Chameleon Circling Top of Cage?

[Valsecchi]

I don't know if this is an issue or not, but my chameleon sometimes climbs the top of the screen cage and goes in circles under the heat lamp. I put in a T8 Linear light and he sits as close as he can most of the time to that light as well.
Does this mean the heat is too far from the cage? I have it placed about 2-3 inches above his cage. The light I think is just him wanting to be close to the light naturally.

 

[Gingero]

Can you post pics? If you haven't already, I'd fill out this form for more detailed feedback: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[Valsecchi]

Can you post pics? If you haven't already, I'd fill out this form for more detailed feedback: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

I have an additional thread here where I asked for set up corrections + answered all of those questions. For a quick introduction however he is a male veiled chameleon and he is still young. I purchased him last Saturday so he has been with me for a week now. Prior to my purchase he was only at the pet store for 3 days. He was smaller when I got him, so he's grown quite a bit. Folks on that thread had pointed out to me light corrections but since I got him he has been climbing the top of the cage to get as close as he can to the light.

As a result, I had raised his heating lamps to avoid getting thermal burn. The dual one is a bit crooked right now, I'll have to adjust it, but it is 2.5-3 inches above the cage. The T-8 Linear light is sitting directly on it.

He likes to be that close to the top, and sometimes I see him crawling around in circles upside down on the top screen around the 2 heating lamps and white light. For temperature, It's normally between 80F-85F, and during midday it gets up to 90F-95F, with no heating lamps really required. I leave them on anyway however. At night, I turn off the heat lamp that has light and his T8 light, and his cage gets around 65F-70F.

When I get up in the morning to turn his lights back on, I find him usually sleeping on that fake hanging plant he is on, but more among the fake leaves. When I turn his lights back on, he goes to the spot you see him in there. He's there a lot. I just want to be sure there is nothing I'm doing wrong for him and that this is just relatively normal behavior.

Since I raised the lights up above the cage, I am thinking of adding another foliage in the back higher up so he can move around closer to the lights.

P.S. Off topic but thank you for what you do with your Youtube Channel- I actually watched several of your videos prior to purchasing the little guy. You provided a lot of helpful information. ^^
I watched one where you mentioned why you didn't get crickets, and I was curious if you could purchase the other insects from a normal pet store? I'd like to give him variety even but he doesn't do worms yet since he doesn't go to the bottom of the cage.

 

[Valsecchi]

I don't know if I can edit my post, but here is a picture of him when he's at the top

He goes in circles under the lamps like that. I'm not sure if he's deprived of something or if he's just taking advantage of climbing the cage while he can.

 

[Gingero]

It's not uncommon for babies to climb the screen. Good call raising the heat lamp to avoid burns. You may want to provide more branches towards the top of the enclosure. 90-95F is pretty toasty for a cham that young.

And thank you for the kind words about my YT channel I make the videos for people just like you starting out who are eager to learn. And yes you can buy other types of bugs at pet stores. I know places like Petco/Petsmart are now carrying calciworms, hornworms, and superworms. I know a few people local to me that sell roaches and other types of bugs that I'll buy from. There's also the option of buying bugs online which I also do. Check out the site sponsors for places to purchase from.

Idk if you've seen this video yet or not, but it should give you some ideas:

 

[Valsecchi]

It's not uncommon for babies to climb the screen. Good call raising the heat lamp to avoid burns. You may want to provide more branches towards the top of the enclosure. 90-95F is pretty toasty for a cham that young.

And thank you for the kind words about my YT channel I make the videos for people just like you starting out who are eager to learn. And yes you can buy other types of bugs at pet stores. I know places like Petco/Petsmart are now carrying calciworms, hornworms, and superworms. I know a few people local to me that sell roaches and other types of bugs that I'll buy from. There's also the option of buying bugs online which I also do. Check out the site sponsors for places to purchase from.

Idk if you've seen this video yet or not, but it should give you some ideas:

Sounds good! He doesn't use the branches as much as the foliage, so I'll probably add another of both, until my Golden Pothos plants grows a bit larger to replace the fake plants. I unfortunately have no say in temperature, so I can't stop the house from getting to 90-95 sometimes. We have a swamp cooler we're going to reinstall soon but normally the house is between 70 and 80 (50-60 at night). Despite it being toasty though he acts like he gets no heat [':

I just needed confirmation that everything is good with him and I'll stop worrying so much about every little thing haha. I was slightly worried about his shedding since he's had that big piece of dead skin on his forehead since I got him, but I see more dead skin starting to flake on his sides and it looks like that piece has also flaked off more, so I believe that's a good sign.

I'll take a look at that video once I get the opportunity (off to work now). Thank you!