Juvenile Veiled in Glass Terrarium

PascalsGirl

New Member
Please read this article: http://www.chameleonnews.com/10JulAndersonGlass.html

I bought a very nice exo terra glass terrarium by the advice of this article. It seemed like a good idea. I know, every one loves screens over here. But this tank has vents and is designed for humidity and it is easier to water, and hang plants and things on the glass. Also Pascal can drink off drops off glass, so I have read.

Recently he has been puffing up in his cage and turning very odd dark colors (stress?! or is he cold because his basking lamp broke yesterday and i temporarily replaced it with a reptile blue bulb until i get another one...)

Is he freaking out because he is starting to figure out his reflection? He didnt care when I first got him and he was always mellow and as happy as could be. Now every time i see him he is dark and hiding, occasionally puffing up and opening his mouth really wide (hissing? cant hear anything...)

Is there a way I can treat the glass to be less reflective or something? I put tons of vines on the sides to help reduce visibility. Any better ideas? I cant return the tank.

Edit: he turns back a happy green color the instant I tank him out on my hand for feeding time (he is lazy and I let him perch on the side of an open box of crickets)
 
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Do you have any pictures of his setup? How big is it?

He could just be seeing his reflection, and in that case you can purchase plastic privacy film for windows... it's only a few bucks a square foot at any hardware or renovation store. (Probably the bathroom, or windows section).

His heat and humidity can also be a factor. If either is too high, he may contract respiratory problems. Even with holes in the glass, there may not be enough ventilation.
 
I know you go this tank because it may have been convenient and looked like a better option, but hopefully now people can see from your situation that the things people say on here as a group are usually true. I know that people have had and been very successful with glass enclosures, but for the most part I think newcomers to these pets on average have an easier time with screen cages to begin with. I'm not bashing on you because i can see that you have the best intentions and probably care for and are dedicated to your guy as much as or even more than others on here, but i hope that when people say things like what works best as a group, that people will just take the advice of the more experienced keepers in order to avoid any problems. In your case just like the other member said. It could be that he is getting older and now that he is more mature and accepting of his territory, He only now is beginning to recognized his reflection as a threat and becoming stressed and wanting to remove it from his territory. In the beginning he probably seen his reflection, but did not have the mature dominance in him yet to want it gone. Also, it could be he was getting to hot/cold now that his light went out, or the new light may be bothering him also. I know that sometimes without a lot of monitoring the glass enclosures can become hard to maintain a steady temperature. With that it could be something with the humidity causing discomfort. Experience from others brought together on this forum have provided us with a pretty good set of standards needed to keep a healthy and happy chameleon. I have seen that the ones that do their best to stick to those standards are the ones who tend to have the least amount problems for their little ones. On the other side, no matter how good their intentions are for their chameleons, the ones who try to wonder away from the recommendations or "think outside the box" are the ones who end up with problems for their little guys. Again im sorry if this comes off as calling you out, but those are not my intentions. I actually saw this as a good example and hope others will learn. It is clear that you are a very caring and attentive owner dedicated as much as anyone here to your chameleon and i hope your figure out your guys problem soon. Maybe you could set up a quick little free range for your guy if he is big enough, just until your can figure out a more permanent and better suited home for him. Maybe leave the front doors open and put those fake leaves from the pet store down the inside walls of the glass cage to reduce reflection. I know mine pretty much cover the side of my screen and help keep humidity and temps higher were needed. just thinking it may work just as well as a shield for you.
 
I have successfully kept Chams for over 15 years now. Every Cham i have owned ( 2 Veiled's and 2 Jacksons) i have kept in a part glass, part screen enclosure where i know the Chams can see their own reflection - yet i have NEVER had a problem.

Don't be too quick to blame the issue on the glass. When you take him out the tank, place him in front of the tank where he can still see his own refection and see if he responds the same way.

The issue might be Temperature, diet ,etc....

Also, pointing the heat light at a certain angle can make his reflection a lot harder for him to make out, if you're adamant that that is indeed the issue.
 
If your cage is in a normal room of the house, where there are windows and sunlight I doubt it's a reflection issue. You only get the mirror effect if the light inside the cage is brighter than it is outside, which I don't believe would be the case in most homes unless you keep the black-out blinds drawn or the cage is in a basement.

We'll need more info on what's going on though. Could you fill out the Health Form info for us, please? Because that kind of behavior could be a few things, but we don't know enough to say. Photos would help too, if you can get them.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
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?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
 
highly recommend screen cage but the vents could be just as good. not me to judge. As for the colors and puffing up. seems he/she is frightened of something. my veiled is named pascal as well lol my girlfriend named him from the movie tangled.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Juvenile Male Veiled. I have had him 2 weeks tops.

Handling - Once or twice a day, but only to feed him or if I am rearranging his tank, cleaning, whatever. I dont handle him for no reason, but he actually likes it, believe it or not. He likes to climb on top of my shoulder and my head.

Feeding - I feed him small-medium crickets from pets mart. I feed them flukers cricket food, and put a little vegetation in there. I also feed him meal worms. I feed him twice a day. In the morning I put a few worms on the lid and set it on top of this really big flower as a sort of dining table (lol) and he doesnt get touched in the morning. In the evening I let him climb on top of the cricket box and "hunt." He eats as many as he wants. Usually between 5 and 10.

Supplements - I use flukers vitamin drops which has calcium and other vitamins. I give him a couple drops a week, as per instructions. I dust the crickets whenever I get them that week with flukers calcium powder.

Watering - I have an exo terra monsoon system. I have been experimenting with the settings because I have no idea what he needs. He runs away from the shower and comes out after so my latest experiment is to do a 2 second shower every hour or two. I have seen him drink a little more frequently with this.

Fecal Description - His turds are dark brown with a white bit. It is moist, but not runny. I know runny is bad, right? I was told he was tested before I got him.

History - He came from Pets Mart but seems pretty decently healthy. He is really young, so not much history. I learned after buying him and falling in love with him that you arent supposed to buy from there. Oh well.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Exo Terra Reptile glass terrarium. The bigger one that is like 2 feet tall and a foot and a half wide. Screened top with vent ports and everything.

Lighting - I dont have the boxes and i forgot but i read all the choices carefully when i purchased them. I got the nicer uvb. Flourescent. I also got a nice basking lamp (which broke, i need to replace it) for the time being he has a daytime reptile bulb in a 2x reflector lamp. It is almost as warm as the other bulb this way, but by no means a permanent solution.

Temperature - About 90 degrees tops at the top. Between 85 and 90 on the basking side. 80 degrees on the bottom. I have little gauges at the top and bottom of the tank stuck to the doors.

Humidity - Its about 80%. I am guessing from these posts above about "humidity issues" that this is too high?

Plants - I have a live pothos plant. This is where I aim the nozzles to spray so it holds water for him to drink. I have a lot of fake vines and flowers for him to experiment with climbing around on.

Placement - I have a "pet station" (a metal utility shelf 4' wide and 6' high) where I keep my aquarium and chameleon and all related supplies. The fish are under him so he never sees them. I am about 5'7" so the top foliage in the tank (where Pascal hangs around) is about eye level. The only traffic is me or my parents coming in or out. It is my bedroom which is mostly empty. The only use is for office study, surfing the web, and sleeping. Not much movement. His lights are in the 6" or so above his tank.

Location - I am in Spring, Texas. Naturally high humidity here.

About the utility shelf. There is like 2 feet of space next to him. I could put plants for him to free range there?
 
Here are a couple pics from a few days ago. I cant take more right now because I am out of town tomorrow and my boyfriend is taking care of him. I will work with what I already have.

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Is he puffing up even when he can't see you? Is he wheezing?

You can use a regular incandescent bulb in the cage as a basking light. The wattage is determined by the temperature you want to create.

Re: your husbandry...you said you dust the crickets when you get them....the idea is to dust them with phos - free calcium powder just before you feed them to the chameleon. They should also be gutloaded.
It's also recommended that you dust the insects twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A and twice a month with a phos - free calcium / D3 powder just before feeding them to the chameleon
 
Are those flowers a recent addition? I'm asking because I know chams can see colour, and mine usually avoids me more if I have bright coloured shirts on. Maybe I'm crazy for noticing this, but yours might not like the flowers. It also looks like he might have trouble getting around the cage.... not enough vines to climb on, too much clutter in areas.
 
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