Clingy chameleon

[Bullseye2015]

Hi there, me and my partner rehomed a 1 and a half year old chameleon about two weeks ago. He has been friendly from the start, only hissing a few times when putting him back in his vivarium when he didn't want to go in. he's had a couple falls off his branch at the window, though he has pillows at the bottom end to catch him. He has been pretty clingy the last few days spending lots of time sitting on or next to me rather than on his stick looking out the window. is this quite common for chameleons who have been rehomed? he loves watching what I'm doing and sits on my shoulder round the house.

 

[RandellTheCham]

Id say you are very lucky, chameleon can be anti social buggers.

 

[Bullseye2015]

Id say you are very lucky, chameleon can be anti social buggers.

Thank you very much. I was just worried in case he maybe had separation anxiety due to losing his previous owner. this is my first chameleon and I would definitely have another.

 

[Remkon]

It's not common for chameleons to prefer humans over being on it's own. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's very rare.

A chameleon can of course fall incidentally but if it happens more than every once in a blue moon I'd start to question either the branch or the chameleons health.

What are you using as supplements, what's your schedule for it and what lighting are you using?

 

[RandellTheCham]

Thank you very much. I was just worried in case he maybe had separation anxiety due to losing his previous owner. this is my first chameleon and I would definitely have another.

Sounds like he has taken a liking to you. If a chameleon didnt like you, you would know about it

 

[phantomchameleon]

My darling baby has been the same way! He hates it when i put him back in his cage and he hisses when i do. https://puu.sh/stjJc/2c54dce9c0.jpg
It's also gotten to the point if i have him out at night he'll just fall asleep on me or in between the kickstand of my computer because he's dark in there.

 

[Bullseye2015]

It's not common for chameleons to prefer humans over being on it's own. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's very rare.

A chameleon can of course fall incidentally but if it happens more than every once in a blue moon I'd start to question either the branch or the chameleons health.

What are you using as supplements, what's your schedule for it and what lighting are you using?

He very well may have outgrown the stick he has been using, we are looking into creating a climbing area for him that would provide more exercise for him while out of his vivarium. He gets his 12 hours of basking time both in and out of his vivarium but much prefers being out. He is eating fine getting meal worms and live locusts and crickets as well as a supplement from the local reptile shop. They've had a look at him as they know their stuff and are very experienced and say he's in good health. but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get him registered with a vet and get a wee check up.

 

[Bullseye2015]

My darling baby has been the same way! He hates it when i put him back in his cage and he hisses when i do. https://puu.sh/stjJc/2c54dce9c0.jpg
It's also gotten to the point if i have him out at night he'll just fall asleep on me or in between the kickstand of my computer because he's dark in there.

Aw that's quite cute. my boyfriend says bullseye has me wrapped round his finger hahahaha though in order to make sure they're happy and healthy they get away with it lol

 

[Bullseye2015]

My darling baby has been the same way! He hates it when i put him back in his cage and he hisses when i do. https://puu.sh/stjJc/2c54dce9c0.jpg
It's also gotten to the point if i have him out at night he'll just fall asleep on me or in between the kickstand of my computer because he's dark in there.

Also that is exactly how my chameleon likes to sit on my head too, though his tail ends up round my ear or over my eye lol

 

[phantomchameleon]

Also that is exactly how my chameleon likes to sit on my head too, though his tail ends up round my ear or over my eye lol

My glasses are a target for him. He's shot them off my face with his tongue a few times but he's learned that Dad needs them to see >u< Either that or he's just gotten bored with it. He's full of mischief that's for sure.

 

[Bullseye2015]

My glasses are a target for him. He's shot them off my face with his tongue a few times but he's learned that Dad needs them to see >u< Either that or he's just gotten bored with it. He's full of mischief that's for sure.

Hahahaha awesome. Yeah my boy seems pretty full of mischief too. and nosy, loves seeing what's going on. he actually shifted his position at the window the other day to get a better look at some men shouting in the street lol

 

[MelissaB]

Thank you very much. I was just worried in case he maybe had separation anxiety due to losing his previous owner. this is my first chameleon and I would definitely have another.

Chameleons aren't really social animals, so I doubt if they can develop separation anxiety like a dog can. Could you post a few pictures of your set up? Sometimes if something is "off" with their enclosures they will want to be anywhere but there. Not saying that there's anything wrong with your setup, I'm just curious.

 

[Bullseye2015]

Chameleons aren't really social animals, so I doubt if they can develop separation anxiety like a dog can. Could you post a few pictures of your set up? Sometimes if something is "off" with their enclosures they will want to be anywhere but there. Not saying that there's anything wrong with your setup, I'm just curious.

This is his current set up, which is his baby set up. we're in the process of replacing this with a bigger vivarium as he has out grown this. this is the set up he had when we picked him up a couple weeks ago. he definitely needs more room to be able to move around and at the minute it's serving as a bed/safe place while we're not in for him. our ideal set up will be a lot more adult chameleon friendly.

 

[Remkon]

He very well may have outgrown the stick he has been using, we are looking into creating a climbing area for him that would provide more exercise for him while out of his vivarium. He gets his 12 hours of basking time both in and out of his vivarium but much prefers being out. He is eating fine getting meal worms and live locusts and crickets as well as a supplement from the local reptile shop. They've had a look at him as they know their stuff and are very experienced and say he's in good health. but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get him registered with a vet and get a wee check up.

You may want to do that, even if your husbandry is up to par you never know what the previous owner did.

Falling off branches is not normal, even if it's a thin branch and he would lose grip usually they still have their hi d legs or tail wrapped around it.
But I don't know the situation so who am I to judge.

 

[Bullseye2015]

You may want to do that, even if your husbandry is up to par you never know what the previous owner did.

Falling off branches is not normal, even if it's a thin branch and he would lose grip usually they still have their hi d legs or tail wrapped around it.
But I don't know the situation so who am I to judge.

I think his problem is he wantstill to climb on everything and misjudged the distance and width of the window edge he wanted to walk along, but because it's smooth he couldn't get a grip of it and fell off, face planting into the pillows but with hundreds legs and tail wrapped around his stick. he likes to Slimbridge up and down to get a better view of the outside, he's quite nosy lol

 

[MelissaB]

Oooh, I would ditch the reptile bark. If accidentally ingested it can cause impaction and death.

I'm glad to hear you're getting him a bigger cage, and that one is just for sleeping.

If you haven't already, I would read the care sheets, here on this site. They have species specific care sheets and cage guidelines and are very helpful.

 

[Bullseye2015]

Oooh, I would ditch the reptile bark. If accidentally ingested it can cause impaction and death.

I'm glad to hear you're getting him a bigger cage, and that one is just for sleeping.

If you haven't already, I would read the care sheets, here on this site. They have species specific care sheets and cage guidelines and are very helpful.

Ah awesome, we had already thought of getting rid of the bark as when it's damp it's setting off my asthma. Yeah he doesn't enjoy being in there so I try not to have him in there too much, would rather him on my shoulder or head if that's what will make him happy, plus I suppose it shows he trusts us if he's happy to climb over us lol. Yeah I'll give them a read, maybe give me some inspiration on how to organise his new set up.