Veiled chameleon upset from moving cage

areinhart66

New Member
About 4 months ago I had purchased an adult male veiled chameleon, when we got them home and had them set up in his cage a few days after getting adjusted he's been friendly and wanting to be held eats well uses the bathroom regularly and no other signs of stress or improper care. since I've gotten them I've always wanted to put them in a little bit of a bigger cage being that I felt the one he was in was little small. The cage was always in my room that he was in but about 3 weeks ago I moved him into the living room in the same cage and that's where it all sort of went downhill. he started acting defensive and staying in the top corner of his cage and not acting anything like he was beforehand it was the move to the living room that seem to have upset him. A week later is when I set up his new cage that has plenty of room I'd say an estimate of 5 ft tall by 3 ft wide and 3 ft deep. all temperatures are okay and humidity is fine but he is still acting funny and not anything like how he was when he was in my room. I understand that there can be a mood change in moving him in any way but I thought by now he would have calm down a little bit especially having a whole lot more space than he did before. I have a kitten and that's the only other animal in the house but she stays away from the cage and isn't provoking him at all. I'm worried about how he is going to be and if there could be a bigger sign to this then just move. Has anyone else went through this issue?
This is my first post to the forums so I apologize I'd there was a place I should have spoken about it. I've tried doing multiple searches through Google and the forums to try to find something that pinpointed what I was having issues with but I couldn't find anything specific enough so I thought I would write my own.
 
Welcome to the forum! Chameleons do not like change. They don’t even like new additions of vines or plants especially if they have been established in one area for a long period of time. Another thing to consider is the traffic by his cage. Living rooms typically have higher traffic than bedrooms.
The kitten will become a full grown cat one day. From my experience both chams I have owned were more scared of cats than my dog. If you notice he’s getting skinny and trying to hide behind a branch or leaves he’s bothered by something. Could be the cat, tv, reflections off glass, etc.
Age can play a factor if he is going through puberty. Hope I was able to help. If he’s still eating and drinking that’s good.

Lastly, is there anyway you can send pics of him and the new enclosure? It might give a little more insight acctually seeing everything.
 
Welcome to the forum! Chameleons do not like change. They don’t even like new additions of vines or plants especially if they have been established in one area for a long period of time. Another thing to consider is the traffic by his cage. Living rooms typically have higher traffic than bedrooms.
The kitten will become a full grown cat one day. From my experience both chams I have owned were more scared of cats than my dog. If you notice he’s getting skinny and trying to hide behind a branch or leaves he’s bothered by something. Could be the cat, tv, reflections off glass, etc.
Age can play a factor if he is going through puberty. Hope I was able to help. If he’s still eating and drinking that’s good.

Lastly, is there anyway you can send pics of him and the new enclosure? It might give a little more insight acctually seeing everything.


Thank for the response and the help that you're willing to give, the cage in the living room is in the far corner I said it there hoping that it wouldn't cause a problem with the traffic in the living room. It's only me and my girlfriend that lives at the apartment and no one really comes over so we really don't have many people in the living room at any point in time. A few months ago when we first got him we stayed in my room all of the time due to roommate problems and it never really seemed to have caused a problem being in the room all the time with him but I do understand the traffic and how it could affect him. Fortunately he is still drinking water and I made a cricket cup out of a plastic bin so then there could be crickets in his cage for him to eat without them roaming and since he also would not eat from the tongs anymore. once he was moved he wouldn't eat anything that we offered him so I first started with putting a dish in the bottom with a few superworms to see if he was still up to eating and I have seen him eating from the cricket cup. it's a relief to know that he's still eating and drinking water it's just still worrisome with how he acts towards us now. It's a complete turnover compared to before. He would come out of the cage onto our hands and crawl around with no signs of stress or aggression but that is not going to happen now being he will run if we walk up to the cage. there is curtains in the living room so there is no reflection coming off of the window unless we leave it open so he can have a little bit of natural sunlight as well and the TV is not inside of him. if you have any more questions feel free to ask I can answer anything you need me to.
 

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The cage looks good but it can be better! Now that the cage is in a more open space he may feel more vulnerable, from what I see he needs some more hiding places. Real plants more horizontal branches. Empty space is wasted space. One of our members always suggest it take a bit to find your Cham. So if you can see him right away then he could def use more plants. And what kind of lighting do you have? Is there just one light in the corner?
 
The cage looks good but it can be better! Now that the cage is in a more open space he may feel more vulnerable, from what I see he needs some more hiding places. Real plants more horizontal branches. Empty space is wasted space. One of our members always suggest it take a bit to find your Cham. So if you can see him right away then he could def use more plants. And what kind of lighting do you have? Is there just one light in the corner?

I should be receiving some plants in the next day to add in as well as we have a umbrella tree, we bought it to eventually add to his enclosure so that could add more ground space. Once it becomes denser should we see a change in his behavior? Currently we have a uvb bulb and his daylight for his basking. I have a thermometer for the basking set up and have the temps and humidity in a good range.
 
Umbrella trees are great! A Pothos would also be a great addition. I have one at the top and bottom of my cage. The vines once grown can provide some nice road ways of travel and cover throughout the cage. Live plants will also help keep the humidity up.
What kind of uvb bulb? Linear or coil?
 
It is a linear bulb, what would you suggest to prep the umbrella and pothos plants to be safe for him in the cage? I have been so worried about finding the right dirt to repot it and scared of the pesticide possibility. I've seen things on how to clean but every soil I run across has some sort of fertilizer in it and it's just been a toss up to add live or not. Id love to give the guy some real plants for sure for all the benefits
 
what would you suggest to prep the umbrella and pothos plants to be safe for him in the cage? I have been so worried about finding the right dirt to repot it and scared of the pesticide possibility.

Its pretty easy. Cover the top of the soil with a layer of gravel. This does 2 things, keeps cham from eating dirt, keeps feeders from hiding in the dirt, and breeding in the dirt. As for worrying about fertilizer etc, the plant has to eat something. If its just topsoil etc, there is nothing biodegrading to feed the plant. So you may still have to use a liquid fertilizer(natural or otherwise) to keep the plants alive, other than the potho, since i think they live of just air.

I always had luck using this stuff for house plants, it seems natural enough. And its water based so after a misting/watering there is nothing left on the rocks.

https://www.spray-n-growgardening.com/Bills-Perfect-Fertilizer/products/18/
 
Its pretty easy. Cover the top of the soil with a layer of gravel. This does 2 things, keeps cham from eating dirt, keeps feeders from hiding in the dirt, and breeding in the dirt. As for worrying about fertilizer etc, the plant has to eat something. If its just topsoil etc, there is nothing biodegrading to feed the plant. So you may still have to use a liquid fertilizer(natural or otherwise) to keep the plants alive, other than the potho, since i think they live of just air.

I always had luck using this stuff for house plants, it seems natural enough. And its water based so after a misting/watering there is nothing left on the rocks.

https://www.spray-n-growgardening.com/Bills-Perfect-Fertilizer/products/18/


I'll definitely check that out, do you wash off new plants with any particular type of soap or mixture to give them a good clean before introducing?
 
I'll definitely check that out, do you wash off new plants with any particular type of soap or mixture to give them a good clean before introducing?

New plants i will rinse with either a diy vinegar "fruit wash" or if i really dont trust it i will soak it in a gallon of warm water with 1 cup of bleach, for 1-2 min, then rinse in another bowl. Plants from the store are always coated in something, and the vinegar rinse does a great job of removing any water based "stuff". You only need the bleach if you think there is a fungus etc.
 
Thank you again for your help your giving me, what would a good mixture of the vinegar be? And white vinegar I'm guessing not cleaning?
 
New plants i will rinse with either a diy vinegar "fruit wash" or if i really dont trust it i will soak it in a gallon of warm water with 1 cup of bleach, for 1-2 min, then rinse in another bowl. Plants from the store are always coated in something, and the vinegar rinse does a great job of removing any water based "stuff". You only need the bleach if you think there is a fungus etc.


Thank you again for your help your giving me, what would a good mixture of the vinegar be? And white vinegar I'm guessing not cleaning vinegar?
I'm sorry for the double reply, the other day I thought I replied but I just posted
 
Thank you again for your help your giving me, what would a good mixture of the vinegar be? And white vinegar I'm guessing not cleaning vinegar?
I'm sorry for the double reply, the other day I thought I replied but I just posted
1 part white white vinegar to 4 cups water.
 
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