My Vieled Chaneleon seems to be on a hunger strike. She seems healthy, but is completely uninterested in crickets for almost a week. She also is in a wandering stage - when food is brought in, she ignores that and instead tries to climb on you and out of the cage, and she is also wandering around the cage quite a bit. Any ideas from anyone? I am starting to get a little concerned as time passes - any help is appreciated.

Welcome to the forums!

Well, she could just be tired of eating crickets everyday. It would be like you eating pizza everyday, you'd get tired of that too :P. Maybe try some wax worms, meal worms, roaches, fruit flys, etc etc. as a treat but not as a staple food source. Also, more info is required. Like how old is she? What type of enclosure is she in? Temps? Refer to this link so we can have a better understanding How to ask for help

is she still pooping and passing urates on a regular basis?
She could be just bored, but I'd be concerned.
If you could get a gram scale and weigh her at home on a regular basis, that's a good way to catch problems early. At a young age my vet says that they should not be loosing weight or even maintaining weight for a long period of time, and if so it's a good clue that something is wrong.

She is in a 30"x30"x18" open-air enclosure with live plants (Philodendron, ficus, couple other things) and climbing vines - heat lamps and a sunlight lamp - the humidity level could probably be better, but we try to mist occasionally - there is a constant water drip available. It is located in a low traffic room, with no mirrors, and far enough from the window not to be a problem. She is approx. a year-old, and I have been feeding her almost exclusively gut-loaded crickets, which I dust regularily with calcium supplement and vitamins. Recent droppings appear normal to what we are used to, and I think she is drinking, however I rarely see her drink just because they do it pretty infrequently. I have thought about getting something else (food source), but the way she is acting toward the food (totally ignoring it) I wasn't certain that was the problem.

if she is a year old you might want to put a nest box in her cage so she doesn't get egg bound. is she fat. female chameleon will still produce eggs without breeding and the number 1 death for single females is eggbinding

Have you bred her? What you described sounds like she's possibly carrying eggs (gravid) and is looking for a place to lay them. When a female is gravid, they will stop eating a few days or so before they are ready to lay eggs. They will also get restless and start wandering their cage to look for a place to lay.

Two things I suggest:

1) If she is easy to handle, gently feel her tummy area and see if you feel some "lumps" inside her tummy. If you feel some, and more than one, more than likely she is carrying eggs. If you do feel eggs, then go to step 2.

2) Prepare a container for her to lay her eggs in. In the picture below is how I set up a nesting area for my chameleons:



If your cage is big enough, try putting in a container such as above inside her cage. I use sand, as it is easier for the female to dig her nest (I've found soil much more difficult for the female which makes her very exhausted). You can mix a bit of potting soil in with it if you wish. Moisten the sand with water just enough for you to be able to build a sand castle with (not too wet, but not too dry). If you can, put a plant in there with it, as it makes it more natural feeling for her. Predig a hole for her at an angle and make sure the sand doesn't fall (this ensures the sand is moist enough to not fall on top of her) and many times, my females will start digging in the hole that I've already done for her. Sometimes however, they will start to dig their own hole anyway. Make sure the sand is at least 8-10 inches deep for her to dig into to.



If she isn't gravid, and this isn't the problem, well at least you know what to do when your female does become gravid .

But, from what you have described, it sounds like she's looking for a nest.

Keep us informed...

Smiles

__________________
Jenna
www.prismchameleons.com

Thanks for the advice...we have eggs! And a slim fast chameleon. Within minutes of putting a container of sand in her enclosure she started digging a hole to lay her eggs.

Thanks again!

Woohoo! I'm very happy to hear that I was able to help and that she was looking for a nest, rather than something serious going on! How many eggs did she lay? Do you know what to do when she is done laying her eggs?

__________________
Jenna
www.prismchameleons.com

No we don't, she is still working on burying the eggs. Patting the sand down and moving sand around. We welcome more advice.

Ok... here is what you do. When she is done burying her eggs, she will be exhausted, dehydrated most likely because of all the work she did, and hungry. Do you have a shower system set up? If not, put a small tree or plant into your shower and have the water BARELY turned on to resemble tropical rain falling. Make the temperature luke warm.... not too hot, but not too cold. Then place her in the shower on the tree/plant to get a nice good long drink... this will also help rinse her of all the sand and/or soil she will have over her.

While she is in the shower, take the container out of her cage and put her cage back into the original setup that existed prior to you placing a container inside. Maybe even add a plant or something if you have one handy. This way, her cage is ready for her to return to after she is done drinking. Also, once she is inside her cage, give her some of her favorite treats (she deserves it!). She will probably start to eat right away as she will be very hungry.

Find a container to place her eggs into, something that has a lid on it (photo below will give some examples of what you might use). I use Perlite as the substrate for my eggs to lay in. You may also use a mixture of soil and perlite together as well. Pour the Perlite into the container for the eggs and then slowly add water to it. You want the Perlite moist, but not so wet as to have water dripping from it if you were to squeeze the Perlite in your hands. You also don't want it too dry (yeah, I know... you are scared to death wondering if you get the moisture right - I was too!). You want it just moist enough for it to feel wet to the touch, but not dripping with water.



NOTE: In the picture above I used Perlite mixed with soil. In my other containers below, you may see I only used the Perlite alone. Both are acceptable.




Then comes the fun part! Treasure hunting!! Gently dig where she has dug the hole and find her eggs. Take them out, one by one and then place them about an inch apart in the container you've made to incubate them. Do not rinse the eggs (this will drown the babies) and just slightly secure them in place (don't bury them) so that they will not roll or move. Once all the eggs have been placed, cover the container with the lid.

Now, I'm going to let the Veiled experts on this forum take over from here as to what temperature and where to place your container. With panther chameleons, I put them in a closet I have and keep them at room temperature and check them about once a week or so to be sure the Perlite is still moist so the eggs do not dry out. All species of chameleons have different needs and currently, my expertise is on panther chameleons.

Congratulations! You are proud parents of baby Veileds!

__________________
Jenna
www.prismchameleons.com