Clawing at the mulch?

[Pensfan7125]

So recently, my chameleon (Juvenile, Male, Veiled) has been pulling up the mulch in the corner of his cage. First he pulls the mulch away, then he tries to pull up the layers of paper towel and newspaper. He then like pushes at the glass with his hands and it looks like he is trying to climb out, but he knows to run to the vine that is closest to the ground. He has done this like 3 times within the last hour. I have been sitting by his cage, doing some homework and noticed it. He has done this in the past, but not as frequent as he is now. I'm not really worried, but I want to know why he is doing this?
Here is a photo:

 

[chameleoman]

Wooooooooooooooo ok looks like you have a very bad setup. Can you post pics of everything and fill this out?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[Neonchams1]

Wooooooooooooooo ok looks like you have a very bad setup. Can you post pics of everything and fill this out?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

I agree, fill out the how to ask for help. There is no visible foilage or vines. It also is not a screen cage for ventilation. Please post pics of the whole enclosure. It is not ideal to even have any substrate other than paper towel or newspaper.

 

[purplebiotch]

HUH! Get Rid of the glass! Chameleon need the cross ventilation of a screen cage and an enclosure of a minimum size of 24x24x48 as an adult which yours appears to be.

 

[Google the Chameleon]

first of all you should not use a glass cage and second you should only use paper towel as the substrate nothing else, and second do you put the crickets in a cup or let them roam around the cage

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

i agree with both of them your chameleon is not a hamster haha you need a screen cage unless you have a fan pulling in air and another fan for the exhaust. but you need a screen cage. also you shouldnt have any substrate on the bottom of them cage if he hits a cricket and pulls up one on the chips your gunna have a bigger problem then him digging.

 

[Neonchams1]

Evrybody has said it, so you should do it, get ride of the glass and get a screen Cage

 

[Pensfan7125]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Veiled chameleon, male, had him since July, been in cage since December 15
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Every 2 days
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Crickets, 7 in morning, 7 at night, calcium dust Monday and Wednesday, calcium dust with d3 on Fridays, cricket quencher and carrots for crickets
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Calcium reptical. With d3 zoo med. schedule above
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Drip system and spray often, about 1 minute 4 times a day, yes. Planning on getting misting system
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
The usual white and black, not runny. Not tested for parasites under my ownership
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Glass, with screen top and air strip for chimney affect. 36 in length x 18 in width x 36 in height
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
75 w basking spot and UVB Eco terra 18" strip and 75 w read heat bulb at night
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?
Basking spot 80-90
Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
70s, with digital temp gauge

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
40- 70 dripped and spraying. Humidity gauge
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Basement, no fans, no air vents, or traffic, corner of the room. On table, 3 feet until ceiling
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

Digging/ pulling up corner area at bottom of cage,
Everything else he is fine with


Pictures are helpful

 

[carol5208]

it looks to be the bottom of a terrarium as I see the vents on the bottom. They are ok for chameleons, but unless you have a huge one then it is not sufficient for an adult male veild. Also, the mulch is not the best idea either. He can injest that intentionally or accidentally. Please post a pic of the whole set up so we can get an idea of what you have going on. Also how long has he been living in there?

 

[Pensfan7125]

He eats his crickets out of a plastic bin. He doesn't go hunting for them. The glass is the Eco terra glass terrarium EXTRA LARGE. It does allow for air to flow in from the bottom and out of the top as it has a screen top.

 

[Pensfan7125]

He has been living in there for a month now.

 

[carol5208]

well the size is not the best. People do keep them in terrariums successfully. I worry about the glass though with the mulch(remove it). It will get soggy and moldy after time and your chameleon can get sick from it. He may be clawing to get out because it is too small. Do you have lots of plants and vines for him to crawl on. Lets see a pic of your enclosure please.

 

[purplebiotch]

The size is big enough and top ventilation isnt enough they have to have it from the sides as well. If you aren't going to take good care of your chameleon give it to someone who will. Get a new case or sell/ give him away

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

dude its not that we are giving you shit....we all own a chameleon. unless you have fans all around your room to circulate the air all the time he might not get the right ventilation. thats why screen cages were invented for our chams. a cham can get a upper respiratory infection from stagnate air in the glass cage. thats why i was saying you need a fan pushing in fresh air and pulling out fresh air. unless you have a screen cage then the cage it breathable 360 degrees all around. and just because you feed him in a cup doesnt mean he cant hit one and make the cup bounce a little bit my cham does it all the time. I have random crickets walking around my cage all the time. and he is cup fed as well. its not very hard for a cricket to jump outta the cup.....they are crickets i mean....... unless you spend the time to pull of the legs so they cant jump but still even if you did that theres a good chance he might catch two at once and one will get away from being pulled out. and it is also not uncommon for a cham to randomly eat stuff it shouldnt. I had a stick in my chams cage and i would randomly catch the little guy eating bark from the stick. and i thought well thats not a good idea so i bought bamboo sticks with no bark and put it in there. i didnt want my cham to get impacted

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

a chameleon shouldnt have really any kind of substrate unless its like paper towels or newspaper. how often do you mist the little guy what kinda lighs are you using? do you have a drainage set up in the tank to take the old water out? so its doesnt sit mold and become stagnate making the air he breaths bad?

 

[carol5208]

The size is big enough and top ventilation isnt enough they have to have it from the sides as well. If you aren't going to take good care of your chameleon give it to someone who will. Get a new case or sell/ give him away

this is not true. The vents at the bottom are ok. It does not have to have side ventilation. Many people keep their chameleons in glass. I prefer screen myself and I think the size is too small for a chameleon that large. They are better for smaller chameleons that are not adults such as this one. They can live successfully in terrariums.

 

[Neonchams1]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Veiled chameleon, male, had him since July, been in cage since December 15
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Every 2 days
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Crickets, 7 in morning, 7 at night, calcium dust Monday and Wednesday, calcium dust with d3 on Fridays, cricket quencher and carrots for crickets
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Calcium reptical. With d3 zoo med. schedule above
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Drip system and spray often, about 1 minute 4 times a day, yes. Planning on getting misting system
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
The usual white and black, not runny. Not tested for parasites under my ownership
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Glass, with screen top and air strip for chimney affect. 36 in length x 18 i
width x 36 in height
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
75 w basking spot and UVB Eco terra 18" strip and 75 w read heat bulb at night
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?
Basking spot 80-90
Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
70s, with digital temp gauge

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
40- 70 dripped and spraying. Humidity gauge
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Basement, no fans, no air vents, or traffic, corner of the room. On table, 3 feet until ceiling
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

Digging/ pulling up corner area at bottom of cage,
Everything else he is fine with


Pictures are helpful

Your feeding too many crickets, he would be fine with 7 crix per day not 14. From all of the how to ask for help's ive seen there is a plant section in the cage part of it. It seems like you skipped it? By accident I assume. Please give a description of your plants in the cage. Please remove the bark and switch cages. I keep cresties in those cages but they don't require nearly as much ventilation as a chameleon.

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FLNXg01Oys

yea they can be in a cage but look at all the vent holes they have also im sure they have fans pulling in and pushing out air.

 

[LitldevlblueBar]

probably not the best video to show you because they have a substrate in the cage.....but they are British haha that explains it all. To all you british folk on here that was joke. but all in all they shouldnt have any substrate at all

 

[Neonchams1]

The size is big enough and top ventilation isnt enough they have to have it from the sides as well. If you aren't going to take good care of your chameleon give it to someone who will. Get a new case or sell/ give him away

I don't think you should be telling him/her to sell him. Sure I get what your saying. But everybody needs to learn from their mistakes and gets a chance to change. So all I'm saying is please don't tell them to sell his Cham, I don't really believe you have the right to say that.

-Cole