Cham Climbing on Roof?

[AZJ0SH]

So my chameleon keeps figuring out ways to get on the top screen and crawl around upside down, any ideas why he would be doing this?

He gets really dark when he gets by the light, so maybe he is trying to get warm?

His basking spot is at 84 degrees, and the rest of the cage stays around 78 degrees. I keep the humidity between 40%-80%, it drops to 40% when I let it dry out, then it goes up to 70-80% when I mist and run my humidifier.

Any ideas why he is getting up there? I am trying to figure out a way to keep him from climbing up there.

 

[repsol153]

my 4 month veiled also does it. for a little while i was worried that he might burn himself unknowingly. but after a while i let him be. he does it every once in a while still. i think they just sometimes like to get close to the basking light, if there extra cold that morning. mine also likes to get close to the uvb light. something about it just excites him. i wouldn't be to worried if i were you. unless you start seeing burn spots on him obviously. but every now and then just check on him. i'm sure he's just curious.

 

[carol5208]

When they are smaller they just do it because they know they can! I don't know if anyone has figured out the real reason. If so, let me know!! I have a large outdoor cage made of chicken wire and my cham is 17 months old, hangs upside down from there cause he can grip the top with it being sturdy. I guess he likes it, that is all I can say!!

 

[AZJ0SH]

Good to know! If he loose his grip, he has about 6-8" of free-fall until he hits the plants, and I assume he would grab onto a branch if he fell.

I will just keep an eye on him, I eventually got him down this morning by breaking off a small branch from my umbrella plant and holding it below him, be quickly grabbed onto the leaves and I put him down in his basking spot.

 

[AZJ0SH]

So tonight he would not get down, he decided to sleep upside down. I don't him to fall, should I just run some vines up there so he can have easy access to the roof since he seems to do it anyways?

 

[repsol153]

So tonight he would not get down, he decided to sleep upside down. I don't him to fall, should I just run some vines up there so he can have easy access to the roof since he seems to do it anyways?

yea that sounds like a good idea.

 

[AZJ0SH]

He was up on the roof this morning when I turned the lights on, I think the lights scared him cause he dropped about 12" then caught a branch.

He hasn't tried to get back up there all day I think that scared it out of him.

 

[reptimanny]

He was up on the roof this morning when I turned the lights on, I think the lights scared him cause he dropped about 12" then caught a branch.

He hasn't tried to get back up there all day I think that scared it out of him.

I really do think they do it because they can. I have some baby veileds and they all do it like little acrobats.

 

[Drew V]

mine is getting way to big for doing this at like 7 mo! lol he dosent do it very often .. but today i caught him hanging by 1 hand off of my rain system on the ceiling of his cage!
i watched him kinda like .. wtf are you doing .. he did a few pull ups and got his feet back up there lol
he had a good 3' drop to a bunch of vines .. sure enough a few min later i here him fall =/ good thing i have alot of vines lol

 

[AZJ0SH]

He is sleeping on the roof again tonight, I noticed I had some gnats in the enclosure and I think he's trying to eat them. I am going to remove the gnats tomorrow.

 

[ju5t1n]

My veiled did that too so I put a branch closer to the light and he still does it but not as much now he bask more on the branch. I have like 4 levels of branches starting at about 3 inches from the top of the cage he's still a youngin.

 

[AZJ0SH]

That makes sense, maybe he wants to get closer to my heat lamp. He usually hangs out right under the UVB.

 

[AZJ0SH]

Do you think I should raise the basking temp? Right now his spot is about 82-84 degrees, but when he gets right up to the lights im sure it's much hotter?