Having Problems Eating

evertech11

evertech11

New Member
Carlos is a 2 1/5 year old, male, veiled chameleon.

for about a month now, hes been crawling down into the cricket contained to get food instead of staying on the vine above it. he crawls down in, and instead of shooting the crickets with his tongue. he still uses his tongue, but he only sticks it out alittle ways to grab the crickets.

What's wrong, is he sick?
or maybe he just doesnt have a good angle on the vine?
 
Could be getting lazy. Mine are all cup fed and my ladies will crawl into the cup while I hold it to snarf down their crickets.
 
What brand and type (compact/screw in/spiral or long linear tube) UVB light do you use? Is there glass or plastic between it and the chameleon?

What supplements do you use and how often for each?
What do you gutload with?

What's the basking temperature?

Some of the reasons (but not all) a tongue won't shoot out far are an injury, possibly dehydration and calcium imbalance.

Does your chameleon show any signs of MBD?
 
18in. exo-terra Repti-Glow 5.0 tube, unfiltered

Miner-All indoor formula once ore twice a week

I'm not sure of basking temperate, but it should be pretty high, he has a 150W basking lamp about a foot above him. After eating he stays up there for maybe, 30 minutes, not too long, but i've never noticed him staying there all the time.

After looking some stuff up online i think he is dehydrated, water is pretty much the only thing for him that i don't really keep track of or have on a timer.

I don't think he's injured because he is walking smoothly and isn't unstable while twisting around in his cage.

When he was younger he had signs of MBD but he has been fine for more than 2 years, and has grown really well since then.

Do any of you know of a good misting system? under 200$
 
150 w basking light sounds way to hot to me. You should be misting 2 to 3 times a day and have a drip cup set up. Can you post a picture? Jann
 
I meant injury to the tongue not the chameleon.

How much does he eat in a week?

Can't tell you which misting system is the best.

I dust with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings. I also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder and Herptivite twice a month.

Its been reported that the repti-glo bulbs don't put out as much UVB as they should...so maybe his calcium metabolism isn't good enough??
 
instead of cup feeding, if you put a cricket on a vine (when he's hungry), will he use his tongue properly and fully to get it? If yes, then likely he's lazy and used to cup feeding. If NOT, then it's something more serious, such as what kinyonga said. Injury, vitamin or mineral lacking, etc
 
If you are giving him Miner-all indoor twice a week, that is way too much. That formula is Miner-all's D3 formula. D3 can build up in the liver and other vital organs and too much will actually BLOCK calcium absorption and cause MBD. I would get a nice phosphorus free calcium withOUT D3 and supplement with that instead of the Miner-all indoor formula. You should only use the calcium with D3 about twice a month and even then it is only "insurance" of sorts.
 
I would ditch the Reptiglo and get a reptisun.

I think your guy is lazy... try to free range for a week. If you see a lot of loose crickets he might have some issues with site.

Do you only feed crickets? ever mix it up with some silk worms or hornworms or supers or butter?
 
evertech11 said:
18in. exo-terra Repti-Glow 5.0 tube, unfiltered

Miner-All indoor formula once ore twice a week

I'm not sure of basking temperate, but it should be pretty high, he has a 150W basking lamp about a foot above him. After eating he stays up there for maybe, 30 minutes, not too long, but i've never noticed him staying there all the time.

After looking some stuff up online i think he is dehydrated, water is pretty much the only thing for him that i don't really keep track of or have on a timer.

I don't think he's injured because he is walking smoothly and isn't unstable while twisting around in his cage.

When he was younger he had signs of MBD but he has been fine for more than 2 years, and has grown really well since then.

Do any of you know of a good misting system? under 200$
Click to expand...

try a herpmist or mistking. for under $200

150w is alot of heat from a lamp. how tall is your cage and what is it made of?

A metal screen cage that is 48" tall with a basking lamp of about 50-75 should work well for your guy. Put a basking branch about 6-8" away from the basking lamp and place the heat lamp next to the UVB lamp. if the basking lamp is within 6-8" of a 5.0 reptisun your cham should be fine for UVB.
 
now i'm pretty sure it's dehydration because i've only been watering him once a day or less.

my cage is 46" tall metal screen

i'll start dusting less
 
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