Restless Chameleon- Looking for sunlight?

[gadam]

Hi all-
I have a six month old veiled chameleon named Buju. He has been happily eating crickets and mealworms/wax worms for months and living in a large enclosure on our sunporch. He gets plenty of airflow in his screened enclosure and if our sunroom gets too hot we pull the shades so that his cage temp stays good. For the past two days he is still eating but it has slowed down a bit. He has become very active and screen climbing. When I open the cage door he wants out and climbs right to me. He seems to want to be out and in the sunshine which comes it at different angles in his cage throughout the day. I’m not sure if his basking area is not right for him anymore as he is getting bigger. He has never wanted to be out and with me this much so I’m thinking something is not quite right. Any thoughts would be helpful thanks.

 

[janjan20]

Just from your description it sounds like he is going through puberty and looking for a girlfriend. But without getting more details on your setup that can’t be ruled out either. Can you please send pics of the enclosure? And are you able to keep track of them temps? That can be a factor as well.

 

[gadam]

Thank you for replying and sometimes the cage inside temp does reach 100 and he will move to lower in cage and sit in Pothos plant. We draw the shades in sunroom and turn fan on and it cools down. I have been wondering if that was a problem but he seems so relaxed when he comes out and sits still on my hand and soaks up sun....wondering if I need to changed position of his cage?

 

[janjan20]

I would so it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight and I would also try to find something to make the cage higher. Being lower to the ground could also be an issue. See if that helps?
Edit: what are the specs of the cage?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Just from your description it sounds like he is going through puberty and looking for a girlfriend.

+1

 

[gadam]

I would so it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight and I would also try to find something to make the cage higher. Being lower to the ground could also be an issue. See if that helps?
Edit: what are the specs of the cage?

Hi again- 3 feet deep by 4 feet tall and my husband and I have been talking about building a box to raise it up! ? He is very content right now...thinking its heat and sunlight related

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

He is very content right now...thinking its heat and sunlight related

I got the impression from the thread title that you thought he was agitated ("restless") in some way. ?‍

What's changed with heat & light in the last 2 days?

 

[gadam]

I got the impression from the thread title that you thought he was agitated ("restless") in some way. ?‍

What's changed with heat & light in the last 2 days?

Our sunroom can get quite hot on some days but the weather today has been pretty good and his cage is holding at 90. He’s not doing any gaping with his mouth - which I have seen him do on occasion if too hot. He is just on the move a ton again! When he gets those black spots... he puffs up and doesn’t seem to happy. If he is 6-7 mo the old could he be looking for female?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

If he is 6-7 mo the old could he be looking for female?

Yes, I agreed with janjan20 about that above.

Could he be close to shedding? That can make them grumpy & irritable, and they'll often puff up to help loosen the skin.