Why is my chameleon hanging upside down?

WilsonCham

New Member
  • Your Chameleon - Male, Veiled, I was told he was 1 year old when I got him. I've had him for 2 weeks.
  • Handling - I haven't handled him yet. I'm giving him time to adjust to his new environment.
  • Feeding - His main diet consist of crickets and roaches. They are gut-loaded with sweet potato, carrots, green dandelion, and collard greens. He gets fed every other day.
  • Supplements - Zoo Med Repti Calcium without D3 for every feeding, Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 twice a month, and Reptivite without D3 twice a month.
  • Watering - I mist his enclosure twice a day and have a dripper on top. I recently added a humidifier at the bottom of the cage.
  • Fecal Description - His feces are brown and solid and another one was white with some orange, fairly solid as well. He has not been tested for parasites.
  • History - The previous owner was dusting the crickets with Herptivite and Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 every feeding.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Reptibreeze XL screen cage. 24"x24"x48"
  • Lighting - For UVB I have a 14" Zoo Med Reptisun T5 Ho hood with a 5.0 UVB T5 HO Linear Lamp. For heat I use a Zoo Med clamp lamp with a 40w incandescent bulb. Both lights are on for 12 hours- 7am to 7pm.
  • Temperature - cage floor is 70 and basking spot is 91° F. Lowest temp is around 68° F. I have a thermometer on the bottom and the heat lamp is connected to a thermostat that keeps the temperature at 91° F
  • Humidity - My humidity ranges from 40 to 60%. I mist the enclosure twice a day for approximately 3 minutes each time. I use a humidity gauge to measure the humidity. I also have a humidifier outside the cage
  • Plants - I have a Schefflera Alpine Jr and a small ficus tree
  • Placement - The cage is located in a corner of my living room, approximately 3 ft away from a window. The top of the cage is 6 ft from the floor.
  • Location - San Francisco, CA
Current Problem-I’ve had my chameleon for about two weeks. He recently started climbing upside down from the screen cage.
He has a basking spot thats 91° F, so i don’t think he’s trying to get warmer. Also, when he’s hanging upside down he goes to the opposite side of where the heat lamp is.
The humidifier is outside his cage, is it possible that it’s scaring him and trying to get away from it?
Any help is appreciated.
 

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Hi There! I would suggest getting more vines and branches in there going horizontally. They screen climb quite a bit if they are un easy in their enclosure. It is concerning that he is hanging upside down under the heat bulb. He can get a thermal burn really easily this way. You can suspend the heat lamp off the cage to keep him from burning himself. How are you checking the heat at basking level? Just with the thermostat probe? Are you sure it is reaching 90 degrees? He could be doing it if it is not actually 90 degrees as well trying to get warmer. You need a 24 inch T5 fixture to go across the entire center of the top of the cage rather then the 14inch.
 
Totally normal... itll ease up over time but you def need some more vines an branches.. to make it easier to crawl down.

Actually it looks like hes shedding... he prob rubbing against screen to loosen it... thats normal too
 
Thanks! I was actually planning on getting more horizontal vines and a new
Hi There! I would suggest getting more vines and branches in there going horizontally. They screen climb quite a bit if they are un easy in their enclosure. It is concerning that he is hanging upside down under the heat bulb. He can get a thermal burn really easily this way. You can suspend the heat lamp off the cage to keep him from burning himself. How are you checking the heat at basking level? Just with the thermostat probe? Are you sure it is reaching 90 degrees? He could be doing it if it is not actually 90 degrees as well trying to get warmer. You need a 24 inch T5 fixture to go across the entire center of the top of the cage rather then the 14inch.
Thanks for the advice. I actually bought some more vines today and I will be installing them tomorrow.
Luckily he hasn’t been hanging right under the heat lamp.
I measure the temp at the basking spot with the thermostat probe. Is there a better way to do it?
 
Thanks! I was actually planning on getting more horizontal vines and a new

Thanks for the advice. I actually bought some more vines today and I will be installing them tomorrow.
Luckily he hasn’t been hanging right under the heat lamp.
I measure the temp at the basking spot with the thermostat probe. Is there a better way to do it?
A temp gun is a great tool to have to just double check but you are doing it correctly with the probe. The temp guns are only 15 bucks on amazon. I will say it is quite normal for them to screen climb especially when their environment changes. Just make sure he isn’t holding on under the basking bulb that is the worry here. :) he will love having the new vines! :)
 
A temp gun is a great tool to have to just double check but you are doing it correctly with the probe. The temp guns are only 15 bucks on amazon. I will say it is quite normal for them to screen climb especially when their environment changes. Just make sure he isn’t holding on under the basking bulb that is the worry here. :) he will love having the new vines! :)

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...ds/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood-24-l

Is this lamp the correct one to buy?
 
Yes that will work. And you will want to get a 22 inch 10.0 uvb bulb for that I don't see that it comes with it. :)
If you want to go fancy and better spend a little more money :) ..... www.lightyourreptiles.com with a 12% Arcadia uvb bulb :) better bulbs and fixtures the bulbs only need to be replaced every 12 months where as the ones you will get off petco will need to be replaced every 6-9 months.
 
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