Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, My male veild had been REALLY nasty looking for a while. Since I removed his MV bulb a few months ago. He was in a large enclosure, 5 feet tall, 3.5 feet wide, and 3 feet deep.

To expand my deremensis area, I removed him to a different cage. His cage was along the wall, and by removing him, I give my dermensis a 12 foot by 3 foot area.

So, to house him, I mounted my old cage up on the wall. I made this a few years back, because of space constraints. It's smaller, 4' tall3' wide, and 2'deep. It's frame is VERY light for its size, made of on;y 1x2's joined with steel braces. For covering, I used 1/4 inch hardware cloth. the hardware cloth was used because it gives strenght, and supports the frame. As a reult, this cage can be hung on a wall by only one nail or screw at the top. Once it is level, another 1x2 is screwed in the wall at the bottom for support. This is so strong, I can put 2-3 large potted plants in it, with no problem.

Ok, so he's obviously in a smaller cage.

However, since I put him in there, he's been showing AWESOME colors, 24/7, better than ever. His lighting if anything, is less intense(from a 120 to a 100 W bulb).

I wonder if this is PURELY due to the height of the cage. Since it is mounted 3 feet off the ground, his basking spot is about nearly seven feet off the floor. This is interesting.

Has anybody noticed a difference in the attitude--a drastic difference--when they were positioned at a different height?

I have seen this to some degree in my other veilds, but nothing like this.

Also, has anybody seen this in other species, PArdalis, I imagine would react the same, but montane species are a different story.

Post you personal observations on this.

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You've given him an advantage by raising his cage. He may be able to see the other chams when he looks down on other cages too. Also, warm air rises, so he's probably feeling different metabolically too.

I had to block off the side of his cage,I couldn't have him seeing ANYTHING, or else he'd try to get through the wire all freaking day.

I know they "like" being up higher, but I am not too sure how benificial this is in many cases.

Good point about temps--I didn't even think about that. They're upstairs, and it gets significantly warmer up there, dramatically so in the top few feet. I bet that, compounded with the height added has changed his mood.

He seems happier, too.

So I moved him to a bigger cage with a MV light and he was still looking pretty bad and eating poorly. I draped a cloth across the front of his cage that covers the top 1/3rd of his cage and now he is eating and his colors are awesome.
Maybe he just feels more secure now. He is very aggressive and frightened of everything and always has been. I sold his siblings because they were nicer and kept the problem child.
I am not sure if it was the light or the drape but his cage is actually lower now.

maybe they like to look down on things, but get uncomfortable if they have to look up at something. raising the cage, or covering the top half of a cage on the floor would both accomplish this. Orion is only scared of my cats if they are up on my bed. if they are on the floor and she sees them she couldn't care less...
hrm