Sanity check on new chameleon's daily routine

[Charms]

Hi all,

My 3-month-old veiled chameleon Charms has been in my home for 9 days now, and he's begun to establish a routine. I'd like to tell you about it and show you some photos of him for any feedback / guidance.

Charms sleeps on his topmost branch with his little chin resting on the branch. It's very cute. He wakes up around 7AM, when I do, and his basking lamp and UV lamp go on.
First, he eats 3-5 medium crickets (I usually put in 8-10). He's a very little guy.

Then, he basks under his lamp for about 2 hours, until he drops a big steamer, always in the same spot:

Charms doing "the stanky leg":

One thing I've noticed is that Charms flattens his body / sucks it in really tight, so he almost looks like a fish when he basks. Is this normal?

A shot of a typical fecal:

I'm not sure if he's dehydrated, but his eyes are like turrets and his bowel movements are generally moist / soft.

After Charms poops, he climbs down to the bottom of his enclosure and digs around / rests in the dirt for a while, which I understand is unusual:

Then, after about 30 minutes of that, he climbs back up his dracaena tree and returns to his sleeping spot, outside of his basking area. He will then sort of do this patrol over and over all day (minus the pooping, which only occurs once per day).

He's very finicky about eating in front of me so I think he hunts his remaining crickets in the enclosure when I'm not around, and sometimes I'll add more to the enclosure for him.
He's terrified of me and my wife, and often slinks away when he sees us enter the room. When we have to gently remove him from the front of the enclosure to clean it, he has a firm grip on our hands and moves quite well. He's pretty fast for a chameleon.
He will not eat out of our hands.
He will not eat his Dubia roaches or his waxworms. He ONLY eats crickets, which we dust daily in Repti Calcium without D3. Once a week, he gets the D3 stuff.

Do you see anything in this text / in these photos you think I should know about?

 

[ERKleRose]

A few things I’ve noticed:
-The moss needs to be removed immediately, and the red light needs to be replaced with a white light heat bulb ASAP (we’ve already talked about both of those things already)
-What are his basking, nighttime and daytime ambient temps and nighttime and daytime humidity levels, and how are you measuring them? They might hold an answer for his digging. He could also possibly be trying to “escape”; could you post a pic showing his entire set up, please?
-He should be getting fed 1/4” feeders only, medium crickets are far too big, and he should be eating much more. I would get his poop tested for parasites ASAP. See if a local exotic vet will test them without an appointment
-He needs to be left alone to settle in right now. Handling and “bothering” (checking in on him, watching him, etc) is very stressful for him right now. You could also cover the sides of his cage (without prohibiting airflow) for extra privacy

 

[ERKleRose]

Are his feeders let loose in his enclosure? If so, start using a feeder run, at least until he comes back all clear for parasites. This also allows you to better monitor his food intake. Are you removing the feeders each day?

Also, the D3 is only once every two weeks. What supplements do you have?

 

[Charms]

I ordered the 60w Exo Terra daytime heat bulb you recommended to replace the red one, and it arrived today! I'll be swapping it in soon.

I will remove the moss.

I bought the Govee Smart Thermo-Hygrometer recommended by you folks. His daytime basking temp is 82, and his night time temp is 68. Humidity is between 35 and 50% during the day. At night it's in the 40s.

The feeders are loose in the enclosure. I'll google a feeder run.

Sorry, I said he eats medium crickets, but they're actually the small ones from Petsmart. When I go in, they ask "do you want regular or small?" and I always ask for the small. He has no trouble catching and munching on them.

 

[ERKleRose]

Awesome!

Those are all good! Though his basking should be 80*F at his age, and the basking temp should be measured separately with a digital probed thermometer (the probe needs to be where the top of his back is when he’s on his basking branch). You can also boost his nighttime humidity a little more, and if there’s enough airflow in his cage, and the nighttime temps stay at or below 67/68*F (preferably closer to, at, or lower than, 65*F if possible), you can add a cool mist humidifier/fogger to help hydrate him even more! If it comes with crinkly tubing, replace it with pvc pipe or aquarium/vinyl tubing to keep it more sanitary. With a fogger (only run intermittently during the coldest parts of/in the middle of the night), low enough temps, and proper air flow, his nighttime humidity can go up to 80% or higher (up to 100% but that’s not needed)!

Great! Here’s a link with instructions on how to make a diy one (use knitting mesh instead for the climbing part; Walmart, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby all sell knitting mesh): https://dragonstrand.com/constructing-a-chameleon-feeder-run/
You can even just use a plastic cup zip tied to a branch (that is below another branch)! Commercial options to replace a diy one (if wanted) are Full Throttle Feedeers (I’ve diyed theirs, as well): https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/feedercups , Sunset Chameleons: https://sunsetchameleons.com/product-category/chameleons/chameleon-feeders/ , and TK Chameleons (I’ve diyed theirs, too): https://tkchameleons.com/collections/accessories or https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/shooting-gallery-chameleon-feeder/

Pet store crickets have inconsistent sizing and have a higher chance of carrying parasites. Order from Ghann’s Crickets, they’re the most reputable crickets supplier, they ship overnight, and their crickets are by far the healthiest and last the longest of all places! I’ve rarely (only one time!) had an order come in with any dead crickets at all, and if I do, it’s literally only one or two! Here’s their link to 1/4” crickets: https://www.ghann.com/Live-Crickets-14-P7.aspx

 

[ERKleRose]

Last two things are what supplements do you have, and what schedule are you using, and is there enough plant cover in his cage (it’s possible he’s digging to either try to escape or he feels more secure and covered down there- a whole cage pic would help!)?

Edit: flattening his body to bask is perfectly normal!

 

[Gloriawood]

Even though he is only eating crickets, continue offering other feeders. Chameleons are like kids when it comes to new food. Sometimes it takes them a few tries to decide if they like it or not. I recommend dubiaroaches.com for other feeders like dubia and BSFL. They are awesome.

 

[Beman]

Is your bottom fully bioactive? As in has a proper drainage layer and clean up crew insects? Moss should go then you want a thick layer of leaf litter.

You sure you have a male? Does it have tarsal spurs on the back of the back feet?

Charms sleeps on his topmost branch with his little chin resting on the branch. It's very cute. He wakes up around 7AM, when I do, and his basking lamp and UV lamp go on.
First, he eats 3-5 medium crickets (I usually put in 8-10). He's a very little guy.

Then, he basks under his lamp for about 2 hours, until he drops a big steamer, always in the same spot:

Sleeping spots will change the more the baby adjusts to the cage. Medium crickets I would not recommend you want small which would be 1/4 of an inch. They will back off eating if the feeders are too large. And a baby this young should be taking down 2 dozen small feeders a day. You need a feeder run. You do not want to free feed not only because you have a dirt bottom and the insects will dig in but because of health reasons and ensuring baby is taking in what it should be.

One thing I've noticed is that Charms flattens his body / sucks it in really tight, so he almost looks like a fish when he basks. Is this normal?

Totally normal trying to flatten out to get a larger surface area to warm thoroughly.

I'm not sure if he's dehydrated, but his eyes are like turrets and his bowel movements are generally moist / soft.

No, urates are 100% white which means hydrated. As long as the urate is at least 50% white then the cham is considered hydrated.

After Charms poops, he climbs down to the bottom of his enclosure and digs around / rests in the dirt for a while, which I understand is unusual:

Not normal which leads me to believe there are crickets down in the dirt the baby is hunting.

Then, after about 30 minutes of that, he climbs back up his dracaena tree and returns to his sleeping spot, outside of his basking area. He will then sort of do this patrol over and over all day (minus the pooping, which only occurs once per day).

He's very finicky about eating in front of me so I think he hunts his remaining crickets in the enclosure when I'm not around, and sometimes I'll add more to the enclosure for him.
He's terrified of me and my wife, and often slinks away when he sees us enter the room. When we have to gently remove him from the front of the enclosure to clean it, he has a firm grip on our hands and moves quite well. He's pretty fast for a chameleon.
He will not eat out of our hands.
He will not eat his Dubia roaches or his waxworms. He ONLY eats crickets, which we dust daily in Repti Calcium without D3. Once a week, he gets the D3 stuff.

Do you see anything in this text / in these photos you think I should know about?

Babies spend most of their time near the basking area. As they mature they spend less time there and males will patrol more.

Most will not eat in front of people until they get used to them. Not until they build trust. This is a slow process most chams do not like to be messed with much at all. Veileds can be particularly unfriendly as well. Baby needs to settle in first then start with trust building. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

You should not be removing the baby at all. I am not sure what you would need to clean in a fully bio active set up? This is what your clean up crew is for. You can work around a chameleon if you need to pull something out or remove fecal. Forcing baby out is going to cause more stress and work against you. They need to relate your hands to something positive like food not something negative.

Baby is not going to eat out of your hands right away. Depending on where you got the baby it may never have had real interaction with a human that was positive. THis takes time to build trust and for them to learn that you and your hands mean something good.

Most babies will not eat insects that they have not been exposed to prior. This is where a feeder run comes in. You add in a few of the new feeders with all of their crickets. they start picking off the other feeders and learn they are food. Hopefully you are not releasing the dubia into the cage. They are going to dig in and if they mature they will start breeding in the cage.

NEXT What are you doing for your supplements? They should not get D3 once a week. It is calcium without D3 at every feeding then 2 times a month they should have a multivitamin that has vitamin A and D3 in it. This ends up being a cycle of the 1st and 15th of the month. All insects should be lightly dusted and immediately put in the feeder run.

A common misconception with chameleons is that they can be handled. Honestly if you go into it thinking they are more like a fish tank that you look at then should your cham choose to trust you it is a bonus. Not all chams are friendly and you got a veiled which means you are going to have to work at building trust. Some will become very much ok with their keeper and some simply tolerate them. Some can become very aggressive especially once maturity hits.