MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Among all of the many things I first learned about chameleons is that they do not like us. They learn to have some trust in us, associate us with food and free range (if we have one) and otherwise tolerate our intrusions into their homes...somewhat. Usually, if a chameleon is very eager to come out of it’s enclosure, there has got to be something wrong with the enclosure…right?
Well, Jack has me stumped. It isn’t every time that I open his enclosure, but it is most, that he comes running down and immediately climbing up my arm. I’ll sit in the chair next to his enclosure with him and he’ll just calmly sit on my hand. Sometimes he tries to climb up to my face and about 1/4 of the times that I’ve let him, he looks like he’s ready to strike out at my eyeballs. The rest of the time he just sits and looks at me, looks around and just seems content. Then it gets even stranger…sometimes I’ll sit on the floor while my beardie is running around exploring the room. It just happens that the best spot for me to sit is in front of Jack’s enclosure. Jack has climbed all the way down as low in his enclosure as he can, wedging himself between the root pouch and screen in his attempts to get to me. The other day he wedged himself so tightly that he couldn’t get back out on his own and I was afraid of hurting him while getting him out.
He’s always been calm and had no problems with being handled and used to come to me when he was in his previous smaller enclosure, but I don’t recall him being so very eager. I can’t even get his food in his feeder before he’s on my hand and climbing up me. He’s walked right over the silkworms I had on my hand to hand feed him. So, here’s a pic of his enclosure. Does anyone see anything at all that he may not be liking? Basking temps are 82-84, humidity mid 40’s (have to compromise here for my veileds). Uvb is 12%, but is nearing a year old and only on one side of the enclosure…waiting for his 2nd light to be delivered. Once it is, will have 6% bulb on left/basking side and 12% on denser foliage side. (hard to see, but tree covers a lot)
Well, Jack has me stumped. It isn’t every time that I open his enclosure, but it is most, that he comes running down and immediately climbing up my arm. I’ll sit in the chair next to his enclosure with him and he’ll just calmly sit on my hand. Sometimes he tries to climb up to my face and about 1/4 of the times that I’ve let him, he looks like he’s ready to strike out at my eyeballs. The rest of the time he just sits and looks at me, looks around and just seems content. Then it gets even stranger…sometimes I’ll sit on the floor while my beardie is running around exploring the room. It just happens that the best spot for me to sit is in front of Jack’s enclosure. Jack has climbed all the way down as low in his enclosure as he can, wedging himself between the root pouch and screen in his attempts to get to me. The other day he wedged himself so tightly that he couldn’t get back out on his own and I was afraid of hurting him while getting him out.
He’s always been calm and had no problems with being handled and used to come to me when he was in his previous smaller enclosure, but I don’t recall him being so very eager. I can’t even get his food in his feeder before he’s on my hand and climbing up me. He’s walked right over the silkworms I had on my hand to hand feed him. So, here’s a pic of his enclosure. Does anyone see anything at all that he may not be liking? Basking temps are 82-84, humidity mid 40’s (have to compromise here for my veileds). Uvb is 12%, but is nearing a year old and only on one side of the enclosure…waiting for his 2nd light to be delivered. Once it is, will have 6% bulb on left/basking side and 12% on denser foliage side. (hard to see, but tree covers a lot)
