my chameleon is acting strange.

kikok1

kikok1

New Member
Hi everybody. I just got a new chameleon i have him for like 3 days. . He is in a glass aquarium i know that its bad, but the aquarium is big enough and its geting good ventilation. Ive put some logs ... i didnt bought them from a pet store i live in a village so i got the from the forest. He has some plants. Ive put a 75w lamp which should be enough and im turning the lamp on when i go to school at 7am and turn it off at 9 pm.
-water
Im spraying 2-3 times a day and ive set something like a system, because the waterfalls for chameleon are a bit expensive. Ive put a system from a hospital that they use to give patients medicines through vein. And there is always water drops and they are filling a small bowl.
-food
He usually eats about 10 crickets a day and he is licking a jelly for reptiles. He likes to bite me but he does it calm and he just holds my hand for a few seconds up to a minute in his mouth and then he let me go. Im giving him wax worms and everything i can get from my garden.
-age - He is like 4-8 months old.
-color and heat
He usually stay brown under the lamp, but lately he turns in different colors like green, yellow and he never stays in one simple color. For Heat its usually 25 degrees and when its night the temperature is almost 12 to 15 degrees.
-He usually acts
He doesnt hide from me. He just stays on his branch and he looks at me with one eye and when i open the cage too feed him he is ok with me. He even let me to pet him, but one friend tryed to touch him and he bite him. He doesnt let me to hold him...but one time a day after i got him he climbed on my hand and he stayed on it for an hour. Still he is a bit stressed. And whats worrying me is that he isnt happy. I dont know why. Am i doing something wrong ... ou yea its a veiled chameleon. I got him from a pet store and they fed him 10 crickets a day and he was in a small aquarium with 0 ventilation and almost no water. What do you think is he stressed or this is just the way he acts .. or he might be sick. Why do i think so ... well he isnt eating a lot ... the crickets are moving around his body and he is only looking at them. Ive seen him eating he even ate from my hand, but i have never seen him drinking.Is he dehidrated am i doing something wrong with the water ? He is always dunno kinda sad ... i cant say but i can feel it somehow.
 
well, to start with, I think there is a lot of physical contact with your chameleon where as you should give him at least a week or two to get used to his surroundings. You shouldn't get your chameleon to the point where he is bitting you. That's a bad sign. I don't think they give "love bites" either. if he is biting you its because he does not like something your doing.

A picture of your chameleon and a picture of his set up is really the best way to try and solve these types of problems.

Chameleons are not like dogs and cats where they liked to be affectionate. Petting your chameleon isn't probably a good idea either. If you "pet" his head he probably is getting scared cause he thinks you are a predator.

I dunno, if you can get us some pics of him and his set up that would be great.

also what does his poop look like? color can help but it does seem he has good eating habits and a good water dripper going.
 

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Hi there welcome to the forum. As said above he needs time to settle in and it sounds like you are stressing him. There are a few things you have said that may not be good for your Cham. Could you copy, paste and fill in the form above and we may be able to help you and your Cham. I am so glad that you haven't bought a waterfall. They may look good but they harbour bacteria. Letting crickets climb over your boy is not good. Depending on the size of them they could annoy him or bite him.
Looking at your set up, he needs lots more leaves in there for him to hide in.
 
If you've only had him for three days, it is most likely stress with the new environment. Also, be careful about what you feed him from your garden, because it might have parasites. I have heard that most chameleons are aggressive, but honestly that comes as a surprise to me because I have had two now that are extremely affectionate. The one I have now is very sweet, and loves to be on me, and its really hard to put her back in her tank honestly because she tries to crawl back on my arm. However, If he is biting you that probably isn't a good sign and he is most likely scared or feels threatened by something your doing, don't try to handle him to often if he is doing this because this could lead to more stress. He is very pretty by the way. Good luck!
 
ok

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - its a veiled chameleon. Its he and he is like 4-8 monts old. I have him for 3 days now
Handling - ive actually hold him once ... when he climbed my hand on his own when i was changing water.
Feeding -crickets, jelly for reptiles and everything i find in my garden .. flyes worms etc. 10 crickets a day.A few in the morning then 3 for luch and 4 for dinner? Well im buying them from the local pet store and im actually putting some proteins im not really shure the word in enlish. Its white dust .. looks like flour.
Supplements - well once a week i give him fruits and one jelly with proteins and vitamins and some interesting treats i find in the pet store. Im almost every day there i have a lot of anymals but the chameleon is a challenge
Watering - Well i set a hospital system.It makes small drops often and the drops end up in a bowl.i mist 3 times a day and i mist until the log get wet, but my chameleon doesnt really like getting wet he gets mad. And no i dont see him drinking at all... once i saw him liking from the glass, but i think he saw his own reflections and he shaked and he licked the glass.
Fecal Description - He is usually brown, becouse he likes staying on a log where the lamp is, but when he get enough light he goes down to the plants and turn the colors you see in the picture above. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?-No actually i dont know.
History - Well i know that he was staying like a month-2 or 3 in a really small aquarium with no ventilation and a lot of light with no plants and a few rocks on the bottom.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Its glass... i dont really know its demensions but its 100 galon tank its really high so it climb.
Lighting - He has 1 lamp with 75w white light? Well i turn on the lamp when i leave for school about 7 am and then turn it off at 8-10 pm.
Temperature -Well the lamo is really strong and its warming the hole aquarium but mostly it can be felt on the log at the top. When its night it the temperature can become 10 degrees.
Humidity - its about 50. Im using the drop system that i descibed above and i mist a lot.
Plants - yea. Mostly i use something like a nettle ... decorativeness and it doesnt hurt when touched and its ok for animals my turtle, parrots and and even the piranahs like it and are ok with it.
Placement - The cage is located next to a window so it can get fresh air?Well there are no fans or any air system and its in a city so i guess that the air is a bit dirty .. its in Sofia the capital of Bulgaria.
Location- i said above

Current Problem - Well that he isnt feeling well .. not eating a lot .. he usually ate 10 crickets and now only 5. Maybe he is bored of the food. And im conserned about his health and if the animal is happy.
 
thank everybody for helping me out. And for the last question- the glass tank gets fresh air because there is something like a ... breeze of fresh air coming trough the window and going in the tank and yea hes been here for 3 days but i think that i will take him out like 2 times a week so he get some sun. But is it really necessery to take him to vet to check his health so soon or should i wait a week or 2 until he get used to the new surrounding
 
Chameleons in captivity need a source of uv which is given by a uv light or direct sunlight. Because yours does not live outside like some in America he needs this. He also needs his insects dusted with plain calcium daily, calcium containing d3 twice a month and a multivitamin without d3 twice a month. You are feeding wild insects which may have been in contact with pesticides which may kill your boy. They may also carry parasites which may affect his health. To allow air into your tank could you put mesh on the top? On of the dangers with glass is that it traps heat which pushes up the temp inside. It is very important to measure the temps which you will get on the care sheet. Veileds will eat some fruit and veg. You will find blogs on here to tell you what is safe. It is also important that your plant is safe as he could have a nibble. Post a pic of it and hopefully someone will identify it. What other bugs does your pet shop carry?
 
Well here a pic of the plant https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=94763&stc=1&d=1395779013
Well in the pet shop there are only crickets .. that are alive. There are all kinds of insects, but they are .. in a can and dead. And yea i give him the white thing .. i just didnt really knew its name. But really guys thank for the help. For the top of the aquarium i have placed a mesh, but im wondering shoud i put some moss?
 

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I know that plant. I will check it for you. No moss. Do you have a pic of the " white stuff" container. It is very important.
 
It's a colius I believe and it's safe. Two very popular ones here are pothus and ficus. They give hight. Good for humidity. Can you search on line for feeders in your country. You may be able to get stick insects, Dubai roaches ( they don't climb) mealworms, butterworms, silkworms ( my favourite ) locusts.
 
Ok I use that TWICE A MONTH. You need one with NO D3 for daily use and a multivitamin TWICE A MONTH. I use Reptivite without d3. Chams usually drink moving water like drips from leaves. Mine likes to drink drops from the tap and also water running from the tap. Standing water like in a bowl needs to be very clean. Standing water tends to be contaminated by drowned crickets and poop.
 
If he's biting you then he is clearly stressed. He won't like being petted so I would avoid that. It's great to hear you have a dripper. Do you have a UV bulb? Also what is his basking spot temperature? You need a calcium powder without d3 for every feeding, a calcium with d3 for use on one feeder every two weeks and a multivitamin for use on one feeder every two weeks. Using calcium with D3 for every feeding will damage his health and could make him quite ill. It's difficult to see from the picture but I'd agree with Kate that looks like flame nettle (coleus).
 
well i told you .. for vitamins i use something ... im not sure what it is, but its jelly and its white and it smells good. It was so good that my friend ate one. It contains proteins and vitamins and im giving him one jelly once a week. I didnt know that i needed calcium powder daily. So that was really helpfull ... Well its not exactly a dropper its . (this is a pic from interner) https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=94767&stc=1&d=1395782441
 

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I dust all feeders with supplements at every feed. How do you know that your Cham has eaten the dusted feeder?Also how do you know if the supplement hasn't brushed off or been washed off before eaten? I wouldn't know:)
 
kikok1 said:
well i told you .. for vitamins i use something ... im not sure what it is, but its jelly and its white and it smells good. It was so good that my friend ate one. It contains proteins and vitamins and im giving him one jelly once a week. I didnt know that i needed calcium powder daily. So that was really helpfull ... Well its not exactly a dropper its . (this is a pic from interner) https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=94767&stc=1&d=1395782441
Click to expand...

I like it. Have often thought of doing that. Not sure about this jelly. Can I suggest you get Reptivite without d3. It's made by Zoomed the same as the pic you posted no. Unfortunately keeping chams is a delicate balance. Get it wrong and your boy may be in trouble. I have seen jelly pots recently in my local shop , personally I wouldn't use them as some are marketed for geckos and others for bugs to feed on. :)
 
im giving the brushed once by hand and he eats it from me ... but still im concerne that he isnt isnt drinking water at all and he isnt eating lately ... could he be bored of the food i bring him ?and yes you can sujest ... im new here so any help is helpful for me .. i will try to find a pic of the jelly
 
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