I need advise about my chameleon that stop eating?

just wondering of this is normal.
this is my first time owning a veiled cham.
By Nov 11 he'll be around 4 months old.

He used to eat a LOT (about 20 crix).
and he also eat from a tub.

He shed a week ago,
then I Went to a a vet and get a clean bill of health (a day after he shed).
no parasite found in the feces and growth has been great.

2 days after the vet visit, however, he starts to get cranky all the time and refuses to eat crix.
he's eating less and less.. one day it's 6 crix,
then about 4 crix from the tub.
then he just stop eating crix altogether for 2 days straight.

he refuses to eat from the tub.
One crix hopped and climb the vine, and strangely he eats that one.

On Sunday, i gave him 30 house flies..
today i only saw 2 dead flies while the other pretty much gone (Did not see him eating them.. but i suspect he is).

This monday, i let loose 20 crix.. and so far, He just eat 1 small crix.

He get skinnier and skinnier... but he poops everyday and it looked normal and moist.

Is this a case of hunger strike?
I am waiting for my silkworm package to come.. but it will come no sooner than 4-5 days. should I just go ahead and try to find something else for him to eat or can I wait for the silkworm to arrive?
How do I get him out of hunger strike?

You are still seeing him eat so i dont think you have a problem now. They go through growth spurts where they eat more and then slow down. If he stops eating all together then i would worry.

your cham is probably looking for some more excitement
let your crix free roam so he hunts them down that will be much better for his health as well..

as well, try mixing up the meals throw in some silkies, butters, wax worms too.

where did u buy our house flies? (i want some too!)

well goodluck!

Why was this posted again? I believe a good sum of your questions were answered yesterday? Unfortunately there is no good answer here just sound advice....follow the advice and more then likely things will be ok.

Geckoxp said:

Why was this posted again? I believe a good sum of your questions were answered yesterday? Unfortunately there is no good answer here just sound advice....follow the advice and more then likely things will be ok.

Click to expand...

yes.. i'm trying to get more opinion as there are only 2 people that answer and both opinion are somewhat different

davider said:

your cham is probably looking for some more excitement
let your crix free roam so he hunts them down that will be much better for his health as well..

as well, try mixing up the meals throw in some silkies, butters, wax worms too.

where did u buy our house flies? (i want some too!)

well goodluck!

Click to expand...

Hi Davider,
do you let your silkies free roam too?
I got house flies culture from Edd and Liddy kammer

Picture Please.....

Hi there! It's totally appropriate to post questions any time you feel something is a little off or just not right. Could you post two pictures for us? One a full body shot and one a close up of the head that shows the condition of the eyes. A picture can say a lot about general health. You mention that he keeps getting thinner. That is of concern to me. He may be a picky eater. I have a few of those. But weight loss or the lack of weight gain in a growing chameleon is not good. You seem to have taken all the correct steps by going to the vet earlier for a fecal and health check and being familiar with eating patterns. Is he drinking?

PardalisGirl said:

Hi there! It's totally appropriate to post questions any time you feel something is a little off or just not right. Could you post two pictures for us? One a full body shot and one a close up of the head that shows the condition of the eyes. A picture can say a lot about general health. You mention that he keeps getting thinner. That is of concern to me. He may be a picky eater. I have a few of those. But weight loss or the lack of weight gain in a growing chameleon is not good. You seem to have taken all the correct steps by going to the vet earlier for a fecal and health check and being familiar with eating patterns. Is he drinking?

Click to expand...

yes he is drinking.
Definitely not dehydrated as the poop is moist and the color is fine.
The eye thing i have checked to a chameleon specialist.
He said it's totally fine.

He's getting thinner due to not eating crix.
crix are the only thing available for me now until my silkies arrived (2/3 days).
(I have ran out of house flies colony too).

O BTW,, as far as the picture goes, I have it in my gallery.
It's about 3 days old.
The vet says watch out if I can start seeing his pelvic bone.
(so far not yet).
I don't really think he's sick.. he's just throwing tantrum.
I am quite sure that this is a hunger strike.
He's eating flies for sure.. but he just totally ignores his crix.

Columbus (his name) has an attitude since he was a baby.

This guy always manage to make me worry

Hey man,
I searched this same question in google and given the details in your question and in other people's answers I have came to a conclusion that u are giving your cham only crixs you may want to get mealworms and other appropriate sized worms. You may be giving your cham large sized crickets and he doesn't like the fact that he is munching on something too big. I have the same problem and that seems to do the trick

I have one six-month old Jackson's chameleon

would u pls update how is Columbus now? my 5 months veiled cham is facing the same problem eating less & less, which made me worrying a lot now.

If you are feeding one type of feeder on a regular basis your chameleon will get bored. It is recommended to have at least 6 types of feeders you can rotate on a regular basis. Meal worms should not be one of them.

I agree with Andee, I also have a picky veiled. If the vet says his poop is parasite free, his enclosure set up is big,he's hydrated AND he's eating other feeders, you might be over feeding him or he's sick of eating crickets, my Cham does the same thing, it drives me crazy. My Cham once went on a 3 week food strike and then started eating again like crazy.
I also weigh my Cham once a week to make sure his weight doesn't drop too much especially during food strikes.