New veiled chameleon not doing well

[RoscoeVeiled]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum so I apologize if I mess anything up. I have a new male juvenile veiled chameleon from a pet store (I know that was a bad idea, but long story short I got to hold him and felt horrible putting him back in the small box they provide). Anyways, I did my research and I’ve got everything that was recommended. My only issue is he is sooooo afraid of me to the point that he doesn’t even want to come out to eat. It’s been a week and he is still extremely stressed out by me. I can’t even be in the room, I need to leave my room and close the door for hours for him to come out (and my room is the room with the least amount of traffic). I do this so he can eat, but if I come back into the room and accidentally interrupt him, he leaves and won’t go back. He goes all the way to the bottom back in his pothos plant, when there is so much coverage everywhere else for him! Sometimes he starts closing his eyes which I know is bad! I’m really afraid that he’s going to starve himself, not drink enough, or not get enough UVB or heat. I’m doing my absolute best to leave him alone and I’m actually leaving right now to get an automatic mister so that I can leave him alone even more. I even noticed that his poop changed from moist with white, to dry and no white. Also - I need to travel back to college in the next few days and plan on putting him in a small cardboard box with no light, secured branches, and clean damp towels for about 5 hours. I’m so afraid that I am stressing him out way too much! Please let me know if you have any insight or need more info.

 

[kinyonga]

Please post some photos of him and the whole cage.

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

Please post some photos of him and the whole cage.

Sorry if these photos aren’t too great, I’m not home right now so these are older, but accurate. The pictures of him are from three days ago, but you can see him actively walking away from me (he was originally on the branch) I figure that maybe I need to add more plants to the sides? And possibly more to the top, I just couldn’t get anything to stay higher and I really don’t want to stress him by moving things around too much. I had the top branch higher for basking, but it fell to where it is now. If you can recommend any rearrangements or tips on holding branches/hanging live plants I will do them today since I am getting a mister and can pick up more chameleon safe plants. Also, any tips on handling him while he’s at the lowest part of his enclosure (the pothos pot) since I will need to take him out to rearrange. Lastly, this is a large reptibreeze with a bare bottom. I plan on building a larger one while he is growing so it is customizable and ready for his larger size. Let me know if you need more photos and I will post when I go home.

 

[Kam0408]

Nice cage
If I were you I would add a little more foliage to the sides for some more places to hide in, he might feel more secure that way.
Also chameleons are not always the animal that are completely secure or feel secure with humans and are not always loving, he might just be scared or nervous.
Also how long have you had him?
He’s very cute.

 

[kinyonga]

It would be good for you to get rid of the fake plants. Veileds might munch on them and it can lead to impaction. You could use a few more branches and a bit more plant coverage on the one side.

Did he fall when the branch fell?
Do you move quickly when around him?
Do you wrap your hand around him to get him out of the cage?

Do you use a dripper? Are you sure the urates aren't in the cage?
I don't think not letting him see you will make him more willing to come out on you and not hide...but I wouldn't be in his face all the time.

Can you answer the questions in this thread... please be specific....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

Nice cage
If I were you I would add a little more foliage to the sides for some more places to hide in, he might feel more secure that way.
Also chameleons are not always the animal that are completely secure or feel secure with humans and are not always loving, he might just be scared or nervous.
Also how long have you had him?
He’s very cute.

Thanks for the advice! I’ve had him for about a week. I’m sure he only liked me in the pet store because he wanted to be out of that small cage!

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

It would be good for you to get rid of the fake plants. Veileds might munch on them and it can lead to impaction. You could use a few more branches and a bit more plant coverage on the one side.

Did he fall when the branch fell?
Do you move quickly when around him?
Do you wrap your hand around him to get him out of the cage?

Do you use a dripper? Are you sure the urates aren't in the cage?
I don't think not letting him see you will make him more willing to come out on you and not hide...but I wouldn't be in his face all the time.

Can you answer the questions in this thread... please be specific....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

I will answer all of the questions when I am home. It is hard to answer them on my phone (I accidentally just deleted all of my answers!!!!) but, he has fallen due to being scared, not the branch falling. I try to move very slowly and go from under, he just walks towards the back and I can’t really see him in order to work with him so I just take my hands out. I do not wrap my hands around. Also I do have a dripper. I may need to look for the urates when I rearrange his cage. Also, where do you recommend getting plants that have grown enough where he will feel protected? My plants at the bottom are very small. I also know you can hang them I just don’t know how to properly do that.

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry I have to ask so many questions but it helps me to figure out what's going on.

You can get plants at places like Home Depot or at nurseries in your area. Just be sure to wash them well...both sides of the leaves and make sure they are nontoxic.

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, male, juvenile (not sure exact age), and about one week
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Never. I handled him twice before putting him into his enclosure.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed superworms and Dubia roaches, about 7 of each every morning just to make sure they move around. I gut load with carrots sweet potatoes collard greens etc.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust flukers calcium with D3 (accidentally got this one, need to buy without D3) and their vitamins. I do the calcium every feeding just because he’s not eating every feeding. Vitamins I’ve only done once. (If you recommend a schedule for juveniles, please let me know)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist for 30 seconds to a minute about every 3 hours. I have a dripper. I don’t see him drinking but I make sure to get the pot that he stays in misted a lot.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? First one I saw was moist with urate, second one I saw was very dry and no urate. He has not been tested.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He was bought from a pet store.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen, reptibreeze large
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? UVB is zoomed t5 and I believe the heat lamp is a 100w zoo med
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I believe the basking temp is about 80F. The temperature doesn’t drop below 65 at night. I measure with the zoomed temp and humidity gauge
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is about 45 I believe. I mist and have a dropper.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have a dracena, pothos, and croton
• 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? It is on my dresser which is maybe 4ft off the floor, so he is about 8ft high at the tallest. It isn’t high traffic
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I am in New York. (Not upstate)

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. He is having a very hard time adjusting. I don’t know how to get him to eat or drink if he won’t come out. And I’m afraid that my travel back to school will stress him out way too much.

also - thank you so much for your help so far. I don’t mind answering the questions! It is definitely worth hearing from someone more knowledgeable than me.

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

here is a picture of him right now. I just counted his food and he hasn’t eaten anything. I tried to hand feed him and he didn’t change color or get spots, but he just moves around the branch to completely avoid me seeing him. Surprisingly he didn’t go back to his pothos.

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

update (sorry for so many posts lol, just have been nervous)! I found his urate. I think it’s normal but if there’s any other opinions that would be great

 

[Gingero]

I'm kind of confused why you are trying to handle your chameleon to feed him. You should be able to place his food in a cup, close the door, and leave him be. It took my cham 3 months before he would eat in front of me. And 5 months before he would hand feed from me, and even 2 years later he has his days where he is terrified of me and won't eat his favorite bugs from me. We have to respect their body language and that it takes time for them to settle in.

Try to think of it this way: A chameleon that is just hanging out on a branch is able to look in all different directions to keep an eye out for predators. When a chameleon eats, both of their eyes have to focus on the bug in order for them to accurately shoot their tongue. So in order for a chameleon to eat in front of you, they have to trust you to not eat them so they can take their eyes off of you "the predator" to eat their bug. Only a chameleon that feels comfortable around you will eat in front of you -- which takes A LOT of time and patience.

 

[RoscoeVeiled]

Hi sorry I think I might have misspoke. I do not try to handle him at all unless I seriously need to (like today I had to move the plant he was in to find his urate for this post). I was just getting really nervous that he wasn’t eating, because I recently decided to track his intake after I had not seen him eat for a few days (I did see him eat once). Anyways, I’ve watched a lot of your videos and I’m thinking he is just extremely nervous and I didn’t know they took months to adjust (I thought it might be a few weeks and that I should hand feed asap to get him used to me). I guess that was my mistake and I misinterpreted the information. I followed your tips about the bird feeder and have used that every day. PS thank you sooo much for your videos!!! They have helped me with taking care of him so much. I have reptile experience, but none with chameleons so I really appreciate it!