Chameleon doing weird things

[dee1]

Hi all,

I recently got (2 days ago) my chameleon from Kammerflage Kreations, but he is exhibiting strange behaviors. Climbing on the mesh top, then going reversely through his legs multiple times and almost falling off the mesh but being saved by one foot, I have attached a picture. I've seen him drink one drop since arriving, but he eats ferociously.

He is also squeezing into gaps and edges on top of the bark.

I have also attached my setup. The misting system is a mist king; humidity is 50% during the day and 75% at night.

Thanks for your help,
Dylan

 

[elizaann2]

Hello Dylan! Its a pleasure to meet you and your beautiful new cham! Your sweet boy may be exploring his new home and keep in mind that younger chameleons will climb on that top screen (we aren't sure why). Just to ensure you have all your husbandry dialed in, will you complete the form below? Please give us as much detail as you can, the more info we have the better we can help you.

I'm going to tag some members with a lot of experience to help me out. I'm currently slammed at work so my presence her is spotty at the moment and I want to make sure if I'm not around, someone else is.

@Beman @MissSkittles

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -

 

[Paradalis]

@elizaann2 sea is some great things! I will leave you to her! But also… Congrats on you new chameleon!

Congrats! I hope you have a great time with your cham. Welcome to the forum! If you need any help just holler. What’s his name?
Here are some links if you need help with husbandry: Chameleon Academy ~ YouTube ~ Neptune The Chameleon ~ YouTube
Here are some links for food and supplies: Food ~ Food as well ~ Leap Supplies ~ Arcadia
And here is a link for some discounts: Neptune the Chameleon Discount
Enjoy your new chameleon!

It could take up to 2 weeks for a new chameleon to get settled into their new home. During that time you want to give your cham space, no handling, and you don’t really want them to see you just staring at them. You want them to have a good first impression in their new home. I did this with my cham and he has settled in perfectly. Here are 2 video links that you should watch for when you get your new chameleon: Chameleon Academy Neptune the Chameleon

 

[SteveH]

As already mentioned, it sounds like he is just exploring his new surroundings. You have a nice amount of branches but I think I would add some smaller diameter ones that he can grasp easier.

 

[dee1]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the kind words,

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?

He is a Panther chameleon, Male, 4 months; I have had him going in 3 days. I'm still trying to think of a good name… I feel Theta, but I am still settling on a name.

I will try and find new sticks. I might add more foliage to the tank to allow him more hiding areas.

He likes to rest on the leaves at night so at least he comes down from the mesh sometime

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?

I am letting him explore and be by himself for 2 weeks before handing him.

• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?

I am currently feeding him cricket for 1/4 of an inch. I did 8 this morning and 7 this evening. I am gut-loading the crickets with Repashy Bug Burger Insect Gel Food (I had some carrots and lettuce but removed them because they were rotting).

• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?

As per Kammerflage's kreations, I put the crickets in repashy calcium plus before giving it to him.

The schedule is Half in the morning and half in the evening.

• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

I have a mister and dripped. The dripped goes all the time for the mist; it is 3 mins in the morning, 30 mins before the lights come on, and 3 mins in the evening after the lights go off. I've seen him drink once so far.

• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?

I haven't seen droppings yet

• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

N/A



Cage Info:

The cage is bioactive.

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?

100-gallon 3 x 1.5 x 3 terrarium glass with a mesh top with a fan cycling 15 mins every 2 hours at night and every hour during the day.

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?

8 am to 8 pm, Uvb 5.0 HO T5, and Led Sunblaster.

• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?

The heat lamp is about 6-7 inches from the basking branch and is 88F on the basking branch. The cage top temp ranges from around 77 to 70F, with the lower-down areas being 65-67F. The overnight temp is kept above 65F with a ceramic lamp at night. I use both a Grovee mini and temp recorded on the night time temperature regulator, which is running all the time but is not on.

• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?

I use both a WIFI inkbird and mini grovee to monitor the temp. 50% during the day, which dips and rises with the fan extracting air out of the tank to have a chimley effect. And 70% at night with the same settings.

A Mist king and humidifier maintain the humidity.

• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

I have a mix of live and fake plants, but mainly live plants, which are Poths of various kinds, nerve plants, prayer plants, rattlesnake plants, Dracaena trifasciata, Monstera

• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

The cage high is around 6 feet above the ground. Between the kitchen and living room, there is medium traffic, just me and my partner moving between rooms. We have A/C in that room, which is not in use at the moment but will help in the summer to keep temps down. I use two fans, one to regulate humidity and the second to keep air circulating.

• Location - Where are you geographically located?

New York City, USA



Problem -

He was doing weird bending and contorting of his body, and I just wanted to ensure he is ok. He also looks to be shedding on his tail, so this could be the problem.

 

[TheMotherChameleon]

Honestly I just think he is exploring if he has only been in your care for three days. it is very common for them to explore like crazy for the first few weeks

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome to you and your little guy. You’ve already gotten great feedback from everyone about his screenwalking adventures. I think the little ones walk upside down on the screen tops just because they can…it’s fun. Adding more branches of thinner diameters and creating more little roads for him is a great idea. I see that you already have your lights raised off of the screen, which will help prevent him from getting burned. In your husbandry, I do see a few things in your husbandry that I would advise changing. The first is to decrease his basking temp to around 80 and definitely no higher than 85 when he’s fully grown. The other is your supplements. Kammerflage uses Repashy calcium plus daily with their chameleons. However, unless you are keeping your chameleon under the same exact conditions as they keep theirs, you risk over-supplementing. It’s primarily the fat soluble vitamins of D3 and preformed A that are the concern - they can build up easily and cause health issues and even toxicity. I believe Kammerflage uses T8 uvb and I’m not up on all the other differences. I recommend the same as I use with my chameleons, which is a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding and then for one feeding every other week, use either Repashy calcium plus LoD or Reptivite with D3. There’s still so much that we are learning and need to learn about supplementation. I also would advise to reduce or limit the length of time that you use a dripper to just maybe about 20-30 minutes once a day. Using a glass enclosure you really need to keep a close eye on humidity. High heat plus high humidity is a recipe for respiratory infection. For added hydration, keep your night temps cool. Unless your temps are below 60 at night, you don’t need or want to add heat. Then you can use a humidifier during the night or see hours of the morning which will simulate the hydration chameleons get in the wild thru fog. * You only want to use a humidifier during the night when temps are below at least 68-70.
Once your plants all grow in and start filling out your enclosure, I would suggest removing the artificial plants. Usually I suggest to attach them to the enclosure to provide your cham more privacy, which you can do. Or you might want to use them and create a nice little free range area for him. If your pothos is planted in the substrate, as it grows up, it will have larger leaves and fill up the space quickly.
Btw, I love that you’ve got bioactive.
That’s all I see in your husbandry. Other members have sharper eyes than I do, lol. I think you’re off to a terrific start. Your little guy will continue to walk along the screen top until he gets too big to do it. They are crazy little daredevils and sources of anxiety for us.

 

[newchamfan]

Hi all,

I recently got (2 days ago) my chameleon from Kammerflage Kreations, but he is exhibiting strange behaviors. Climbing on the mesh top, then going reversely through his legs multiple times and almost falling off the mesh but being saved by one foot, I have attached a picture. I've seen him drink one drop since arriving, but he eats ferociously.

He is also squeezing into gaps and edges on top of the bark.

I have also attached my setup. The misting system is a mist king; humidity is 50% during the day and 75% at night.

Thanks for your help,
Dylan

Nicely planted tank. I actually have the exact same one. How are you attaching the plant to the glass sides?

 

[dee1]

Nicely planted tank. I actually have the exact same one. How are you attaching the plant to the glass sides?

Hi,

I used great stuff and silicone to stick branches to the back under the corkboard when I was starting to design the terrarium. This allowed me to build from the original branches using zip ties. So I just zip-tie the pots to the branches around the enclosure I don't attach to the glass. It is also handy to know if you cut the zip tie, you can burn the remaining end to make a smooth surface so your chameleon won't cut him/herself. I did this when way before I put him inside.

Hope that helps!

Dylan