Help! She hates her new cage!

M

MillieTheChamillie

New Member
Long story short we basically rescued our female veiled chameleon from it's previous owner. She fed her once every two weeks, went without proper ventilation or even a consistent Source of lighting/heating and our baby wasn't even a year old! The cage she was originally in was all glass (meant for amphibians -_-) except for the top, decently foliaged with a vine and a climbing/basking branch. I believe it was a 16 gallon. I just recently purchased a Reptibreeze 18x18x 36 so she could breathe along with another vine and I now use a 75 watt zoo med day/night bulb. Basking temperature is roughly 85 degrees, we feed her properly by changing up her diet and incorporating powdered supplements to her greens and crickets and fruit. We must her cage several times daily. The humidity says it's 50 but I don't think that is accurate. (If it is I need help because whatever I'm doing isn't working to increase the humidity)

My problem is that she seems very upset about her new environment. She's over all really dark and doesn't try to come out like she used to. She's really jumpy now when we put food in her cage and I feel like with us walking around so much and the fact that she can see us move easier than before I wonder is she's just freaked out by our movements? Or maybe she's adjusting to the new environment? Is it the humidity or temperature? I'm in the process of getting a plant (hopefully hibiscus) set up in there and I want to put more fake foliage to maybe help with the humidity so the cage isn't so airy. She has the same foliage as before but There aren't enough to cover the area in leaves. My funds are limited but I'd like to know what I can do to help her! I want her to be happy but I need to figure out what is wrong. Also, I'm new here so if I forgot to mention anything just ask and I'll gladly answer. She's has to be close to a year old by now but unfortunately I don't know her exact age. Head to back leg are the same length of my hand so let's just say a year since I have small hands. Any advice on why she's so dark and upset?
 
You would be too if you were neglected, and then transferred around and shoved in a new home with no idea what was going on.

shes freaked out, its normal, don't handle her, don't spy on her, just feed her and water her, and leave her be,

if you post photos, we can guess age.. and check for signs of medical issues.
 
I've had her since may and she's pretty much recovered as far as nutrition and being comfortable in our home. We just recently could afford a better cage so we switched to the Repribreeze. Before she would always claw at the door and it felt like she wanted more room to climb around so we upgraded. Now she's dark so that's my problem. Sorry if my post was confusing I had a lot to say it wasn't well organized
 
This is her most recent picture
 

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can you post a photo of her cage now please?

has she been in the same cage since may?

Is she in a high traffic area?
 
I fit as much in as possible. Like I said I'm getting new foliage soon when I get my paycheck and were also getting a bigger sheet of the brown felt type flooring but we have a temporary white towel to cushion any falls until then
 

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Yes she was in the glass cage up until a week ago when we bought the Reptibreeze . I'm not sure if you would consider it a high traffic area. It's the same spot just a new cage. My boyrfriend and I both work and don't really move around too much in the apartment when were home. We just kinda watch movies a lot. She's in our living room but we never have guests and we usually aren't home until it's time for her to sleep . She's just been really dark ever since we got this cage
 
MillieTheChamillie said:
Yes she was in the glass cage up until a week ago when we bought the Reptibreeze . I'm not sure if you would consider it a high traffic area. It's the same spot just a new cage. My boyrfriend and I both work and don't really move around too much in the apartment when were home. We just kinda watch movies a lot. She's in our living room but we never have guests and we usually aren't home until it's time for her to sleep . She's just been really dark ever since we got this cage
Click to expand...

and that's why shes freaking out.

its a new cage. it can take several weeks for her to calm down in it.

I would move her out of your living room and into a less used space- like a dining room, spare bedroom, etc.
 
Unfortunately the living room is the best we can do. The only other option is the bedroom but it's very chilly in there. I have the smallest apartment possible. One bedroom, one bathroom, a hallway sized kitchen and a giant living room. She wasn't bothered by the traffic before and would come out a lot and climb on us without changing color or stressing out. She's just being more anti social than usual and is incredibly dark. Like I said were not home enough to bother her much and when we are it's between 11pm and 10am. She pretty much had the place to herself besides that. I do think that because there's less foliage she notices us moving more so hopefully when I buy more she'll be a little more chill. But is the humidity ok? How can I increase it?
 
That's probably why.

you just need to add as much as you can with over crowding it, so that she can feel safe and hidden
 
Veiled chams do not require the high RH of panthers and jax, since they are natural to Yemen. I hand mist my veiled's twice a day, and have a dripper going all day. I dont even use a Mistking for them.

Have you double checked your basking temp?

What are you using to check the temps?
 
Thank you! Did you notice the malnutrition from may earlier? She's come a long way! In the may photo you can see her ribs and her arms were toothpicks!
 
yea that thing is a POS.

go get a digital thermometer.

ANd she does look much better, shes just stressed and pissy bout the cage change.
 
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