Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a female flap-neck that is a little over 5 years old. In the past week she has been acting strange. She goes to the ground of her large screen enclosure and stays there with her head down...Right before this behavior she took crickets that i held with my fingers for her. Now there are a few crickets in her enclosure that she will not eat since this behavior.

Can someone tell me what's going to happen to her? She's in a screen cage with live plants and branches. Her diet has been mostly dusted crickets. She has all the lighting needed and her cage is sprayed regularly. She just sits on the bottom of the cage where there is no substrate with her head down. She barely walks much but when she does her head is still down to the ground. She never climbs back on the plants or branches.

Thank you

Have you had her since she was a hatchling? Are her colors or markings different? Has she ever produced eggs? She may have some infertile eggs that she needs to lay, and there is no place to do it. There is a great article on all the aspects of egg laying and gravid female care at this site:

http://www.chameleonnews.com

She may be eggbound, so be prepared to look for a vet.

hey,listen to what carlton says,he knows more about chameleons then probably alot of vets do..hahaha..but you said that her diet is of mostly crickets??i'd suggest you go to a website called www.mulberryfarms.com and pick her up some new feeders..i'd suggest you buy some phoenix worms(high in calcium),butter worms(also high in calcium),maybe some roaches if your willing to have those(i'm not),or some silk worms or some hornworms..the prices are decent and once you see the quality,you'll be impressed..my cham loves the phoenix worms and butter worms..i just got some butter worms for the first time yesterday and i can already tell hes very pleased..haha..also,does it seem like her legs are not as strong as they once were??what kind of supplements do you use??how often??well,hope this helps..tell us how shes doing
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Jonny Blaze
1 Nosy Be Panther
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

I wish this were true! Most vets may have the clinical knowledge I don't, but I've simply lived around them day after day for years. There is a lot you learn by observation and unless a vet keeps chams of their own the only ones they see are in deep trouble. It must be hard to work with animals you never get a chance to see healthy.