Edgy Veild

[Justinschramm05]

I just moved my 1 1/2 year old veild into a 24x24x48 cage. He is completely freaked out. He sits on a bottom branch all the way hidden in the corner all day. As soon as I walk in the room, if he's up in the cage somewhere, he'll take off to that bottom corner and hide. He's still eating well but just seems stressed out. There is plenty of cover throughout the cage, but he stays hidden all day. Is this normal behav.? He's always been a little scared, and hates to be held. Won't even eat from my hand anymore.

 

[westcoastchameleons]

Many chameleons will require a lot of time when moved to a new environment. I would let your chameleon have some more time to adjust...As long as he is still eating and drinking all right, dont worry about his skiddishness.

Jake

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

From what I understand, when you place them in a new "territory" they have no idea whether they have been placed in someone else's turf or in a turf all their own. Therefore they require some time to assure themselves that they are the only cham living in that territory, and that some bully is not going to come along and beat them up.

When you enter the room or approach, at first all they see is the movement (they don't wait to determine whether you are friend or foe), and so they do the intelligent thing, they run and hide. Just in case. Even a friendly, personable, cham might do this in an unfamiliar enclosure. He won't wait to see if he recognizes you, he'll just quickly run and hide. It's actually the smart thing to do, looking at it from his perspective.

The fact that he is still eating, etc., tells you that he is just being cautious, not really totally strung out. After a period of time, he will realize it is his territory and make it his own. Then he will regain some self confidence and level out.

If he lets you know he's not in the mood for company, and you respond by backing off, this will bolster his self confidence, which is important for these male veileds. It gives them a sense that they have some control, which is a comfort to them. Of course, there are times when we have to feed them, etc., and can't just back away. But, you know what I mean.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

He's always been a little scared, and hates to be held. Won't even eat from my hand anymore.

Two other thoughts that you may already have tried:
1) When you do approach the cage, do it slowly, and try to get his attention as you approach so that he doesn't glance over and suddenly see you standing right there. When you reach for him, do it VERY slowly. I can watch Guido's eyes and tell when he recognizes me, and then I give him a few additional seconds to process that.

2) Try wearing clothes that are a "friendly" color when you are near his cage. This can make all the difference. Chams are "mood rings", if you will, and they assume that we are too. Realize they have to observe us within the context of their own experience and programming. Neutral beige, taupe, and subdued greens work well. Avoid reds, pinks, blacks, certain yellows, bold stripes, plaids, other bold patterns. I keep several bland olive green shirts available to wear like a smock when I want to approach "his highness". I don't genuflect, though. I already realize I'm his servant, and sometimes he seems so haughty. But, you have to draw the line somewhere .

Hope this helps.

 

[Electric]

I've read of a way to introduce chameleons to a new cage/habitat by placing the old/smaller cage into the bigger/new one, open the door of the small one and let him do his own exploring/adjusting for a few days, that way he's not being 'forced' to live in this new strange environment. Then when he's comfortable with the new and bigger part, simply take out the old smaller one.

makes sense and probably reduces the whole shock effect of being thrown into a new habitat by force

 

[Justinschramm05]

yeah, it's only been a couple of days so I'm not to worried about it. I'm not seeing him drink any water though. I mist the enclosure 3-4 times a day, leaving the water droplets on the screen ceiling of the cage, but he won't come up to drink like he used to. How long do they go or can they go between waterings??

 

[Electric]

I wouldn't worry about that part much, if there's water on the plants, and he's thirsty, my guess is that he'll drink, which he probably is but you're just not there to see it

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

We recently acquired several grown chams from a private owner and they are still getting settled in. For my first misting of the day, I mist each one (they are in individual enclosures) until I actually see them drinking. You have to give them time for their drinking reflex to be triggered. It can take several minutes or longer. If they won't drink right away, sometimes I move onto the next enclosure, then come back to the first one again, and go back and forth, until I have triggered all there drinking reflexes, and each one is drinking. One will drink from a leaf or vine, one drinks from the screen, another sticks out his tongue and likes me to spray it for him (they're all so spoiled, arent' they?) and a fourth licks the water off her face. Eventually we will be pumbing in some automatic misters. But I will still have to observe them at first to be certain their drinking reflex kicks in.

But, then again, like Electric stated, there may be some that won't drink while you're there, or will drink when they get ready to. I'm just watchful with this new batch because I had some minor hydration concerns with them.

 

[Justinschramm05]

thanks for your help! I appreciate it.