Normal baby veiled behaviour

[WelshOneEmma]

Ok, as mentioned in previous posts, I am a worry wart!

We have had our new Cham for just under a week, and after the first fright has worn off (jumped out of hands and landed 4ft down on floor), we seem to be doing ok. I put a bowl of the tiniest crickets imaginable in his viv, usually minimum of 10 in there, and during the day he wanders down, eats them, also eating his ficus and drinks happily (i think).

The thing that i am worried about is that he just sits there, all day, either at the top of the ficus, or under the basking light, and there isn't much movement. When we got him (he's about 6 weeks) he was in a cage with loads of other babies, so there was a lot of activity. I just worry he is bored or lonely, considering his age. Is this possible?

 

[dodolah]

what's the age of the veiled, the enclosure basking temp, and the ambient temp?
If he is not closing his eye(s) and eating and drinking fine, he should be ok.
I am not sure if he is bored. He probably just being comfortable..
Chameleons don't move much unless if they have too.

Ok, as mentioned in previous posts, I am a worry wart!

We have had our new Cham for just under a week, and after the first fright has worn off (jumped out of hands and landed 4ft down on floor), we seem to be doing ok. I put a bowl of the tiniest crickets imaginable in his viv, usually minimum of 10 in there, and during the day he wanders down, eats them, also eating his ficus and drinks happily (i think).

The thing that i am worried about is that he just sits there, all day, either at the top of the ficus, or under the basking light, and there isn't much movement. When we got him (he's about 6 weeks) he was in a cage with loads of other babies, so there was a lot of activity. I just worry he is bored or lonely, considering his age. Is this possible?

 

[MutantHybrid]

Most animals, especially chameleons, will not move much if they do not have to as Dodolah indicated. They rest and conserve energy for times they need to act. If your chameleon is just sitting there looking around a lot it is fine. Chameleons, even youngsters, hate other chameleons in general. They are solitary and do not get bored just sitting there. They do not play together, do not socialize except to mate, and communicate through color and posture only to tell other chameleons to go away or to come and mate.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Temps are at about 20-24C in the main tank, and between 28-31C under the basking lamp. He settled down after a couple of days and there is now no hissing when i am doing stuff in the cage. He is always watching, and like i said often wanders down to the food bowl and then back to the basking area. I am just used to more active animals, so just wanted to check all was ok.

 

[Jevin]

The basking temp is just a bit too cold it needs to be 32˚ to 35˚ Celsius. I know because i own one and the breeder told this to me.

 

[kinyonga]

The warmest area of my cages for baby veileds is in the low to mid 80's F. I have raised them this way for years and have a 95% survival rate at three months.

Babies bodies are small and can overheat, become too cool and dehydrate quite quickly so I try to keep the temperatures moderate. Mine grow more slowly than some people's do too but those that grow rapidly can develop bone issues if the supplements aren't adjusted to compensate.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Not sure who resurrected this! Kept my temps at the ones stated, and gradually increased them as he got older. We soon knew what he could handle as he would gape pretty quickly. He is now at about 32-34C under his basking light, but he is also now at 6 months old so able to tolerate better temps. Our breeder recommended the temps we were keeping him at, so we combine the info we get from him, with that given on the forums and use that to make informed decisions on how we keep him.