Is it a good sign that my veiled chameleon moves around a lot in his cage?

Benclark

Member
So I have a male veiled who is almost an adult. I have noticed that he moves around a lot/ exploring his cage. I have him in a 24x48 enclosure and he has quite a bit of space. I have heard mixed things about this so I was hoping to hear what you guys think.
 
i mean he's probably just patrolling, which they do when they are older. As long as his care is good, it should be just him patrolling, which is normal
 
So this it. I have 2 uvb lights and three heat lamps, as well as a water dripper. I also mist twice a day with humidity in the moderate to tropical range. Temps are 85 degrees for backing and around 75 for ambient.
 

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It can be patrolling it can be that he is not happy in the enclosure. Like @kinyonga said it depends on the husbandry. Can you take a picture of the entire cage lights down for us?
So this it. I have 2 uvb lights and three heat lamps, as well as a water dripper. I also mist twice a day with humidity in the moderate to tropical range. Temps are 85 degrees for backing and around 75 for ambient.
 

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So this it. I have 2 uvb lights and three heat lamps, as well as a water dripper. I also mist twice a day with humidity in the moderate to tropical range. Temps are 85 degrees for backing and around 75 for ambient.
So he is pacing because he wants out. You should only be using one fixture for basking... And you need a t5ho linear fixture with a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb that runs the width of the enclosure. He is not getting the right levels of uvb now. I am guessing your cage is a bit warmer then you suspect as well running so many bulbs.

What UVB bulbs are you using? Are they coil bulbs?

The enclosure does not have live plants so there is no where for him to hide and feel safe. Additionally your using all fake vines and hammocks which are meant for Bearded dragons. Looks like you have a layer of dirt on the bottom. If this is not a total bio active layer with clean up crew and drainage then this will only grow bacteria. Bare bottom is best when you do not have a complete bio active enclosure.

I would read through this entire husbandry program it will walk you through how to set up the enclosure for him. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

If you want to fill out the help form that was posted for you with details and take some pics of your boy so we can see him up close that would be helpful to identify any issues and make sure you got the correct info.
 
So I have a male veiled who is almost an adult. I have noticed that he moves around a lot/ exploring his cage. I have him in a 24x48 enclosure and he has quite a bit of space. I have heard mixed things about this so I was hoping to hear what you guys think.
Hi have you filled out a husbandry form ?
 
Hi firstly I would fill out husbandry form. Secondly you don't need 2 uvb lights if they are compacts they are not really suitable for a chameleon (pet shops like to sell stuff lol) not always proper . You need a linear light repti sun 5% or arcadia 6% and a separate only 1 basking light not 3 as you want too create a thermal gradient. If you go to chameleon academy this will explain more . Imo I would get rid of the hammock as they are really designed for bearded dragon not chameleon and add more branches or at least vines and some live plants and more hiding places even if you have to use fake plants for a short time imo would be better than nothing . So I haven't answered your question but without changes being made for the better I feel it would make answering the question harder
 
Hi firstly I would fill out husbandry form. Secondly you don't need 2 uvb lights if they are compacts they are not really suitable for a chameleon (pet shops like to sell stuff lol) not always proper . You need a linear light repti sun 5% or arcadia 6% and a separate only 1 basking light not 3 as you want too create a thermal gradient. If you go to chameleon academy this will explain more . Imo I would get rid of the hammock as they are really designed for bearded dragon not chameleon and add more branches or at least vines and some live plants and more hiding places even if you have to use fake plants for a short time imo would be better than nothing . So I haven't answered your question but without changes being made for the better I feel it would make answering the question harder
Thanks for the advice! So I removed all but one basking lamp and added a UVB bar light that was recommended. I also threw in some extra branches/ vines as well as live plants and Spanish moss. I checked out a few pages to find chameleon safe plants. Is this any better?
 

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Good did you get t5ho uvb. Also with a big enclosure you will want to utilise as much space as possible as empty space is a waste of space You could think about adding some more horizontal branches. Did you get a chance to fill out a husbandry form.
 
Thanks for the advice! So I removed all but one basking lamp and added a UVB bar light that was recommended. I also threw in some extra branches/ vines as well as live plants and Spanish moss. I checked out a few pages to find chameleon safe plants. Is this any better?
Can you take a picture lights down so we can see what fixture you bought?

I would take out the spanish moss If he starts eating this it is an impaction risk.
 
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