Chameleon scratching at glass

[CorinnaRae]

My 15month old Male Yemen chameleon has recently started scratching at the glass at the bottom of his vivarium. He has plenty of branches and plants to climb on and the temperatures range between 90F in the hottest basking spot (he has more than one) and 60-70 at the bottom. He is more than happy to climb around, bask and generally please himself when anyone else is in the room but as soon as I (and occasionally my boyfriend depending on my chameleons mood) enter the room he comes to the front of the vivarium and "paws" at the doors to come out. As soon as we open the doors he's straight up our arms and exploring the house. I did have to leave him in pet accommodation at the local pet shop for a few days last week and apparently he didn't do it at all while he was there until I went in to collect him and then he started doing it. I'm not complaining but I didn't think that chams were this friendly generally, but he seems to want to come out at least once a day. If we ignore his pawing he will give up after about 5minutes and go back to climbing around and then will generally return to pawing again some time later. He's not displaying any colours to show he is distressed and is constantly either a lovely bright green with medium green/yellow or orange stripes. He seems perfectly happy and is growing really quickly, I just want to make sure that he's just being friendly and that there's nothing to be concerned about.

 

[CorinnaRae]

This is him a minute ago, he's now sitting on my head perfectly happily

 

[Lathis]

Let him out! If you can safely let him explore your room (always with supervision, of course), let him free range. In the wild, his territory would be much larger than his cage. He would probably be very happy to explore. We have chameleon-proofed the living room and let our Jax out almost every day. He has a routine - checks the place for food, invaders, and ladies. Finding none, he'll put himself back up after awhile.

It's not that you can't handle chameleons, just do it on their terms. Let him come to you. I think free ranging is good enrichment and will lead to a better trust relationship. If he sees you as the magical bringer of food and the elevator to fun instead of a big scary monster, that's a good thing!

 

[frankpayne32]

What Lathis said is good advice. How big is his cage? He might be telling you it's too small.

 

[CorinnaRae]

His vivarium is 18x18x24 and he's only about 4inches from the base of his tail to the tip of his nose. He is always allowed out to explore whenever he wants to, I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't a health reason for him doing it, I'm more than happy for him to be social I also thought it may be something to do with him recently turning mating age? Could he be frustrated/looking for a female?

 

[Blink]

A Veiled Chameleon his age really should really be in a larger cage. 24x24x48" (60x60x120cm) is recommend for adult males. Also... are you sure that he is only 4 inches at 15 months old??? Has he ever been tested for parasites?

 

[CorinnaRae]

Yes I am sure I measured him this morning, he had MBD for a long time before I got him which is why he's small at the moment cos I've only just got him and he wasn't looked after properly at his previous house

 

[Blink]

Yes I am sure I measured him this morning, he had MBD for a long time before I got him which is why he's small at the moment cos I've only just got him and he wasn't looked after properly at his previous house

That's so sad. It was good of you to adopt him.

 

[CorinnaRae]

Thank you I was interested in getting one and researching them etc and then I found this guy for sale and could see that he wasn't being looked after so rushed to go get him. When I picked him up he had no working uvB lamp and no heat lamp either and his grip was very weak. Now he almost breaks through the skin when he climbs. I can post pictures if you like to show you the difference in him? I am hoping to increase his vivarium to a 18x18x48 when I am convinced that he has fully recovered (sometimes he still grips onto his front feet with his back feet while climbing and falls so don't want to allow him to climb too high just yet) would that be large enough for him? I haven't really got the space to go any wider unfortunately and as stated he does come out at least once if not two to three times a day if he wants to.

 

[Lathis]

If he's feeling better after a long time of poor health, he might finally be feeling frisky.

The cage size is a bit small. Young male chameleons are probably need the most space out of them all and veileds can get large. It is not impossible that something could be bothering him, but I would expect to see other stress signs if something about his enclosure were a problem - dark or stress coloration, hiding, lack of appetite, etc, rather than him just wanting to be out.

It is spring, too, I'm sure he can sense the change in the weather. My chameleon always perks up in the spring after a winter of being schmoopy. Something about the lengthening hours of natural sunlight, I'm sure.

 

[CorinnaRae]

I will be upgrading his cage as soon as I am convinced he can climb safely. I think it is just a case of him wanting to come and be social as he is perfectly happy wondering around in there until I enter the room and then he comes up to the glass and starts pawwing. He does it when he sees the food come out as well. Maybe he just loves me ha ha

 

[bombadillo2]

I will be upgrading his cage as soon as I am convinced he can climb safely. I think it is just a case of him wanting to come and be social as he is perfectly happy wondering around in there until I enter the room and then he comes up to the glass and starts pawwing. He does it when he sees the food come out as well. Maybe he just loves me ha ha

Ain't that the dream

 

[SharpShooter]

Sounds just like you have a veiled version of my Bob. He does that to come out and when out chooses where he wants to go. For example, if we go to his free range but he wants to stay on me, he simply turns and goes back up to my shoulder. If that's where he wants to go, he climbs on it.

It's the same with going back in his cage. If he wants to he will, if not he turns back.

If he's sat with me and wants to go on his free range, he climbs down my leg, walks across the floor and up onto his free range. He doesn't often walk back. To get back he goes to a plant at one side, closest to where I sit, and 'waves' at me! When I go over, he's straight up my arm.

This is a daily behaviour, not a one off. If he doesn't want to come out, he just stays put, usually basking in his cage.

My female? Well she's just mastered dirty looks if you go near her. Definitely 'leave me alone ape boy' (unless you have a snack in your hand).