Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry about bothering you so much with my problems but they seem to never end,it actually started to make no since at all anymore but I'm so hooked up to these reptiles that I won't let go unfortunately.I know you should not expect anything back from wild animals except for the joy seeing them thrive under captivity.I gave up so much and didn't get that back either.I wonder what keeps me going on the last few months...
Any way just a small prologue to make me feel just a little better,here's the problem I face right now perhaps any one might recognise something .
Since I moved my young veiled to my room,in a far bigger enclosure about 5x3x2.5 feet vertical and since then he has been very very shy,climbing up to the warm area/basking spot only when I am not present.As soon as he sees me he crawls slowly back to the dense cover of leaves.
The next thing is that when is exposed to view,he immediately looses coulour being very dull.When he steps back to his hideout or sleeping he immediately gains them back,next,
he has been shedding for a long time now,dropped pieces of dead skin but you see more all over him.
He is like this for a long time,perhaps 3 weeks or more,is this normal?I cannot relate dull colouration with this in any way..
Next we proceed to the chameleon's favourite.He does not eat,I'm so tired,I've tried everything...
Please if someone can see a relation in these problems please help.
Thanks a lot

I'm sorry, but I can't remember how old he is. This just sounds like classic stress and intimidation. He's doing everything that a cham who feels exposed and scared would do. Turning a dull or darker color is his way of saying he "lost" each encounter with you. Not eating, hiding, moving slowly with a color change is all part of the same message. The fact that he gets a bit brighter when alone or sleeping also says this. He needs more foliage cover in the cage itself (if you can't find him it is about right), a different place for his cage, or less activity around his current spot. Sometimes I attach silk plant stems to the cage mesh on the outside to create more of a visual screen too. The only other thing I can think of is to hang a light colored sheet around part of the cage when you are present and gradually open more and more of the cage to view. Take it very slow and let him get used to the exposure.

Carlton thanks a lot,you sound right.His basking spot and suspended feeder are the only spots that are naked at some point,the rest of the cage is like a lush jungle,most of the times I can't spot him.
Recently I thought about stress,so I bought a pothos plant that now covers a bit of the naked upper space of the cage but still if he wants to eat or bask he has to be exposed.
I think I'll go with the sheet method,my cage can hold no more plants.The bad thing is that the cage is in a place where I have to pass next to each time I enter or leave the room.I always keep the music low but some activity is inevitable.
What I cannot understand is that if I gradually remove the sheet will I some time be able to gain his trust?

These chams....Pudge was very sociable from the get go. She loved to climb up your face, dangle from your nose, or perch on the top of your head. When the dogs (black labs) came around, her bars would turn black (beauty). She ate from my hand at a young age as well.

Now Squig...he came in at a very young age and was promptly placed in the living room (admist the major chaos of my house). He hangs out under his light (behind the ficus leaves) when things are really active, but does venture out when quite. When I fed him in the beginning, he would literally run into the secluded corner. Now, he hangs back to see what goodies I am putting in today (he even eats in front of me!). He still runs when I mist...but emerges shortly after to lap the leaves. Haven't seen him drink from the drip....he does stare at it intently though.

All in all, he is getting more used to our family, and is gaining more trust that we are not preditorial monsters. I hope that after following some of the advice received here, that Frodo (love the name) settles in.

Good Luck!

Kris
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar (Another lost pet RIP and party on with Harold!)
3.0 Horses Smoothie, Rocky and Bogey
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
1.1 Veiled Chams Squiggy and Pudge (may she RIP)
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky

Everthing in my post is good to go....except the Frodo thing...sorry man...it's late and I mixed up posts!!!

Anyway, hope things go well!

Kris
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar (Another lost pet RIP and party on with Harold!)
3.0 Horses Smoothie, Rocky and Bogey
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
1.1 Veiled Chams Squiggy and Pudge (may she RIP)
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky

I read Carlton's post and he pretty much covered everything I was going to say. Chameleons are just not very "people" friendly and yours may never be sociable enough to co-exist in the same room with you. For his sake it may be necessary to move him somewhere more secluded. I would like a very friendly chameleon also, but I don't have one. I'm so jealous of jeff because his chameleon is so interactive. DM
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago
Valentino, Veiled Chameleon
Chyam, Nosy Be Panther Chameleon

From the day I got him until now he was living isolated in room with the door always closed,exactly for these reasons.He was't affraid of me back then,I visited him once or twice a day only and when I tried to open his cage he was trying to climb on me.Perhaps this is a stage where he will slowly adapt to the more 'noisy' enviroment,do you think so?

My breeder male was, for the first 1.5 -2.0 years, the meanest, ugliest, most evil misanthrope on the planet.

Now, he's still all of those, except ugly. Definatly not ugly. It takes time. They get somewhat used to you, in time. Especially if they are feeling safe. When he's bigger, try to raise his cage up as high as possible. I had to raise my male's cage up over 6 feet in the air. After that, he's shown good colors all the time.

I have put the sheet last night and woke up today at noontime and had a peak inside the cage and saw him on his basking spot with brilliant colours,never before like this on the top of the cage.The thing that worries me is that he had only a superworm the whole day.I thought it might take some days with the sheet on to be confident enough to start eating properly.
For those who read the post from the begining,can this be the case?

Thanks

Well, if he's eating a LOT every day, he'll stop eating sometimes. They should (as adults) only eat a few insects per day at most. He's young, isn't he? It'll be some time before he's relaxed and starts shwoing colors. My male woudl jump to the bottom of his cage and wedge himself betweent he side of the cage and his potted plants - until he was over a year old!

If you remember from the past I had problems feeding him a few days after I got him.Despite all the feeding problems all this time he grew considerably,from your experience can I stunt him if this goes on?He is still a juvenile

Stop, your making me blush....
Even as social as mine is, whenever i take him out to do a cage cleaning, i can never get the interior back to exactly the same as i had it before. When i put my charlie back in, he acts a little freaked out for a bit (well, as freaked out as i have ever seen him) but soon he adjusts to the small change. I have read almost everywhere that changes in environment cause stress. It may be that your chameleon has a slightly more social side, and he is just trying to find a confortable spot in his new exclosure. Until he does, he may be an a**. once he finds a spot where he can sit and bask and be confortable, he may be loath to leave that spot. Once that happenens, he may realize that your presence doesnt disturb his basking.

Hope this helps,
Jeff