CHAMELEON KEEPS FALLING

[sarie]

I have a 7 month old panther chameleon that I’ve had for around three months. His name is Carlos and I got him from FramsChams. Recently, he’s been falling. I feed him crickets and dubias and dust them with calcium without d3 daily. Twice a month he gets repashy calcium plus lod. I stopped feeding him crickets when i noticed that a bunch of them died at once. I didn’t want to risk parasites, though i’m unsure if they died because of parasites or the cold or because i housed too many in one cricket cage. Anyways, he looks happy and healthy, no physical symptoms of MBD. he has a reptisun t5 ho 5.0 with a sun blaster light fixture.

I also noticed that his nails seem stubbier and less sharp than they were when he was younger. it’s harder for him to grip on things because of it. the only times he’s fallen in his cage is when he’s tried to climb on the screen and couldn’t attach to it with his nails and slid off and fell. this has happened a few times unfortunately, though he doesn’t seem to have gotten hurt or broken anything. He can’t seem to support his weight now that he’s bigger.

Can someone please tell me if this is normal, for them to fall by climbing the screen cage? I am taking him to an exotic vet to get him checked out. I spoke to Bill Strand and he suggested I add more branches to my husbandry but I was wondering if anyone else expericence this with their growing chams? Thanks so much.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. My panther tends to slip when he tries to climb the screen and has come close to falling a few times. My guy has little stubby claws and a couple are deformed from his previous life, which I assume is his problem. My veileds have talons and no problems when they screen climb.

 

[CBee7726]

I agree that adding more branches and climbing area in the cage should help keep him off the screen.
What size cage do you have?

 

[Lindasjackson]

I agree he needs more branches, maybe that’s why he’s screen climbing.

 

[sarie]

I agree that adding more branches and climbing area in the cage should help keep him off the screen.
What size cage do you have?

i have a 2x2x4 reptibreeze xl. I’m taking him to the vet because he doesn’t seem to have a lot of enegry

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I also noticed that his nails seem stubbier and less sharp than they were when he was younger. it’s harder for him to grip on things because of it. the only times he’s fallen in his cage is when he’s tried to climb on the screen and couldn’t attach to it with his nails and slid off and fell. this has happened a few times unfortunately, though he doesn’t seem to have gotten hurt or broken anything. He can’t seem to support his weight now that he’s bigger.

Can someone please tell me if this is normal, for them to fall by climbing the screen cage? I am taking him to an exotic vet to get him checked out. I spoke to Bill Strand and he suggested I add more branches to my husbandry but I was wondering if anyone else expericence this with their growing chams? Thanks so much.

From my own experiences (with a male Fram) and others I've read here, this is not unusual. Mine started around the same age, and since, the frequency has slowly decreased.

It's not that his nails are stubbier or less sharp per se; they've grown larger, and will no longer fit in the holes of the screen like they used to. Add to that the chameleon doesn't understand why he can no longer screen climb—he's done it for so long and grown slowly.

Adding more branches can't hurt, but I don't think that's the issue. I had so many branches, etc. near the top that it began to look like a wooden screen/mesh, but Ol' Grumpypants still chose to climb across the ceiling—it was his 'chameleon superhighway'—fastest way of traversing the enclosure, and... FUN! I think it's just part of them learning about their world and how to navigate it.

It's good practice to check him over if/when he falls, but these little guys are built to survive falls. When you live in the treetops, you pretty much have to be.

From the archives:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/1465728/?q=falling&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

FWIW, I have ceiling egg crate up the back wall of my enclosure, and now that he's bigger, he's beginning to climb that the same way he used to climb the screen.

 

[CBee7726]

i have a 2x2x4 reptibreeze xl. I’m taking him to the vet because he doesn’t seem to have a lot of enegry

Have you had any luck with the vet?

 

[sarie]

Have you had any luck with the vet?

yes! he has pinworms and is taking panacure. he is doing a lot better already. i deep cleaned his cage and washed everything with a bleach and soapy water solution and also added more branches so he won’t fall. i also added this rope thing on the sides with bigger holes so he won’t slip when climbing the sides.

 

[Chameleoking]

I've been watching this thread and I'm glad you got him to vet and he's being taken care of.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

yes! he has pinworms and is taking panacure. he is doing a lot better already. i deep cleaned his cage and washed everything with a bleach and soapy water solution and also added more branches so he won’t fall. i also added this rope thing on the sides with bigger holes so he won’t slip when climbing the sides.

Until your cham is parasite-free, I would be diligent about spot cleaning with something that will kill pinworm eggs to prevent reinfection.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=What+cleaner+kills+pinworm+eggs?

 

[Lindasjackson]

Also the rope thing you added #1 can pull out their claws if they get them stuck in it and #2 cannot be completely cleaned to prevent reinfection.