Unusual Behavior

[davemailcall]

My veiled has been acting weird for the last week or so.
She always wants to be in the bottom of the cage. I've been letting her free range in some cham safe plants in the living room where the temp is good for her. And she will end up on the floor near the balcony window or in the pots.

She's a really nice shade of green, she's eating, and drinking. Shes barely 6 months and not showing any signs of gravidness.

I've read here in the forums that if they go to the bottom, they are looking for something (a way out, food or whatever). Being as that she has all that and seems to be healthy, what could she be looking for? Did I miss something? Is she running from me maybe?

 

[Smitty]

If the chameleon is in the bottom of the cage there can be a couple of reasons. At 6 months of age she could have developed eggs. I would put an egg laying container in there just to be safe, it doesn't hurt and can help. I'm sure you can find information on here as to the correct way to do that.

Another reason is because she isn't happy in her current setup. Is the cage large enough? Misting? Is she down there all the time or just some times? Digging?

 

[Tygerr]

And yet another possibility is that she is simply restless and wants to explore. Chams get that way sometimes (more often in males... looking to sow their wild oats).

But Smitty is right: as a precaution, make sure you have somewhere for her to lay eggs. Veileds can produce clutches from as young as 4 months.

Keep an eye on her, and review your husbandry thoroughly (it never hurts to check the details with members on the forums). If nothing seems to be amiss, then it might just be simple wanderlust.

Just a word of caution though: if you're letting her hang out in the living room, are you sure she is getting enough UVB exposure. Remember, they can't get UVB through glass or plastic, so unless you have her by an open window, the sunlight isn't helping her at all.
Make sure there is a UVB light where she spends most of her day, or better yet, get her exposed to some natural, unfiltered sunlight.
(UVB light also affects their mood: not enough of it could cause listlessness).

 

[MWheelock]

Don't know your cage set up.

Sometimes in small cages it is too hot for them at the top of the cage and they move to the bottom to get relief from the heat.

Then again, like Tygerr, I have a panther that likes to hang out at the base of his enclosure when I leave the door open. If I move out of eyesight, he shoots to the floor to explore the rest of the room.

Matthew

 

[davemailcall]

Well she gets a UV light most of the day, usually at least 6hrs. And when she hits the floor she usually doesn't go exploring. At night she'll stay put up high in the plants, but during the day, she heads straight for the floor. Even when I pick her up and stick her back in a plant, she heads right back for the floor. I'll usually find her right up against the railbar for the sliding door (luckily not in it!!!). I just built her a new enclosure. Right now I've got two plants but I was planning to get more this week. Her previous enclosure was a 20 gallon tank which she's only been in for about a month, but the new one is screened and 2x2x4. I'll go and pick up some more plants and set up a place for her to lay eggs just in case.

Its just odd to me that she is still her pleasant shade of green.

If anyone has other suggestions I'm all ears!!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I'm willing to bet she is just an explorer.
She may need to lay and you certainly need to provide her with a place...but I'm betting she's trying to search out a more suitable territory.
The new cage should give her what she wants.....after a period of adjustment of course.

-Brad

 

[DkRhodes]

do females always show color change when gravid?

 

[kinyonga]

You said she goes in the pots....does she dig in them at all?

You also said she shows no signs of being gravid....what do you consider to be signs of being gravid?

 

[davemailcall]

Well being gravid I mean by changing to darker colors and not eating. She wasn't digging at all. Just hanging out.

However, I finished her cage and loaded her up with plants today. She has turned the most vibrant shade of green I've ever seen. I think Brad might have been on to something and that she's just a big time explorer.

I did, however, fill a good size tupperware bowl with about 8 inches of dirt (cham safe) and put it in the back corner with easy access. Its furthwest away from the door and nearly dark...so I'm sure she'll find it if she IS gravid.

Right now she's hanging sideways from a vine about 6 inches away from the foliage. In fact, I think she's asleep now!

I swear, chams can be more finicky than a cat!!! My next concern is making sure she knows where to find her food. I know she found the mealworms since a few are missing.

Thanks for all the help! I'm quickly becoming a little less ignorant. I'll post some pics of the new cage before too long!

 

[kinyonga]

Glad you put an egglaying container in...its always better than risking that you notice the signs that they need to lay eggs, IMHO.

 

[Tygerr]

Speaking of egg-laying containers... Do you do anything special to prevent the laying-soil from becoming waterlogged during misting? (i.e. drainage in the egg-laying container, or do you just put it out of the way and avoid misting there).
I know the soil should be reasonably moist to make it firm enough to dig in, but I don't want it to become too slushy from automated mistings...

 

[davemailcall]

Mine is way back in the back and pretty well protected from misting. But from what I've read it needs to be a little moist. I'll probably check it in a week or so and see if its still moist.

Can chams find those spots on their own or should you show it to them? And by showing, I mean setting them in it.

She hasn't made any mad dashes to out of the way places, so far she's staying up top along the vines and hasn't ventured into the plants. She is a really clumsy climber. A few times I've sat there and watched her move around and had to catch her on two seperate occasions as she was hanging on by a tail and a hand and starting to lose it. My guess is that my previous enclosure didn't give her the ability to stretch her legs. Most of the time I let her dig herself out of her own hole when she gets stuck somewhere and only catch her when absolutely necessary.