Chameleon twisting and ‘yawning’?

[George Greig]

My nearly 5 month old veiled chameleon seems to do this weird thing where she (when I am present and about to feed her or handle her) seems to do a ‘yawn’ and then twist and stretch her body, is that normal behaviour for a female juvenile veiled? Otherwise she’s eating great, no health problems and she’s o it started doing it in the last week or two.

 

[julissabriseno]

Im not an expert, but I do know that chameleons do not yawn. They Weill open their mouths to regulate their temperature or gaping which could be a defensive mechanism.

 

[George Greig]

Im not an expert, but I do know that chameleons do not yawn. They Weill open their mouths to regulate their temperature or gaping which could be a defensive mechanism.

Hey man, thanks for the fast response,
I’ve read some stuff in this forum describing similar movements as a yawn though?
Can anyone else chime in to confirm if this is a yawn or not?

 

[MissSkittles]

What it sounds like to me is she is opening her mouth as a threat and twisting to better protect herself in the event that you try to eat her.

 

[Beman]

They actually will do a yawn... This is common in the mornings as the temps go up they will "yawn" and stretch along with puffing of their body. This is also common prior to a shed.

Gaping is when they just hold their mouth open for periods of time. This is an indicator that temps could be too warm. It is also how they regulate their body temps. It is also what they will do when they have a respiratory infection.

They will also open their mouth and flex to appear bigger if they feel they need to. If they are apprehensive of you in their enclosure or even you walk up to the cage. This is more of a defense mechanism.

So maybe try to get a picture if your concerned.

 

[George Greig]

They actually will do a yawn... This is common in the mornings as the temps go up they will "yawn" and stretch along with puffing of their body. This is also common prior to a shed.

Gaping is when they just hold their mouth open for periods of time. This is an indicator that temps could be too warm. It is also how they regulate their body temps. It is also what they will do when they have a respiratory infection.

They will also open their mouth and flex to appear bigger if they feel they need to. If they are apprehensive of you in their enclosure or even you walk up to the cage. This is more of a defense mechanism.

So maybe try to get a picture if your concerned.

Yes that first paragraph sums up what she is doing well, is it common that they only do it when I go to her cage? She sometimes does it then climbs straight onto my arm afterwards!

 

[Beman]

Yes that first paragraph sums up what she is doing well, is it common that they only do it when I go to her cage? She sometimes does it then climbs straight onto my arm afterwards!

If she is doing it when you approach then it is more of a defense posture. My male will do this every single morning as he positions himself under his lights and starts warming up.

 

[George Greig]

If she is doing it when you approach then it is more of a defense posture. My male will do this every single morning as he positions himself under his lights and starts warming up.

Oh right so she’s doing the yawn as a way to try and intimidate a possible predator?

 

[Beman]

Oh right so she’s doing the yawn as a way to try and intimidate a possible predator?

Yes... It is her telling you this is her territory and you need to move slowly and/or back off. If the cage is low this will freak them out as well. You want it up on a table so the cage top is taller then you. Then she takes the position of safety as if she were in a tree looking down at you. lol

 

[George Greig]

Yes... It is her telling you this is her territory and you need to move slowly and/or back off. If the cage is low this will freak them out as well. You want it up on a table so the cage top is taller then you. Then she takes the position of safety as if she were in a tree looking down at you. lol

Yes she is on a table, I’m quite tall so yeah I think I will move her up, maybe put her cage on a (sturdy) box or something!

 

[Ramrod]

Yes that first paragraph sums up what she is doing well, is it common that they only do it when I go to her cage? She sometimes does it then climbs straight onto my arm afterwards!

Yeah, this is a regular routine for my male when he wakes up in the morning. A yawn,a twist, and a puff up like "here I am world"
??

 

[Ares05]

Yup.. mine does the puff and yawn as soon as he goes up to his basking spot. He will also do something similar if I get too close to him, and he doesn't appreciate it. lol

 

[Beman]

Yes she is on a table, I’m quite tall so yeah I think I will move her up, maybe put her cage on a (sturdy) box or something!

So it doesnt have to be like way high... Just make sure you have it up on like a 2.5-3 foot tall table... If it is a 2x2x4foot cage then that would put basking up around 6 foot or so. My male has his basking about 8 inches taller then my head... Just gives them the feeling of being safe.

 

[George Greig]

So it doesnt have to be like way high... Just make sure you have it up on like a 2.5-3 foot tall table... If it is a 2x2x4foot cage then that would put basking up around 6 foot or so. My male has his basking about 8 inches taller then my head... Just gives them the feeling of being safe.

Yeah I know, she actually used to be on a higher place in my house but I moved her out of my bedroom, now she’s a little lower. And yeah I remember I used to take her to the window on my top floor where she was high above the outside and she’d just stare out ??.

 

[ajs]

My panther does this morning routine as well. Puffs up, looks to move his head to the side as if to stretch his neck, and does a bit of a shiver. Usually he will also open his mouth as wide as he can.

Ive witnessed it pretty frequently and have been able to learn to tell the difference from when he is doing something in reaction to me or just something that seems to be his behavior/routine. Especially if he is opening his mouth. He never does it that way when I have pissed him off or he is upset with me

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Is it common that they only do it when I go to her cage?"...you said thy...do you have more than one chameleon in a cage?

 

[nightanole]

So it doesnt have to be like way high... Just make sure you have it up on like a 2.5-3 foot tall table... If it is a 2x2x4foot cage then that would put basking up around 6 foot or so. My male has his basking about 8 inches taller then my head... Just gives them the feeling of being safe.

Yea when mine have a floor to ceiling cage, with no basking spot yet, they will hang out at eye level.