gideonus
New Member
Worf, my now 6-month+ old male veiled chameleon seems to have undergone a personality change since his last shed a couple of weeks ago. I got him when he was 4 months old. Until his last shed, he would quickly become alert when I dangled a clear feeding cup with crickets to attract his interest or put a silkworm in his enclosure, which he would quickly nab. He would also never shy away from me if my hand very delicately approached him. In other words, a fairly friendly guy, for a chameleon.
Now, he tries to run away from me when I get close (or he rotates in an effort to hide behind a vine--a very interesting behavior), and almost never eats in front of me. So I resort to leaving a bunch of crickets in his cage and putting a few large silkworms on vines. All the silkies and most of the crickets are gone within a day, so he is eating, just seems to have become less gregarious.
I know chams can change demeanor over time, but wondering if others have noticed this "less social" behavior as the cham gets older. I have a feeling he may be feeling a bit hemmed in in his enclosure. He's been in a 18x18x36" all-screen enclosure, but he's nearly doubled in size to about 12" in total length, so perhaps the cage is already too small. I planned to built a 2x2x4' enclosure when he was 9-10 months old. I'm quite confident that all the other conditions are satisfactory.
Also, what do people think of a diet of exclusively dusted crickets and silkworms? Are 3-4 medium silkworms a day (about 1.5" total length) too much for a growing veiled? I've heard that silkies are among the most nutritious of feeders, but are they meant primarily as "treats" or can they be part of the staple diet?
Now, he tries to run away from me when I get close (or he rotates in an effort to hide behind a vine--a very interesting behavior), and almost never eats in front of me. So I resort to leaving a bunch of crickets in his cage and putting a few large silkworms on vines. All the silkies and most of the crickets are gone within a day, so he is eating, just seems to have become less gregarious.
I know chams can change demeanor over time, but wondering if others have noticed this "less social" behavior as the cham gets older. I have a feeling he may be feeling a bit hemmed in in his enclosure. He's been in a 18x18x36" all-screen enclosure, but he's nearly doubled in size to about 12" in total length, so perhaps the cage is already too small. I planned to built a 2x2x4' enclosure when he was 9-10 months old. I'm quite confident that all the other conditions are satisfactory.
Also, what do people think of a diet of exclusively dusted crickets and silkworms? Are 3-4 medium silkworms a day (about 1.5" total length) too much for a growing veiled? I've heard that silkies are among the most nutritious of feeders, but are they meant primarily as "treats" or can they be part of the staple diet?