# Lizards > Chameleons >  Why is my veild such a pansy?

## djansen

I just got a male veild of craigslist and he eats fine and is pretty healthy (a little thin IMO) but one thing I noticed is that everytime I come home he retreats from the branches to the bottom of the cage behind a potted plant and hides.
He has plenty of cover in the branches so its not like hes out in the open.
are all veilds this shy?

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## mainbutter

How old is he?  Our panther cham would exhibit hiding behaviors for the first month or so that we had him, and he was fairly young.

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## djansen

> How old is he?  Our panther cham would exhibit hiding behaviors for the first month or so that we had him, and he was fairly young.


not that young, I would say about 5 or 6 inches long

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## BPelizabeth

hmmmm....mine is not at all....actually he is a big bully.  lol  He likes to huff and puff and squeak.  I don't think he has figured out the squeak is not manly.... :ROFL:   Plus watch out facing him.  Mine has gotten me with his gross sticky tongue a few times.  

He is probably just nervous.  Try to handle him for about 5 minutes a day and find his rub spot.  I have found mine LOVES to have his Rhino head (as my son calls it) rubbed along with his jaw line.  And he paticularly likes it when you do it with him almost completely upside down.  ???  freak!

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## DC Reptiles

when I had veilds mine where more aggresive and would bite all the time. I would of liked to have a shy one :  ) Its probably just him being scared and getting use to you, you dont know what he went through where he was before.

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## Alexandra V

Sounds like he just needs some time to settle in and get used to everything. Give him some time. Congrats, by the way  :Smile:

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## djansen

This is starting to get old, he still just hides at the bottom all day.  I really have no urge to hold him as I know it stresses them out but all I want is for him to be out so we can look at him.
 :Sad:

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## jsmorphs2

Few questions, does he stay there all the time? What is your set up like and how is your temp gradient set up? Also, did he go from a small enclosure to a really large one? Finally, is his enclosure in a busy room of the house?


Our veiled was kind of shy too as a baby so we hand fed him and he started to associate us with food. We took the "hands off" approach raising him and didn't take him out unless it was cleaning time but because we hand fed him occasionally he didn't get stressed when we handled him and usually would come out of hiding when we were in the room. Kind of reverse psychology, lol.

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## PrettyInInk87

It could be that he is still acclimating as others stated or he could be sick. Again, what are his temps, basking, ambient, misting schedule, lighting schedule, feeders, gutloading, lighting? Is there anything else you notice besides him hiding all the time? Chameleons are very delicate creatures and can go down hill fast. Sorry, just trying to get an idea of why he is behaving that way.  :Smile:  Pictures?

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## djansen

> Few questions, does he stay there all the time? What is your set up like and how is your temp gradient set up? Also, did he go from a small enclosure to a really large one? Finally, is his enclosure in a busy room of the house?
> 
> 
> Our veiled was kind of shy too as a baby so we hand fed him and he started to associate us with food. We took the "hands off" approach raising him and didn't take him out unless it was cleaning time but because we hand fed him occasionally he didn't get stressed when we handled him and usually would come out of hiding when we were in the room. Kind of reverse psychology, lol.


He is in our main living area (appartment) and every time we are there he retreats to the bottom.  The temp is about 70-75 and he has a small basking spot.  And its the cage he grew up in, got him on craigslist.

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## PrettyInInk87

> He is in our main living area (appartment) and every time we are there he retreats to the bottom.  The temp is about 70-75 and he has a small basking spot.  And its the cage he grew up in, got him on craigslist.


I would suggest putting him in a low traffic area, some Chams are just more shy than others and vice versa. What are the temps in his basking spot? I believe that for a Veild his age should be in the low 80's.

Pictures would REALLY help.  :Smile:

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## jsmorphs2

^^^ What she said, lol.

Your temps are good for ambient but I'd bump up the basking spot to 85-90. 

What exactly is the cage like? 

Ours did very well in the large screen viv. The basking spot was small but stayed around 90 and only on in the day along with a full spectrum UV lamp. The room was kept around 72. Gave him lots of plants and vines. We also used a drip system for water/humidity.

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## PrettyInInk87

> ^^^ What she said, lol.
> 
> Your temps are good for ambient but I'd bump up the basking spot to 85-90. 
> 
> What exactly is the cage like? 
> 
> Ours did very well in the large screen viv. The basking spot was small but stayed around 90 and only on in the day along with a full spectrum UV lamp. The room was kept around 72. Gave him lots of plants and vines. We also used a drip system for water/humidity.


Yes, minimum for an adult Veild or Panther Cham is 24x24x48 inches... They should have a Repti-sun 5.0 linear bulb along with a basking bulb and done (regular house bulb is fine) and depending on your temps depends on the wattage of the bulb. He can also be hiding down toward the bottom because there isn't enough cover up top. Lots of live plants and vines are important. Again, sorry about the ranting... Chameleons are my first passion.  :Very Happy:  I have 2 of my own (would have more if I had the space). :Very Happy:

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## BPelizabeth

You can get a drip system for like $10- on a bunch of different sites.  It works really well.  I did not even think to ask you where he was in your house.  Chams as Pretty stated like to be in more of a low traffic area with little noise.  Ours is in my sons room which for the most part is fairly quiet and he has really taken off.  He likes to eat without ppl looking in on him as well.  As far as the cage....Pretty was right on again.  There are many cages out there but this is the one I like best.  We are currently getting ready to upgrade George as he has grown soooooooooo quickly its crazy!  This seems to be the best bang for your money and I have seen them at a show before.  Very nice!!
http://www.diycages.com/15201/15922.html

Pretty....I do have a question for you.....what is the benefit of using real plants over fake ones??  I currently use fake as I find it easier to clean.  George seems to be doing very well as he is HUGE and only 3 1/2 months old.  Also do you give your chams any greens at all?  I read somewhere that you can offer them some and ever since I started doing this he does occasionally have a nibble here and there.

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