Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a 5 month old male veiled chameleon and for the past two days he has frequently been roaming around his cage. He'll hang from the top and go to the floor of the cage and claw at the sides of the cage. His cage is 36"highx18"longx18"wide, and has plenty of climbing area and a ficus. Why is he doing this all the sudden? Is there something wrong with my inclosure?

You need to tell us the temperature in the enclosure as well, because if it is too hot, he will roam around the cage and try to get as far away as possible from the heat lamp.

My veiled is 7-8 months old and he did the exact same thing as yours is doing at the same age, this is a time in their lives when they really try to determine their own territory, so he is probably just doing that.

If it isn't that, then it is the size of the enclosure.
That enclosure can be big enough depending on the size of the animal, but i would say the miminum for a sub-adult male veiled is 24x24x48". The problem is probably a combo of the two of these things.

My guy grew out of that activity a month or two ao and is quite happy perching all day long on the upper branches now, and he does't claw at the cage.
Try to find/build a new cage for him ASAP becaue he is probably uncomfortable in that size of a cage.

Look on www.adcham.com for some cage designs you can use.

Hi-

Males like to roam, he is approaching that age of sexual maturity so this behavior is common. You will soon want to move him into a bigger cage, 2'x2'x4' or larger. Other then that things sound fine. If there are temp issues the chameleon would be found staying closer to the bottom of the cage or top/basking all the time. Hope this helps!
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John W. Lucas

CHAMELEON PARADISE

CHAMELEONS ONLINE E-ZINE AUTHOR

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thanks i'll look into getting a bigger cage for him. as for the temps the basking temp is 95degrees. I don't think it's a temp problem, if anything i believe it to be to small of a cage. thanks for all the help.

aaron,

Another few things: Is they cage high up, like on a dresser or table? They're not comfortable unless they can look down on you. Also, You said you had a Ficus but that doesn't necessrily mean much. How much cover/foliage is there? My rule of thumb is this: if you can walk up to the cage and immediately see the cham, you don't have enough foliage. I don't feel comfortable about a set up unless I have to hunt for the cham in it.
Ed