Growing Pains?

ridgebax1

Avid Member
Hello all

I have a male veiled chameleon who is about 5.5 months old. His behavior has changed of late and I am not sure if he is just being a moody teenager or what. He lives in a 24x24x48 in screened enclosure with a combination of live and artificial plants and vines. He has suddenly decided not to eat any of the worms I offer him (which he used to eat voraciously) (phoenix and butter worms). He still eats crickets (at least a dozen medium at a time). I dust them with plain calcium or calcium with D3 twice a month and vitamins twice a month. I have a monsoon misting system which would mist twice a day for 120 seconds.

I have a combination of 3 UVB lights and two full spectrum lights (for the plants) and a 75 watt heat lamp. The lights are on a timer 12 on 12 off. The other day he was hanging on the screen close to the heat lamp so I adjusted his branch upwards so he was closer to the lamp (was 8 inches away then moved up a couple inches) only to see him sitting there under the heat but with his mouth open! So I moved the branch back down.

He has also started hissing and trying to bite me when I take him out of the cage to feed him. He is ok once he is out.

He is shedding again and after reading about putting them in the shower tried that but he hates it. He always moves out of the spray when the mister is working.

I know there is a form folks have filled out but I couldn't find a blank one to fill in. If someone tells me where to find it I will complete it. :confused:
 
Chameleon info form

Chameleon Info:
•Your Chameleon - The species: Veiled, sex: Male, and age of your chameleon: 5.5 months. How long has it been in your care?: 2.5 months
•Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Daily
•Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets ~12/day 3x/week; phoenix worms ~ 30 medium 2x/week; butter worms ~6 2x/week; How are you gut-loading your feeders? Crickets get Repashy bug burger
•Supplements – Rep-cal brand Herptivite 2x/month and Calcium with each cricket feeding; Zoomed Repticalcium with D3 2x/month
•Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Monsoon 400; How often and how long to you mist? 2x/day for 2 minutes Do you see your chameleon drinking? Rarely; He always moves away from the mist.
•Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Urate creamy white; stool firm brown; once or twice a week. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
•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?) 24 x 24 x 48 screen cage.
•Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? I don’t remember the brand of lights 3 UVB 5.0 13 watt ; 2 full spectrum 100 watt; 75 watt heat lamp What is your daily lighting schedule? On @0730 off @1930
•Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Floor temp ~70-75F Basking ~ 80F Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
•Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Not sure; My gauge broke and have not had a chance to replace it. Probably about 60-70% based on when it was working. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Misting as above;
•Plants - Are you using live plants? Combination of live and artificial; He has a ficus tree with pothos and live moss on the floor; artificial jungle vines with artificial green vines across cage at about four feet off of the floor.
•Placement - Where is your cage located? A corner of my living room; low traffic area. There is a floor vent to the left of the cage but it is blocked off. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? ~6ft
•Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh, PA
 
Hello all

I have a male veiled chameleon who is about 5.5 months old. His behavior has changed of late and I am not sure if he is just being a moody teenager or what. He lives in a 24x24x48 in screened enclosure with a combination of live and artificial plants and vines. He has suddenly decided not to eat any of the worms I offer him (which he used to eat voraciously) (phoenix and butter worms). He still eats crickets (at least a dozen medium at a time). I dust them with plain calcium or calcium with D3 twice a month and vitamins twice a month. I have a monsoon misting system which would mist twice a day for 120 seconds.

I have a combination of 3 UVB lights and two full spectrum lights (for the plants) and a 75 watt heat lamp. The lights are on a timer 12 on 12 off. The other day he was hanging on the screen close to the heat lamp so I adjusted his branch upwards so he was closer to the lamp (was 8 inches away then moved up a couple inches) only to see him sitting there under the heat but with his mouth open! So I moved the branch back down.

He has also started hissing and trying to bite me when I take him out of the cage to feed him. He is ok once he is out.

He is shedding again and after reading about putting them in the shower tried that but he hates it. He always moves out of the spray when the mister is working.

I know there is a form folks have filled out but I couldn't find a blank one to fill in. If someone tells me where to find it I will complete it. :confused:

Sounds like teenage years to me. And, he's claimed his turf and you are now considered an intruder. Do you really have to handle him every day? It might just make him more reactive at this age. Chams often decide they only want certain favorite feeders at different times. Try other more active feeders such as roaches or flies. They often focus the cham's attention better than worms in a dish.
 
Part of the reason I have handled him every day is paranoia. I lost a cham to MBD; I felt that if I had handled him more I may have noticed before it became a problem. So that is why I have been taking him out everyday. I would take him out and he would eat his bugs while he was out.

Is he getting old enough that he may not need to be fed daily?

I have tried Dubia roaches (nymphs) and he was not interested. I tried unsuccessfully to start a colony of Turkistans, my other cham liked those. Maybe I will try again.
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