Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 5 month old male veiled, and he is currently in a cage 18x18x36, I just ordered a 24x24x48 for him which should be coming sometime this week. For the past week he has been clawing at the sides of the cage and hanging from the top. He does this all the time. When I open up his cage to give him food he starts climbing on me. Is the problem just the cage or is there something more serious to this?

From your description my guess it is the cage. I say this because it was the same way Luna acted when I had her in a smaller cage (she was about 5 month when I got her). She would climb around a lot and ALWAYS want to come out. Once I got her into the 2x2x4 she doesn't want to leave it!

Of course there are other things to consider that you didn't mention: food (gutloaded insects), lighting (UVB), humidity, hydration (misting/dripper), supplements, etc.

You may want to post these as well so if there are any that may need adjusting, moving him into the new cage would be a perfect time for you to be sure all you are doing for him is the best.

Also keep in mind that once he is in his new digs it will take him some time to adjust.

lele & luna
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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
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Hi-

It dose not sound like anything is wrong, just normal growing pains. Males will start to roam their cages from top to bottom as the reach sexual maturity. The cage upgrade should help, just try to keep him off the screen. Constant screen climbing can file their nails down making it hard for them to grip small screen. You can do a few thing to prevent this or keep it to a minimum. With the upgrade of a larger cage, upgrade the size and number of plants along with their vines and branches. Providing more "walk ways" within the cage will keep the screen climbing to a minimum. Be sure to provide some at the top of the cage to help keep him off the top of the cage. Chameleons also like to look down on you not up at you, so they seek the highest point in the cage. If you simply raise the cage itself up more (2-3' off the ground) this will help. Finally if all else fails you can build your own cage with lager screen and PVC coating or add this type screen to your current cage. It can be cut to size and zip tied to the inside of your current cage. The combo of the two screen sizes will keep the food in and keep the chameleon off the small screen. Hope this helps!
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John W. Lucas
www.CHAMELEONPARADISE.com
www.CALIFORNIASILKWORMS.com

Chameleons Online E-Zine Author

thanks guys appreciate it, I plan to raise the cage today so he can look down on me. Hopefully the new cage will help as well. ,aaron

JOHN THATS A WONDERFUL IDEA! My large male tamatave came with no nails and he always tries to climb the cage and falls, I cant use large screen because he wont eat out of a bowl, and I have to pad the bottom of his cage to keep him from injuring himself when he falls. Perfect solution! Thank You so much for being so clever.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther