Strange behavior

Lokicossins

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Loki - first veiled cham, female, unknown guess is between 4-6 months. purchased from pet store 2 months ago
Handling - every 3-4 days
Feeding - 8-10 crickets every other day, tried mealworms however she was not interested, currently not gut loading
Supplements - exoterra calcium + d3 every other feeding, just found out calcium should be used and the calcium + d3 should be used only a few feedings, will purchase calcium only tomorrow morning
Watering - currently misting 5-6 times daily normally about 1-2 minutes will see her drink once in a while normally just focusing on the plants so she can see the water dripping also will put ice on top to stimulate water falling-will only do this once/twice a week
Fecal Description - will always poop the day after feeding normally the poop is a consistent light brown and moist as for the white pee it will often have a little orange at the end which I know means she needs to drink more which is why I have been misting more often, never been tested for parasites?
History - Loki has shed once since he got her about 2 weeks ago

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Currently just a glass 10 gallon with a mesh top and reptile green terrarium liners, her new cage has been ordered and should arrive any day, its an exoterra small 18/18/24 and will have open front doors rather than a top
Lighting - uvb bulb on right side and a 50watt basking bulb on the left side lights off from 11pm to about 10am
Temperature - currently have temp gauge on left side normally between 75-85
Humidity - currently 2 humidity gauges on each side normally between 40-75
Plants - no live plants just plastic ones purchased from the pet store, I have 3 ivy like plant on 3 sides of the tank that provide good climbing and spots to hide if needed
Placement - located in the corner of the room, very low traffic since its in a bedroom on a stand @ eye level
Location - southeast michigan

Current Problem - Normally Loki climbs around the cage throughout the day but recently she's been at the top trying to crawl upside down on the mesh cover as if she's trying to get out also the other day I came home and found her laying on the bottom of her cage displaying a brownish color which she never does --picture included--once she seen me she moved up to a higher part of the cage and changed back to a green color another picture of when we took her outside to show her other colors.....any suggestions about her behavior or setup should be great and thank you in advance!
 

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im no pro at all but SHE looks like a HE to me...is ther a little spur on the back of the hind legs? and a 10 gal is a tiny tank for a cham that big.. might be stressing due to a lack of space and your going to need a bigger cage for an adult male veiled (assuming its a boy) they get close to to 2 feet and chams love their space..he/she might be feeling kinda bad from D3 overload too
 
Does your chameleon have the spurs? It does not look like it in the first pic and the second pic I cannot tell. I have seen females that look like that and have been mistaken for males. That aside, what are you measuring your temps with? It is hard to maintain temps in a 10 gal tank. I think the new cage you ordered is too small for your chameleon. Also, you are leaving your lights on too late at night. I would turn them on earlier and off when it is dark outside. Sun up, sun down so to speak. There is no reason for them to be until 11 at night. Start gutloading your feeders. What brand and model of uvb are you using?
 
Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback the new tank came in today it is the exo terra medium rainforest kit 18” x 18” x 24”, I am picking it up tomorrow, also we thought at first that it was a male too however there is no tarsal spur on the back legs. I will try and take another picture tomorrow I recently bought those orange cubes to feed the crickets and bought super worms to try. Here are pictures taken a week or so ago I do not see any tarsal spurs.
 

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Nope, she is just a very beautiful female. My old cham had markings like her and was a female, people didnt believe me at first. :) lol.

Those orange cubes do not gut load the crickets very well though, and you should look at buying something else to make them better.
 
Yea those second pictures look more like female markings than the first two but i cant be sure without looking at the back. I think you are on the right path with the calcium with and without D3 now. However, you said you are not gutloading and this can be a very slipper slope especially when the chameleon is a youngster. The orange cricket cubes are a very week solution. It contains little to no nutrition for the feeders and basically on provides water. its so important that you take a look at the gutloading thread and try to mimic some of those recipes on there best you can. So many times you see that people know the recipes are there but still decide to get the store bought cricket quencher because they dont want to deal with having to put together the gutload themselves. These are the same people who after being told they need to address their gutloads are back on here a couple months later asking for help because their cham is falling off branches and laying on the bottom with MBD. Its best to just take the time and put together a recipe on here. I did that six months ago and still have about six months worth of gutload left in my freezer in the shape of ice cubes. A little work goes a very long way with the recipes because you can freeze and store them for awhile. At the very least go to the store and try to get some bug burger for her please, i promise it will be so worth it. Plus your chameleon will show it in their colors how well you take care of them, and as of now if you just provide good gutload and care it looks like in a couple of months you could have an amazing looking adult girl with ya. Also, i hate to tell you this as im sure you have heard it from day one about the ten gallon aquarium, but it looks like your chameleon is very stressed out. All those dots on her are signs of extreme stress. I say this because my guy when he gets a little stressed he usually just gets a little dark stripe down his body, but when he gets extremely stressed or scared he will start to show those exact same dots. So all those dots on your girl gives the impression that she is extrememly stressed. It could be anything in her environment especially with a little ten gallon aquarium (very little space) To hot, reflection, to humid, feelings of confinement and lack of verticle security. All of these things could be causing her to stress and seek a different area. Like climbing on the inside of the screen lid is likely an attempt to get as high as she possibly can. I think one of the more experianced member on here already said this, but i hate to tell you that your "new" is likely already to small and she will only likely feel ok with that for a little while and thats only because she has been stuck in a tiny tank for so long. She will temperarly feel better because it is an upgrade but probably will soon feel cramped as she gets bigger and you will start to see some of these same behaviors again or worse pretty soon. You got to think, that here pretty quick your gonna have to put a lay bin in there for her to lay her eggs and that new space is gonna be quickly taken up (if she is in fact a girl of course). It would be better to just spend the extra 20 or 30 bucks now to get the bigger one rather than have to spend another 80 or 100 bucks later on top of what you just paid for this one. Honestly I think the new one you bought is the same size that is needed for juveniles so it is definately going to be to small also. With these guys you really cant just do the minimum because you think "ah she will be fine", you gotta stick to the requirements, otherwise your gonna find yourself right back on here asking for more help because you got yet again a sick cham, or worse you have a dead cham. The latter is definately a strong possibility for us if we choose to not follow the requirements of these pets. I hope she is or gets to feeling better quickly but please do some reading on here about the husbandry and try your best for your girl. She looks like she is gonna be a head turner if taken care of properly! Good luck!
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Female, and A little over a year old, I've had her for over a year.
Handling - I try to handle her every 2-3 days.
Feeding - I feed her about 5-6 super worms and if I don't have them, I give her about 6 dubai roaches.
Supplements - repashy calcium plus LOD every other day. light sprinkle on greens to gut load roaches and super worms
Watering- I use a dripper for her, it's at medium speed so that it isn't too slow for her and so that it isn't too fast for her. I mist her in the morning around 7:00 A.M. and then I have one of those timed misters for when I'm at school. I don't occasionally see her drinking.
Fecal Description - yes, I have tested her for parasites. She is usually bright green and has black and blue dots. just had her dewormed for pin worms 3 weeks ago


Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen cage, 30x18x20
Lighting - I use the ReptiSun t5 linear light as well as a mercury vapor bulb for a heat source on one side of cage
Temperature - The temp usually stay around 75 degrees on the bottom of the cage, 80-85 middle of cage and a hot spot of 95 degrees. I use a heat measuring gun.
Humidity - My humidity levels are around 65-70.
Plants - All the plants a fake, plenty of covering.
Placement - It's in a room with other reptiles(separate cages). sides blocked out to keep them from seeing each other as much as possible
Location - I live in central Texas.

Current Problem - Shes become very aggressive, she will go out of her way and walk up to you just to bite you. Shes been spending most of her time at the bottom of her cage digging like she is about to lay a clutch. Her last clutch was around new years so I know shes due, maybe even over due. Shes slowed on eating. Not finishing her usual bugs per day. Its the aggression that worries me. Since she had her first clutch 6 months ago her demeanor has completely changed and is getting worse.
 
She will need a laying bucket asap if u havnt put one in there.
Veiled cham can be very aggressive it all depends on how you raising them.
 
Im not too sure about the coconut shaving but I do know with the natural playsand with the right amount of moisture the medium are not going to collapse when she digging in.
 
the coconut shaving seems to be holding up pretty well
Cool. Usually with non color playsand or non chemical soil around 10 -12 inches deep more or less,she will learn to do her deed,she will start pacing around in that cage up n down u can put some branches to let her access the laying bin easily then give her as much privacy as she needs.She will start eating less or stop completely,n start digging in that bin u provide her,and this is a crucial time not to disturb her or she will start having trouble to lay,give her space so she can let all her eggs out in the stomach.
 
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Cool. Usually with non color playsand or non chemical soil around 10 -12 inches deep more or less,she will learn to do her deed,she will start pacing around in that cage up n down u can put some branches to let her access the laying bin easily then give her as much privacy as she needs.She will start eating less or stop completely,n start digging in that bin u provide her,and this is a crucial time not to disturb her or she will start having trouble to lay,give her space so she can let all her eggs out in the stomach.
i try to give her all the time she needs, ill try to find some branches or something for her to access the tub of dirt better.
 
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