d watson

Hi,

I have an eight week old male veiled chameleon, my first, and am seeking
reassurance that some of his behaviours are not signs of illness or stress.

- He is usually light, mint green with the occasional white patch on either
side. However, he sometimes comes right out into the open and develops dark
grey / light grey alternate stripes with spots of dark / light grey.

- I've not seen him drink at all, although he moves around very well and
has a good appetite for brown crickets. I've read that veileds are often not
big drinkers and would like to find out what warning signs of dehydration
may be, in case he really isn't drinking at all.

- He has started digging in the corners of the tank, as if he's trying to
escape, this is often accompanied by the colour change mentioned above.

- When he is sleeping (I presume?), he will periodically shake from side to
side as if having a small fit. Is this normal?

Any reassurance or otherwise would be much appreciated, since I think he is
currently getting more sleep than me!

Many thanks,

Dave.

chris mcmartin

How are you watering him?

d watson

I'm spraying him several times a day (making sure not to spray him himself).
Water droplets collect on leaves and drop down on to other leaves but I've
not seen him drinking from them.

Would a waterfall be better so that he can see the running water? I was told
that they cannot see still water because of the way their eyes work.

chris mcmartin

I don't think the waterfall would help significantly--the natural action of
the misting forming droplets on the leaves should be sufficient. But then
again, I'm not a chameleon guy. I just wanted to make sure you weren't
relying on a water dish!