Strange behavior - should I be worried?

Tyaeda

Established Member
Mr.Pink is throwing us for a loop again, hopefully this time it's not serious.

Mr.Pink has gone from eating anything we offer, to not eating much at all. He doesn't hand feed more than one cricket anymore, and now the only way we know he's getting anything is by counting crickets. 5-6 medium to large crickets a day.

I'm thinking this is because of his recent shed. I also attributed some of his strange behavior to the shed as well. He's been very active lately, and we will see him bask less, and "run" around his cage more. I've seen him do this a lot when he's shedding, to get the shed off faster (running through foliage, stretching out, etc).

But, now he's done shedding, and even the shed doesn't explain his recent fondness of being outside of his cage. In the past week or so, he's been more than happy to come out of his cage, and will rush the door as soon as it opens. Once out, he doesn't want back in, and would rather climb back up my arm than go back inside. It doesn't happen all the time, but before a week ago, it never happened once. Usually if he's out, he's eager to go back to his enclosure. He has also been roaming around the bottom of his cage... I don't know why.


It's been a lot cooler out lately, so I don't think he's too hot. His basking stays between 85-90 degrees, and his humidity ranges from 40 - 80 percent throughout the day. His mister goes off for 1 minute every 3 hours, and I spray him with warm (almost hot) water when I think he's about to shed, during his shed, and a for a few days after his shed. These warm mists last about 5-10 minutes, once a day.

Here's my husbandry info:

Your Chameleon - Male, Veiled. 6-7 Months old (approx), had him for 3.5 months.

Handling - Almost daily, we take him outside for sunbathes when it's warm. Recently he's been wanting to be handled.

Feeding - Crickets, mealworms, supers, and hornworms. Staple diet is crickets, worms as occasional treats. Wet gutload is Romaine, Carrots, Oranges, Apples, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens, and Strawberries. Dry gutload is: Quick Oats, Dried Kelp, Sesame Seeds, Ground Ginger, Dried Basil, Garlic Powder. All of his feeders are dusted. He also eats 2-3 small pieces of strawberry on occasion, but hasn't in a few weeks.

Supplements - Every cricket is dusted with Repti Calcucium (without d3), and every other week I give him Exoterra Mutli and Repti cal with d3.

Watering - We use a reptirain misting system that goes off for one minute every 3 hours. During shedding time we provide warm mists once a day.

Fecal Description - Never been tested for parasites as far as I know. He goes at least once a day, and it's white and dark brown.

History - I bought him from a local reptile specialty store / reptile zoo. They only had him a day, but said he was from a breeder in Russia. Don't know the significance of that, if any.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 2x2x4' tall, screen enclosure.
Lighting - Exoterra 13W Reptile UVB 100 (Former Repti Glo 5.0 Compact), 75W basking light, on a dimmer. They go on at 6am, go off around 7pm. . My husband and I have been taking him outside for 15 minute sunbathes whenever it's warm enough out... lately it's been too cold.

Temperature - Basking is usually 85*F - 90*F, Ambient is usually 70 - 80 during the day. Lowest overnight was 55*. We measure with a digital dual purpose thermometer and hygrometer.

Humidity - 40 - 80 % Humidity, maintained through misting system that goes off for 60 seconds, every 3 hours. He drinks from the spouts when they drip, and the leaves.

Plants - 2 Golden Pothos, and a bunch of fake foliage.

Placement - In the corner, between two windows, in my dining room. I have four cats that don't pay any attention to him. But other than that, it's only my husband and myself.

Location - Ontario, Canada
 
I am a pretty inexperienced keeper personally, so my opinions and advice is limited, but nothing seems out of the ordinary. This might just be a time in his life at which his attitude is changing. Chameleons seem to often under go personality changes throughout their life, mainly from the time they are a juvenile to the time they are an adult. Just keep an eye out and maybe do a little more cleaning on the cage? Just an idea for why he might want out.
 
Only comment I can make is you really shouldn't have a "staple" feeder. Variety is always better. You can also add silkworms and phoenix worms to the mix. Both are very good feeders. FYI, because they are so high in calcium, phoenix worms do not need to be dusted with calcium. Stop offering worms as occassional treats and start adding them in on a regular basis.

He could just be getting bored with the crickets. Chameleons do get bored with eating the same thing every day, just like we do.
 
I wish I could offer him more, but I'm limited to what I can offer. No dubias, or any exotic roaches for that matter. I really want to try blue bottle flies, but I can't find any for sale anywhere. It very well could be a protest against crickets....


Although my husband and I clean his cage weekly, I'll take that into account and once my husband gets home from work, we plan to clean it again. I need his help because we have cats, and can't let mr.pink roam free in the house unsupervised.
 
I see that you're in Canada, as am I. Roaches can be found if you know where to look. Also there are online supplies of feeders here too. Not as many or as good of selection or prices as in the US, but they do have all the various worms as well as crickets.
 
I see that you're in Canada, as am I. Roaches can be found if you know where to look. Also there are online supplies of feeders here too. Not as many or as good of selection or prices as in the US, but they do have all the various worms as well as crickets.


Could you PM me some links? I'd like to get some silkies, phonix, and blue bottle flies.
 
As of roaches, I have a local breeder I get from who has them in the millions, I swear....If anything I could be persuaded to start sending some out to people in need if worst comes to worst (Or trading for feeders I can't get like silkies or horns).

A great solution for having a Cham out of cage when your options are limited is the shower :D As long as they are okay with showering and you are able to keep a decent eye on them (I check mine very 5 minutes or so when I let them take a shower).
 
As of roaches, I have a local breeder I get from who has them in the millions, I swear....If anything I could be persuaded to start sending some out to people in need if worst comes to worst (Or trading for feeders I can't get like silkies or horns).

A great solution for having a Cham out of cage when your options are limited is the shower :D As long as they are okay with showering and you are able to keep a decent eye on them (I check mine very 5 minutes or so when I let them take a shower).


Exotic roaches are illegal as feeders in Canada, and can only be imported to research organizations and museums.
 
I really should not be commenting as I don't have a veilded but I've noticed that my panther hasn't been eating as well since it's started to get colder- He's still eating but where he used to bolt to the cup now he makes his way in his own sweet time and is finished sooner. He's about the same age (7 months) and it's about the age when they switch over from once a day to once every other day feeding- I read one thread where the expert said that it was normal for their apeitites to decrease as they get older - I've decreased his normal cricket supply every other day but kept his "switch up" ( I try and give him different worms or throw in some flies for variety)
 
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