Unusual chameleon behavior? Looking for input :)

[qRxei]

I've never posted here before and I'm a first time chameleon owner looking for some advice . I have a 6/7 month old female veiled chameleon who I think is showing some unusual behavior and I've thought of 2 possible explanations but was hoping for some input from more experienced owners.

I've noticed that she seems to be climbing the sides of her enclosure a lot, especially the front and sides,not so much the back & top, and this behavior seems to increase when I come close to her enclosure, this doesn't happen everytime just some of the time, she isn't doing this constantly and is content basking and just chilling. (going to attach some pictures of her enclosure if Im able to/figure out how to do that) and she seems to want to come out a lot, I'm concerned about this because I'm aware this can be a sigh of boredom and understimulation.

A few details about her enclosure: it's a large reptibreeze, she has a laying bin and a mixture of real and fake plants aswell as branches and a vine. Her basking area averages around 27-30 degrees Celsius (I'm from the uk) and humidity around 50% during the day, at night it's around 16-20 degrees and 60-80% humidity, she's on a diet and locusts and crickets, boths Small/medium. She has a linear UVB that's I believe 12% from Arcadia (?) And obviously a heat lamp

I'm conflicted as I got her from a local family owned pet shop that we visit all the time and are familiar with the owner and employees and she was with 2 other females veiled and out of the 3, she was the most explorative and outgoing she came up to the glass and didn't have any signs of discomfort/fear when handled by me and the employee at the shop, she was quite eager

e this is still true now, she seems completely relaxed to be handled and very willingly will come into my hand when offered and doesn't always want to go back (I haven't handled her a bunch, maybe 4-5 times for short periods as I'm not sure about this behavior and don't also want to scare her by handling her a lot as she's still settling in) This is why I'm considering she may just be a social chameleon, also I got her on a Monday and it's Wednesday of the same week so I am still very new to owning her but she is also already comfortable being hand fed from tweezers and out of my hand which also makes me think she's might just be social as I've literally only had her 3 days. She was shy for the first day and does still occasionally puff up and go darker colours when approached or just when she's displeased but most of the time is just chill.

Hoping for some opinions and advice from more experienced people, please lmk if you'd like any more information

Also:
the coconut you see in her enclosure isn't a hide or anything, it has a live plant in it but it kinda blends in so u can't rlly make it out.

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and welcome! Can you post some closer pics of your lovely little lady?

 

[MzLaurie]

Welcome! You have come to the right place. Filled with nice knowledgeable people that have the interest of the chameleon at heart. I will let someone else do a husbandry review for you. First warning is that veiled chams love to nibble on plants. So you have to move the fake ones to the outside of the cage. If she takes a nibble of a fake one it could cause impactation which is very painful and could lead to death. It’s best to be safe. I believe every Cham has their own personality. Yours definitely sounds social. When mine come to the front of the cage to see me they want out. But you must be very careful when taking them out as they can get away from you in a heart beat. I set up a table against a window with plants that don’t reach the ground and this is the safe place where I let mine hang out out of their cages. They like to climb high so a drape works too. Remember they can crawl backwards and whatever you do don’t let them on the ground. One of mine like to sit on my knee and watch tv. He loves cartoons. I am not kidding. Try to let her walk onto your hand. Never grasp them from around the top of the midsection and pull or you could pull their nails out if they have latched on. You can slide your hand underneath their belly and see if she is interested in climbing on you. Most people are against much interaction with chams, but I believe you need to leave it up to the Cham. So glad you found your way here.

 

[qRxei]

Hello and welcome! Can you post some closer pics of your lovely little lady?

Sure! Sorry for the poor quality it's almost 10pm where I live so she's getting ready to sleep, only turned her lights on for a quick second to avoid disturbing her more than necessary

 

[qRxei]

Welcome! You have come to the right place. Filled with nice knowledgeable people that have the interest of the chameleon at heart. I will let someone else do a husbandry review for you. First warning is that veiled chams love to nibble on plants. So you have to move the fake ones to the outside of the cage. If she takes a nibble of a fake one it could cause impactation which is very painful and could lead to death. It’s best to be safe. I believe every Cham has their own personality. Yours definitely sounds social. When mine come to the front of the cage to see me they want out. But you must be very careful when taking them out as they can get away from you in a heart beat. I set up a table against a window with plants that don’t reach the ground and this is the safe place where I let mine hang out out of their cages. They like to climb high so a drape works too. Remember they can crawl backwards and whatever you do don’t let them on the ground. One of mine like to sit on my knee and watch tv. He loves cartoons. I am not kidding. Try to let her walk onto your hand. Never grasp them from around the top of the midsection and pull or you could pull their nails out if they have latched on. You can slide your hand underneath their belly and see if she is interested in climbing on you. Most people are against much interaction with chams, but I believe you need to leave it up to the Cham. So glad you found your way here.

Thank you!! It's definitely my goal to have 100% real plants, it's 50/50 right now I have 4 real and 4 fake I'll definitely be looking into for safe plants for her . Yeah I just want to make sure her wanting to come out isn't due to boredom or anything negative but if she happens to be a social girl that's really amazing!! Thank u for the handling tips I worry about hurting her sometimes because how small she is but I'm glad she seems happy to crawl up my arm and hand so there's not much need for me to try physically pick her up, she sat on my shoulder just chillin yesterday for a couple minutes. Definitely want a place for her to chill out her enclosure but thats a WIP for now, focusing on making sure my care is the best I can provide for now

 

[elizaann2]

Sure! Sorry for the poor quality it's almost 10pm where I live so she's getting ready to sleep, only turned her lights on for a quick second to avoid disturbing her more than necessaryView attachment 357065View attachment 357066View attachment 357067

She is darling! I love female veileds! They are so special.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Your sweet little girl is beautiful and is showing her big girl colors, so I’m going to say she’s so active because she’s in her receptive period - all dressed up and looking for a handsome boy to make eggs with. If you haven’t yet seen it, I suggest reading my blog about managing egg production and laying for our beauties. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
I do see a couple of things in your husbandry that need to be changed. Basking temp should stay around 27c and no warmer. You want a temp drop at night and veileds can handle temps down to around 12-13c. Humidity during the daytime should be between 30-50%. Any higher and it increases the risks for respiratory infections. At night, provided you have a consistent temp below at least 20c, you can use a cool mist humidifier and boost humidity all the way at night. That simulates the hydration cycle chameleons get in the wild thru fog.
Your uvb is a bit strong. The standard is a 6% or 5.0 and then have a distance of 20-22cm between uvb and basking area. Using a 12% uvb, you want that distance to be 28-29 cm. I am assuming your uvb fixture is a T5. If it is a T8, the 12% is good and then the distance needs to be about 16-17cm.
What supplements are you using? What is the schedule for them? Getting these correct is essential.
It’s already been mentioned about using only safe live plants. This is a great resource. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ I use my fake plants on the outside (on the door) to give my chams more privacy.
Even though your little sweetie is friendly and ok with handling now, that is not the norm for veileds (unless they really hate their enclosure and see us as a way to escape it) and expect it to change. It is important to build and maintain trust with her though. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ is a great blog on doing this. My veiled girl is totally fierce and as soon as she realizes my fingers aren’t food, she goes in for the kill. But, I can handle her and she trusts that I’ll never hurt or eat her.

 

[qRxei]

Hi and welcome! Your sweet little girl is beautiful and is showing her big girl colors, so I’m going to say she’s so active because she’s in her receptive period - all dressed up and looking for a handsome boy to make eggs with. If you haven’t yet seen it, I suggest reading my blog about managing egg production and laying for our beauties. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
I do see a couple of things in your husbandry that need to be changed. Basking temp should stay around 27c and no warmer. You want a temp drop at night and veileds can handle temps down to around 12-13c. Humidity during the daytime should be between 30-50%. Any higher and it increases the risks for respiratory infections. At night, provided you have a consistent temp below at least 20c, you can use a cool mist humidifier and boost humidity all the way at night. That simulates the hydration cycle chameleons get in the wild thru fog.
Your uvb is a bit strong. The standard is a 6% or 5.0 and then have a distance of 20-22cm between uvb and basking area. Using a 12% uvb, you want that distance to be 28-29 cm. I am assuming your uvb fixture is a T5. If it is a T8, the 12% is good and then the distance needs to be about 16-17cm.
What supplements are you using? What is the schedule for them? Getting these correct is essential.
It’s already been mentioned about using only safe live plants. This is a great resource. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ I use my fake plants on the outside (on the door) to give my chams more privacy.
Even though your little sweetie is friendly and ok with handling now, that is not the norm for veileds (unless they really hate their enclosure and see us as a way to escape it) and expect it to change. It is important to build and maintain trust with her though. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ is a great blog on doing this. My veiled girl is totally fierce and as soon as she realizes my fingers aren’t food, she goes in for the kill. But, I can handle her and she trusts that I’ll never hurt or eat her.

TYSM! Egg laying had been one part of owning a female I've been the most nervous for, I'll definitely read all the links u sent,

yeah my fixture is T5, I'll look into ways to move it away from the enclosure securely. I have a calcium supplement that I put on her food and a multivitamin, as I said I've only had her about 4 days so I havn't given her any of that yet but I've read from a few sources that twice a month is the correct amount? I've been avoiding handling her but sometimes she's really going for it climbing the sides and don't want her to hurt herself so just give her a hand and put her back on a branch. I have been hand feeding her locusts (not really hand feeding - from tweezers) as those little guys are really jumpy and will be off if ur not careful, also some crickets but those stay in the little feeding pot I have for her and she eats those up nicely.

Do you have any advice for lowering humidity during the day? The basking temp is easy enough for me to handle as I have a thermostat but where I live and in the room she's in the humidity naturally sits around the 50%, sometimes higher, mark even with little misting, I've been doing very short misting sessions in the morning to try avoid raising it further and have been using a dripper as a main source of water from her to drink from.

I have a lay bin in for her as i thought her middle area was looking a little large so I got one for her just to be prepared I'll be keeping an eye on her about this

Thank u for the reply <33

 

[MissSkittles]

I looked back to see if you have anything wrapped around your enclosure (it doesn’t look like it) and noticed that I missed that you have a Lg ReptiBreeze. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but….That is a bit small for her. The minimum standard for an adult is the XL ReptiBreeze size of 60x60x120cm. However, if you have the space, you can get another Lg ReptiBreeze and join it with your current one side by side. It’s much simpler than it sounds. If you’re interested in how, just ask & I can share how I joined my enclosures. There’s really only one way to decrease room/house humidity and that’s with a dehumidifier. How are you measuring your humidity? If using the round analog gauge, those are often inaccurate. Using a digital gauge with a probe or one of the many types of smart gauges is better. Also, when I did look at your pics, it looks like a towel or something on the floor of the enclosure. That is not only going to hold humidity, but breed bacteria too. Unless bioactive, a bare floor is best and most hygienic. Managing drainage is a challenge and everyone has their own method. Some set their enclosures on wire baker’s racks, drill a few holes in the center of the enclosure floor and have a bucket below. Others set up elaborate systems of gutters and pvc etc. It can be as simple as a substrate tray or big plastic bin and wet vaccing up the water. If you are still unable to get your humidity much below 50%, it will be more important than ever that you don’t block any of the airflow.
I’d like to know more about your supplements. What brands are they and do either one contain D3? Maybe if you can post some pics it would be easiest.
I do need to caution about feeding from tongs. Too many chameleons have had permanent damage to their tongues and some have even lost their entire tongue from this. The issue is that there is no way we can ever release the tongs as quickly as those little tongues shoot out, grab the bug and retract. This pulls the muscles and other mechanisms of the tongue. It would be much better to use some sort of feeding station. There’s several types commercially available, but I’m not sure which are available to you in the UK. There’s this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/NF-Chamele...6377&sprefix=Chameleon+feeder,aps,197&sr=8-25 Maybe check on Etsy for something similar. I like one called the shooting gallery which you could easily make your own from a plastic food storage container. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032

 

[qRxei]

I looked back to see if you have anything wrapped around your enclosure (it doesn’t look like it) and noticed that I missed that you have a Lg ReptiBreeze. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but….That is a bit small for her. The minimum standard for an adult is the XL ReptiBreeze size of 60x60x120cm. However, if you have the space, you can get another Lg ReptiBreeze and join it with your current one side by side. It’s much simpler than it sounds. If you’re interested in how, just ask & I can share how I joined my enclosures. There’s really only one way to decrease room/house humidity and that’s with a dehumidifier. How are you measuring your humidity? If using the round analog gauge, those are often inaccurate. Using a digital gauge with a probe or one of the many types of smart gauges is better. Also, when I did look at your pics, it looks like a towel or something on the floor of the enclosure. That is not only going to hold humidity, but breed bacteria too. Unless bioactive, a bare floor is best and most hygienic. Managing drainage is a challenge and everyone has their own method. Some set their enclosures on wire baker’s racks, drill a few holes in the center of the enclosure floor and have a bucket below. Others set up elaborate systems of gutters and pvc etc. It can be as simple as a substrate tray or big plastic bin and wet vaccing up the water. If you are still unable to get your humidity much below 50%, it will be more important than ever that you don’t block any of the airflow.
I’d like to know more about your supplements. What brands are they and do either one contain D3? Maybe if you can post some pics it would be easiest.
I do need to caution about feeding from tongs. Too many chameleons have had permanent damage to their tongues and some have even lost their entire tongue from this. The issue is that there is no way we can ever release the tongs as quickly as those little tongues shoot out, grab the bug and retract. This pulls the muscles and other mechanisms of the tongue. It would be much better to use some sort of feeding station. There’s several types commercially available, but I’m not sure which are available to you in the UK. There’s this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/NF-Chameleon-Reptile-Climbing-Suction/dp/B0BNX9DHT1/ref=sr_1_25?crid=2G1J17EHWHK1Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XxsH6kysg4oBq9VUgbAXmCOqoOBkgHmz84ldziTgyRHL50qoP43zOyqg8aq_MkohdC0vqRtBRrnURW133lbW2DfVFhbeRJfCVp-KT2Ey7SB_ZM4hHb8_NzsnJL23cofX1IyqPjCjppmttCjhaDYBJbi72yuAaS4XuRNNHEzbnOHYQ-0QbJBw3ffP3vY-KbAssZdXMX7OJN4LApSMcbLsAYIEQjF3GWqT3koQocJU60u1_vEGyvEhFDV-C91l_POrSWMeL6LsBaakhUGaazs9ZLWs6506xTkmVSUNTkwfnRY.ZkknEMGoaZI7euFC5HTpBSTM6IcCaRtsxdSBeQukx2I&dib_tag=se&keywords=chameleon+feeder&qid=1720726377&sprefix=Chameleon+feeder,aps,197&sr=8-25 Maybe check on Etsy for something similar. I like one called the shooting gallery which you could easily make your own from a plastic food storage container. https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032

Ok! Going to try do this chronologically to ur reply. That is unfortunate about the enclosure, getting a bigger enclosure immediately will be a bit of a challenge financially, i'm a visual person and just had a difficult time kinda seeing how large the enclosure would be without having it set up even after I did some measurements (my brain just had never been good with numbers unfortunately) , I do wish I'd brought a larger on initially as it is smaller than I thought it would be after it had been assembled but it was too late to get a new one straight away. I decided quickly I'd invest in a large enclosure for her in a couple months when she's grown a bit and I am able to. I'm considering a dragon strand one.
I put paper towl in the bottom of the enclosure just yesterday to see if it would help with keeping the bottom dry and did plan on changing it out daily but I can definitely just take that out and go bare bottom and clean up any excess water daily or as needed, the live plants and lay bin have definitely helped with this issue of drainage. She's currently on top of a dresser so making a drainage system may be difficult.

Suppliment wise, I am going to a pet shop tomorrow to get a new multi vitamin as the one I have has no D3. As for the calcium it's a prorep one and doesn't say it included D3 on the package or when I looked up the brand and specific product to check there was no mention of it.

As for the feeding, this won't be my permanent method and won't be for much longer. I'm only using tongs to feed her for now as the locusts are extremely fast and can jump high meaning they don't stay in the food pot I have for her (its a actually for birds but it works very well and sits comfortably on the side of her enclosure and is very accessible for her) even though it has decently high walls (in comparison to a bug) and as she is still growing I'm feeding her around 6ish a day and I don't feel comfortable letting so many insects lose at once in her enclosure. After all the locusts are gone (most are) I'll be moving to a primarily cricket diet, and when she's older, treat worm for her which can just be placed in and handled with no issue so the feeding with tweezers won't be necessary, I haven't encountered any issues you mentioned yet, I've found that the locusts basically stop moving entirely once I picked them up so I have a very lose grip to the point they're basically just balancing on the tongs and I don't need to apply any pressure at all, and she has no trouble getting them first time with no resistance, thank you for making me aware of this issue! i definitely won't make feeding from the tongs a regular habit, it won't be needed at all once the locusts have all been eaten. I've heard about those feeding stations and will see if any are available to me as that would certainly be an ideal solution.

My humidity and heat gauge both attach to probes that are inside the cage located by the basking area. It is a mesh one and no I havnt got any sheets or anything wrapped around it. It's next to a window that I open for a while while her lights are off in the morning/when it's cool for some airflow and that assists in decreasing the humidity for the day I've found.

TYSM for your help, the first couple months of owning a new animal are always difficult (I also have a rabbit, entirely different species but it was a similar learning curve all the same, even when you think you're fully prepared there's always something ) but I'm trying my best to be receptive to critism and improve as much as I can, I really appreciate you taking time to help me, your post about egg laying was very helpful.

 

[MissSkittles]

Repashy calcium plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3 are excellent multivitamin/D3 combos that we recommend. With either of those, you use just one feeding every other week and the rest of the feedings you use phosphorus free calcium without D3.
You’ve gotten a fantastic start and just need some adjustments. If you saw how many of us started (myself definitely included), you’d be in for quite a shock. Yikes!

 

[GrannyK]

I just want to say welcome to the forum! Pretty little lady you have there, she’s so cute. Your in great hands here!!

 

[Gloriawood]

Just wanted to say hi and welcome to you and your girl! I didn’t catch her name if you mentioned it. You are in great hands here. Everyone is lovely and non judge mental. Glad to have you both!

 

[qRxei]

Just wanted to say hi and welcome to you and your girl! I didn’t catch her name if you mentioned it. You are in great hands here. Everyone is lovely and non judge mental. Glad to have you both!

Thank you! Really happy i found my way here. Her name is Charlotte!! She's named after a character from a favourite childhood book of mine ☺