Julia777
Established Member
Age: My cham, Vertigo, was purchased in April of this year, but they were not sure of her age. She was only about 5 inches long at the time.
Personality: She will climb onto my hand, eat worms from my hand, and accept me dropping water on her head so that it rolls down to her mouth (through the screen, using dripper) sometimes. She also drinks from dripper without my aligning it directly over her. When she had eye problem, she tolerated me and my niece giving her eye medication daily for 3-4 weeks. When I spray her directly with water or near her, she turns colors to show that she is perturbed. She hisses on occasion, but has never bitten anyone and has been held by at least 10 different people (not to mention, several doctors). She can be taken out of the cage, but when I do so she is restless, walks faster, and is eager to get back in. We try to take her out at least once per day as it seems important that she continue to trust us and to be tame in the event future medical care and handling is needed.
Cage: 18x18x24 glass cage, Exo Terra. I have read up on glass cages and am careful in monitoring temperature (as it can get hotter in there), humidity, etc. It seems to be working well so far. She has fake plants, fake branches to climb on, two hammocks (which she loves), and a few places to hide well behind plants. I've also hung hammocks vertically on portions of the glass so that she can climb up parts of the wall, as she likes to do this. I like the cage setup a lot and it's crowded enough that she can hide from me a bit if she would like to (which she does...lol). She also has an egg laying bin.
Lighting: Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and basking light and Exo Terra Sun Glo 120v 60hz basking light.
Diet: Crickets, mealworms, silkworms, superworms
Hydration: Use dripper 2x/day and mist at least once per day.
Gutload: Fruits and veggies (commonly apple, orange, or strawberry, along with romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, carrot, and sometimes sweet potato or red pepper)
Vitamins:
Reptivite/Herptivite - biweekly give one or the other, I rotate them.
Calcium without D3 - every other day
Question for the Group:
I am wondering Vertigo is now gravid. She has mustard colors now and hasn't been eating anything when I feed her (at least, not in front of me) at all yesterday or today. She usually goes to the food immediately. She wouldn't even eat a worm from my hand yesterday or today, and this has never happened.
She otherwise seems healthy, but appears a little restless. She is also scratching at the screen on the top of the cage with some frequency and this is a new behavior and I'm wondering if this could be nesting instinct. Her egg laying bin was under her large hammock so I moved it over to the other side of the cage where it is more visible. She has been in it in the past, so is familiar with it, but I haven’t seen her in there when I am in the room. She has been more interested in scratching things around the top of the cage – the glass, the screen on the top of the cage, and plants.
She is also hissing at me more than normal, and with more intensity. I have been afraid to try to pick her up.
She was laying on a branch that is partly on the floor yesterday morning, but then began climbing and was up high all day and has been up high today also. But I have never seen her resting on a branch near the floor as if she is laying on it as she did yesterday. And her feet were on the floor of the cage when she did this.
Do you think she may be gravid now and, if so, is there anything I should be doing differently? She is in the cage alone all day and so I am not sure whether I need to cover it in this circumstance.
Personality: She will climb onto my hand, eat worms from my hand, and accept me dropping water on her head so that it rolls down to her mouth (through the screen, using dripper) sometimes. She also drinks from dripper without my aligning it directly over her. When she had eye problem, she tolerated me and my niece giving her eye medication daily for 3-4 weeks. When I spray her directly with water or near her, she turns colors to show that she is perturbed. She hisses on occasion, but has never bitten anyone and has been held by at least 10 different people (not to mention, several doctors). She can be taken out of the cage, but when I do so she is restless, walks faster, and is eager to get back in. We try to take her out at least once per day as it seems important that she continue to trust us and to be tame in the event future medical care and handling is needed.
Cage: 18x18x24 glass cage, Exo Terra. I have read up on glass cages and am careful in monitoring temperature (as it can get hotter in there), humidity, etc. It seems to be working well so far. She has fake plants, fake branches to climb on, two hammocks (which she loves), and a few places to hide well behind plants. I've also hung hammocks vertically on portions of the glass so that she can climb up parts of the wall, as she likes to do this. I like the cage setup a lot and it's crowded enough that she can hide from me a bit if she would like to (which she does...lol). She also has an egg laying bin.
Lighting: Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and basking light and Exo Terra Sun Glo 120v 60hz basking light.
Diet: Crickets, mealworms, silkworms, superworms
Hydration: Use dripper 2x/day and mist at least once per day.
Gutload: Fruits and veggies (commonly apple, orange, or strawberry, along with romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, carrot, and sometimes sweet potato or red pepper)
Vitamins:
Reptivite/Herptivite - biweekly give one or the other, I rotate them.
Calcium without D3 - every other day
Question for the Group:
I am wondering Vertigo is now gravid. She has mustard colors now and hasn't been eating anything when I feed her (at least, not in front of me) at all yesterday or today. She usually goes to the food immediately. She wouldn't even eat a worm from my hand yesterday or today, and this has never happened.
She otherwise seems healthy, but appears a little restless. She is also scratching at the screen on the top of the cage with some frequency and this is a new behavior and I'm wondering if this could be nesting instinct. Her egg laying bin was under her large hammock so I moved it over to the other side of the cage where it is more visible. She has been in it in the past, so is familiar with it, but I haven’t seen her in there when I am in the room. She has been more interested in scratching things around the top of the cage – the glass, the screen on the top of the cage, and plants.
She is also hissing at me more than normal, and with more intensity. I have been afraid to try to pick her up.
She was laying on a branch that is partly on the floor yesterday morning, but then began climbing and was up high all day and has been up high today also. But I have never seen her resting on a branch near the floor as if she is laying on it as she did yesterday. And her feet were on the floor of the cage when she did this.
Do you think she may be gravid now and, if so, is there anything I should be doing differently? She is in the cage alone all day and so I am not sure whether I need to cover it in this circumstance.
.
