Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone

I just got a baby female veiled chameleon about 2 and a half weeks ago. She was about 2 inches not including the tail, so I'd estimate her age at about 2 months when I got her. I have a lot of questions about her strange behaviour, it seems to change all the time!

First of all I will run down the environment. Right now she is in a 20 gallon aquarium, I plan to move her to a flexarium when she gets bigger. I have a regular 60 watt light bulb for basking and a Reptiglo 5.0 for UVB. The temperature is high 70's to mid 80's during the day with the basking spot around 90. At night it goes down to low 70's. Humidity is always 50% or higher. She has lots of fake leaves, and a few real sticks and 2 jade plants.

What finally got me to post a message was the way she was today. She is extremely wrinkled all over her body. When she bends it folds and looks really bad. Yesterday she had no wrinkles but today it is really bad. Also she is not eating very much, and seems very slow and not moving around the cage. I am hoping that she is shedding and not dehydrated but I just want to make sure. I don't see any white spots (dead skin) yet, so I can't be sure if she is shedding or not.

So now for the other strange behaviour I've noticed since I had her. For the first week she seemed to be closing her eye a lot during the day, and gaping her mouth. Once I came in the room to check on her and her mouth was open and both eyes closed for about a minute. So I kept a close watch on her and she didn't do that after a few days, I figured she may have had a small respiratory problem from the pet store, and it now cleared up.

Now the second week comes and she is showing a lot of aggression. She opens her mouth, but not in the gaping way. I haven't heard her hiss, do the babies hiss? She would also puff out and "show me her spikes" underneath her mouth. Also she did this weird thing that I've never seen a chameleon do... she started arching her back and pointing her head up and kind of wiggling a bit. Is this normal aggression? Or could it be something else?

Also I have only seen her actually lick leaves twice since I have had her. I mist the cage 3-4 times a day, with hot water. I get her wet also and she seems to really like it, she gets excited and starts moving all around fast and coming towards the top of the cage. But not drinking off the leaves. Should I worry about her getting dehydrated? The last chameleon I had would drink from a bottle so it was very easy for me to know if he was getting enough water, and he seemed to like to drink from it every day.

Also I have now noticed her trying to eat leaves a lot. She tries to go for the fake leaves and get them with her tongue. I guess she got frustrated that she couldn't get those leaves, so I actually saw her today trying to chew on the jade plant. Is it normal for chameleons to want to eat leaves? What is the best way for me to feed her fruit and veggies?

Thanks for any help

Hi, and welcome,

I think your baby needs to be hydrated, some of the things you are seeing like the swaying back and forth is normal as they do this, to look like a branch, so you will not notice them, Yes they do eat greens and fruit, thats why he's trying to eat the fake leaves.

But keeping the baby hydrated is crucial,

I'm going to suggest to you to go to the main chameleon forum and re-post this , as it is much more busy and many have alot of experience with veileds. I personally do no have one, and would like to leave it to the experienced keepers.

See ya over there, sorry its a bit slow here right now.
I linked ya right up to the main forum page below, hope your baby will be fine

Chameleon Forum

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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

You said..."She has lots of fake leaves, and a few real sticks and 2 jade plants"...I'm not sure if Jade is toxic or not, but for veiled chameleons I never use plants that are toxic or fake ones...and I wash them well before putting them into the cage (both sides of the leaves). I also cover the soil so that they can't eat/ingest it.

You said..."She is extremely wrinkled all over her body"...sounds like she could be dehydrated. Are her eyes sunken in at all? Are the soft pads on her casque protruding or sunken in?

You said..."she is not eating very much, and seems very slow and not moving around the cage"...its possible that she is going to shed, but she could also be unwell. For baby chameleons, I don't have a basking spot that goes above 83F because their bodies are small and they can overheat (sometimes shown by gaping)and dehydrate easier than adults.

You said that she is showing a lot of aggression. She opens her mouth"...many baby veileds do this.

You said..."do the babies hiss?"...yes.

You said.."She would also puff out and "show me her spikes" underneath her mouth"...normal aggression.

You said..."she started arching her back and pointing her head up and kind of wiggling a bit. Is this normal aggression? Or could it be something else?"...not sure without seeing it.

Be careful when misting the cage that the water doesn't pool anywhere. A baby can go to drink from a large drop of water and aspirate it. You said..."she gets excited and starts moving all around fast and coming towards the top of the cage"...this sounds like she is trying to get away from the spray...or am I wrong?

You said..."not drinking off the leaves"...not all chameleons will drink in front of you....I would worry about her hydration levels if she shows signs of dehydration.

You said..."I have now noticed her trying to eat leaves a lot. She tries to go for the fake leaves and get them with her tongue. I guess she got frustrated that she couldn't get those leaves, so I actually saw her today trying to chew on the jade plant"...some people say that this species eats leaves to get moisture, and maybe they do at times....but when they reach the age of about 5 months they become omnivores (so they will eat leaves, flowers, greens, fruits and veggies as well as insects) so for this reason (as I said above) I don't use fake plants or toxic ones in veiled chameleon cages. I wouldn't want to risk her accidentally eating a fake leaf.

I usually start my veileds off by taking a thin wedge of apple or pear and impaling it on a stick/branch in the cage. I also put chopped up greens and veggies in a lid on the floor of the cage. This attracts the crickets (and gutloads them to some extent) and the chameleon, when shooting for the cricket, may ingest greens and veggie bits too. Most won't stick to the tongue...but some will. I start off with dandelion greens, red pepper (diced finely), squash and melon and then go from there.

Hope this helps.

wow

thanks for all the info, it is such a help

Turns out she was just shedding that day, her first shed! My last chameleon didn't shed like that so I wasn't used to seeing the wrinkly body before it happened. So for a couple days she wasn't eating much, but now she has her appetite back.

I am definitly going to take out all the fake plants. I also checked jade and the other plant I have and they are non-toxic. It's strange, she actually takes bites out of both plants, I've never seen anything like it.

I've also had to cover up the soil in the plants with big rocks because I noticed her actually trying to eat soil a couple times.

As for the misting, it doesn't seem to bother her at all, she goes towards the water not away from it, but also she may just be going towards the light because I have to take it off when I mist. She doesn't seem to be dehydrated so I'm not worried about it anymore.

The aggression seems to be a daily thing, I think it may be from her reflection. Just another reason for me to get her out of that aquarium ASAP. I've decided not to wait until she gets bigger, I'm just going to get a smaller flexarium for now. I'll never use an aquarium again for so many reasons.

Also thanks for the tips about the veggies, I've already tried a few apples and pears.

thanks again

You are welcome for all the info!

Glad that she was only shedding and now has her appetite back!

Glad to hear that the jade is not toxic and that you are removing the fake plants too. Some of my veiled females strip the pothos plants bare...and it always amazes me too. Covering the soil was another good idea!

Some veileds head towards the water, but in my experience most baby veileds head away from it first and then go back to drink.

I have kept baby veileds in tanks for the first three months many times with no problems....but each is different and if her reflection is bothering her, then I think you are right to move her.

You said..."thanks for the tips about the veggies, I've already tried a few apples and pears"..I hope she will eat well for you!

One more tip that maybe you already know....I always put a container of washed sandbox sand in with any egglaying female chameleons once they reach 4 months of age in case they have (infertile) eggs to lay. Veiled females can lay eggs without having been mated.

Hope you have her for a long time! I just lost one of my females and she was over 7 years old. After having her for that long, I sure miss her....especially having to walk by her empty cage to get to my other chameleons.

Thats very sad I understand

Thanks also for your expertise, and helping our buddy here

Take care,
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

No expert here....just a quite a few years of experience...and lots left to learn yet.

Thanks for the kind words about the loss of my female. She was special to me because she was the only egg to hatch out of a dozen or so that were taken from her dead mother. (An experience I never want to try again.) Her mother died before she could lay her last batch of eggs and I knew that they should have been laid within a couple of days. Luckily I have her daughter with me...so the line has not ended yet!