Little help please? (angry veiled Cham)

Parker

Parker

New Member
Hi guys,

I have a 5 month old veiled male Cham and over the past 2 weeks I've noticed his behaviour has changed rather drastically , he no long let's me handle him at all ( hisses and nips at me ) and hides behind branches when I come close to his enclosure, he won't eat or drink while I'm watching and often turns a dark brown / black colour when I open his viv, he's only a bright green when he's asleep other than that he's a darker green with some yellow stripes.

Living conditions: I keep him in a 3ft wide 2ft high 18 inch deep wooden viv with a glass front about 5ft off the ground, basking temp of 85f. I'm feeding him carrot fed crickets dusted with calci-dust (5 a day) but tried him on Chinese grasshoppers today to see if it would cheer him up (it didn't)

My question is 3 fold, 1. Should I be concerned by this behaviour? Or is he just turning into a teenager?

2. Is it time to expand his living space? Maybe give him more height as Appleseed to width? Or more of both?

3. Is there anything else I should be doing to care for the little guy that could restore him back to his happy climbing up the curtains nature?

I'd be glad to answer any questions if more info is needed...

Any help/ advice would be much appreciated , thanks :)
 
Parker said:
Hi guys,

I have a 5 month old veiled male Cham and over the past 2 weeks I've noticed his behaviour has changed rather drastically , he no long let's me handle him at all ( hisses and nips at me ) and hides behind branches when I come close to his enclosure, he won't eat or drink while I'm watching and often turns a dark brown / black colour when I open his viv, he's only a bright green when he's asleep other than that he's a darker green with some yellow stripes.

Living conditions: I keep him in a 3ft wide 2ft high 18 inch deep wooden viv with a glass front about 5ft off the ground, basking temp of 85f. I'm feeding him carrot fed crickets dusted with calci-dust (5 a day) but tried him on Chinese grasshoppers today to see if it would cheer him up (it didn't)

My question is 3 fold, 1. Should I be concerned by this behaviour? Or is he just turning into a teenager?

2. Is it time to expand his living space? Maybe give him more height as Appleseed to width? Or more of both?

3. Is there anything else I should be doing to care for the little guy that could restore him back to his happy climbing up the curtains nature?

I'd be glad to answer any questions if more info is needed...

Any help/ advice would be much appreciated , thanks :)
Click to expand...

lol I just posted a thread asking the same thing about my 4 month old veiled.
 
Welcome to the world of juvenile chameleons. They become very territorial when their hormones start circulating and they don't want any hands inside their territory. Once you get them out they usually settle down.
 
I'd recommend a little deeper and taller. 3' wide is awsome but he'd like about 4' tall and 2' deep. How much screen does ur enclouse have.

I also reploed to the other thread! He could lighten up... Or not lol. There territorial creatures!. Ur best bet is to leave him alone for along time onky feeding and misting snd being around. Try hand feeding the first bug of the day. Get a lively one! Hold it out for a couple minutes everyday hold real still with a bug that moves alot. meal worms shouldn't be fed to often but do whirl around a lot and attract my guy well.
 
Thanks for the speedy reply :)

As far as screen goes the entire front is glass with currently 2 large leafy fake vines hanging vertically and there was a live bamboo plant which looked awesome but he was chewing at the stem which apparently isn't good for him so I removed it this morning .... Saying that since I pulled it out he seems to have cheered up a bit , maybe because his environment has changed so he can explore, maybe the change of food :confused:

I do intend to give him an entire alcove from about 4ft off the ground to the ceiling still 3ft wide and 18imch deep but have been quoted £500 for the build so that may have to wait a while.
 
Also I'd recommend looking into more of a gutload. Just carrots is alot of vit. a..
also I'd feed about 8-10 a day till 7-9 months then move to 7-10 every other day JMO
 
reptilover said:
Also I'd recommend looking into more of a gutload. Just carrots is alot of vit. a..
also I'd feed about 8-10 a day till 7-9 months then move to 7-10 every other day JMO
Click to expand...

Ok I'll do that starting tomorrow any suggestion on a good gut load that I may have around the house?
 
Parker said:
Thanks for the speedy reply :)

As far as screen goes the entire front is glass with currently 2 large leafy fake vines hanging vertically and there was a live bamboo plant which looked awesome but he was chewing at the stem which apparently isn't good for him so I removed it this morning .... Saying that since I pulled it out he seems to have cheered up a bit , maybe because his environment has changed so he can explore, maybe the change of food :confused:

I do intend to give him an entire alcove from about 4ft off the ground to the ceiling still 3ft wide and 18imch deep but have been quoted £500 for the build so that may have to wait a while.
Click to expand...

Wat I ment by screen is u mentioned wood with a glass front enclouser.. is the side solid wood? Screen top? Ventalation is very important. Five hundreds a lot if u can use a hand saw, screw gun and staple gun u can do it for 100 bucks
 
reptilover said:
Wat I ment by screen is u mentioned wood with a glass front enclouser.. is the side solid wood? Screen top? Ventalation is very important. Five hundreds a lot if u can use a hand saw, screw gun and staple gun u can do it for 100 bucks
Click to expand...

Ah I see sorry, I thought u meant cover for him to hide in *slaps forehead* it's solid wood on 5 sides with the back wall about 4inch short and a cm forward with a (hard to describe) holey vented area behind it so I think it's pretty well ventilated without risk of him getting spooked by the cat

Oh also.. The enclosure I want to build will include new lamps etc and underlying cupboard and shelves and pull out draw (for easy cleaning) plus labour cost as I am terrible at DIY lol
 
Last edited:
Your enclosure size does need to be address'ed as sugested, Veilds attitudes can change with age. My first Veiled was named Steps when we first got him,due to that cute leaf walk.His name was changed to Big Nasty by age 3 due to his thirst for human blood.lol When you take him out try to make it a possitive exsprence, set up a freerange area or set up a outdoor cage weather permitting. When hand feeding that first bug of the day you can also try holding a feeder dish in you hand,and make sure he sees the bug in the dish.good luck.
 
reptilover said:
Also I'd recommend looking into more of a gutload. Just carrots is alot of vit. a..
also I'd feed about 8-10 a day till 7-9 months then move to 7-10 every other day JMO
Click to expand...

thanks,that's handy to know, I've been wondering when I should change his feeding schedule.
 
imcurt said:
Your enclosure size does need to be address'ed as sugested, Veilds attitudes can change with age. My first Veiled was named Steps when we first got him,due to that cute leaf walk.His name was changed to Big Nasty by age 3 due to his thirst for human blood.lol When you take him out try to make it a possitive exsprence, set up a freerange area or set up a outdoor cage weather permitting. When hand feeding that first bug of the day you can also try holding a feeder dish in you hand,and make sure he sees the bug in the dish.good luck.
Click to expand...

Haha thanks mine was called 'lil guy' but he's outgrowing that name lol , ok I'll give that ago thanks for the advice ...
 
I read that you should only dust your crickets with calcium twice a week? too much calcium can be bad for them. maby that has something to do with his mood?
 
darryl99 said:
My veiled was really sweet at first but now at 4 months old she is getting grumpy. I think that is fairly normal. Checkout my video I shot this morning. This was after she started to calm down :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwV4mizAhHQ&feature=plcp
Click to expand...

lol love it. She looks much bigger than my cham though & I think he's the same age. Is it just the way the camera is positioned I wonder. Neelix is only about 5cm in length (not including his tail)
 
lysinlight87 said:
lol love it. She looks much bigger than my cham though & I think he's the same age. Is it just the way the camera is positioned I wonder. Neelix is only about 5cm in length (not including his tail)
Click to expand...

Yeah she's bigger than mine too , mines 9 inches from nose to tail but looks a lot thinner
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Brand new male Veiled. How can I help him de-stress?
2
Replies
25
Views
609
Beman
Beman
F
Sudden health issues
Replies
9
Views
222
jannb
jannb
baldarthecham
New chameleon owner I rescued him in bad shape HELP ME!
5 6 7
Replies
137
Views
5K
baldarthecham
baldarthecham
Q
Looking for guidance on my veiled chameleon
Replies
4
Views
920
kinyonga
K
C
Sanity check on new chameleon's daily routine
Replies
7
Views
131
Beman
Beman
Back
Top Bottom