Cham going to bottom of cage?

[mullberrysdream]

Mulberry (born in Sept) is in a 3 foot tall screen LLL cage. He's got a Pothos, lots of fake vines/leafs everywhere on the top half of his cage, but frequently throughout the day i find him crawling down to the bottom. Is this normal? He's been doing it for a few weeks now and I am just wondering what the reason is for this.

Is he just exploring, cooling himself down, or what? He doesn't usually hang out down there for long, but I had always thought that chams wouldn't do this...and he didn't used to do this.

 

[WOLVERINES135]

What kind of Cham is he? Seems to me he could just be looking for food, mine do this sometimes too, or he could just as well be exploring, is he having any other problems.

 

[justjumpit621]

Mulberry (born in Sept) is in a 3 foot tall screen LLL cage. He's got a Pothos, lots of fake vines/leafs everywhere on the top half of his cage, but frequently throughout the day i find him crawling down to the bottom. Is this normal? He's been doing it for a few weeks now and I am just wondering what the reason is for this.

Is he just exploring, cooling himself down, or what? He doesn't usually hang out down there for long, but I had always thought that chams wouldn't do this...and he didn't used to do this.

Just checking, but you are sure it is a "HE" right? Is he a veiled?

 

[UrbanChameleon]

My Veiled, Bodhi, usually walks all around his cage before feedings. I usually feed him around 2 PM everyday. He will walk up, down, and all over his screen. They tend to do that when they start to get hungry. Then once he eats, he sits under his basking spot and hangs out around the top the rest of the day. He likes to relax and bask once he has a full belly. I don't mind his walking around/exploring. He is cup fed and I think it gives him some exercise. Its perfectly normal, unless he stays at the bottom clawing at his cage. That usually means it's too hot. I'm pretty sure you're in the clear though. It just sounds like he's waiting on his food.

 

[mullberrysdream]

What kind of Cham is he? Seems to me he could just be looking for food, mine do this sometimes too, or he could just as well be exploring, is he having any other problems.

He's a veiled. Here's a pic of him from earlier today. He just shed and is looking awesome!

I also added a pic of his set up. The UVB light is missing as last night it stopped working and I've gotta get to the pet store later or tomorrow to figure out what's wrong with it.

 

[mullberrysdream]

He's not having any other problems that I have noticed, aside from being a bit of a grump haha, but that's expected...

He does do this thing where he's almost yawning sometimes...but i'm guessing that's normal?

 

[ChameleonFan1989]

Your closure doesn't have much in it. Can I suggest adding more to it such as large fiscus to sit at the bottom of the cage to fill it out and creat more hiding spaces as this is what he MAY be looking for.

 

[mullberrysdream]

Thanks for the suggestion, i actually have a small ficus that came from LLL (although i wish i'd ordered a large), but i just recently took it out until I can get some rocks to fill it with because I was worried that he was eating the dirt.

So you might be right about this. It just seems so odd that recently he is almost spending more time crawling around the bottom than up top. I originally thought it was because when i moved the Ficus out of his cage, i put it next to it...so i thought he was trying to crawl down and get to the ficus (not knowing it was on the other side of his cage). I'm going to move it back into his cage and see what happens.

Thanks for all the tips. He's my first cham so I'm still just trying to learn everything

 

[justjumpit621]

He's not having any other problems that I have noticed, aside from being a bit of a grump haha, but that's expected...

He does do this thing where he's almost yawning sometimes...but i'm guessing that's normal?

Usually that isn't normal, Does he make some poping noises when he does it? What is your basking temperature? Adults can handle 100F but young veileds shouldn't really go past 90F

 

[mullberrysdream]

Usually that isn't normal, Does he make some poping noises when he does it? What is your basking temperature? Adults can handle 100F but young veileds shouldn't really go past 90F

I'll have to pay attention to the noise when it happens again, but its definitely not anything too loud, i think it just sort of sounds like a yawn. I'll try to notice tomorrow if he does it.

Basking temp I believe is between 85-90.


I see you're in Bow. I'm in Plymouth

 

[justjumpit621]

well hey neighbor =D unless he's hissing, any sort of noise when he opens his mouth is a warning sign of an upper respiratory infection. Chameleons don't yawn like people or mammals. I would have him seen by a vet, sincew you live in plymouth I would suggest Dr. george Messenger at fisherville animal hospital in concord if there is no real experienced reptile vet closer.

 

[TOMMYBOY72]

Bottom Dweller

My Panther is roaming around the bottom of the cage all the time. Sometimes on the floor, on the water catch dish, or lounging on a perch. I try to sneak a peak at him hoping to catch him drinking from the water, but I never do. I think he is hunting crickets, relaxing or all three.

 

[Elizadolots]

Tommyboy, you should start a new thread. It's always confusing when multiple chameleons are being discussed in one thread. The fact that they symptoms you see are similar does not mean the problem is the same.

 

[mullberrysdream]

Thanks for the advice. I got a new heat bulb for him and this seems to have solved the mouth opening problem from what I've observed. Thanks for the rec on the vet! Hopefully I won't have to take him, but it's good to know of someone I can seek out if need be.

I'm going to add some more plants/vines to the lower half of his set up, and hope that this works

 

[DekuScrub]

Thanks for the advice. I got a new heat bulb for him and this seems to have solved the mouth opening problem from what I've observed. Thanks for the rec on the vet! Hopefully I won't have to take him, but it's good to know of someone I can seek out if need be.

I'm going to add some more plants/vines to the lower half of his set up, and hope that this works

just make sure its clean down there, and that hes not spending excessive amounts of time there.

as was mentioned it sounds like he may just be hunting, or it could be that he trying to find a way out.

i find that when taken outdoors or in a room that is well lit otherwise they will roam more probably just trying to get to a location they can see outside of their cage.

 

[Redspacecase]

Thanks for the advice. I got a new heat bulb for him and this seems to have solved the mouth opening problem from what I've observed. Thanks for the rec on the vet! Hopefully I won't have to take him, but it's good to know of someone I can seek out if need be.

I'm going to add some more plants/vines to the lower half of his set up, and hope that this works

Hi what bulb did you buy for your Cham? I've got a 75 watt basking light at the moment and my Cham does the open mouth thing every now and again but he doesn't make any noises at all. Cheers oh I'm in hatherleigh by the way, thought most people were american on here (nothing against them) lol