Shy Chameleon

Noah4of4

New Member
I am a new Chameleon owner and I have done my share of noobie research, but still have some questions about my chameleon Monty. I bought Monty at a PetCo about a week ago, he had a great bright green color and seemed to be very happy. However, recently in the past two days, he seems to be shyer and darker than usual refusing to hand-feed. Is there something majorly wrong with him? I know over time he will get used to me, but it makes me extremely worried and sad that I scare him. I would really appreciate any advice on making him as happy as possible or bonding so he isn't so afraid of me.
 
Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

If you post a photo or two and answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread near the top of the health forum it will help us to answer you better.
 
-Veiled Cham, around 2 months, been in my care for about a week and a half
-I have only handled him once because I thought it stressed him too much but I do try to hand feed every day
-feeding a mixture of hornworms and crickets(gut-loaded with Fluker's orange cube and coated in light repti calcium) every day
- Spraying foliage in cage with water 2-3 times a day along with water drip
-no previous information (pet store had almost nothing on him)
 

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He may be claiming his own territory. I would just try to keep tempting him with hand feeding for now. You could also try taking him out on a stick so he feels more comfortable with you not being so close to him.
 
What supplements do you use specifically and how often for each?

I would recommend that you skip the orange cubes and feed/gutload the crickets with dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc. squash, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc. and a bit of fruit such as apples, pears, melon, berries, etc.

I also recommend a long linear reptisun 5.0 UVB light.

I hope you can get your chameleon to trust you Laoighis many will stay "protective" of their cage/territory.
 
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What supplements do you use specifically and how often for each?

I would recommend that you skip the orange cubes and feed/gutload the crickets with dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc. squash, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc. and a bit of fruit such as apples, pears, melon, berries, etc.

I also recommend a long linear reptisun 5.0 UVB light.

I hope you can get your chameleon to trust you Laoighis many will stay "protective" of their cage/territory.
This is the only supplement I have been using when feeding him. Should I be using others?
 

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There are several ways of supplementing. What I have done for years is to dust lightly at almost every feeding with a phos free calcium powder to ensure the chameleon gets enough calcium. I dust lightly twice a month with a phos free calcium/D3 powder to ensure the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it. D3from supplements can build up in the system so I let it produce the rest of the D3 it needs from its exposure to the direct sun or UVB lights. D3 produced from that won't build up in the system as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will. I dust twice a month lightly with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitsmin A. PrOformed sources won't build up in the system like prEformed (palmitate, retinol) sources will so it's safe. This leaves it up to you though to decide if/when your chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A. (There is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene to vitamin A.) Iit's important that the phos, calcium, D3 and vitamin A are in balance. I know this is kind of complicated to read but I hope it explains why I do what I do.
 
There are several ways of supplementing. What I have done for years is to dust lightly at almost every feeding with a phos free calcium powder to ensure the chameleon gets enough calcium. I dust lightly twice a month with a phos free calcium/D3 powder to ensure the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it. D3from supplements can build up in the system so I let it produce the rest of the D3 it needs from its exposure to the direct sun or UVB lights. D3 produced from that won't build up in the system as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will. I dust twice a month lightly with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitsmin A. PrOformed sources won't build up in the system like prEformed (palmitate, retinol) sources will so it's safe. This leaves it up to you though to decide if/when your chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A. (There is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene to vitamin A.) Iit's important that the phos, calcium, D3 and vitamin A are in balance. I know this is kind of complicated to read but I hope it explains why I do what I do.
I’ll definitely do some more research on all of this so I can understand a little better, but thank you so much for the help!
 
You're welcome.

There's lots to learn and not only one way to do some of the things when it comes to chameleons. There's also lots of misinformation out there. This forum has a lot of good information on it and a lot of people who have kept chameleons for years successfully.
 
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