dancing chameleon

[benthirty2]

Bob, my veiled chameleon ,that has just gotten over edema ,has started back eating well a performing his normal bodily functions. Well, I`ve been noticing that when I do feed him his gutloaded crickets, for some reason he starts dancing almost. For example bobbing his head from side to side, up and down. and every other direction he can move his head and body. This occurs where he hunts and basks. Then all of the sudden he will just bail out to the tree below and start his way back up to his favorite spot. The lizard is about 2.5 years old and i know he is way past sexual maturity. Could this be some kind of mating ritual or something? Man its absolutely crazy to watch. I wish i could record it for you, but should i be alarmed of these actions or what? Ive had two other females and bred them in the past and the male never acted this way. There are no other chameleons in the same room as "Bob" and I don`t plan on mating him so should i worry about this situation or just let him carry on with his little "jig" that he does? Thank God for the bush below to catch him because like i said sometimes he just looses control and falls into the bush. Thanx guys and I appreciate your input. Later Peeps!

 

[summoner12]

Is it anything like this? but a bit more dramatic?

 

[benthirty2]

nope! way more dramatic

yeah "bob" is way more dramatic than that and it isnt right when he feeds. Its usually afterwards. You know how they try and pretend that they are just a leaf blowing in the wind. Well, its like those side to side motions but very erratic kind of like when they squeez out some skat. His head motions are the same. Its almost like he got shocked by low voltage electricity and went "WOW" like on an old cartoon or something, but i assure you he`s not being electricuted. I do think the males do a little bit of a dance when a female has entered his cage or even another male. I even see and feel him vibrate his head and entire body. Its just mind boggling because i`ve never seen him do this before. Maybe he just feels really good now that hes not sick anymore and im feeding him the right diet now. Like I said in the previous thread that maybe he just needs to get layed and that sux because I live in Scottsboro, AL and no one around these parts have a chameleon that i know of. Maybe I can find somebody online to stud him out to and that will fulfill all his needs. I just hope he isn`t retarted from being sick. He had two rounds of Baytril and took almost a month to recover and is still showing a little swelling right behind his mouth. His cask and eyes are no longer swollen so i don`t have a clue. I guess I`ll just wing it, give him as much real sunlight exposure as I can and see what happens. By the way you have a very beautiful cham. Out of the three Veileds I`ve had, they`ve never fed directly from a cup. They will eat nothing but crickets and superworms only if im willing to dangle it in front of him for longer than im willing to, but I`ve heard good things about silkworms though.and will be giving them a try in tha future because they`re almost as cheap as crickets and as easy to care for also, but i don`t know about gutloading them though. Anyways thanx for your time and consideration and if you run across any other ideas, feel free to clue me in. Peace!
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[summoner12]

try and record a video... the guy in that vid I posted, Airin, has issues with walking as well and he'll swing side to side like he has no balance. I have no idea what it is. He seems normal when not moving, but when he walks he moves around and sometimes he'll fall but he catches himself pretty well. I have a lot of branches and vines in his cage so he has stuff to throw his tail around if he falls.

 

[Seeco]

It's probably from lack of proper UV or just old age if possible. Yeah, get him out in the sun but don't fry him.

 

[CoppellChameleons]

Disco

Yeah it's totally natural. My 3 year old Disco. That's his picture on my avatar. He is named this for his bobbing and weaving, dancing and whatnot. It cracks me up. So disco on Bob it's a chameleon thing we have in common. I breed and sone of the little ones do it and some don't. My 3 year old females don't do it, but some of my 5 month old females do. Even some of my 4 week old babies do. I think it's like humans, we all have are idiosyncrisies. LOL

 

[benthirty2]

doing everything possible

Hi Seeco,
Bob is only about 2.5 years old and i just replaced his uva uvb bulb about a month and a half ago. they are made by Hagen and the name of it is " solar glo" and it is 160 watts and the light is about 10 to twelve inches away if you add the frame of the cage and the light hood. They`re just the same as the powesun uv you know the ones that cure metabolic bone disease and are good for parrots that go through a molting stage and through 2 femalles, Ive used this light and never had any probs. Another thing is when i see him do this sometimes he will grab his front leg with his rear and hold on for dear life, but he still uses his tail. On top of that ive noticed a little bit of bruising on that leg from him clamping down on it. Also another chameleon owner says that shes a breeder and its a natural thing that they, but she has never seen it in females just her males and that they did this when they were babies even so i don`t know man. I know im feeding it the right greens along with baby rice formula, oats, squash, and sweet potatoe baby food for the cricket gutload. Alos bee pollen and dusting the crickets 6 times a week with d3 free and phosphorous free calcium. The vitamins supplements once or twice a month so what gives. Thanks for your time though. I do put him out in the sun though but not as much as i would like because of a back injury i have. So it makes it difficult. Thanks for the input though. Peace!

 

[jamncristian]

WHOAH!!! 160 watts is really high!! what are your temperatures in your cage??

 

[Seeco]

Yeah, try to go with sunlight for awhile. The behaviors you describe are a bit too much to be natural or healthy. I would make sure you are not feeding the crickets any spinach or broccoli. Also, try some sweet fruits for a few days.

 

[summoner12]

WHOAH!!! 160 watts is really high!! what are your temperatures in your cage??

It is a MV lamp.. 160w a bit much for this aplication.

You might want to steer away from MV lamps, benthirty2. I am not saying it is the issue with your cham... but they just aren't good to use without a few tools on hand. It is a good idea to have a UVB meter and infra red temp gun.

 

[benthirty2]

air temps

well where Bob is basking and receiving his rays its from 85 to 90 The rest of the cage is 70 to75. its a totally quarter inch screened, outdoor cage that i use indoors. 4` by2` by 2`. I keep the humidity 60 to 70 relatuve. He is atleast a foot from the light itself and never runs back and forth to a cool spot like it bothers him or anything. He stays there most of the time, but explores like any other lizard. I was told by a breeder at a reptile expo that this light is the only light you will ever need once he gets into the sexually mature stage which is about 6 months for a Veiled. He usually feeds from this area also, but he has plenty of different perches to go to, which he does from time to time. He also sleeps about another 14 inches down from where he usually hangs. I also have a vaporizer that i use on a timer set at 30 mins every hour and a half that keeps the humidity just fine. Plus as we all do, i mist him personally twice sometimes three times a day and i use the little dripper for when he gets thirsty. Usually hell drink it as it drips off the log that he basks on or sometimes he`ll drink directly from the vynil tubing. He carrys on like any other lizard, its just lately hes been doing an odd dance then for some reason he`ll grab his front left leg with his rear leg, do that dance, bail out, and then try and save himself with his tail or land softly in his Hiwiian Schefflera Plant, fool around for a minute and make his way back up to his basking area. These weird actions dont occur all the time, but it happens here lately about every other day. My herp vet even told me to get more uvb emitting lights when he was sick and i thought he was out of his mind. By the way he is still a little swollen in some areas and all that is gradually going down. His eyes and cask are no longer swollen and his legs look nice and slender with the exception of the bruising on the front left from hin grabbing it with his rear leg. In my mind i think hes still recovering from the infection that he had. The doc says it takes way longer than a human to get back to 100 percent, but as far as his daily functions as a lizard they are perfectly normal. He usually eats 5 to 10 large crickets with no oxalates in there from tha brocolli that you suggested. His wet mix is collards, dandilion greens, yellow squash and sweet potato puree with just a tiny i mean tiny bit of herptivite supplement on top. His dry mix consists of Baby rice cereal, oats, kelp, bee pollen, dry milk, and a very little sprinkle of herptivite. I dust with cal only, no d3, 6 times a week. with d3 and herptivite 2 to 3 times a month. So there you have it . Thats tha complete setup. Well im gonna go now. Hes a late in the evening eater and id like to watch. Thanks for your concers on the lights though, but ive use compact flourescents and the just dont penetrate far down enough, but they might be good for growing your plants a little better. C-ya. Any other suggestions let me know! thank you very much for your time.

 

[summoner12]

Well if it's workin.. it's workin. I would ditch the MV lamp and put in different lighting. Everything else seems OK to me.

Who did you get the cham from? The MV lamps are not the only lamp you'll need.... They put out lots of UVB and are meant more for desert animals.

Read up on the UV Guide if you'd like to learn about UV and reptiles.

 

[benthirty2]

the right lights

the brand of my light is exo-terra by hagen and emits optimum levels of uva and b plus infra red heat all in one lamp. I tried the appropriate flourescents and the lizard died of metabolic bone disease and ever since i switched to this type of light i havent had one die except for one which i didnt keep a close enough eye on the humidity. My reptile handbook also says you can use either or and i prefer the latter and these bulbs are recommended for 4 ft. tall cages or taller and that is just what mine is. Now i may need to adjust the heigth of the lamp from the basking area to avoid overheatin of the lizard cause i did see him panting a bit. So next time i clean out the enclosure im gonna move his basking branch down a bit and maybe decrease the time that the light is on, which is the natural daylight that is received here in the southern U.S. By tha way i bookmarked your link and Im gonna take a closer look as soon as I get a little more time. What bulbs do you suggest for a 4 ft. tall enclosure?