hunting etc.

[bka]

I have a baby veiled girl - Zaida. I've noticed that when she seems to be hunting she walks around and around in circles on the floor of the cage and she turns very patterned. She also holds her tail strait out. Is this normal.

I've heard that when Chams turn brown or patterned it means they are stressed, but she has been turning patterned more often lately. And like I said, it seems to be related to when she is going in circles and looking for crickets.

any thoughts?

 

[lele]

Can you describe her setup?

You mentioned she is a baby - how young? Is she in a tank or cage? No, this is not normal behavior. Are there any animals she can see that might be stressing her? Does she have enough places to hide - plants?

Here are a list of questions which will help you help us!

Tips for asking questions If your cham is having problems and you want input be sure to include:

1-Cage type: Size and type of cage (screen/glass)
2-Temps: - Basking area and lower in cage. How do you measure the temps in your setup? What is the temp in the warmest spot? The coolest spot? At night? During the day? You should be measuring the temp of the cham's skin or the surface of its current branch to get the most accurate reading. Do you leave any heat on at night? What is the temp in the room at night?
3-Lighting: - What brand is your UVB light? How long have you been using it? Do you leave any lights on at night? How long are your lights on each day? Where are the lights? on top?
4-Humidity: Do you have a humidity gauge? What is the range of relative humidity (RH) from lowest to highest? How long does it take to go from high to low? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)?
5-Water: How often do you mist? Do you have a dripper? have you seen him/her drink?
6-Food : What is s/he eating? Where are you getting them? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gutload? If you use a commercial gutload what is the brand? If you make your own what are the ingredients?
7-Supplements What and how often do you dust and with what (brand)?
8 –Plants/branches: What plants do you have? Are your plants alive or fake? lots of coverage where he will feel safe? Can you see your cham most of the time or can it hide from your view?
9-Cham facts: How old is s/he? Do you know if s/he is wild caught or captive born? Did you get him at a show? Breeder?
10-Handling: Do you handle your cham? How often and how long? What's its reaction to you? Is the cage in a quiet part of the house or is it in a busy or noisy area? Any big stereo speakers near the cage? Is your cham alone in the cage? Can it see any other herps or pets from the cage?
11-Vet Do you have one who KNOWS chameleons?

One last thing. As great as everyone is here (and they are), if it is a medical problem there is no substitute for a vet visit.

 

[bka]

sorry... I've posted several times with all her details and forgot to do it this time!

We got her 1 month ago. I don't know exactly how old she is, but we got her as a "baby" from a pet store.

right now she is in a glass aquarium - I know it's not the best but we ordered a screen one. she has 4 live plants and 1 fake plant- so she has lots of hiding spots. We situate the lights so that she cannot see her reflection.

she has a UVA/UVB light (5.0) and a basking lamp. the temp in the cage is about 75-80 in the shade and about 90-95 in the basking light. at night it goes down to 70-75. I leave both lights on about 10-12 hours/day.

The humidity in her cage drops to about 40% but when I mist (several times a day) it jumps up to 70 or 80% and stays high for a while.

We also have a drip system. a little bowl of water with a bubbler in in that drips down onto an umbrella plant.

She eats gut loaded crickets. the crickets are in a cage w/ vegetables, gel water and gut load. She eats anywhere between 2 and 6 crickets a day. She's been eating pretty well lately. But I rarely see her drink. I sometimes sneak a drop of water in her mouth just after she eats a cricket so I know she's getting some water.
I dust her crickets once a day. - rep-cal w/ D3

She is in a quiet room in the house and we avoid handling her. I pick her up once in a while (to show her crickets or to put her on a plant to take outside for some sunshine) and she doesn't hesitate to sit on my hand.

We do have a vet but I haven't taken her.

This is her ritual... she is sleepy in the morning and takes a while to 'wake up'. Then she climbs down and goes in a couple circles and poops. Then she goes to the floor of the cage, turns patterned, puts her tail strait out and starts going round and round in circles. It seems like she's hunting.
Ever since I've known her she's been doing the circle thing.

also, sometimes when I cup feed her she turned patterned right before or after she gets a cricket.

 

[bka]

Here is a picture of her resting, and normal light green.
then one of her walking around patterned.

 

[Lunatic913]

floor walking chameleons are rare..i hope everything is well with her, probably when u get the screen cage things will change