6 mo. old Veiled's ambivalent behavior

[MSMorgan]

All,

I've been searching to no avail on my Veiled's particular behavioral issue. Think I may need a Veiled behaviorist for this one.

Often times, when I attempt to offer Lucky a snack, he'll by pass the treat and climb directly on to my hand. This is great, but as soon as he climbs up my arm, he turns very dark (stressed?) then up to my head and down the other arm. When I notice the dark color, I return to the cage and he climbs back in with "zest" ( ie: he's haulin' ). He'll usually climb around a bit and then, when he's calmed down and back to his handsome self (lighter colors), he'll beg to be let out once more, only to repeat this behavior again. Has anyone experienced this? Is luck a neurotic Veiled? Do I need a chameleon shrink? Is it typical behavior for a juvenile veiled? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Otherwise, Lucky is a very healthy boy. He's in a 2x2x4 screened enclosure that has "heavy" foliage ie: 3' ficus benjamina/ trade out w/ a 3' scheflerra that fills the enclosure, limbs, bendable "jungle vines" and a Mist King System, 75 w exoterra basking blub and a Zoomed 5.0 Reptisun UVB. He's eating well in the mornings and his urates are snow white, with the feces being dark brown and a clay like consistency.

 

[JoeVet]

Common chameleons can travel 33 meters per day. He is just stretching his legs.

 

[Blink]

Well... in my personal chameleon shrink p ) opinion... I would say that he wants to come out of his cage, but once he realized that all he's going to get is confinement to a human being jungle gym, he'd rather take the cage any day! Veiled chameleons don't like to be caged up. They like they're freedom. I think what your little guy needs is a nice little free range. Doesn't need to be much, it could just be a single tree, just something new and exciting he can explore. As a (nonprofessional) Veiled psychiatrist, I prescribe him one!

He could also possibly be stressed out about something in or near his cage. Are there any other pets or animals around?

 

[MSMorgan]

No other animals around when I take him out. True, there has to be something that is stressing him out (turning black) once he's climbing up my arm. I've noticed that he does not "like it" when I wear dark colored/black shirts, so I try to wear light colored shirts or plain white T-shirts when I'm at the cage cleaning, or feeding with no ill effects.

This "stressing out" behavior is fairly new for him. I try to get him out for a bit each day, but as of late, the "stress" has begun. Usually, he'll ride around on my shoulder while I'm doing things around the house, or watching TV and seems content. When sitting on the couch, he'll take a little walk along the back to explore, but no "stress" coloration. Tomorrow, I'll try taking him outside and putting him on the scheflerra in the sun for a bit. I take him outside to sun on the weekends and he seems to like it. I'll try to do more of that as the work schedule allows.

Found a post as to Veild's behavior here. Just took the right search words. This maybe similar to what Lucky's experiencing as they are of similar age. Hormones are a ragin'.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-chameleon-behavior-change-135431/