I don't want this cutie to die!

[scorpiob]

My cousin found a very young chameleon and decided that it's smart to give it to me (not sure why.) It seems very afraid because of what it's been through with my careless cousin. It's been two days now and he/she (not sure) hasn't eaten anything. I put it in an old aquarium with some plants and I'm spraying it with hot water occasunally (as I read I must in some articles.) What should I do to make it eat and drink? I put a a fly yesterday and another one today (it's very difficult to find any this time of year) and a chop of peach but it's not eating should I force it to? there are no specialists where I live. I know it's a difficult task but it would break my heart if it dies. Please help.

 

[kinyonga]

What kind of chameleon?
Can you post a picture?
What temperature are you keeping it at?

 

[scorpiob]

I'm not sure what kind of chameleon it is but here's a picture.
As for the temperature, I don't have a thermometer in the enclosure but I think it's around 20c 68f.

 

[kinyonga]

What country are you in?

I can't tell for sure what species it is from the picture...but 20C is not warm enough for most species. This might be why its not eating. It actually looks quite healthy.

You can use a regular incandescent bulb in a hood to provide a basking area temperature somewhere in the high 70's for now. Place it to one end of the aquarium. Do you have a screen lid on the aquarium? You don't want the light to be able to burn the chameleon either by the light being too close to it or by it being able to climb on the bulb. It needs UVB light either from direct sunlight or from a proper UVB bulb too...so you will need to provide either sunlight (if its warm enough outside) or a UVB long linear tube light.

Is there a pet store near you where you could buy small crickets to feed it?

 

[scorpiob]

Thank you for your quick response.
I live in Syria where raising chameleons isn't very popular so I have to search for food for this little babe.
I already placed a light pulp near the aquarium and I made sure that it cannot be reached by my cham, this will surely raise the temperature. I gave it a sunbathe today and it seemed to like it but it is still very afraid. It hides behind leaves when it feels someone approaching and tries to escape when I try to touch it (though I'm trying not to.) I think it's not eating because it's afraid.
How long can it survive without food? and will this fear go soon enough?

 

[THECHAMMAN]

if you can find a pet store in syria, you can get crickets, or you can order roaches online and see if they can ship them to you.

 

[phanx]

u shouldnt use aquariums for a chameleon and i think ur just stressing it out a lot

 

[Eyal]

u shouldnt use aquariums for a chameleon and i think ur just stressing it out a lot

Well thats a lie about the aquarium part. The cham needs fresh air, is the aquarium ventilated? I think the aquarium solves the problem for housing for now. You should get food as crickets in the nearest petstore ASAP. Get the temperature up. Like 25-30

 

[chamelisa]

Would a over ripened piece of fruit attract fruit flies where you live this time of year?

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/SYXX0001

Maybe not. It seems a little chilly there.

Houseflies are excellent so it's good that you are finding a couple.

If you cannot find a place that sells crickets in Syria, you may have to do some wild insect hunting.

Also, is this a common chameleon found in Syria? It's very cute and looks like it has a healthy weight.

 

[BocaJan]

They do like an assortment of bugs and roaches. What kind of creepy crawleys do you have?

 

[RachelRiot]

Would a over ripened piece of fruit attract fruit flies where you live this time of year?

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/SYXX0001

Maybe not. It seems a little chilly there.

Houseflies are excellent so it's good that you are finding a couple.

If you cannot find a place that sells crickets in Syria, you may have to do some wild insect hunting.

Also, is this a common chameleon found in Syria? It's very cute and looks like it has a healthy weight.

Try putting a piece of raw meat inside a jar in the sun for a while. You should definitely attract some flies. Then slap a lid on trapping them. I open the container in my chams cage setting them free.

 

[kinyonga]

Its quite likely to be a Chamaeleo chameleon or a close relative...I can't be sure from the angle of the picture. Assuming that its native to where you live and that the temperatures there can drop to quite a bit lower than 20C its possible that the chameleon is trying to go into brumation and that might be why it wasn't eating.

Is there a pet store that you can go to that sells insects?

 

[scorpiob]

Thank you all for your help. I had a busy day at work so I couldn't post anything earlier, sorry for that.
After I came back from work I checked my little cham and found that it was asleep but it looked very pale so I taped on the glass and it didn't respond and I touched it and it didn't respond either. That freaked the hell out of me but finally it woke up and it's still there
I asked today if pet shops here sell insects and they don't, but thankfully today was sunny so I hunted some fruit flies and since my aquarium is not covered I had to cut their wings. But the cham is totally ignoring them although they are making all kinds of crazy moves in front of it! I don't think it ate anything when I was at work because it was sitting on a high little branch when I left and it hasn't moved a bit since.
One more thing I think I should mention. During the day, I put the entire aquarium outside and made sure that half of it was in the shade. The cham was far more active and as I was watching it from behind the window, it tried to escape but it couldn't go past the magical wall of glass despite the effort.When I put it back in my room it stood still on that branch. Should I put it on a tree in a bush or something? But I don't think it would survive this freezing temperature!
What should I do?

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."Should I put it on a tree in a bush or something? But I don't think it would survive this freezing temperature!"...do you mean if you release the chameleon outside...set it free?? How cold does it get there??

Did it eat today? Drink?

 

[scorpiob]

You said..."Should I put it on a tree in a bush or something? But I don't think it would survive this freezing temperature!"...do you mean if you release the chameleon outside...set it free?? How cold does it get there??

Did it eat today? Drink?

Yes I mean to release it. It was 2c outside yesterday at night.
Anyway it's asleep again (not 100% sure but I don't want to disturb it again if it's sleeping) ... I think you're right about the brumation. It's sleeping in the same posture as yesterday, so it's about 18 hours now without a move.

I just hope it's not dead.

edit: I'm not turning the light in the aquarium on anymore by the way.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO...if you release it, it may be too late for it to find a suitable place to brumate (if indeed that is what its doing and if it really is native to that area) and it may die.


If you keep it in the house, you will need to figure out how to look after it.

 

[scorpiob]

Do you mean look after it after it wakes up? Sure I will. But I hope its appetite will have improved by then ... Do I need to do anything during its hibernation?
It is a native cham since my cousin found it out somewhere and nobody keeps chams here, so it's not a lost pet.

 

[kinyonga]

This is kind of new to me in a way. I have kept/raised/hatched C. chamaeleons here in Canada....but I have never brumated them in the wild.

I do know that with turtles you have to make sure that their stomach is empty and that they are "fat" enough before they go into brumation...but I don't know if that's what C. chamaeleon needs. It would be likely that its stomach would be empty if there are no insects available where you live now outside. It would just happen because it couldn't find anything to eat...and its metabolism would likely slow down also due to the lower temperatures.

I kept mine in the house because they would definitely have died here in the winter outside. They didn't get down to the temperatures that I think would be found where you live at all while they were with me...but the temperatures did decrease from summer to winter with me....so mine slowed down but didn't go into the deep brumation that they would in the wild.

All that being said...if you keep it in the house, it should be able to be kept in a light brumation...but its hard to know the parameters of it. Maybe it will need to be fed a bit...maybe it won't. Maybe it will be somewhat active...and maybe it won't. I wish I could give you better answers.

 

[scorpiob]

I'll make sure I check it every now and then and see if it's moving. It would be hard to find food for it during winter but I think I'll manage if it happens to move.

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[kinyonga]

I would make sure it has water and if it starts to look thin or its eyes sink in or it gives any other indication that its not doing okay...please post.

If it eats it should have some calcium and it should likely have some UVB if you can provide it without it getting too cold.

I hope it survives!
Keep me posted please!
Sorry...I have to sign off now...its 3am!