constantly scratching at enclosure to get out!!

[chrisglenn664]

hi all, my veiled chameleon is constantly scratching and moving around the enclosure to get out. he does this all throughout the day and i cant work out why. has anyone experienced this?

his enclosure currently is 45/34/40 cm soon to be upgraded to 45x45x90. temps and humidity are perfect

we let him out twice a day for about 45 mins to an hour and he goes straight to the curtain and climbs up it to sit and look out the window. he seems quite content up there to the point when he gets out for his evening stroll he falls aseep at the top of the curtain.

attached are some images of his enclosure, the cham himself, him clawing to get out and the guage for temp and humidity

 

[chrisglenn664]

hi all, my veiled chameleon is constantly scratching and moving around the enclosure to get out. he does this all throughout the day and i cant work out why. has anyone experienced this?

his enclosure currently is 45/34/40 cm soon to be upgraded to 45x45x90. temps and humidity are perfect

we let him out twice a day for about 45 mins to an hour and he goes straight to the curtain and climbs up it to sit and look out the window. he seems quite content up there to the point when he gets out for his evening stroll he falls aseep at the top of the curtain.

attached are some images of his enclosure, the cham himself, him clawing to get out and the guage for temp and humidity

 

[chrisglenn664]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - male, veiled, 7 months to a year old, in my care for 3 months
• Handling - very briefly handles 2-3 times a day just to take him out of enclosure and back in
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? silk worms, crickets @ wax worms very rarely as treat What amount? 5-7 large crickets every 2-3 days How are you gut-loading your feeders? carrot, potatoe, brocolie,apples for 2 days
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? komodo nutrical advanced with every feed
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? dripper through the day onto live plants approx 1 drip every 5 seconds How often and how long to you mist? once in the evening when lights out and he is sleeping for about 1-2 mins Do you see your chameleon drinking? two or three times since iv had him
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. seems to pass every other day colours are normal but urates look dry Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. none

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage all glass with a mesh top and vent all round What are the dimensions? 45x34x40 cm
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 100w heat lamp & arcadia shadedweller 300mm 8watt 7%uvb, 17%uva
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? not sure about floor but basking spot is 76-82 Lowest overnight temp? 50-60f How do you measure these temps? digital hydrometer
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 53% through the day & 70-80% through the night How are you creating and maintaining these levels? misting What do you use to measure humidity? digital hydrometer
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? yes pothos & marble queen
• Placement - Where is your cage located? corner of living room Is it near any fans,no air vents, no or high traffic areas? yes we are all normally in the living room At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 41 inches approximatley height of my chest
• Location - Where are you geographically located? northern ireland (uk)

 

[nightanole]

Id say its too hot, or doesnt have a good cool spot. And there is no place to hide. Your little guy might be one of the ones that want "here is my pet bush" that may or may not have a chameleon in it.

Or in my case, simply moving the cage to next to a non sun facing window fixed it. The window side made a cool zone, and im pretty sure chams are genetically predisposed to want to look out windows.

 

[chrisglenn664]

Id say its too hot, or doesnt have a good cool spot. And there is no place to hide. Your little guy might be one of the ones that want "here is my pet bush" that may or may not have a chameleon in it.

Or in my case, simply moving the cage to next to a non sun facing window fixed it. The window side made a cool zone, and im pretty sure chams are genetically predisposed to want to look out windows.

thanks for that nightanole. did you get a look at the info i just added?

 

[nightanole]

thanks for that nightanole. did you get a look at the info i just added?

the fillout police should be here any time. About the only new info you added vs OP is "100w heat lamp & arcadia shadedweller 300mm 8watt 7%uvb, 17%uva".

That is way too low for a cham. Its just a 7% T5 non HO. its mean for geckos/anoles in short tanks. Not tall cham cages. Ideally you want an arcadia T5HO 7% that goes the length of the cage.

 

[Gloriawood]

If no one else can get to review your husbandry by this evening, I can when I get off work.

 

[chrisglenn664]

If no one else can get to review your husbandry by this evening, I can when I get off work.

Hi Gloria, that's great I'd really appreciate it

 

[MissSkittles]

the fillout police should be here any time.

Hi there! Give me a bit of time and I’ll go thru your info.

 

[MissSkittles]

My feedback will be in bold and I’ll be splitting this into two sections.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - male, veiled, 7 months to a year old, in my care for 3 months Looks about right
• Handling - very briefly handles 2-3 times a day just to take him out of enclosure and back in Ok. I do suggest working on building trust with him. This is a fantastic blog about that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ Once you get everything straightened away, and as he gets older, he won’t be as willing to be handled.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? silk worms, crickets @ wax worms very rarely as treat What amount? 5-7 large crickets every 2-3 days Variety could be improved upon a bit, depending on what insects are available to you. Not sure how it is in Ireland, but in the US, we usually have to buy on line to get better variety of feeders. How are you gut-loading your feeders? carrot, potatoe, brocolie,apples for 2 days Ok, not bad. You could add more variety. Attaching some graphics to help guide you.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? komodo nutrical advanced with every feed This is a multivitamin and has D3 in it. I’m not sure what type of vitamin A is has, but regardless, you need to stop using this for at least a few weeks. D3 is a fat soluble vitamin, which means it isn’t quickly metabolized/excreted by the body and can build up to toxic levels if overdone. One of the forms of vitamin A (preformed) is also fat soluble and runs the same risk. Because of this, we use these supplements carefully and only at one feeding every two weeks (or twice a month). What you need to be using for every feeding is a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Dust the insects lightly - they shouldn’t look like little snowmen. Honestly, I’m not at all familiar with the Nutri-cal so can’t say if the levels of everything are ok or not. Usually I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Zoo Med ReptiVite with D3.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? dripper through the day onto live plants approx 1 drip every 5 seconds How often and how long to you mist? once in the evening when lights out and he is sleeping for about 1-2 mins Do you see your chameleon drinking? two or three times since iv had him I much prefer misting for 2 minutes twice a day - right before lights go on and then off. If needed, then you can run a dripper for about 15-20 minutes daily. Having a dripper run all day not only doesn’t let your enclosure fully dry out, but it can make humidity too high.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. seems to pass every other day colours are normal but urates look dry What color are the urates? You want them to be mostly white or cream colored. A little touch of orange or yellow on the end is ok, but all dark or orange is dehydrated. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no I think it’s always good to have a parasite check.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. none

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage all glass with a mesh top and vent all round What are the dimensions? 45x34x40 cm This is far too small and a very likely reason why he wants out. The minimum size for him is a 60x60x120 cm. I encourage going even bigger than that if able. To give you an idea, the pic below is the minimum standard next to an enclosure which is about 46 wide by 76 cm tall. I keep each of my chameleons in double wide 120 cm enclosures and they use all of the space…even my girls do.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 100w heat lamp & arcadia shadedweller 300mm 8watt 7%uvb, 17%uva Even though you’ve already received advice about this, I’m going to repeat it since it’s so important. First, using a 100w heat bulb in such a small and glass enclosure I imagine would be baking your chameleon. You want gradients of temps throughout the enclose. Basking temp should be around 27-29c and then he should have cooler areas to hang out in if he wants, without having to go all the way to the enclosure floor. I use 60w bulbs for my girls, who I keep a bit cooler and 75w for my boys. Then, I’m afraid you need to completely replace your uvb. The shadedweller fixture is designed to work only with the shadedweller 7% bulb. It will not work properly with any other uvb bulb. Nor will the 7% bulb work properly in with any other fixture. You need the standard T5 with either Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0 and it needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure. For optimal uvb, you then want to position your basking area about 20-22cm below it.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? not sure about floor but basking spot is 76-82 Lowest overnight temp? 50-60f How do you measure these temps? digital hydrometer I covered basking temp already. Your night time temp drop is perfect. Just make sure not to go below 10c at night or you’ll need to use a ceramic heat emitter.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 53% through the day & 70-80% through the night How are you creating and maintaining these levels? misting What do you use to measure humidity? digital hydrometer I’m quite surprised that your humidity isn’t higher. However, 53% is just a tad too high. The ideal daytime range is between 30-50%. If you stop using the dripper all day, your humidity should drop into perfect levels. Since you do have such a great temp drop at night, having higher humidity at night is perfect. You could make it even higher if you wanted. But, if your nights do ever warm up, you don’t want to increase the humidity unless temp is below at least 20c. High heat plus high humidity creates a high risk for respiratory infection.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? yes pothos & marble queen Yay for pothos! It’s perhaps the best and easiest plant for chameleons. I do see some artificial plants too and you’ll need to replace those with safe live ones. Our veiled friends like to nibble their plants and don’t know the difference between real and fake. They have been known to eat fake leaves, which causes a bowel obstruction. I like having a tall center plant and then surround it with pothos and others. This is a great guide for plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Some will need special grow lighting. I do like the amount of branches and vines that you have. Empty space for chameleons is wasted. I’ll add on a post about hanging things.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? corner of living room Is it near any fans,no air vents, no or high traffic areas? yes we are all normally in the living room At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 41 inches approximatley height of my chest Ok, higher would be better. For chams, the higher they are, the safer they feel. I’m quite short, but all of mine are well above my head.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? northern ireland (uk)
• 

So, I believe your handsome guy is wanting out because he needs more space and cooler temps. A happy chameleon is one that does not want to come out to us…at least for veileds. You have a few other changes to make, but those shouldn’t impact his scratching to get out. If those changes aren’t made, they will have other bad effects though.
If there is anything that I haven’t been clear on or you have any questions, just ask.

 

[MissSkittles]

It can be a real challenge to hang branches and vines, regardless of having glass or screen enclosures. There are solutions though. I have all screened enclosures and on some I have Dragon Ledges. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Unfortunately he doesn’t ship overseas, but you can get an idea of what they are, look like and how they work. In the past, a member used to suggest using metal, but I don’t have any details on that. I have been using garden trellis lately and it works great. After cutting to the size I need, I do sand the sharp edges. Drill some tiny holes for connecting and then use thin wire to attach to the enclosure frame. I also make sure to secure some of the wires to screws in the frame to prevent slippage. It looks nice and is sturdy enough to even hold plants. Unfortunately for glass, there’s fewer options. However, a good one is to create a scaffolding with sturdy branches. Create a frame of two ‘H’ shapes to fit the sides of the enclosure. Then add a cross piece for the back and start adding more branches where needed for support and for your chameleon. I use natural branches that I forage. Avoid pine and those with saps and odors. Wash with soapy water, rinse very well and let sun or air dry. No need to bake or bleach or any of that. Hope this has helped.

 

[chrisglenn664]

• Your Chameleon - male, veiled, 7 months to a year old, in my care for 3 months Looks about right
• Handling - very briefly handles 2-3 times a day just to take him out of enclosure and back in Ok. I do suggest working on building trust with him. This is a fantastic blog about that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ Once you get everything straightened away, and as he gets older, he won’t be as willing to be handled.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? silk worms, crickets @ wax worms very rarely as treat What amount? 5-7 large crickets every 2-3 days Variety could be improved upon a bit, depending on what insects are available to you. Not sure how it is in Ireland, but in the US, we usually have to buy on line to get better variety of feeders. How are you gut-loading your feeders? carrot, potatoe, brocolie,apples for 2 days Ok, not bad. You could add more variety. Attaching some graphics to help guide you.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? komodo nutrical advanced with every feed This is a multivitamin and has D3 in it. I’m not sure what type of vitamin A is has, but regardless, you need to stop using this for at least a few weeks. D3 is a fat soluble vitamin, which means it isn’t quickly metabolized/excreted by the body and can build up to toxic levels if overdone. One of the forms of vitamin A (preformed) is also fat soluble and runs the same risk. Because of this, we use these supplements carefully and only at one feeding every two weeks (or twice a month). What you need to be using for every feeding is a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Dust the insects lightly - they shouldn’t look like little snowmen. Honestly, I’m not at all familiar with the Nutri-cal so can’t say if the levels of everything are ok or not. Usually I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Zoo Med ReptiVite with D3.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? dripper through the day onto live plants approx 1 drip every 5 seconds How often and how long to you mist? once in the evening when lights out and he is sleeping for about 1-2 mins Do you see your chameleon drinking? two or three times since iv had him I much prefer misting for 2 minutes twice a day - right before lights go on and then off. If needed, then you can run a dripper for about 15-20 minutes daily. Having a dripper run all day not only doesn’t let your enclosure fully dry out, but it can make humidity too high.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. seems to pass every other day colours are normal but urates look dry What color are the urates? You want them to be mostly white or cream colored. A little touch of orange or yellow on the end is ok, but all dark or orange is dehydrated. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no I think it’s always good to have a parasite check.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. none

hi miss skittles many thanks for this. so corrective actions below and 1 question. we are going to upgrade the enclosure to a bigger one but also with an automatic misting system. i have also purchased a self contained waterfall. the water is basically circulated and filtered within itself and flows over an artificial plant. would you recommend this?

-build some more trust
-more variety of feeders and gut loading
-phosphorus free calcium, repashy calcium plus LoD or zoo med reptivite

 

[MissSkittles]

hi miss skittles many thanks for this. so corrective actions below and 1 question. we are going to upgrade the enclosure to a bigger one but also with an automatic misting system. i have also purchased a self contained waterfall. the water is basically circulated and filtered within itself and flows over an artificial plant. would you recommend this?

-build some more trust
-more variety of feeders and gut loading
-phosphorus free calcium, repashy calcium plus LoD or zoo med reptivite

Waterfalls look nice, but are definitely not a good item for chameleons. Regardless of how clean one keeps it, it is going to become loaded with bacteria. Instinct tells us to provide a source of water at all times, like we do with our cats and dogs. Chameleons just don’t need that though. We take our cues from how they live in the wild. Unfortunately I don’t believe we have a great deal of info about Yemen, where veileds come from. We do have a fantastic amount of info from Madagascar where panther and so many other species are from and it easily applies to how we keep our veileds, with a few differences, such as lower humidity. Here is perhaps the very best source for all things chameleon. https://chameleonacademy.com/ The man who created that site just went to Madagascar and you can check out the Chameleon Academy videos on YouTube for all of the latest. Another fantastic source for info is https://www.chameleons.info/en/ and he too has YouTube videos. If you don’t want to take such a deep dive into it all, there is also Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube. Of course, the forum is always the best place to get assistance, advice, ask questions and share your adventures with your scaled pal.

 

[Gloriawood]

Thanks @MissSkittles! You are much much better at these anyway. I was totally gonna do this Friday evening, but I came home from work sick as a dog and ended up in bed working in a school is like working in a Petri dish.

 

[chrisglenn664]

Waterfalls look nice, but are definitely not a good item for chameleons. Regardless of how clean one keeps it, it is going to become loaded with bacteria. Instinct tells us to provide a source of water at all times, like we do with our cats and dogs. Chameleons just don’t need that though. We take our cues from how they live in the wild. Unfortunately I don’t believe we have a great deal of info about Yemen, where veileds come from. We do have a fantastic amount of info from Madagascar where panther and so many other species are from and it easily applies to how we keep our veileds, with a few differences, such as lower humidity. Here is perhaps the very best source for all things chameleon. https://chameleonacademy.com/ The man who created that site just went to Madagascar and you can check out the Chameleon Academy videos on YouTube for all of the latest. Another fantastic source for info is https://www.chameleons.info/en/ and he too has YouTube videos. If you don’t want to take such a deep dive into it all, there is also Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube. Of course, the forum is always the best place to get assistance, advice, ask questions and share your adventures with your scaled pal.

Thanks miss skittles for all your advice, I shall make the necessary changes and get back to you with updated info if that's OK. In the meantime tho would you know what the white mark is on his casque? I'm worried incase it's a burn mark

 

[chrisglenn664]

Thanks miss skittles for all your advice, I shall make the necessary changes and get back to you with updated info if that's OK. In the meantime tho would you know what the white mark is on his casque? I'm worried incase it's a burn mark

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks @MissSkittles! You are much much better at these anyway. I was totally gonna do this Friday evening, but I came home from work sick as a dog and ended up in bed working in a school is like working in a Petri dish.

I saw it early in the day, but I’ve been pretty sick too so just went to bed. Hope you’re feeling better.

Thanks miss skittles for all your advice, I shall make the necessary changes and get back to you with updated info if that's OK. In the meantime tho would you know what the white mark is on his casque? I'm worried incase it's a burn mark

That area is suspicious for a thermal burn. You’ll definitely want to watch it as if it is a burn, you’ll need veterinary care for it.

 

[JGNORTHERN]

Hi,

I never keep my chameleons in the cage all day long. I have several fica trees that are very large and keep one in every room. Once the chameleons have had their 4 hours of light, I allow them to roam the house and they go to their favorite fica tree and climb. They need excercise and can get bored.

I have found if mine are not reacting or seem interested in their cage or what is going on outside their cage, I let them out to roam or sit in other trees. They eat better and keep their colors bright. There is less sickness as well. All animals need some intelligent stimulation.

View attachment 362269View attachment 362268View attachment 362267View attachment 362266