help??

[monram]

So I have a female veiled that might be 6 months, I honestly have no clue the Petsmart said she was a year old but not sure. This morning and now she's shown darker colors than usual and sits kind of puffed up, which she never does even if there are people around. Is this a sign she needs to lay eggs or anything or am I overthinking? She is eating and drinking well, I have proper lighting, heat and humidity. Is this a common look? This is my first chameleon, and I haven't seen her do this before

 

[BKO Overdrive]

If you want place to start you can go here and fill this out:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

A few things i can just recommend off the top. I see her cage is on the floor, Maybe try putting it on a table or a stand for her, they dont like to be low to the ground as they feel they need to get up to "escape" in a sense, i always approach my girl from under her and slowly so she sees me coming, if shes low like she is everyone is towering over her and it might be stressing her out, she will puff up like that. Seeing the black spots like that she just seems stressed, also maybe provide a bit more cover for her in your cage, seems sorta open and she might be getting to that mature level that she would feel safer if she had more greenery to hide behind. I see at the bottom you have sorta a water rock bowl, she will not drink from that. Will have to get a mister or a dripper. Id say you have a good start just slowly build, it wont be perfect overnight. Im no expert but just sharing what ive gone threw raising my female vieled. She is def not 1 year old. Id give her 5 months maybe 6. As she gets older you will have to supply a bigger cage and a laying bin for her, that cage you got seems like that starter kit from zoo med. A laying bin she needs will not fit in there. She does not look fertile, if she was about to lay she would display her receptive colors first. To me she looks slightly to young to worry about that yet. Below is what my girl looks like when they are receptive, light green her black spots will turn blueish and she will have yellow on her.

 

[monram]

If you want place to start you can go here and fill this out:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

A few things i can just recommend off the top. I see her cage is on the floor, Maybe try putting it on a table or a stand for her, they dont like to be low to the ground as they feel they need to get up to "escape" in a sense, i always approach my girl from under her and slowly so she sees me coming, if shes low like she is everyone is towering over her and it might be stressing her out, she will puff up like that. Seeing the black spots like that she just seems stressed, also maybe provide a bit more cover for her in your cage, seems sorta open and she might be getting to that mature level that she would feel safer if she had more greenery to hide behind. I see at the bottom you have sorta a water rock bowl, she will not drink from that. Will have to get a mister or a dripper. Id say you have a good start just slowly build, it wont be perfect overnight. Im no expert but just sharing what ive gone threw raising my female vieled. She is def not 1 year old. Id give her 5 months maybe 6. As she gets older you will have to supply a bigger cage and a laying bin for her, that cage you got seems like that starter kit from zoo med. A laying bin she needs will not fit in there. She does not look fertile, if she was about to lay she would display her receptive colors first. To me she looks slightly to young to worry about that yet. Below is what my girl looks like when they are receptive, light green her black spots will turn blueish and she will have yellow on her.

thank you so much for info! ill definitely make some changes. yeah i spray water with a spray bottle and thats how she drinks, the water dish is partly to hold down the carpet since it was bent when i got it haha. thank you for the picture as well ill use this as a reference to keep an eye out for any changes. also, will all female veileds show those receptive colors even when they are about to lay infertile eggs?

 

[BKO Overdrive]

thank you so much for info! ill definitely make some changes. yeah i spray water with a spray bottle and thats how she drinks, the water dish is partly to hold down the carpet since it was bent when i got it haha. thank you for the picture as well ill use this as a reference to keep an eye out for any changes. also, will all female veileds show those receptive colors even when they are about to lay infertile eggs?

Ahh okay then yeah that makes sense about the rock, they come packed rolled up and its aggravating to keep is strait, I had crickets running under the bends. I cant say without a doubt she will, but I have a good feeling she will show you those colors with time. Theres a very intresting blog that i read about keeping a female vieled. After she hits that 6/7 month mark i reduced her food to 8 crickets every other day and i lifted her heat lamp up slighty to reduce the temp. Or since i think the kit comes with a 60w you can get a 40w to reduce the heat, your making her body in a sense focus on keeping her system going instead of making eggs. Or at least keep the clutch size down so she lives as long as she can. Also when you see her turn her receptive (i call it her macup lol) on try to keep your calcium supliments on track since she will need alot to make the eggs.

 

[BKO Overdrive]

You can see my pictures i didnt really start that far off from you. You can see the progression i made

 

[monram]

You can see my pictures i didnt really start that far off from you. You can see the progression i made

Oh that's awesome! in the 3rd pic did you buy a completely new cage or add an extension to the bottom?

 

[BKO Overdrive]

I went from a med cage to a XL. Don't get the cage from Petco. They wanted 200+ for XL. Amazon has them cheaper. Or maybe a member here could sell one

 

[monram]

I went from a med cage to a XL. Don't get the cage from Petco. They wanted 200+ for XL. Amazon has them cheaper. Or maybe a member here could sell one

thanks for the tips i really appreciate it