Reptile & Amphibian Forums

me and my g/f bought a full grown Veiled about a month ago. when we first got him, we had him in a glass aquarium temporarily for a few days. when he was in it, he seemed fairly happy and always wanted out. he'd get out and crawl on us and roam the bedroom. then we got him a pretty good sized reptarium to hang out in. every since he's been in there, he hasn't wanted to come out with out assistance at all. he usually hides when we get close to his area and has been staying fairly dark. he's been hissing quite a bit when we go to mist him or try to get him out. he hasn't tried to bite, but he has been hissing. we mist him regularly, he has a fogger that he drinks from too. we feed him meal worms with a dusting of calcium. his basking spot is 90-95* and the rest of the reptarium is around 75-80. his humidity stays between 35 and 55%. i'm really worried that something is wrong with him to have such a huge change in attitude.

How old is he? I believe chameleons' attitudes can change when they reach maturity. Generally chameleons do not like to be handle and veileds are one of the more aggressive species. If he's dark all the time there might be something stressing him out. Is the reptarium in a different room than the glass tank? Or has something else in the room changed?

You said you feed him dusted mealworms. How often do you dust them? How old he is will determine how often you need to dust. You should be using a multivitamin/mineral dust also.

The main staple of his diet should be crickets. Mealworms are too fatty and should be fed in lesser quanitites.

Other posters will give you some more detailed info. Hope you figure out what's wrong and make him happy!
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

Look at it at as a good thing. Now that he is comfortable in his new home, he wants no part of you in it. Before he was uncomfortable and most likely trying to get away and not trying to be social.

exactly what I was thinking, remember just because a cham seems to climbe on your hand whenever u open the cage doesn't mean he nessisarily likes to be held, You might just need a larger cage
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0.2 Cats (Moora and Twitch)
0.1 Dogs (Maria)
soon to be 1.0 Panther Chameleon (Yoda)

when he used to come out, he'd crawl all over us and he'd always be light, which i took as he was enjoying it. i know they're not always the most social animals, but he basically made a 180* turn whenever he got his new place as far as his attitude goes

he was enjoying it because you are tall and chams like to be high, and he wasn't stuck in his tank. If something else is wrong, i hope you figure it out, but PLEASE dont stick him back in the tank!!!! He will not be happy most of the time, and that stress is not good for him.

i was kind of thinking that it's because he likes his new home so much. i was just worried about his constant pacing and his darkness. he took right to his home and he eats/drinks like he should. i didn't know if there was anything that might be causing stress

When specifically does he Pace? After a while of basking? Is the cage in a high traffic area and do you have other pets? The positive thing is that he is eating and drinking good. Hopefully it is just part of his reacclimation to a new home.

it's usually not too long after he wakes up and gets some energy. he'll sit for a few minutes, then walk all over the place and try to scale the walls for a while. then he goes back to basking and does the same procedure. no, there's not much traffic, he's in our bedroom so we can keep other pets away from him. the cage is 17x17x30, which i would think is plenty large enough

Veileds get really large, a 24x24x48 size cage is usually the recommended minimum.
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~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)

Our veiled did the exact same thing when we switched him from his smaller, inadequately-designed home into his new much larger cage. Chams are pretty active, ours seemingly "patrols" his cage all day long. He wakes up, goes out on his basking limb, basks for a few hours, heads down towards his plants, hunts for bugs, climbs back up to bask some more, etc.

Our chameleon also tends to have darker colors when he is basking first thing in the morning (because he's cold) and when he's on the lower part of his cage (camouflage, we assume). He also hisses like a teapot if we open his cage while he's on his basking branch.

Sounds to me like you have a normal, healthy chameleon who is enjoying his new home. This does not mean you should stop handling him because he does his threats, though. You don't want him to bully you and let him think he's boss. Besides, it's all bluff anyway. I usually reach in and scratch our veiled's chin when he does that. LOL

Hope this helps a bit!

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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com
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He pretty much sounds normal to me. As far as handling is concerned chameleons really should not be handled that much, they are very susceptible to injury and stress as you know veileds are also very aggressive. I think the closest you can get to "handling" would be getting him to feed off of your hand. But it sounds like you have a healthy cham hunting for bugs.

It could be a little bigger, but is definately better than the tank. I think he is just exploring and enjoying the fact that he CAN climb the walls and walk around. chams tend to use most if not all of their enclosures if given the opprotunity.
If he stays on the floor and paces back and forth then there may be a problem, but if he's all over the place he's likely exploring. He may be dark while he does this for the first week or two until he is comfortable in his new home.

It could be that he likes the size etc of his new home, but may take him a week or two to figure out that it's "safe". It's a new environment, and even though it's better for him it may take time for him to become comfortable. He may just want to be left alone, or is more threatened by you then he was before.

all your replies make me feel a lot better. i'm going to try to vary his diet a little more too. it's kid of funny because he hisses when i spray his cage. then when i start spraying near him, he'll open his mouth and let me squirt a little bit in his mouth. i guess they're just really crabby by nature?

All species tend to have different personalities, and all chams within those species. Veileds tend to be the pissiest species, and if you get an especially pissy one watch out!!! My panther doesn't like being sprayed, but at the same time that's pretty well the only way she'll drink.
They are very interesting creatures.... I'm sure you will discover many more quirks as you spend more and more time with your cham. My panther has never hissed at me, but she'll gape sometimes. Haha... i always tell her to stop or i'll flick her. I NEVER would, i just think it's funny the attitudes they get for such tiny creatures... one flick and they'd fall over.
jk
~Lindsay

He sounds more like a vieled now than before. Chances are that he really didn't like his tank before and that's why he wanted out. Now he is comfy and wants to be left alone. I know it must bug you he doesn't want out anymore, but be glad that it most likely means he is happier (vieleds have a strange way of being happy lol). Most chams prefer not to be held. I would suggest keeping handling to a min, when you have to clean etc. If you can't get near him enough to take him out try using a branch.
~Lindsay

Hi - I tried to read thru all the replies so if I missed something forgive me. I didn't see you mention a source of UVB - either natural sunlight outdoors (not thru a window or screen) or a mercury vapor bulb or repti-sun. You need to provide this.

Misting with hot water (will cool enough when it hits the air) from above. I try to be behind Luna when misting so she doesn't see it (well, unless she swivels a googly eye around! LOL!) and it gently falls on her.

Definitely vary the diet. Use crickets and a good gutload. Mealies are not the best source of nutrition and after awhile can become difficult to digest. While he is adjusting you want to make things as easy as possible on him.

In my opinion you do need a larger cage. My Luna is only about 6" vent to snout (full grown but small) and is in a 2x2x4. I couldn't see her in anything smaller.

Also, the fact that he is full grown and you have only had him for short time he will definitely need some time adjusting. Do you know his history? Is he wild caught? Did you buy him from a previous owner or at a shop or show? Make sure he can be higher than you - even if it means raising his cage.

Sorry if I am repeating anything

here is a link to feeder insect nutrition. If you have not already explored this site check thru the current and bcak issues for some great info. here are some other sites as well:

AdCham
www.adcham.com/

Chameleon Journals
www.chameleonjournals.com/

Chameleon Paradise – a site by one of our forum posters. He has FAQ, do’s and don’ts, cage building
http://www.chameleonparadise.com/

OK, all that said - he's acting like a cham

lele
bug nutrition

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)