Going to the bottom of the cage and climbing screen again...

[chamnoodle]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled chameleon, about 5 months old, I have had him for almost 2 months.
• Handling - Everyday or every other day for about 10 minutes on average.
• Feeding - I feed him crickets and occasional superworms maybe 1-2 a week. I give him 6 small-medium crickets everyday in the morning around 10.
• Supplements - I give him calcium w/o d3 and w/ d3 2x a month. I am planning to get a multivitamin.
• Watering - I have a dripper as well as I hand mist until there are a lot of droplets on the leaves. About 3-4 times a day. I am planning to get him a mister. I have seen him drink recently.
• Fecal Description - Black/white healthy color.
• History - n/a

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage 24x24x48
• Lighting - TH50 UVB with 5.0 light bulb and a Heat dome with 75w bulb.
• Temperature - The temp at the middle of his cage is normally between 68-78F and I use a thermometer.
• Humidity - I try to lower the humidity as much as I can but it is still in the high 60s
• Plants - I have a corn plant and real sticks in the enclosure
• Placement - The cage is in my room, on the floor but I am currently looking for something to elevate it
• Location - NC

Current Problem - My little guy recently started climbing to the bottom of his cage, walking the floor for a few seconds, and then walking up the screen from the bottom back onto a stick. He has done this for about 3 days now and mostly in the mid day. I've heard some people say he could be looking for a mate but he is probably a little young for that lol, or cause he is dehydrated but I saw him lick the leaves yesterday and about 2 days ago I gave him a hornworm which are supposed to be really hydrating. I just upgraded his cage a week ago to a 24x24x48... Is it heat maybe?

 

[CBee7726]

Can you take a photo of the entire enclosure lights down? How are his colors/ is he showing any signs of stress?

What is his basking temp?
If his urates are normal and his eyes aren't sunken in then he's probably not dehydrated. When you are misting though, make sure each session is about 3 minutes long, that way there's enough time to trigger a drinking response in him.

Boys do start to "patrol" as they reach maturity, and from your description it doesn't sound like he's staying at the bottom, but more climbing all over the cage. This is normal. As long as there aren't any other red flags then he's probably fine. When they are younger, screen climbing is pretty common, but it does pose a risk of injury as they get older/bigger. The more branches you have in the enclosure, the less he should screen climb.

Lastly, being on the floor could stress him out, so it's good that you're looking for a stand to put his cage on. Chams feel safest when they are looking down on us.

 

[Benclark]

He is patrolling. My boy Boaz does the same thing, if there is nothing obviously wrong with him I wouldn't worry. Can we see a pic of his enclpoure? He might be trying to escape something or looking for places to cool off or hide.

 

[chamnoodle]

He is patrolling. My boy Boaz does the same thing, if there is nothing obviously wrong with him I wouldn't worry. Can we see a pic of his enclpoure? He might be trying to escape something or looking for places to cool off or hide.

Can you take a photo of the entire enclosure lights down? How are his colors/ is he showing any signs of stress?

What is his basking temp?
If his urates are normal and his eyes aren't sunken in then he's probably not dehydrated. When you are misting though, make sure each session is about 3 minutes long, that way there's enough time to trigger a drinking response in him.

Boys do start to "patrol" as they reach maturity, and from your description it doesn't sound like he's staying at the bottom, but more climbing all over the cage. This is normal. As long as there aren't any other red flags then he's probably fine. When they are younger, screen climbing is pretty common, but it does pose a risk of injury as they get older/bigger. The more branches you have in the enclosure, the less he should screen climb.

Lastly, being on the floor could stress him out, so it's good that you're looking for a stand to put his cage on. Chams feel safest when they are looking down on us.

Here is a picture of his cage and him. He never really shows stressed colors. There are more sticks to the left/back of his cage as well so he does have quite a few places to climb.

 

[Benclark]

Here is a picture of his cage and him. He never really shows stressed colors. There are more sticks to the left/back of his cage as well so he does have quite a few places to climb.

Your enclosure looks great! Plenty of places to hide and escape the heat! It really just seems like he is patrolling which is completely normal. The only thing I am noticing is the small black dots on his face, they look like burns but I could be wrong.

 

[chamnoodle]

Your enclosure looks great! Plenty of places to hide and escape the heat! It really just seems like he is patrolling which is completely normal. The only thing I am noticing is the small black dots on his face, they look like burns but I could be wrong.

yeah I had posted about that before and everyone said it wasnt a burn.. There is no mold or bacterial growth either and someone said he might be a pied but not showing it much. I dont really know.

 

[Beman]

Here is a picture of his cage and him. He never really shows stressed colors. There are more sticks to the left/back of his cage as well so he does have quite a few places to climb.

You will want to add more horizontal branches from 8-9 inches below the screen top. And pull that uvb to the middle or angled diagonally. There is no place in the back for him to bask to get uvb... This poses a high risk for him to develop MBD.

He could be patrolling for many reasons.. Not happy with his cage, Searching out UVB, starting to mature. Etc.

 

[chamnoodle]

You will want to add more horizontal branches from 8-9 inches below the screen top. And pull that uvb to the middle or angled diagonally. There is no place in the back for him to bask to get uvb... This poses a high risk for him to develop MBD.

He could be patrolling for many reasons.. Not happy with his cage, Searching out UVB, starting to mature. Etc.

This picture is from a week ago, so I have UVB in the middle now.

 

[Beman]

This picture is from a week ago, so I have UVB in the middle now.

Did you add the branches as well?

 

[chamnoodle]

Did you add the branches as well?

I rearranged a few so that he could be able to climb more places and I am planning to get some more too.