Cage info:
Type: glass/screen combo, I think its something like 24x24x48
lighting: some uva/uvb bulb that the pet store gave me. Its resting about 4-10 inches from where she basks.
not sure of the temp/humidity but the chameleon can get pretty close to the light if needed
theres some plant that my sister put in there for the chameleon to crawl on but she never eats it or drinks from it.
Placement: in the corner of my room
located in santa barbara, ca
Chameleon info:
type: Female veiled chameleon, about 1 year 4 months old
Handling: long story behind this one – my sister purchased the animal, never took care of it so it ended up being my mothers responsibility. The chameleon became very aggressive and no one ever held it. My mother put it in an outside cage maybe once a week but this required her to grab it (with gloves) hissing and biting. I got home from college and decided to make her friendly so I started hand-feeding her mealworms and letting her climb around my room. Now she's pretty friendly but always tries to escape. Currently she's being handled 2-3x a week.
feeding: crickets + calcium powder once every week or two, 4-7x giant mealworms daily from hand. We put some plants in from the garden (basil and other things) which she nibbles on once in a while.
Supplements: Rep Cal calcium – no phosphorous or viatmin D3 – only with the crickets
watering: We try to mist her cage but we never see her drinking. When we start to spray her she tends to hiss or try to run away from the water. I put an ice cube on the screen every other day but I never see her actually drink from it.
Fecal Description: They look solid and hard (I didn't actually touch it), one is completely white (on the log next to the light) and the other is completely black (on the bottom w/ bark)
History: I put a 12x6x4 tray of sand at the bottom of her cage about 5 days ago, as well as covering up the bottom of the cage with a blanket to see if that made her stop scratching (it hasn't stopped). She hasn't dug any holes in the sand, it just looks like she's trying to escape. She falls fairly often when roaming around my room, and falls once in a while when shes climbing up the screen wall in her cage.
Current Problem:
I am worried because she has been in our care for about a year and a half and she's never laid eggs. To my families knowledge, she is not spayed. After observing her strange behavior, I started to wonder if she needed to lay eggs or if she's just unhappy in her enclosure.
First off, she seems extremely energetic. I never see her drinking which is a problem, but she eats all the time. She always crawls on the screen and scratches at the four corners of the glass panel that faces my room. This came to the point where there is hardly any bark at the bottom corners of the cages. I also see her sometimes breathing with her mouth open.
She seems very unhappy and distressed, any suggestions?
Type: glass/screen combo, I think its something like 24x24x48
lighting: some uva/uvb bulb that the pet store gave me. Its resting about 4-10 inches from where she basks.
not sure of the temp/humidity but the chameleon can get pretty close to the light if needed
theres some plant that my sister put in there for the chameleon to crawl on but she never eats it or drinks from it.
Placement: in the corner of my room
located in santa barbara, ca
Chameleon info:
type: Female veiled chameleon, about 1 year 4 months old
Handling: long story behind this one – my sister purchased the animal, never took care of it so it ended up being my mothers responsibility. The chameleon became very aggressive and no one ever held it. My mother put it in an outside cage maybe once a week but this required her to grab it (with gloves) hissing and biting. I got home from college and decided to make her friendly so I started hand-feeding her mealworms and letting her climb around my room. Now she's pretty friendly but always tries to escape. Currently she's being handled 2-3x a week.
feeding: crickets + calcium powder once every week or two, 4-7x giant mealworms daily from hand. We put some plants in from the garden (basil and other things) which she nibbles on once in a while.
Supplements: Rep Cal calcium – no phosphorous or viatmin D3 – only with the crickets
watering: We try to mist her cage but we never see her drinking. When we start to spray her she tends to hiss or try to run away from the water. I put an ice cube on the screen every other day but I never see her actually drink from it.
Fecal Description: They look solid and hard (I didn't actually touch it), one is completely white (on the log next to the light) and the other is completely black (on the bottom w/ bark)
History: I put a 12x6x4 tray of sand at the bottom of her cage about 5 days ago, as well as covering up the bottom of the cage with a blanket to see if that made her stop scratching (it hasn't stopped). She hasn't dug any holes in the sand, it just looks like she's trying to escape. She falls fairly often when roaming around my room, and falls once in a while when shes climbing up the screen wall in her cage.
Current Problem:
I am worried because she has been in our care for about a year and a half and she's never laid eggs. To my families knowledge, she is not spayed. After observing her strange behavior, I started to wonder if she needed to lay eggs or if she's just unhappy in her enclosure.
First off, she seems extremely energetic. I never see her drinking which is a problem, but she eats all the time. She always crawls on the screen and scratches at the four corners of the glass panel that faces my room. This came to the point where there is hardly any bark at the bottom corners of the cages. I also see her sometimes breathing with her mouth open.
She seems very unhappy and distressed, any suggestions?