Hanging in plant toward bottom of cage

[aduesler93]

Hello!
I have a 5(ish) month old female veiled. 6 days ago we moved her from her small reptibreeze starter enclosure (that had fake plants and wasn’t the greatest) into a 2x2x4 enclosure with live plants, lots of crawling space, a nice lay bin and even a mistking system. BUT although she seemed to enjoy exploring the first couple days, lately I’ve noticed she is hanging out in the large umbrella plant toward the bottom of the cage. I’m worried for multiple reasons (UVB levels, temp, is she unhappy) any idea why?

 

[aduesler93]

Updated cham questionnaire for added info

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 5(ish) months old, veiled cham, female, 2 months
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a week as we build trust through feeding and treats, was handled often at pet store so depending on her mood she doesn’t hate coming out but I don’t want to force her
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Crickets, black fly larvae, once a week wax worm treat, daily, 5-8 feeders depends on how much she wants, gut load with repashy big burger, carrots, kale, mustard greens, and occasional blueberry
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoo med repticalicium without D3 daily, fluckers reptacalcium with D3 twice a month, and zoo med reptivite (no D3) twice a month
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Mistking set to go off 2 minutes right before lights on, 1 minute at 1pm, 2 minutes right before lights out and 1 minute at 1am, along with night time fogging (it’s super dry here right now)
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Good poops, brown and solid but wet and white part is always white with an occasional tiny yellow spot, goes daily skips a day here and there, no parasite testing yet
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Was in a tiny glass enclosure at pet store that was very humid which is how I ended up with her quicker that I planned, it was a rescue effort. She had a strange eye issue when I got her which is in another post but that has improved with proper care and supplements, no other issues, has shed twice since I got her at end of November no issues

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x4 reptibreeze screen cage, live pothos, money tree and umbrella plant, two sides covered with shower curtain to contain water from mister and humidity
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? UVB: reptisun 5.0, basking is a zoomed 65 watt blue daylight bulb hours on 12 hours off on timer about 6 inches above top basking branch, also has a branch a few inches lower in a basking area for options
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking temp: currently 85 degrees measured with digital thermometer probe at top basking branch, rest of cage usually around lower 70s depending on spot. Overnight stays in mid to upper 60s, I have two temp probes in upper half of cage that I measure with
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? During day: usually right at 50 percent during day and 70-80 but have struggled with that a little with the larger enclosure and getting a good reading
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One pothos plant toward top that hangs down, a larger umbrella plant on bottom, and a smaller money tree that I’m hoping grows sooner, I also have some flukers vines toward front of cage for added coverage as I grow some larger plants
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? On stand in spare room/office space, no fans nearby, there is a heat vent about 6 feet away but point away from cage, very low traffic pretty much only go in room to care for her, top of cage sits about 6’
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Upstate New York, it’s super cold and dry right now and the heat doesn’t help

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I don’t see anything in your husbandry except basking temp should come down a bit to 80. That isn’t anything that would cause her to stay in the bottom of her enclosure though. Has she gotten her big girl colors yet? Can you post some recent pics of her? Has she been basking at all since the move? Most chams will bask only for a few hours at a time and then get out of the ‘sun’. Perhaps when she was in the smaller enclosure it wasn’t as noticeable as there was so much less space for her to go to? Has she been eating?

 

[aduesler93]

Hi, so she is just starting to show a very little bit of big girl colors but still now seeing anything obvious just some lighter stripes than usual. I did notice her basking a couple times but it’s hard to tell if she has as I work 8 hours a day and she could be going up there when I gone, in the smaller enclosure she was almost always on her basking branch but I will be moving her main branch lower or raise the light up. She eats just the same as always I either hold a cup for her to eat or I put her bugs in her feeder toward the top of the cage and she moves quickly right up to eat. I attached a picture of her this morning and one of the cage as well. Thanks!

 

[MissSkittles]

She’s not yet showing her receptive coloring, so you should still have some time before she’s ready to lay eggs. I do see your lay bin…I’d suggest getting a bigger one. My girls always preferred bins at least 12” wide and long. Depth only needs to be about 5-6”. Definitely need to add more love plants and eliminate the artificial ones. I hang my fake ones on the outside on my enclosures for added privacy. Veileds and especially the girls love to nibble at their plants and seem not to be able to differentiate between real and fake. Pothos is a cham keepers best friend. What is the tape on your enclosure? Is it on the outside only I hope?
I do see a little something at the inner corner of her eye. I can’t tell what it is but if it stays there for more than a week, a vet visit would be a good idea. Make sure to take a fresh fecal sample for parasite testing if you go.
I would say just keep an close watch on her and if she starts showing any other warning signs, get her to a good vet without delay.

 

[aduesler93]

Yes I will be getting another bigger pothos this week. That tape is only on the outside holding plastic on temporarily for the winter to help with humidity (I hate the look but it helps) I’ll check her eye out again when I get home but last she was checked it was okay and just a mark from an injury as a baby before I got her. Thanks for the suggestions !

 

[aduesler93]

Another picture from this afternoon instead. She’s been hanging out up on her feeder since this morning which is much higher up and getting light. She also seems to be more territorial of her fancy new cage but she is enjoying it just wanted to make sure it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to be down in that plant most of the time

 

[aduesler93]

She’s not yet showing her receptive coloring, so you should still have some time before she’s ready to lay eggs. I do see your lay bin…I’d suggest getting a bigger one. My girls always preferred bins at least 12” wide and long. Depth only needs to be about 5-6”. Definitely need to add more love plants and eliminate the artificial ones. I hang my fake ones on the outside on my enclosures for added privacy. Veileds and especially the girls love to nibble at their plants and seem not to be able to differentiate between real and fake. Pothos is a cham keepers best friend. What is the tape on your enclosure? Is it on the outside only I hope?
I do see a little something at the inner corner of her eye. I can’t tell what it is but if it stays there for more than a week, a vet visit would be a good idea. Make sure to take a fresh fecal sample for parasite testing if you go.
I would say just keep an close watch on her and if she starts showing any other warning signs, get her to a good vet without delay.

Also on the plant note, are neon pothos okay for veileds or just the devils ivy? I love that bright green but obvious her needs are more important

 

[MissSkittles]

Also on the plant note, are neon pothos okay for veileds or just the devils ivy? I love that bright green but obvious her needs are more important

Neon pothos are fine. Here’s some info and a safe plant list. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/