Why do chameleons puff up

Now I realize that most of the breeders here use the bin method to raise babies. For those new to this, the bin method is where a clutch of babies is raised in groups. The breeder has a number of bins or cages that are used to separate the babies as they grow up so the babies are around like-sized cage mates. The reason the sorting is done is because babies bully each other.

Babies naturally grow at different rates, but that is compounded by whether the baby is part of the alpha dominant group or the submissive group. Raising babies together is a skill not in proper husbandry, but in making sure that the group dynamic does not get out of hand. Nipped tails, minor bite marks, and slower growing individuals are all signs that chameleon nature did not sign up for close quarters. This podcast is about best practices. So I can only hesitantly support bin raising or any kind of co-habitation.

Few people go through the expense to individually raise babies. But I can tell you breeders of parsonii certainly find a way! While not ideal, bin raising of babies has produced quality babies for may years. I have done it often, myself. Yes, babies have squabbles and some get damaged, but it overall works good enough and a breeder skilled in recognizing trouble signs and moving babies around can avoid major incidents. Whether babies or adults you may find yourself in a situation where you need to keep chameleons together for at least a short period of time.

This could be the three months it takes to raise babies up before going to new homes, an impulse buy, or any other unexpected event.

Rest assured that co-habitating chameleons do not self-combust immediately and some can adjust to varying degrees. For the purposes of this podcast I want to give you signs of stress and dominance play.

Once you have that information and you know what is going on between your chameleons you can make the appropriate adjustments. So here is your list of signs to watch out for. Note that all of these can happen for a variety of reasons. If they happen once they are merely a stress spike. If they happen repeatedly to the same individual you can suspect you have a targeted victim and that this victim is living with a chronic stress situation. And I need to make this clear.

I am giving you these stress signs so that you can recognize things that are going on before they get to the point where damage is being done. There are many signs of trouble that happen before you get to physical confrontations that you can head off serious trouble before it happens. But I would not feel good about this information being used to specifically make a forced long term co-habitation situation work. That scenario is usually tied to production of eggs for a business.

I am not thrilled when business interests try to justify compromised husbandry practices. That said, remember that there are times when you may choose to do something besides what we know are best practices. That is not always bad. There are always things to be learned by trying things differently.

Here are some communications regarding stress and dominance play. They will do this for the first few days in a new cage, but, if the cage is set-up appropriately, the chameleon will settle in and stay comfortably on horizontal branches. If the chameleon is scaling the cage walls then they are trying to get somewhere else and there is something wrong with their cage or its location.

If you have a group situation and one chameleon continually is scaling the cage walls then you have one chameleon trying to leave the situation. This is a clear sign that your chameleon needs another living area. If both the dominant one and submissive one are content with the hierarchy then you may have a time window of peaceful co-existence. But watch out for some of these other signs that the dominance battle is not truly over or has reared its ugly head again.

They are also suppose to leave the area. Does one chameleon always have to be the first to eat? It may even go as far as the dominant one eating all the food so the submissive one goes hungry. Or that the dominant one eats the food the submissive one was eyeing.

Let a cricket go near them and see who snags it. If the male snags it then you may have chance at a good mating. Sometimes there is a stand off for some reason between a male and a female and neither moves. If you see this let a cricket go running up the side of the screen cage. I have had that break the tension as the male snags the cricket and then goes to successfully mate the female. Just a tip to try. We see a dominant chameleon climbing over a submissive one in many scenarios.

We see it in babies and we see it in females that do not feel like breeding. If you are wondering if this is bullying behavior or not then just observe whether it is consistently the same characters involved in the incidents. Tail nipping is when one chameleon will follow another and bite the tip off of the tail. This happens more often with babies as they are kept together more often, but this happens with adults living together as well.

I usually hear about a particular trouble maker in a certain group that gets a taste for tail tips and becomes a repeat offender. If you see faint black rings on a baby chameleon those are probably bite marks from a sibling.

The good news is that these marks usually go away after a shed or two. So, even if you get a baby with a black, mouth shaped ring on them, it is not a reason to get too excited. Babies shed often and, unless the bite was deep, it will disappear soon enough.

As stated before, when the eyes close during the day you know the situation has progressed too far. You have trend far into the intolerance zone and things are physically breaking down. Find the stress point and remove it immediately. The trouble with low grade stress is it is something that happens over time and is not the direct cause of death. So your chameleons live together for 9 months seemingly fine and then one gets a bacterial infection.

If it happens over time and it is subtle how can you know it is happening before the infection stage? But one of the most valuable habits you can get into is weighing your chameleon on a weekly basis. Anytime your chameleon is losing weight you have your early warning sign.

I would not be surprised if there are other examples of dominance play that you all have witnessed. If you have something not on my list send me an email! Keep your eye out for signs of building stress to nip it in the bud. My episode today is not meant to say what should or should not be done in handling, caging, or other aspects of husbandry. My purpose was to expose chameleon communication the best that I have been able to uncover in these decades of trying to figure them out and to figure out where I can get better in what I do.

Take these data points and apply them to your chameleon husbandry and see if any of them can help make your care better. And if I have missed something here, please let me know! Although do not confuse being able to keep chameleons alive with success in husbandry. Chameleons are fighters and will live through an amazing amount before dropping off. We have moved on from that and have learned enough that we can have chameleon quality of life as our target standard.

That is what I am really interested in discussing. Thank you for joining me in this extra long episode. I considered breaking it up into a two part series, but it all tied in so tightly that it had to go together. If you are interested in some links to the topics presented then you can find them in the show notes at www.

Look for episode 6. The reason I can sit and put together an hour long educational episode is because of support from the Dragon Strand caging company. Creating designs specifically to reduce stress in chameleons has allowed me to study this chameleon behavior in depth.

I designed the Breeder Series of hybrid cages specifically for breeders to be able to keep their breeders visually isolated and even to raise babies up individually to avoid nipped tails, bite marks, and the effects of bullying. The cages have screen fronts for ventilation, but solid sides to keep them from being affected by others next to them.

You can even have a breeding pair of panthers and 24 babies raised individually in 8 feet of wall space with a couple racks and the Breeder series cage systems.

Look in the show notes for pictures and links or just visit dragonstrand. So hold on, chameleon wranglers, this ride is just beginning! You must be logged in to post a comment. Play in New Window Download. Show Notes Stress is a subject that is well studied and has many parallels.

Welcome back to our weekly chameleon fireside. Comfort Zone The first zone is the comfort zone. Tolerance Zone The next zone is the tolerance zone. Intolerance Zone The next zone is the intolerance zone. The four stress conditions I would like to talk about are 1 Stress spikes 2 Internal physical stress 3 External physical stress 4 Emotional stress Stress Spikes Stress spikes are what keeps us safe in a world that wants to eat us.

Intro to Chronic Stress types The next three types of stress are the ones you really need to look out for. Internal Physical Stress We will start with internal physical stress. External Physical Stress These are conditions which affect the chameleon from the outside. Emotional Stress Lastly, emotional or behavioral stress. So here are your signs of fear or emotional stress in chameleon language 1 The Chameleon Salute. Brown anole lizards Anolis sagrei , however, have orange, red or yellow throats -- all equally visually stunning.

The throat coloration difference is an easy way to tell green anoles apart from brown anoles. By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use. Reaction to Danger in Anole Lizards If a male anole lizard encounters something that he perceives to be a menace or danger, he will not hesitate to prominently fluff out his throat fan, which is also called a "dewlap. Mating Activity in Anole Lizards The mating season for anole lizards generally starts in the beginning of the spring and lasts until the very end of the summer.

Territorial Behaviors in Anole Lizards Anole lizards are extremely territorial creatures. Hence it is important to keep track of this signal to avoid stressing your Chameleon, which can be harmful to this living being. Some suggestion that will be helpful for you if your Chameleon has been puffing up is given below:. If your Chameleon shows signs of puffing up as you approach, it might be because they feel intimidated by your presence.

In that case, it is suggested to move away from the cage slowly and gradually. If the Chameleon is puffed, it is a sign that they are scared and ready to guard themselves and their territory. Chameleons puff up if they notice someone in their surroundings, which might cause fear and stress in them. Try removing the source of their fear to avoid the inconvenience. When you see the Chameleon puffing up, it is a sign for you to leave them alone.

While puffing up, the Chameleon must be left alone, whatever the reason may be. Puffing up a Chameleon is a completely normal activity. However, the puffing up of this creature might be a sign of stress or sickness. For these reasons, you might want to prevent your Chameleon from extra stress, as it is unhealthy for the animal.

Ensure that the cage of the Chameleon is placed so that there is no visible intrusion that might offend the Chameleon. It will reduce the stress level of the Chameleon if the setup of the cage is correct. To prevent the Chameleon from puffing up, you need to stay low as they feel safe when they are above you.

Furthermore, if the Chameleon is puffing up, you can reach out to them by staying low. They change color, they have rotating eyes and long tongues. A less recognized characteristic is their ability to puff themselves up. So why do chameleons puff up? Chameleons will puff up because something in their immediate environment is causing it to feel stressed.

This puffing up display is an attempt to repel the cause of its stress. Of course, the reasons for a chameleon puffing up are a little more nuanced than just stress but stress is the main cause of this behavior.

As I said the main causes are stress but there are specific situations that lead to a chameleon puffing themselves up. These situations can be minimized if you have, or plan to get a pet chameleon. The important thing is not to worry or panic. A chameleon puffing up is completely normal behavior. The quicker you remove the source of stress for your chameleon the better it is for them.

Just leave them alone!