If it's a year old as was stated, there should be no question as to the sex of the animal.

 

[Hilikus311]

If it's a year old as was stated, there should be no question as to the sex of the animal.

yes a year old but owned for only a few weeks

 

[Kasai]

The cham has nubs on its feet like so.


I've been watching him a bit more, and it seems like he spends hours down there. Working his way around the bottom pulling on the cage, occasionally going back up to bask or drink. It's crazy because i can hear him picking at it when i'm in that room.

Also, I've inspected his limbs for MBD and can't find any signs. Wouldn't really suspect it with the force he uses to pull on the screen's lol.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

When our first chameleon, our male veiled Guido, began activity like that he was about the same age as yours. I took him to the vet, and felt kind of silly afterward. He was perfectly healthy, but was feeling his hormones and so was trying to get out and find a mate. He is now about 5 years old and is doing well. He had a few health issues along the way, which Dave Weldon from this forum helped us through. That's how we found this terrific forum.

My vote would be that this is normal breeding-related behavior.

At the time it happened to us we were not wanting to breed chameleons, and so we bought Guido a chameleon beanie baby. He dated her for awhile, and then we created a stuffed green garden glove (less fuzzy than the beanie baby). We did this because we eventually free ranged him (so he wouldn't keep hurting himself trying to rub out of his cage), and he was causing problems by crossing the room to try to mate with our hands or feet. We finally bought him a real live female veiled chameleon. He is now the happy father of about 100 offspring, mostly synthetic .

 

[Kasai]

Thanks Gesang, i'll have to try the glove or stuffed cham. Atleast I can get some hilarious pics from it haha.

Hopefully he doesnt think it's another he.

How long should i expect this behavior to last for?

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

I don't know, really. Perhaps someone else can chime in here. We took the intervention route and free ranged Guido. We delayed a long time before doing that though, and saw the behavior persisted. We were unable to alter the behavior. He still has a small scar from rubbing his chin on his screen while trying to get out. He, more or less, left us no choice but to free range him. We were concerned about him bloodying his face all the time.

But perhaps someone who waited it out could tell us if their cham who paced and clawed eventually settled down and accepted the single life.