I Think I Need Help

[RandellTheCham]

Hi guys ive made a few posts about my male chameleon recently and nobody has given me a solid answer.

Randel is a 5month male which has been with me for 2months. The first month he was a right sweetheart but recently has changed alot.
Iv'e spent alot of time with randel hand feeding him, talking to him and introduceing him to a tree outside his viv which he now claims as his sleeping spot.
He gained alot of trust in me where he doesn't mind me in his cage and even climbed onto me if there is food. I always respected his space.

Anyway all was going well. Untill randel's first shed with me. 2weeks ago randel did his first shed which he hasn't beenable to remove fully since his eyes and half of his tummy have dryed skin which hasn't been removed, i mist him often with warm water plus i have a automatic mister which comes on three times aday. Ever since his shed he has taken a huge dislike to me. He freaks out when my hand goes into his cage. He's always dark only turns green at night.

I tryed to put him in the shower as everyone suggested and he had a huge hissing fit the poor fello was soo scared he almost lost grip of his branch.

What can i do? Or what am i doing wrong? Everything was going fine.

His basking spot temp is between 83-85
Humidity levels 30-40
I have an all in one light
He gets around 15-20feeders which are dusted with repashy and gutloaded.

Here's some pictures.

 

[RandellTheCham]

@Remkon guru of chams advice

 

[Remkon]

@Remkon guru of chams advice

I don't think I qualify as such...

In my opinion humidity is a bit on the low side, not sure where you live but in winter air is dry and humidity plummets even faster especially in spaces where it's warmer (basking area).
I would advise a humidifier to keep humidity at a comfortable level all the time, it saves a lot of pains and you chameleon will probably be happier when you can have a higher humidity level (i get grumpy too when my lips get all dry and red in winter!).
You could also put a container of water in or against the radiator so the water evaporates and bumps humidity a little.

Not sure why he is extra grumpy, possibly because of his shedding that's irritating him.

 

[RandellTheCham]

I don't think I qualify as such...

In my opinion humidity is a bit on the low side, not sure where you live but in winter air is dry and humidity plummets even faster especially in spaces where it's warmer (basking area).
I would advise a humidifier to keep humidity at a comfortable level all the time, it saves a lot of pains and you chameleon will probably be happier when you can have a higher humidity level (i get grumpy too when my lips get all dry and red in winter!).
You could also put a container of water in or against the radiator so the water evaporates and bumps humidity a little.

Not sure why he is extra grumpy, possibly because of his shedding that's irritating him.

What kinda humidity level should i go for? Like 50

 

[Kingkush]

How is he responding to you now? will he take food from you as in the past? maybe offer him a new treat or food during this stressful time. I think the idea of the shower is raise the humidty to soften the skins..but since he doesnt like the shower just pre steam it up and put him in a tree in the bathroom with the shower off..prob like 15-20 mins sessions..grumpy in my gallery was born friendly until about 4 months then got mean streak ..would try to bite if put hand in cage for anything feeding cleaning etc..what i did was let him just bite me a couple times first..later i would move closer and closer and just caress under his neck..until he closed his mouth that was the first baby step..fast forward to now hes made alot of improvements hes not as viscious..and will hand feed sometimes and rarely gets mad if i need to hold and move him to a new location.

 

[Remkon]

What kinda humidity level should i go for? Like 50

I'm not sure about Veilds but I'm at 60-70% with my chameleons all the time...

 

[Kingkush]

I'm not sure about Veilds but I'm at 60-70% with my chameleons all the time...

yeah i just researched historical weather data over the past 10 years in ambilobe for my panthers..looked at the seasons and came up with a range..rather than fish thhorugh random opinions..then you have to take into account micro climates. Yemen is arrid..here a link i found on it.. doesnt say anything on humidity but this is a good start point on a range plan of temps ..and you can research humidty in other sites but you have cities now to look up http://www.martinsreptiles.co.uk/ukchams/calyptratus_habitat.htm

 

[RandellTheCham]

How is he responding to you now? will he take food from you as in the past? maybe offer him a new treat or food during this stressful time. I think the idea of the shower is raise the humidty to soften the skins..but since he doesnt like the shower just pre steam it up and put him in a tree in the bathroom with the shower off..prob like 15-20 mins sessions..grumpy in my gallery was born friendly until about 4 months then got mean streak ..would try to bite if put hand in cage for anything feeding cleaning etc..what i did was let him just bite me a couple times first..later i would move closer and closer and just caress under his neck..until he closed his mouth that was the first baby step..fast forward to now hes made alot of improvements hes not as viscious..and will hand feed sometimes and rarely gets mad if i need to hold and move him to a new location.

I cannot get him in shower at all. Only thing i can do is manually mist him with warm water

 

[Kingkush]

I cannot get him in shower at all. Only thing i can do is manually mist him with warm water

right so i said above ..step 1 put a tree in your bathroom not in the shower..then close the door and window turn on the hot water and the shower let it run untiil room is steamed up..turn off the shower..go get the chameleon and put him on the tree..let him sit 15 mins or so in the humid air..then bring him back to his cage under the basking lamp. Thats what i was saying as an alternative to actually putting him in the running shower on a a tree if he freaks out..same effect essentially.

 

[RandellTheCham]

right so i said above ..step 1 put a tree in your bathroom not in the shower..then close the door and window turn on the hot water and the shower let it run untiil room is steamed up..turn off the shower..go get the chameleon and put him on the tree..let him sit 15 mins or so in the humid air..then bring him back to his cage under the basking lamp. Thats what i was saying as an alternative to actually putting him in the running shower on a a tree if he freaks out..same effect essentially.

I cannot get him out of my room without completely loosing it.

Also do cham bites hurt?

 

[JDeFeo]

yeah i just researched historical weather data over the past 10 years in ambilobe for my panthers..looked at the seasons and came up with a range..rather than fish thhorugh random opinions..then you have to take into account micro climates. Yemen is arrid..here a link i found on it.. doesnt say anything on humidity but this is a good start point on a range plan of temps ..and you can research humidty in other sites but you have cities now to look up http://www.martinsreptiles.co.uk/ukchams/calyptratus_habitat.htm

Veileds (Yemen) live in the tropical oasis's in Yemen. Far from arrid.

 

[JDeFeo]

I also have a 5 month veiled he does great with 40%-70%. Now, what no one told me as a first time owner was how much humidity will fluctuate. I thought I to maintain 70% humidity 24/7 which caused me to over mist which can lead to respiratory issues. After each misting, let humidity drop to 30-35 before misting again. My veiled came home with skin stuck to his side's for a week or more, but now he fully sheds in 24 hours. Honestly I think he may be grumpy from hormones! He's like 14 years old in human years, teenagers are moody pricks. Hope I was some help.

 

[Decadancin]

Veileds (Yemen) live in the tropical oasis's in Yemen. Far from arrid.

Much of their range is far from tropical. They can live in semi-arid conditions and is likely why they tend to be plant nibblers. Gotta get your hydration where you can.

 

[Kingkush]

I cannot get him out of my room without completely loosing it.

Also do cham bites hurt?

yes it can draw blood..well maybe you can get him onto a stick but becareful not to let him bite a stick it can injure the mouth..but you do need to get to the point if you need to move him..you can deal with him with least stress on you both.

I also have a 5 month veiled he does great with 40%-70%. Now, what no one told me as a first time owner was how much humidity will fluctuate. I thought I to maintain 70% humidity 24/7 which caused me to over mist which can lead to respiratory issues. After each misting, let humidity drop to 30-35 before misting again. My veiled came home with skin stuck to his side's for a week or more, but now he fully sheds in 24 hours. Honestly I think he may be grumpy from hormones! He's like 14 years old in human years, teenagers are moody pricks. Hope I was some help.

Its tough in socal for my outdoor summers cages frequently in double digits humidty hard to maintain good levels even with misters.i end up soaking the ground alot to create evaporation ...right now its 16%..my green house with a swamp cooler i can get to about 50-60%

 

[JDeFeo]

Much of their range is far from tropical. They can live in semi-arid conditions and is likely why they tend to be plant nibblers. Gotta get your hydration where you can.

Touché...

 

[JDeFeo]

yes it can draw blood..well maybe you can get him onto a stick but becareful not to let him bite a stick it can injure the mouth..but you do need to get to the point if you need to move him..you can deal with him with least stress on you both.


Its tough in socal for my outdoor summers cages frequently in double digits humidty hard to maintain good levels even with misters.i end up soaking the ground alot to create evaporation ...right now its 16%..my green house with a swamp cooler i can get to about 50-60%

I'm in New Hampshire, not far from Mt. Washington.- Highest wind speed ever recorded (Google it). Winters are tough.. but my Cham is tougher

 

[Remkon]

I also have a 5 month veiled he does great with 40%-70%. Now, what no one told me as a first time owner was how much humidity will fluctuate. I thought I to maintain 70% humidity 24/7 which caused me to over mist which can lead to respiratory issues. After each misting, let humidity drop to 30-35 before misting again. My veiled came home with skin stuck to his side's for a week or more, but now he fully sheds in 24 hours. Honestly I think he may be grumpy from hormones! He's like 14 years old in human years, teenagers are moody pricks. Hope I was some help.

My guess is that it is very hard to cause respiratory issues from high(er) humidity.
Average humidity for my country is 80-85% at lowest around 70%, I live seaside so for me it's likely even higher...

Humidity in itself is not the danger but the way it's usually achieved can cause the issues. For example a humidifier over the enclosure can force your chameleon to breathe in water droplets produced by the humidifier which will cause the respiratory issues.
Also a mold caused by a wet enclosure can cause health issues or a draft running trough your wet enclosure...

So keeping yer animals on the high side of what's recommended is probably the safest way to prevent issues like hard shedding... As long as you make sure your chameleon isn't exposed to a draft, he can escape the fog when using a humidifier and his cage dries between misting it should be perfectly safe.

But please do correct my if I'm talking out of my ass.

 

[JDeFeo]

My guess is that it is very hard to cause respiratory issues from high(er) humidity.
Average humidity for my country is 80-85% at lowest around 70%, I live seaside so for me it's likely even higher...

Humidity in itself is not the danger but the way it's usually achieved can cause the issues. For example a humidifier over the enclosure can force your chameleon to breathe in water droplets produced by the humidifier which will cause the respiratory issues.
Also a mold caused by a wet enclosure can cause health issues or a draft running trough your wet enclosure...

So keeping yer animals on the high side of what's recommended is probably the safest way to prevent issues like hard shedding... As long as you make sure your chameleon isn't exposed to a draft, he can escape the fog when using a humidifier and his cage dries between misting it should be perfectly safe.

But please do correct my if I'm talking out of my ass.

My over misting, trying to maintain high humidity all the time made it wet and damp in the cage. The high humidity isn't the issue, the excess water trying to maintain it became a concern.

 

[RandellTheCham]

We figured that randell is a roaming cham and noticed this evening he's like like green now he's on his tree and dark in his cage.

Do i keep humidity at 40-70 at all times?

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

I cannot get him out of my room without completely loosing it.

Also do cham bites hurt?

Lol don't be a wuss, Chams are tiny gentle creatures they cannot break kin if they tried. If fact I am still trying to domesticate some of my Nosy Be Panthers because they are pretty wild and I often put my fingers right in front of their mouth if they gape at me so they know they can't hurt me if they tried lol. very cute when they hold on a long time lol, but ya its less painful than a human pinch for sure. Lastly you will need to be able to force your chameleons to go places or simply move so you really need to start handling your cham more and not be afraid of it.