Escaping/self harm

[losandersons]

First post! Hello everyone.

My family and I purchased an adult Mellers on Friday. The owners of the shop we purchased it from believed her to be a female, so we are calling her Mel for now. Mel was in good health when we purchased her - good weight, good coloration (gorgeous lady).

We had her set-up ready when she got home: an XL ZooMed Reptibreeze screened cage with ample vines/foliage and her UVB/basking lights. We did have a sand bottom and a waterfall in her cage, but she didn't seem too into the waterfall (our veiled likes it, so he inherited it). Her setup was in our dining room - minimal traffic, good sunlight - perch higher than eye level.

Anyway, from the moment we put her in her enclosure, she started trying to escape. At first she would rub her face on the roof of her cage where her lights are, but then she started at the bottom of the cage. She would do it for a few minutes and then she would stop. But over the weekend it got more and more persistent. She rubs her face/claws at the door at the bottom of the cage so hard that she actually broke off her little horn yesterday! The scab she has keeps opening up every time she starts rubbing her little face on the screen. We moved her to a higher table in the dining room and she settled down, but this morning she was doing it again.

We moved her to our bedroom this morning near a window up a little higher than she was in the dining room and she seems content for the moment, but I'm afraid she will keep doing this. Is this normal behavior? If she continues, should we get a different type of cage - like a large bird cage? What type of bedding/soil should we use? The sand kept getting stuck on her little scab, so for the moment her cage bottom is just the plain bottom that the cage comes with. We don't have a good room for a free roam situation at the moment. We just want her to be happy.

Besides this behavior, we have not seen her eat one time. She has pooped several times - but we got her some large crickets Friday and they all seem to still be there. We ordered her some horn worms, so hopefully she'll go for those. We're super worried about her.

EDIT: it's been several hours now and Mel hasn't tried to escape. She seems happier in the bedroom, and she even ate several super worms and a couple of crickets in front of us since she's been in the other room. Maybe there was something that she didn't like in the dining room? The table or the curtains... Who knows! We are just happy she's eating!

Mel Currently:

Mel's Nose:

Mel's Current (Temporary?) Setup -

Our thriving brat, Rango.

 

[Montium]

It's not often you will find an enclosure large enough for an adult mellers. The folks that have the best luck with them, free range them.

 

[losandersons]

It's not often you will find an enclosure large enough for an adult mellers. The folks that have the best luck with them, free range them.

We've learned that. We wanted to build her a large enclosure when we got into our house (currently in an apartment), but we thought the XL ReptiBreeze would do for now.

 

[KaijuVeiled]

Hmm, I would say it is just her trying readjust to her new living environment. Monitor her closley, she should get used to her new environment in any where from a few days to a couple weeks, depends on the cham! She is beautiful! Good luck!

 

[losandersons]

Hmm, I would say it is just her trying readjust to her new living environment. Monitor her closley, she should get used to her new environment in any where from a few days to a couple weeks, depends on the cham! She is beautiful! Good luck!

Thanks. I hope she adjusts. We're keeping an eye on her scab for infection for now.

 

[Mike Fisher]

Sometimes they do that. I've had some that didn't like being in the bottom of the rack, but were totally happy once I raised them up to the top. Same goes with moving them next to a window. As long as they don't get direct sun beating in, they love it. I've had a few that calmed down after I added dense foliage. If they are unhappy, I try everything until I can think of to get them to stop pacing.

 

[leedragon]

Hmm, I would say it is just her trying readjust to her new living environment. Monitor her closley, she should get used to her new environment in any where from a few days to a couple weeks, depends on the cham! She is beautiful! Good luck!

no really, melleri are not begginers chameleons really, they seem not to like been in cages so often time a free range is a must, I hade problems with my in th ebeggining too not eating, so I too her to the vet and got a vitamin shoot, but what really helped is that I leaved her alone a couple of days, she had her own rum and I didn´t came in so she could have a some peace, let the dripper on and 2-3 grasshopper, it helped she started to eat and calm down

 

[blackmerlin]

Sometimes they do that. I've had some that didn't like being in the bottom of the rack, but were totally happy once I raised them up to the top. Same goes with moving them next to a window. As long as they don't get direct sun beating in, they love it. I've had a few that calmed down after I added dense foliage. If they are unhappy, I try everything until I can think of to get them to stop pacing.

how is your melleri go now ?

 

[leedragon]

it did help she went on eating quite normal as long as I didnt disturbed her too much on regular basis