Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know that once chams hit sexual maturity their habits tend to change so I just want to go over a few things to make sure that is whats going on. He is 9 or 10 months old. He started all this about a week ago.

Wandering around his cage more.
Not eating out of his feeder cup.
Not eating as much as usual.

He currently is in a cage that is 36 inches high and 18 inches square. I have one that is twice this size but I am afraid to move him. He has been in the same cage since he was two months old.

Any suggestions or comments will be appriciated.
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Thanks Dawn
1.1 Veiled (Kermit and Moe)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Velvet)
0.0.2 Toads

Hi Dawn,

To be honest.... it's time to move him.
Male veileds like to roam... and this is a good time to set up his new habitat for his adulthood. He should be mostly grown (although they will add on weight and a bit more length until approx 1-1/2 yrs old). He needs to have a similar cage set-up design - just bigger!

It helps if you can use some of his same plants and branches too. Otherwise they have to go around tasting everything! Just be sure to keep bushes up near the top too - so he isn't intimidated by all that open space (have seen this happen).

To ease the transition to the new cage (some are not keen the first few days), you can place the 2 cages side by side (door to door actually), and let him wander out of the smaller one into the large one... once he starts sleeping in the big cage, you can remove the smaller one.

Try placing feeder cups in more than one spot (with some chams in large cages, we use 2 or 3 cups). Offer new feeder items (if you haven't already). Above all, don't panic if he cuts back for a few days here and there.... in the wild, nobody serves a bug buffet each day! Just make sure he keep hydrated.

Let us know how it goes...
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i would also suggest the move to a larger cage. at 5 months old i move my cross to a larger cage and it made a big difference. it actually semed like he liked me more! the problem i have currently is i had to switch out the ficus in his cage (actually all the cages,4 of them)because it was starting to go south. the only plant i had left for his cage was a ficus that was about a foot taller then his cage and REALLY bushy so i chopped off the top and stuck it in his cage. now he does want to come out as much! and stays towards the back. tomorrow i'm going to stop by the nursry and pic up a new ficus for hi cage and a smaller one to hang in the living room.

dennis

My males and females have been in 4X2X2 cages since about 2 1/2 months.
They are now 9 months old.
They still feed out of a cup, wander about quickly then stay in one place then move on.
It could be just him.