Upgraded cage. Cham seems moodier? Any suggestion

[jay_linne]

hey everyone I’m new to this page. I have a veiled chameleon. I had him in a small glass cage (starter one). I have had dyno since may and when I got him he fit on my finger( unsure of age). Since he has grown I decided he needed something much nicer. I purchased a new zoomed mesh 18x30 . Used the same light as it was bigger then my small cage so would stick out anyways. He been in the new cage for over 2 weeks and he seems so much more moody. I use to put him in a indoor tree and he would change colour (annoyed) when I got him out of the cage(small cage) but since I got the bigger one he puffs and seems extremely scared of my hands. I know they do not like to be handled well some but I’m wondering if the lighting is ok since the cage is so long and that could be why he so grumpy. I will post picture of the cage and lights I have. He also stays on the top of the cage for the most part unless I throw crickets in.

 

[JoshD49]

For the lighting you should upgrade the UVB to a T5 bulb which would perform better because it looks like your only getting UVB on one side. There are many other reasons to swap it out but I know someone will soon explain all that. For the heat bulb, what is the temp at the basking spot? it might be turning dark to draw in more heat so his spot may not be warm enough especially since its only a 40w bulb thats turned sideways. I use a 65w in a dome lamp and that seems a little on the low side at high 80s on his basking spot.

 

[jay_linne]

Thanks for the reply! I took him out of the cage yesterday and he wasn’t brown once I was holding him and put him on that tree I have indoor. ( he wasn’t willing to get out hiss and puff ) I assume he was brown because the sticks he sits on is so dark and there lots of brown in his cage. I took a photo of temps before I left to work but it wasn’t on the basking spot (didn’t want to stress out the cham.) This is on the ground (posting photo ). I also let him sleep in the tree I have indoor (that has no light or heat light) and he slept the colour green.. maybe he hates his cage lol I will upgrade his lights to what you suggested today when I’m off work though !

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Thanks for the reply! I took him out of the cage yesterday and he wasn’t brown once I was holding him and put him on that tree I have indoor. ( he wasn’t willing to get out hiss and puff ) I assume he was brown because the sticks he sits on is so dark and there lots of brown in his cage. I took a photo of temps before I left to work but it wasn’t on the basking spot (didn’t want to stress out the cham.) This is on the ground (posting photo ). I also let him sleep in the tree I have indoor (that has no light or heat light) and he slept the colour green.. maybe he hates his cage lol I will upgrade his lights to what you suggested today when I’m off work though !

Chams changing color to camouflage is a bit of a misconception. Look at a chameleon’s skin more as a “mood ring”. They change colors depending on their mood. Like Josh said they’ll sometimes go dark when basking in order to absorb more heat

 

[Tucklander]

You need to replace the uvb bulb with a linear uvb t5ho bulb and fixture. I’d also upgrade the humidity gage and temp gage to digital and make sure the temp gage (a lot of people recommend a temperature “gun” which you can purchase at Home Depot/Lowe’s...also Chams will get enclosure territorial...so he may be trying to adjust to his new surroundings. One more thing, that cage although better isn’t an adult Cham size cage which is recommended at least 2’x2’x4’
High. Search:basic husbandry and also supplementation in the search bar and read thoroughly. I’m only trying to be helpful. I also see silk flowers and a fake grass substrate in the enclosure (flowers could be ingested and would be disastrous) fake grass is a breeding ground for bad bacteria. Search Cham safe plants in search bar and get at least a couple of those in there for humidity and some vieleds (lots) munch on them(golden pothos do very well) and are everywhere...I see lots of perches and some hiding places ...but I’d add some more horizontal perches too...good luck to you , it’s sounds like way more than it is, you’ve got a good start

 

[Steve1241]

Hi there, your vivarium looks cool but I think if I can give give you any advice it would be to get some more live plants, maybe a ficus or umbrella plant.
Also I’m not sure where you live? or if you have any woods or forests near you? If you do and you can find some nice Moss, this makes a really good substrate and is excellent for absorbing and purifying water, if you can find some flat stones with moss growing on top then even better! Try and get wood lice in there as well as they will clean the substrate and any poop that goes unchecked!
I know there are lots of people that will have an opinion on this and there are some that say you should boil, bake or even bleach anything that goes into a vivarium!
Personally I think people are over cautious when it come to this and if you think about where these creatures come from, natural things from a clean forest will not hurt them at all. Obviously make sure anything that you put in is not poisonous or from the side of a farms field that may have been sprayed! I will try and upload a pic of my two healthy, happy Chams vivariums, if you can get some coco peat under the moss that would be better, also try and set the whole thing up with a tray in the bottom to keep all the water in!

 

[jay_linne]

Hey thanks for the information! No Forrest near for me . I do have a tree In the middle of the cage Bosnia tree. I wasn’t able to find a tray big enough to cover the entire bottom of the cage . That was the biggest size I have found that would fit. Good news is dyno is settling in. I think he is just geting to the age of maturing. I put the tree close to his home and let him come out when he wants in the evening. He is just territorial of his home I guess. I will continue to try and hand feed him. Once he out he seems to be fine.