Grumpy 5 month old...

[Bmaggio]

Chameleon Info:

• My Chameleon - 5-6 month old female veiled chameleon, i got her form work (petco) on 11/06/16
• Handling - my husband and i handle her everyday, never have a problem, she doesn't acted stressed
• Feeding - she eats 4-6 small crickets daily,
• Supplements - dusted with repti-calcium (without d3) every other day
• Watering - we have a fogger that we turn on for a couple minutes 2x daily, and we have a spray bottle we use to spray the leaves. we have the little dripper that is always flowing
• Fecal Description - normal fecal matter, she is also hydrated

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - all screen cage, 16"x16"x30"
• Location - she has been provided a bin, using Flucker's all natural sand bedding, its wet enough to hold a tunnel.
• Lighting - we have a double dome fixture, one is zoo med reptisun 5.0 UVB 13 watt tropical, the other is zoo med daylight blue, 100w. her lights come on around 7:30am, and turn off at 7:30pm
• Temperature - i have an electronic thermometer&humidity gauge that is in the middle of the cage. normal reads 74-78 fahrenheit the gauge is in the top 1/4 of the cage. Lowest overnight temp is usually in the high sixties
• Humidity - we mist her cage at 7am and around 6pm when we are working, her humidity is usually in the 20-30's. i have a spray bottles to mist the leaves when we are home
• Plants - i just barley got a couple pothos and bromeliad (purchased on 12/18/16
• Placement - my cage is in my closet, the closet is 8ft x 8ft, I've got her right in the middle against the wall, there is an even space between the floor and ceiling.
• Location - We live in rock springs, WY

Flynn has been hanging out on the bottom a lot, we provided her bin about 2 weeks ago, no eggs. we thought she laid a few but it was just fecal matter in the same shape as an egg.. we left her alone for about a week. Then started handling her everyday. she was fine. she usually kind of puffs up but then is fine once she is in my hand. never hissed or continued to puff up after she is out of her cage.

Current Situation:
yesterday 12/20/16 she was very moody, staying puffed up and trying her hardest to get away from me, she was showing her markings and staying very dark. Today she has been hissing, once in her cage when i opened it and then continuously while she was on hand/arm. i fed her and she still continued. the hissing is brand new. and i don't want to make her uncomfortable, but i also don't want her attitude to become permanent.
Any advice would be wonderful! thank you in advance!

 

[LindsayG]

Hi! It sounds like it would be good for you to read the care sheets on this website. Petco really doesn't give the best care for their chams. She doesnt sound to be eating enough, her temps and humidity are way low, and it might not be the best idea to be handling her everyday right now. Shes goings to be needng calcium with d3 and a multivitamin twice a month. She also needs more than just crickets as a diet. Try other feeders like dubia roaches, silworms, hornworms, butterworms, superworms.. you can also try introducing veggies if shell try them. What are you gutload ing your feeders with? Could we please see some pics of your little girl?

 

[Bmaggio]

crickets are getting fruits and veggies. . she was eating about 12 crickets a day. but i felt that was a lot... she finally slowed down to half. she gets super worms also. she gets calcuim with d3 and the multivitamin. I've added some live plants for her and its staring to keep the humidity up.
I'm just wondering why she is so grump all of a sudden. In the pictures you will see he is super happy hanging out in the living room... but then she changed to these beautiful dark markings. And now she is hissing and puffing up.. it's not like her to do that.

 

[alphakenc]

Maybe u have her out of her cage for so long,thats why she is acting so stress with u.

 

[CandyCham]

Chameleon Info:

• My Chameleon - 5-6 month old female veiled chameleon, i got her form work (petco) on 11/06/16
• Handling - my husband and i handle her everyday, never have a problem, she doesn't acted stressed
• Feeding - she eats 4-6 small crickets daily,
• Supplements - dusted with repti-calcium (without d3) every other day
• Watering - we have a fogger that we turn on for a couple minutes 2x daily, and we have a spray bottle we use to spray the leaves. we have the little dripper that is always flowing
• Fecal Description - normal fecal matter, she is also hydrated

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - all screen cage, 16"x16"x30"
• Location - she has been provided a bin, using Flucker's all natural sand bedding, its wet enough to hold a tunnel.
• Lighting - we have a double dome fixture, one is zoo med reptisun 5.0 UVB 13 watt tropical, the other is zoo med daylight blue, 100w. her lights come on around 7:30am, and turn off at 7:30pm
• Temperature - i have an electronic thermometer&humidity gauge that is in the middle of the cage. normal reads 74-78 fahrenheit the gauge is in the top 1/4 of the cage. Lowest overnight temp is usually in the high sixties
• Humidity - we mist her cage at 7am and around 6pm when we are working, her humidity is usually in the 20-30's. i have a spray bottles to mist the leaves when we are home
• Plants - i just barley got a couple pothos and bromeliad (purchased on 12/18/16
• Placement - my cage is in my closet, the closet is 8ft x 8ft, I've got her right in the middle against the wall, there is an even space between the floor and ceiling.
• Location - We live in rock springs, WY

Flynn has been hanging out on the bottom a lot, we provided her bin about 2 weeks ago, no eggs. we thought she laid a few but it was just fecal matter in the same shape as an egg.. we left her alone for about a week. Then started handling her everyday. she was fine. she usually kind of puffs up but then is fine once she is in my hand. never hissed or continued to puff up after she is out of her cage.

Current Situation:
yesterday 12/20/16 she was very moody, staying puffed up and trying her hardest to get away from me, she was showing her markings and staying very dark. Today she has been hissing, once in her cage when i opened it and then continuously while she was on hand/arm. i fed her and she still continued. the hissing is brand new. and i don't want to make her uncomfortable, but i also don't want her attitude to become permanent.
Any advice would be wonderful! thank you in advance!

Many of the replies here are good, it might also be her age as well... They grow up and decide to get more protective of their space as adults... Many I know simmer down after some time with consistent handling (but not too much). Also, they take a minute to get used to change (you said you've added some plants). Whenever an environmental factor changes in my cham's habitat she gets grumpy for a few days. Even longer for big changes. Also, I'm not sure a closet is the best spot to be in (but it can be, when set up correctly). The humidity is also pretty low. I would take some more time and research what she needs and adjust her habitat accordingly. Once you've got her set up nicely, leave her alone for a week or so (handling) as it will probably stress her out to handle her ontop of all the newly made changes. Good Luck! Let us know what you did to help her out and your results

 

[Bmaggio]

Maybe u have her out of her cage for so long,thats why she is acting so stress with u.

i usually keep her out for bout 30 min. but she was doing this for the first 10 min i had her out, so i put her back.. is it possible she is acting this way because she is gravid?

 

[Bmaggio]

Many of the replies here are good, it might also be her age as well... They grow up and decide to get more protective of their space as adults... Many I know simmer down after some time with consistent handling (but not too much). Also, they take a minute to get used to change (you said you've added some plants). Whenever an environmental factor changes in my cham's habitat she gets grumpy for a few days. Even longer for big changes. Also, I'm not sure a closet is the best spot to be in (but it can be, when set up correctly). The humidity is also pretty low. I would take some more time and research what she needs and adjust her habitat accordingly. Once you've got her set up nicely, leave her alone for a week or so (handling) as it will probably stress her out to handle her ontop of all the newly made changes. Good Luck! Let us know what you did to help her out and your results

thank you! she is in my closet right now because i didn't want my dogs to bug her... but she is being moved to my bedroom in a few weeks once i have a high enough place where my dogs can't reach! but thanks again! ill keep you updated!

 

[CandyCham]

i usually keep her out for bout 30 min. but she was doing this for the first 10 min i had her out, so i put her back.. is it possible she is acting this way because she is gravid?

She would show her gravid colors and also nearing laying time she would be at the bottom of the cage looking for a place to dig a hole to lay her eggs. The age listed tells me she is now an adult is most likely being protective of her space.

 

[alphakenc]

i usually keep her out for bout 30 min. but she was doing this for the first 10 min i had her out, so i put her back.. is it possible she is acting this way because she is gravid?

She doesn't look gravid to me,I believe the things surrounding her are making her feel overwhelmed,I would watch her body language (puff up...etc)and give her space accordingly.