Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I got a Fishers Chameleon 2 days ago. He's a very active and friendly guy. He has an a great cage, large with plenty of plants and vines which he seems to really like. But if I open it in the afternoon, he wants to go hang out on the window sill. I've set up a vine from the window to his cage and he'll go back in when he wants water. Just wondering if this is normal/right behavior? He seems very very happy there, nice color and posture. But when he walks, he kind of rocks front to back... ? Also he hates being misted. He will gape and run away if even so much as a drop gets on him. There is a drip system that he loves. Oh... and at night, when I turn off his light, he goes nuts trying to get at any other light. It's not cold at all so I don't think its for heat. Afraid of the dark?? lol Thanks! Oh, his name is Bender.

Rocking back and forth is normal. Its his imitation of a leaf blowing in the wind so as to not be as noticiable to preditors or insects. Try misting with warm water. If his room still has light in it your cham will still think its day time. All lights need to be out for him to sleep. No heat bulbs either. They need a cool down period at night to rest between 60-70 degrees.

Hope this helps
Yosemite
Reptayls Ltd.

I've tried misting with warm water. Still hates it getting on him. I'll keep turning the lights out. Thanks! So it's okay if he spends a lot of time out of his cage?

With the misting I use hot water which comes out warm due to air cooling and I use a bottle with a very fine mist so it is more of a fog than a spray. I mist from above so it just sort of falls on her. I spritz her back end to get her used to it, it seems that if the temp is OK she barely noitces. just don't spray her directly in the face.

When she was in her smaller cage I would often let her out to hang on her jungle gym. I began to cut back on the length of time a bit so that she wasn't missing too much of her UVB rays in her cage. I also found her to be thirsty when she went back in, so just keep those two things in mind. Be sure he can't get somewhere you don't want him or can get hurt. They have a very poor grip - none - on anything smooth.

I am always interested in names - why Bender?

lele

>>I've tried misting with warm water. Still hates it getting on him. I'll keep turning the lights out. Thanks! So it's okay if he spends a lot of time out of his cage?
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia

Thanks for the advice! I'll try making the water warmer. We named him Bender because we're both big fan of the show Futurama (cartoonnetwork/Adult Swim and Fox). We're big techy people and the name of the robot on the show is Bender. What made us really pick that name was the fact that he is VERY bendable. He loves to plot the most effect way to where he wants to go. Often hanging by just his tail to get to a lower branch, instead of walking down to it. lol He's so adorable. Right now he's asleep, tail all curled up.

Yes, if your general house climate is much drier than his cage he will tend to get a bit dehydrated the longer he's out so remember to give him more water. You can fill your sprayer with HOT water. It will cool by the time it hits his skin. You could also rum a room humidifier next to the cage, next to the perch he likes to spend time on or in the room. Fischeri do better in fairly high humidity (65-75%). You mentioned that he's asleep. I hope it was night? A cham curling up to sleep during the day is showing signs there is a serious health problem. Also, be careful not to confuse his eagerness to get out and roam as being friendly. Chams are not social animals by nature, and you can misinterpret his activity as wanting to be handled. Look at his color. The more intense and bright his color the higher his stress level. If he was totally happy with the world he would look a bit duller and sit quietly. The fischeri I had were very active and always looking for a path away from the cage, the humans, any other pets, etc. It wasn't necessarily that they were happy. I know, its hard to interpret this, but just be aware until you get to know his moods better.

I'm in Florida so the humidity is rather high. But I also have a humidifier that runs. It's stays at about 70% - 80% in his cage. I warmed the water up some more than I had been and that did the trick. I mist his cage about 4 times a day. He does drink very well from the drip system. Yes, it was night when he was alseep. That's the only times I've seen him sleeping. He spends most of the day walking around, up and down, and through the plants. I had read that the darker they are the more stressed? He's been staying in his cage recently. But when he was out, he was usually colored the same as when he is sleeping. Sometimes darker. When ever I go near his cage, he goes to the door. What I really haven't been able to find out is if he should be let out at all? He's eating very good, crickets, mealworms, and butterworms (at all at once of course). Thanks!

As for stress, his body markings will be more prominent than when he's relaxed. Fischeri vary a lot in color pattern, but his blotches will show up more and there may be some yellow on belly and blue around his toes and head. When he is actively travelling he'll tend to be brighter (sort of medium stress/excitement). If his overall color is darker he could just be cool. You will notice when he is reacting to bright light and heat he will be darker on the side facing the source than on the far side. When asleep he'll be quite light. Very extreme anger will look like his markings getting darker and eventually fusing into overall dark. It's fine to let him out, and if he has a favorite spot to go to it will be safer...you will know where he is most likely to be. They will jump or let themselves fall if startled or frightened. As long as he falls on carpet or from a short height (less than 8 feet) don't worry too much. Cham's ribs are cartilege and flexible and they inflate themselves with air when they fall. I've noticed that fischeri lash their tails when really upset or acting defensively. If he's properly hydrated his casque should be a bit bulgy not concave or flat. This can change over a few hours. Fischeri have very soft suede like skin, so if he needs more water/humidity his skin will tend to "tent" (If you pick up a fold of skin along his side and release it stays folded). Fischeri LOVE moths and flies, so another option is buying cultured housefly pupae from Grubco and let them hatch out as adult flies.