Why is he doing this??!!!!

[hannah8288]

For almost a week now my chameleon has almost constantly been scratching at the walls of his enclosure trying desperately to get out, and if the door is opened he will charge out and then refuse to go back in no matter how long he is out for. Nothing has changed in the viv, and temperatures are the same as always, with an ambient low of around 70-75 and a basking spot of 85-90. It is getting to the stage where he is stopping eating as he is too obsessed with rubbing the windows to care about anything else. Im getting worried now as really can't tell what the problem is?!

 

[Defianceofexistence]

Loki was doing this for a bit to...mostly on the sides of his Terrarium. I printed out colored photos of a rain forest and taped them to the sides so he couldn't see out or see reflections. Ever since then he stopped scratching at the sides and as long as no one has their hands in there he is happy lol (he isn't a very social boy as of late )

 

[IvoryBolt]

I'd venture to say his enclosure is much too small for him.

 

[craig90]

He wants to get out and explore and doesn't want to be confined to a small space.

 

[Kath44]

I too think you need a bigger enclosure. What's the water dish at bottom for?
Kath.

 

[ChameSecret]

I think it's plain to see he's just not a fan of that enclosure. The glass walls are a problem if they're on all sides.. I had a small glass enclosure when I got my first chameleon and I noticed the same behavior; clawing, preoccupation with the glass, etc. It stopped when I switched to a mesh enclosure. He's probably seeing his reflection. Try Defianceofexistence's solution.

 

[Sirlanzelot]

Mine does that as well, and I let him come out when he pleases and it seems like he prefers to hang around in a bigger area, even if its relatively cold outside his cage doesnt seem like he minds

 

[Carlton]

I think it's plain to see he's just not a fan of that enclosure. The glass walls are a problem if they're on all sides.. I had a small glass enclosure when I got my first chameleon and I noticed the same behavior; clawing, preoccupation with the glass, etc. It stopped when I switched to a mesh enclosure. He's probably seeing his reflection. Try Defianceofexistence's solution.

The cage could also be too low to the ground. Chams naturally feel more secure if they can look down on the world.

 

[Catiebug13]

I have found that my baby boy does the same. I did move him to a larger screened terrarium but he still climbs. Most the time when i find him on the bottom or trying to climb like that, he will take food from me as if he's starving, then goes back to his favorite basking spot. I also know someone who's chameleon loves to be handled and scratches at the front panel when he wants her to take him out.

 

[Catiebug13]

I too think you need a bigger enclosure. What's the water dish at bottom for?
Kath.

My veiled prefers to drink from a dish than his mister. He does drink from his mister, but I think he doesn't like being sprayed. Kind of like a cat.
Of course this is only an idea of why they may have a water dish.

 

[Chameleon Creator]

My veiled prefers to drink from a dish than his mister. He does drink from his mister, but I think he doesn't like being sprayed. Kind of like a cat.

Of course this is only an idea of why they may have a water dish.

Craziness, I've never heard of a chameleon drinking standing water.. New things I learn on here everyday

 

[Catiebug13]

Craziness, I've never heard of a chameleon drinking standing water.. New things I learn on here everyday

I was told to keep a running water supply so I bought a waterfall before I got my mister. He never touched it. I asked someone about it at a local pet store and they told me to just try a dish. That most of their chameleons had no issues with dishes and it worked!

 

[Chameleon Creator]

I was told to keep a running water supply so I bought a waterfall before I got my mister. He never touched it. I asked someone about it at a local pet store and they told me to just try a dish. That most of their chameleons had no issues with dishes and it worked!

Wow I would have thought this to be a rare occurrence. I'm curious to see if mine will drink standing water.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[melble68]

You all should be cautious about the standing water in the dish thingy. Waterfalls / dishes can get contaminated w/ bacteria from all kinds of stuff. Definitely not recommended for "most" chameleons. I wouldn't use either even if I cleaned them out every day. Mine would use it as a target for his morning BM.

 

[LLGabriel]

You all should be cautious about the standing water in the dish thingy. Waterfalls / dishes can get contaminated w/ bacteria from all kinds of stuff. Definitely not recommended for "most" chameleons. I wouldn't use either even if I cleaned them out every day. Mine would use it as a target for his morning BM.

Haha exactly. Poo target practice is what mine would think. I agree with melble68. The standing water dishes and waterfalls really aren't a good idea. Even if washed every day. JMHO.

 

[hannah8288]

The dish is just for putting silkworms and things in, although he had taken them all out in that picture i think. Don't worry he drinks from a sprayer and takes drips off the leaves when being misted!! So maybe I need to think about a bigger enclosure then? He just seems so small still!!

 

[hannah8288]

oh in that picture there is some gut feed in the dish lol. My crickets are hungry guys and continue to eat even when put into the tank. If a couple happen to get left in there overnight they chew at things in the tank so i thought it better to put some actual food in for them. Its always gone after a couple of hours so no chance for mould!

 

[hannah8288]

However on the topic of standing water, he will drink from a plastic spoon of water if its offered to him. He kind of laps it up haha

 

[Carlton]

My veiled prefers to drink from a dish than his mister. He does drink from his mister, but I think he doesn't like being sprayed. Kind of like a cat.
Of course this is only an idea of why they may have a water dish.

The dish might be the catch container under a dripper. Sometimes a very thirsty cham in a poor setup with no live foliage and a water dish learns to drink out of it. It isn't natural for a cham but desperation does have it's uses. If your cham has learned that a dish is a source of water well, so be it. HOWEVER you shouldn't expect it or count on it. Most chams will prefer to get their water from licking foliage because it doesn't require them to climb down to the ground (and expose themselves to predators) to drink.

Obviously a captive situation is different and an individual cham may decide to take advantage of a dish...just don't assume yours will! I have had one or two chams learn to lick water out of my hand, some will drink directly from a syringe, but again it really depends on what the particular cham has learned.

 

[Juliaf3]

I'd say that cage is too small. Look into a screen cage. My Cham loves his screens. Loves to climb up and down the walls. The taller, the better, in my opinion.