Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello gang... Ive had my Veiled Chameleon (Neil) for about 2 years now. About two months ago ive put him into a larger cage, and lately he hasnt been himself. He spends most of the time in one spot, doesnt hunt anymore ( instead waits for the crickets to come to him)... and when i come home hes always hanging upside down by his back legs and tail from one of the vines. Now this happens quite alot. He's also been hanging around at the botton of the cage on the afro turf as well... which isnt normal.
Ive changed his UV lamps and continue giving him calcium dusted crickets.... hes just not been as healthy looking as he was back in the day.... How long to chameleons live for? and does anyone have any advice?

My cham would hang like that when he was looking for food, or about to grab some. The fact that he is hanging around on the floor is troublesome.
How far are the lamps?
What are the temps like?
How's his humidity & water intake?
Veilds will live up to 12 years (am I remebering that right?) in captivity. 2 is def. too young to be "old".
Maybe he is bored with his feeders? Have you tried other feeders like silkworms, roaches or mantids? My cham LOVED silkies after injuring his tongue b/c they were easy to catch... Crix can get boring after a while.
Those are just some of the things I can think of. I feel like we may have covered all this in another post a while back. Have you considered a trip to the vet to rule out a medical issue?
(sorry if I am repeating everything that was said previously)
I hope you figure it out soon & he gets back to normal. I know how hard it is when one of your animals is just "not right" or sick. Kepp us updated.
~Chrissy
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1.1 Crested Gecko (Anton/Angelina & Harley)
1.1 Crazy dogs (Alex & Sadie)
0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
0.1 Amazing Wife =o)
Charlie - RIP 9-8-05 (Veiled Cham)

Changing a cham's world is a big stressor. His whole climate and temp regime has changed, locating feeders is different, and all his memory of his space is no longer useful. Chams get to know their territories a a very detailed spatial way and don't trust "strange" branches or routes of travel. He probably feels that he's been dumped into another male's territory and he's just waiting to be kicked out by a rival who hasn't shown up yet. He may also be seeing new "views" of the room and there could be new reflections or other activity he's not used to seeing. Hanging around the bottom of the cage could mean he's trying to get out and find his old territory. In the larger cage does he have the same amount of thick foliage to hide in? He just sounds nervous, intimidated, and I suspect hanging the way he is means he's trying to be ready to escape at a moment's notice. When a male cham "loses" a territory fight he drops off the branch, goes low to the ground, turns a dull color, and slinks away from the winner. I think I would add more cover, maybe drape a sheet over part of the cage, check your temps and humidity to see if they are much different from his old setup, and leave him alone. If he's basically healthy and has good body weight he can go quite a while without eating much as long as he is basking and drinking. I haven't had a veiled in years and don't remember when the males tend to start looking for mates. Maybe this is the time. They don't eat much and are preoccupied.