Our little acrobat keeps falling

[skeeta]

We have our Werners chameleon living happily in a six foot tall mesh enclosure. She is very active, but tends to spend alot of her time on the highest point of her branches, and even on the ceiling. It wouldn't bother me so much if she *stayed* there, but she keeps falling!! The bottom of her enclosure is padded with soft, clean towels, but it still stresses us out!!
Is this normal?!

 

[kinyonga]

I wouldn't say that your chameleon should be falling so often. Is there a possiblity it has a calcium deficiency?

How long have you had it?
What do you use as a UVB source? What's the basking temperature? Supplements? Gutload? (Please be specific.)

 

[Smitty]

Also, does she have all her toenails? If any are missing from the screen or anything that can lead to additional falls.

 

[skeeta]

She does have all of her toenails, and she still has a very strong grip. We've had her since january. For gutload, we feed crickets "Reo-cal" cricket food, "T-rex calcium plus", "Flukers orange cubes", and "Nature zone Total cricket bites". We also cover them in calcium powder and spirulina. We have a lamp with 4 bulbs on it, 2 for UVB, and 2 for basking. We put a couple drops of the electrolyte and vitamin D3 supplement in her misting water. The temperature in her enclosure ranges from 65 to 75 degrees F. In addition, during the warmer climate days, we take her outside for a more natural UVB source.

 

[TRI0N]

Lamp with 4 bulbs in it. I would guess this is a Fixture that holds 2 Tubes and 2 Screw-In lights.

What watts and brand are the heat lamps, brand make for the tubes that provide UVB?
Distance that the fixture is from your chameleons highest climbing point?


Also UVA is needed for your pet. Failure to provide UVA lighting dramatically alters the chameleons perception of their world and is likely to cause stress

 

[dj special k]

Is UVA a necessary requirement? I have a UVB light and they don't seem stressed. Should I be having a UVa and UVb?

 

[TRI0N]

UVA promotes digestion and feeding. ReptiSun 5.0 does provide UVB and UVA but I also use a Basking Lamp that provides the heat and UVA enhances her psychological well-being and promotes her to hunt her food down. Over all it keeps them more active and from what I have read mellows them out to where a chameleon that has no UVA is more agressive and mean then chameleons that are provided with UVA. I also read that this promotes digestion on food better then just heat itself can provide.

 

[skeeta]

We have the 26w and 13w ReptiGlo bulbs, which provide both uva and uvb, as well as her basking lamps. They are about three inches from her terrarium.
Aside from her dangerous leaps, she is in fantastic shape; no digestion problems, regular stools, very active, healthy appetite. She just puts herself into ridiculous situations.
Maybe she has ADD.
Thanks for your help!

 

[bucky]

ADD lol?! Well...they can focus on two things at the same time,i can see how most of em could have it Sorry to be a jerk,i just think its funny

 

[skeeta]

Just as long as I don't have to dust my crickets with ritalin...

 

[Trace]

Hello Skeeta...

I had a looksee at your photo contest entry and gallery pics and I hate to break it to you, but that ain't no female Chamaeleo trioceros werneri. In fact, it's a jacksonii xantholophus.

While care is similar for the two species, there are some differences. There are plenty good Jackson's caresheets online and perhaps changing those differences will make your female feel better.

Could she be gravid?

Good luck,
T

 

[kinyonga]

Good detective work Trace!

Here's some information...
http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/cjacksonixanth.html
http://www.geocities.com/chamjacksonii/

 

[christyo2o2]

Thats ok. My male Veiled began life as a female. Somewhere between buying it and going to the vet last week he had a sex change...

 

[FaunaBgirl]

I noticed an increased strength in my xantholophus' when feeding them phoenix worms. Also, I too have the falling problem with my female. Her front right is but a stump and her back left is shorter and does not grip as well as it should. I'm thinking that I will create a cage for her that is long and wide, but shallow and just keep it up high for her to feel ok in it. That way when she falls, which she does a lot, she will always, hopefully, be ok. The other day her head hit the rim of one of her plant pots and there was an awful thunk sound. Poor Lali...

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

is it just me or is anyone else worried that too many types of sups and vits are being used via gutloads, liquids and powders, esp d3. i didnt look the contents up but still. just a thought

 

[TRI0N]

Thats why it is a good idea to supliment dusting cycles with power that does not have D3. Multi-Vit 2 days a week, Calcium only without D3 2 days a week, Calcium with D3 2 days a week, and one day a week no dusting at all. Most people only dust 1/4 or 1/3 of the feed they offer.

I do Multi-Vit Monday and Thursday, Calcium no D3 Wednesday and Saturday, Calcium with D3, Tuesday and Friday.. I only dust 1/3 of my feed offered and offer the dusted in a cup first thing in the morning and then let loose 6 crickets into the enclosure for her to hunt down.

I do not use Calcium or anything to my water dripper and auto sprayer and only a nuetralizer to eliminate hard warter deposits.

Guttload Cubes I use just for the minerals and water while my dusting is what I use for Vitiamins. I don't put too much into vitamins for gutload since I'm not so sure such vitamins will even be much help once a crickets eats and begins to process them.

Many others have their own views and cycles for live feed. However this works great for me and Victoria.

 

[skeeta]

Trace;
So thaaaaaaat explains her identity crisis ... she be a Jackson!
Wow, thank you, we are making fine adjustments, and she seems quite happy. Haven't had any tumbles for a while

Trion;
No she isn't gravid, not yet; I couldn't imagine the strain of having ADD, multiple personalities, and being in a 'delicate way' all thrown at her in one week

Thanks again for all the replies!!!

 

[Trace]

I'm glad your little girl is feeling better! Being active and exploring the cage (yes, even upside down) are signs of a chameleon in a new cage or situation. They usually calm down in short order. I'm assuming she's new to you...

A tip: I can't stress enough the importance of humidity to the Jackson's and other montane species. Try and keep it at least 70% - try for 80% or more - during the day. 100% overnights.

Active, in ovoviviparous females, is also an indicator of impending birth. I'm going by the two pics in your gallery, but are you positive she's not gravid? She does look quite large in this one:

I can't think of anyone who's produced jacksonii in Ontario this year (Someone correct me if I'm wrong) so I also assume her to be WC? If so, she may be in a "delicate way"; you just don't know. If she's not gravid, you might want to cut down on her food intake a bit.

Cheers!
t