Hi Chameleon Community I am new here and a first time chameleon owner. I noticed My panther chameleon Galileo 8months old has been very eager to leave his enclosure ever since he started trusting me to handle him which was about 2 weeks ago after having no issues with his enclosure the entire time or even wanting to come out. I should note that his enclosure has a window view of my backyard that has trees. But Yesterday 9/10/26 when I took him out he was very eager to climb on my bed and headed straight for a blanket I had hanging on my wall, then today. About afternoon time today I opened his enclosure and let him free roam onto a tree I have in my room that’s near my window he then really wanted to go outside and climbed the screen so I took him outside and once I did he did not want to go back in his enclosure, i have not noticed any signs of sickness and his bowels are healthy but I also noticed he has been eating some dirt or soil from the plants in his enclosure. I have not been giving him reptivite with D3 but only calcium without d3 for supplements so Really 2 questions I have , 1) is he eating dirt or licking things that aren’t food because of the lack of supplements ? And 2) is there something wrong with my enclosure or is he just smart enough to know there’s a bigger world out there that he can see and now experience and would rather explore is then be in his enclosure? Anyone with ideas, explanations or solutions would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Cosmo
Very active or exploring chameleon
- Thread starter cosmo98
- Start date
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi and welcome! 
Galileo is quite a handsome guy. Your enclosure for him looks great! What are the measurements though? What type of uvb are you using? How often are you taking him outside? Do be careful that he can’t climb out of reach and never ever leave him unattended. Not only are chams quick to run away, but predatory birds are even quicker.
So, he does need multivitamins and usually D3 (unless he is living outside or spends a considerable amount of time in natural unfiltered sunlight). I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD (or ReptiVite with D3 if that’s what you have) which is a combination of multivitamin and D3 and you’d use one feeding every other week.
Now let me talk about the ‘friendliness’ I have had 2 male panthers who run to come out as soon as I open their door. Their enclosures were/are double sized 2x4x4’, bioactive and have everything they need - proper uvb levels, proper basking temps, plenty of live plants, lots of natural branches of varied diameters, places to hide, bioactive floor which they can hunt some snacks off of, etc etc. I checked, rechecked and kept checking what could possibly be wrong with their ‘houses’ that they were so anxious to escape from. Nothing…there was/is nothing wrong. They just seem to enjoy coming out to sit on my hand or arm. My first guy did all he could to get as close as he could to me. I’d be sitting in the floor in his room and he’s climb down and wedge himself between his substrate pouch and screen in attempts to reach me. He scratched up his casque doing this.
My current guy does have his moments when he isn’t in the mood for me, but those aren’t very often and don’t last long. He does try to climb to my head, but he is going to try to reach the highest spot. So, your guy is kind of being rewarded with trips outside, which you say he enjoys. So that is good motivation for wanting to come out. Some do it for food. Some are like mine and are weirdos who just like sitting on humans. We are the lucky ones, as most chameleons want nothing to do with their humans. Once you confirm that there is nothing wrong with his house, just enjoy having such a personable fella. So, if you answer my questions, we can go from there. 
Galileo is quite a handsome guy. Your enclosure for him looks great! What are the measurements though? What type of uvb are you using? How often are you taking him outside? Do be careful that he can’t climb out of reach and never ever leave him unattended. Not only are chams quick to run away, but predatory birds are even quicker. So, he does need multivitamins and usually D3 (unless he is living outside or spends a considerable amount of time in natural unfiltered sunlight). I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD (or ReptiVite with D3 if that’s what you have) which is a combination of multivitamin and D3 and you’d use one feeding every other week.
Now let me talk about the ‘friendliness’ I have had 2 male panthers who run to come out as soon as I open their door. Their enclosures were/are double sized 2x4x4’, bioactive and have everything they need - proper uvb levels, proper basking temps, plenty of live plants, lots of natural branches of varied diameters, places to hide, bioactive floor which they can hunt some snacks off of, etc etc. I checked, rechecked and kept checking what could possibly be wrong with their ‘houses’ that they were so anxious to escape from. Nothing…there was/is nothing wrong. They just seem to enjoy coming out to sit on my hand or arm. My first guy did all he could to get as close as he could to me. I’d be sitting in the floor in his room and he’s climb down and wedge himself between his substrate pouch and screen in attempts to reach me. He scratched up his casque doing this.
My current guy does have his moments when he isn’t in the mood for me, but those aren’t very often and don’t last long. He does try to climb to my head, but he is going to try to reach the highest spot. So, your guy is kind of being rewarded with trips outside, which you say he enjoys. So that is good motivation for wanting to come out. Some do it for food. Some are like mine and are weirdos who just like sitting on humans. We are the lucky ones, as most chameleons want nothing to do with their humans. Once you confirm that there is nothing wrong with his house, just enjoy having such a personable fella. So, if you answer my questions, we can go from there. 
BigSkyCham
Member
Can you post a photo of the entire enclosure that captures the whole Viv in one shot? Include some dimensions. From what I can see in the photo you posted…the top right side of the Viv looks amazing.
But let’s see the full Monty.
It looks like an amazing Viv. I kind of want to see more of your tank!
But let’s see the full Monty.
It looks like an amazing Viv. I kind of want to see more of your tank!
