My baby veiled chameleon fell bout 8 inches yesterday, I'm worried!!

ReptileLove18

ReptileLove18

Established Member
my 3 inch long (not counting tail) veiled chameleon fell off his basking perch yesterday onto the floor of the tank. got up, walked up his branch and into the foliage. we took down that perch because it appears to be unstable and we assumed thats why he fell. today he's eaten a couple crickets and drank water, but is tucking himself away into the foliage more the he has since we brought him home. only got him home on the 23rd. any comments would be very helpful, we're first time chameleon owners, but experienced in snake husbandry.:confused:
 
My 3 inch long( not including tail) veiled chameleon fell 8 inches from his basking perch yesterday. he got up, climbed up his branch, and into his foliage without any difficulty. today hes eaten a couple crickets, pooped, and drank however he's tucked himself into the foliage for longer then he has before. i'm a first time chameleon owner and wanted to see if anyone thought this was strange. he appears to be walking fine and isn't lethargic. only had him since the 23rd so i'm not sure if hiding in the foliage for extended periods of time is odd or not. we took the perch out for the time being as we found it to be unstable and thought that may be why he fell. any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!:confused:
 
When you say tank, what do you mean? Usually when they fall from a short height like that there is not any damage, but if you post a picture of him we can confirm that nothing is wrong. They are built for falling as in the wild that is one of the ways that they would escape predators, they just jump off a branch and land on the ground.
 
They are able to handle falls, and 8 inches is not too far. It is possible for them to break bones, but probably not from that distance. Dropping to the ground from their perch is actually a built in defense mechanism that they have. Hiding a bit more could be from the change in the enclosure since taking out that perch. I wouldn't be alarmed unless the fall was caused by a weak grip or other health issue. Hope he is O.K. ;)
 
pssh said:
When you say tank, what do you mean? Usually when they fall from a short height like that there is not any damage, but if you post a picture of him we can confirm that nothing is wrong. They are built for falling as in the wild that is one of the ways that they would escape predators, they just jump off a branch and land on the ground.
Click to expand...

By tank i mean a terrarium lol. It is 12x12 and has airvents beneath the door that opens on the side, and has a screen lid. okay, i will try to post a picture of him as well! thank you!!

It won't allow me to upload a pic at this time because it says the file is too large, my camera takes high resolution pics with high megapixels. i'm not sure how to get around this problem
 
You can upload it to a photo hosting website like photobucket and use the IMG tag to put it on here.
 
Decadancin said:
They are able to handle falls, and 8 inches is not too far. It is possible for them to break bones, but probably not from that distance. Dropping to the ground from their perch is actually a built in defense mechanism that they have. Hiding a bit more could be from the change in the enclosure since taking out that perch. I wouldn't be alarmed unless the fall was caused by a weak grip or other health issue. Hope he is O.K. ;)
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His limbs appear to be fine, no trouble climbing, he's even been hanging from the screen top today before he tucked himself into the foliage for the last several hours. when held his grip appears to be strong and he holds himself up fine from the screen top. Thank you for the help!! he gave me quite a scare when he fell! but i suppose all new babies do that, my two snakes certainly have at one point or another!:)
 

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this second picture isn't that good, it was taken while he was right underneath his red daytime heat lamp. hopefully they're good enough that you might be able to tell if he appears normal!! thank you for taking the time to look them over!
 
Use a white housebulb for heat instead of red. The white is more natural like the sun. What temps are you getting in the basking area and the overall temp of the cage?. Honestly 12 X 12 is EXTREMELY small and will be near impossible for you to have a temp variance. Do you have a uvb light also?
 
carol5208 said:
Use a white housebulb for heat instead of red. The white is more natural like the sun. What temps are you getting in the basking area and the overall temp of the cage?. Honestly 12 X 12 is EXTREMELY small and will be near impossible for you to have a temp variance. Do you have a uvb light also?
Click to expand...

the basking area temp is 85 degrees Fahrenheit and in the lower part of the cage its 80 degrees. Yes i have a UVB light as well. The pet emporium owner we got him from had him in the same size tank, said to get a larger tank asap also! we're looking into larger tanks that are completely mesh to get better ventilation as well as more room. as soon as we can we're going to get one of those for him. :)
 
also, he shed for the first time here and he has a little bit of shed stuck to his rear clasper, do i leave it be and he'll get it off in his own good time or is there something i should do about it?
 
Hi, welcome to the forums.

They are capable of taking falls. There are the unfortunate falls but 9.999 times out of 10 they escape with no injuries.

At a young age and heck sometimes all the through there life they are somewhat shy. Your kid is new. Its best to put the cage up high in the room for now and only visit the cage when neccessary. I know it is hard not to want to go look at him or her but you have to restrain yourself right now. Let him get acclimated and then start presenting yourself a tad more with time.

Please fill this out so we can be sure he will acclimate as fast as he will allow.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
 
Hello, welcome to the forum :) I can almost guarantee he is fine. Chameleons have cartilage ribs so the chances of breaking one are very slim, they even will deliberately fall to evade predators sometimes, puffing themselves up so they have natural shock absorbers.
They often take a while to settle in to a new house so the fact he is eating and exploring is all good.
Lots of foliage and some small branches that are a good fit for his little feet will make him as comfortable as possible. Here is a great basic caresheet I recommend to all people with Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
P.s. take pictures, they grow up ridiculously fast :)
 
You can launch a baby out of a plane and they will be fine as long as they land on grass :)

Its a defense mechanism known as a "death drop". Many chams keep this "trait" even as adults. Sneak up on one, lets loose, drops to the floor and runs(well running is a loose turn for a cham). Put hand in cage when cham thinks you were not, drops. Lights go off when cham wasnt expecting, drops. Sees another cham, drops. Prey item runs towards cham and makes physical contact, drops. Ive seen them drop just by walking by the cage and then stopping. guess the cham thought i saw the cham, when the cham thought he was all safe and hidden...
 
When I hear the word clasper I think if shark mating fin things :) Do you mean his foot? You can try misting it a little extra and if it doesnt come off in a few days you can use a moist cotton swab to gently massage it off. I wouldnt worry too much unless its around a toe or tail tip (if shed skin doesnt come off an area likw that it can eventually cut off circulation.)

He looks fine. The temps are also fine until you can get a larger cage. If he is already 3" long from snout to vent and he is a good hunter, then I would go ahead and get his adult cage and see how he does in there. You can always section off a portion if its too big for him. I also suggest buying a normal incandescent house bulb instead of the red bulbs or pet store bulbs. They recognise the white-yellow color as the sun and more readily bask under them. If your using it for night time heat, I wouldn't unless your house temps drop below 60-65 degrees (and if they do, use a ceramic heater because they dont emit andy light.)

I'm sure you will do just fine with your little guy once you get the hang of things! Chameleons do all sorts of things that worry us. I bet half the time they are laughing at us while we freak out.
 
ataraxia said:
Hi, welcome to the forums.

They are capable of taking falls. There are the unfortunate falls but 9.999 times out of 10 they escape with no injuries.

At a young age and heck sometimes all the through there life they are somewhat shy. Your kid is new. Its best to put the cage up high in the room for now and only visit the cage when neccessary. I know it is hard not to want to go look at him or her but you have to restrain yourself right now. Let him get acclimated and then start presenting yourself a tad more with time.

Please fill this out so we can be sure he will acclimate as fast as he will allow.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
Click to expand...

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – He is a 2 month old male Veiled Chameleon. He’s been in my care for 4 days now.
• Handling – Once or twice a day he is handled.
• Feeding – I’m feeding him 5 to 7 crickets every day. I put them into a small bowl in the bottom of his cage so that he can eat them as he pleases.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering – I’m using a homemade drip system as well as misting several times a day. I do not mist until the cage and foliage is dry as to not promote URI. I see him drinking multiple times a day.
• Fecal Description – fecal matter is light brown with white urine. It is fairly solid but is moist. I haven’t had him tested for parasites, he may have been by the breeder but if so I was not informed.
• History- All the history I have is that he is 2 months old and a male. I was told by the owner of the pet emporium that he was bought from a reputable breeder.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – His cage is glass with air vents underneath the door as well as a screen top. I will be getting a full screen cage ASAP!
• Lighting – Not sure what brand the fixtures are. For the heat bulb I have a small halogen fixture with a red bulb in it. That stays on 12 hours a day. The UVB bulb is in a 5x5 fixture and that is on 10 hours a day.
• Temperature – The basking spot is 87 degrees Fahrenheit and the lower half of the cage is about 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The lowest over night temp is 77 degrees due to having our thermostat set at that temp. I measure these temps with a combo thermometer/hygrometer.
• Humidity – Humidity levels are 50-55. I maintain these by misting to keep him hydrated, seems to keep them where they should be. I use a combo thermometer/hygrometer to measure humidity.
• Plants – No live plants, only artificial foliage.
• Placement – The cage is located in the living room of our house. Its approximately 5’8” off the ground. It is several feet away from the air vent that pumps out the warm air from our heater that is run by a set schedule on the thermostat.
• Location – I am located in Central California. Near the Yosemite National Park.

Current Problem – My concern is that he fell from his basking perch yesterday. He doesn’t appear to be hurt, has gone about his business as per usual with no problem. Also, I want to be sure these conditions are okay, I’ve read a lot about respiratory infections and I don’t want my new baby to get infected. I will soon be moving him into all screen cage large enough for him as an adult.
 
DavidBuchan said:
Hello, welcome to the forum :) I can almost guarantee he is fine. Chameleons have cartilage ribs so the chances of breaking one are very slim, they even will deliberately fall to evade predators sometimes, puffing themselves up so they have natural shock absorbers.
They often take a while to settle in to a new house so the fact he is eating and exploring is all good.
Lots of foliage and some small branches that are a good fit for his little feet will make him as comfortable as possible. Here is a great basic caresheet I recommend to all people with Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
P.s. take pictures, they grow up ridiculously fast :)
Click to expand...

thank you for the tips and caresheet!!:)
 
pssh said:
When I hear the word clasper I think if shark mating fin things :) Do you mean his foot? You can try misting it a little extra and if it doesnt come off in a few days you can use a moist cotton swab to gently massage it off. I wouldnt worry too much unless its around a toe or tail tip (if shed skin doesnt come off an area likw that it can eventually cut off circulation.)

He looks fine. The temps are also fine until you can get a larger cage. If he is already 3" long from snout to vent and he is a good hunter, then I would go ahead and get his adult cage and see how he does in there. You can always section off a portion if its too big for him. I also suggest buying a normal incandescent house bulb instead of the red bulbs or pet store bulbs. They recognise the white-yellow color as the sun and more readily bask under them. If your using it for night time heat, I wouldn't unless your house temps drop below 60-65 degrees (and if they do, use a ceramic heater because they dont emit andy light.)

I'm sure you will do just fine with your little guy once you get the hang of things! Chameleons do all sorts of things that worry us. I bet half the time they are laughing at us while we freak out.
Click to expand...


LOL.
Kay i misted it, if it hasnt come off by tomorrow ill try the cotton swab. I'm looking into large screen cages and will be ordering one ASAP for him!
I'm sure they are haha, just like new parents with their first baby :) I know my snakes have given me plenty of scares, it just seems different because he seems so delicate!
Thank you for all the pointers and I'll keep ya posted on how he's doing!! You've been a huge help!:D
 
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