1 Month Old Veiled Chameleon Not Eating

[bgtfan]

I just got a 1 month old veiled chameleon two days ago and she isn't eating anything. The first day she started to eat and ate 3 crickets. She is drinking fine but just hasn't eaten a cricket since Monday. Anything I can do to help her? I tried Mealworms and she wasn't interested in those either.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, female and 1 month old. I've had her for two days.
Handling - Handle her about two times a day.
Feeding - I am feeding her pint-sized crickets and mealworms. She hasn't been eating much at all.
Supplements - I use Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D.
Watering - I mist down the habitat with a spray bottle 3-4 times a day for about 5 minutes. I do see her drinking about twice a day.
Fecal Description - Hard to see.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass, 20 gallon tall tank.
Lighting - I use Powersun UV 100 W. About 10 hours a day.
Temperature - It is about 80 degrees in the basking spot. Overnight around 75.
Humidity - About 80% humdity.
Plants - Only fake plants. 3 of them and lots of vines and branches.
Placement - Located on my floor. Nothing distracting.
Location - Tampa, FL

 

[mychamtini112012]

If you just got her two days ago there is a good chance that she still needs to acclimate to her new home and is just stressed. Chameleons can go a week without food, so don't worry. Just give her lots of space to settle in, and then try. Also if you can buy some really tempting treats that will help her even more.

 

[bgtfan]

If you just got her two days ago there is a good chance that she still needs to acclimate to her new home and is just stressed. Chameleons can go a week without food, so don't worry. Just give her lots of space to settle in, and then try. Also if you can buy some really tempting treats that will help her even more.

Thanks! I am worried cause I have never had a chameleon before. What are some tempting treats she would like? Also, she loves being held but should I not hold her for a few days? She is a bright lime green most of the time too.

 

[mychamtini112012]

As a general rules, chameleons aren't supposed to be handled all the time. They are a more 'look from afar' pet like fish. Right now, I wouldn't hold her or get her out. After they are use to you you can pick whether you want to hold her or not, as there is really a debate over that one.

Tempting treats would include baby silk worms or horn worms, dubia nymphs, fruit flies (flightless), baby mantids (I don't know if these are too big for her yet), terrestial isopods.

Were the meal worms you were offering to big for her.? Are you gut loading and supplementing her food.?


Oh! I forgot. Welcome to CF! Sorry. I'm Kristen, I have a female veiled as well.

 

[bgtfan]

As a general rules, chameleons aren't supposed to be handled all the time. They are a more 'look from afar' pet like fish. Right now, I wouldn't hold her or get her out. After they are use to you you can pick whether you want to hold her or not, as there is really a debate over that one.

Tempting treats would include baby silk worms or horn worms, dubia nymphs, fruit flies (flightless), baby mantids (I don't know if these are too big for her yet), terrestial isopods.

Were the meal worms you were offering to big for her.? Are you gut loading and supplementing her food.?


Oh! I forgot. Welcome to CF! Sorry. I'm Kristen, I have a female veiled as well.

Where can I buy those treats and they were really small but she just didn't seem interested. I am not gut loading her crickets cause they do that where I buy them but I am dusting them with calcium. Thanks for the welcome! I am hoping to make her comfortable soon.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Mulberry farm has them, I buy from there. They are a site sponsor. ummm...smallpetfeeders.com (i think thats the website) sells mantid oofs.

Do they gut load with orange cubes.? a lot of pet stores don't gut load right. Or give out the right info when it comes to chameleons as well. Is that where you got all your information.?

 

[bgtfan]

Mulberry farm has them, I buy from there. They are a site sponsor. ummm...smallpetfeeders.com (i think thats the website) sells mantid oofs.

Do they gut load with orange cubes.? a lot of pet stores don't gut load right. Or give out the right info when it comes to chameleons as well. Is that where you got all your information.?

They gut load with a few different things and that is where I got most of my info but also from the trade show where I bought her.

 

[mychamtini112012]

You might want to gutload them yourself as well, a proper gutload is key to keeping her happy and healthy.

Do you have all three supplements or are you using like an all in one.?

What's she housed in.?

Sorry for all the questions, I just don't always trust pet stores giving out info. Want to make sure you have it all right so you can make her comfortable. If you want you can fill out the How To Ask For Help form and then we can look through everything you are doing.

 

[bgtfan]

You might want to gutload them yourself as well, a proper gutload is key to keeping her happy and healthy.

Do you have all three supplements or are you using like an all in one.?

What's she housed in.?

Sorry for all the questions, I just don't always trust pet stores giving out info. Want to make sure you have it all right so you can make her comfortable. If you want you can fill out the How To Ask For Help form and then we can look through everything you are doing.

I will do that and post it on here! Stay tuned! Also, the crickets don't stay in the container and just run around the smaller vines and the floor.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Okay. That sounds great. And whenever it's filled out I shall read. haha.

Your crickets run around the cage.? What about at night.? I just keep mine in a tank, with their gutload and water, and then put them in a cup Tini feeds from. Crickets will chew on a cham at night, and if they die and you don't see it they can cause bacteria and stuff.

 

[bgtfan]

Okay. That sounds great. And whenever it's filled out I shall read. haha.

Your crickets run around the cage.? What about at night.? I just keep mine in a tank, with their gutload and water, and then put them in a cup Tini feeds from. Crickets will chew on a cham at night, and if they die and you don't see it they can cause bacteria and stuff.

Yeah they do. But they don't reach her. I put a cup in but she doesn't feed from it at all. The only time she has eaten she ate them off the vines around the cage. I updated my first post with the form.

 

[camimom]

I just got a 1 month old veiled chameleon two days ago and she isn't eating anything. The first day she started to eat and ate 3 crickets. She is drinking fine but just hasn't eaten a cricket since Monday. Anything I can do to help her? I tried Mealworms and she wasn't interested in those either.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, female and 1 month old. I've had her for two days.
Handling - Handle her about two times a day. handling can cause stress, you have to give her time to settle in
Feeding - I am feeding her pint-sized crickets and mealworms. She hasn't been eating much at all.
Supplements - I use Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D.your supplement schedule is wrong. she needs calcium without d3 for every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month
Watering - I mist down the habitat with a spray bottle 3-4 times a day for about 5 minutes. I do see her drinking about twice a day.
Fecal Description - Hard to see.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass, 20 gallon tall tank. this is the wrong set up, thats for fish, not reptiles. get a mesh/screen cage that is taller than it is wide. 2x2x3 is good.
Lighting - I use Powersun UV 100 W. About 10 hours a day. this bulb is probably too much for her, females, esp babies, need basking temps at 80, and yes i know you say it is at 80, but how are you measuring that? what uvb bulb are you using? any uvb bulb at all? if not, you need one ASAP.
Temperature - It is about 80 degrees in the basking spot. Overnight around 75.
Humidity - About 80% humdity.
Plants - Only fake plants. 3 of them and lots of vines and branches.
Placement - Located on my floor. Nothing distracting.
Location - Tampa, FL

can i see a pic of her and the set up please?

 

[bgtfan]

can i see a pic of her and the set up please?

I will post one in a second. The tank has a screen top on it and that's all I can afford at the time. I was told it is sufficient for the time being. The powersun has UVB. It is an all in one! I have 2 thermometers in the tank with her.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, female and 1 month old. I've had her for two days. Because she is a female you will have to be ready for eggs when she gets older. They can produce eggs without being bred, and need a lay bin to lay properly. Without they can become egg bound and die. I will post a wonderful blog about this though to help you.
Handling - Handle her about two times a day.
Feeding - I am feeding her pint-sized crickets and mealworms. She hasn't been eating much at all. They need lots of varietry. And even though the pet store does it I still think you should hold your crickets in a tank to gut load yourself, just to be safe, and then put some in when it's time for her to feed. You'll also want to make sure you feed her about every other day, so this will reduce her clutch size when she is older.
Supplements - I use Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D. With D3 is only supposed to be used twice a month. Just plain calcium is supposed to be on every feeder and you'll also need a multivitamin for twice a month. Or you can just buy Repashy Calcium plus and dust your feeders with that every single time.
Watering - I mist down the habitat with a spray bottle 3-4 times a day for about 5 minutes. I do see her drinking about twice a day.
Fecal Description - Hard to see.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass, 20 gallon tall tank. Is it a terrarium or like a fish tank.? Tanks don't give proper ventilation, but terrariums do. Most of us on here though use screen cages, she will need one that is 2' deep 2' wide and 4' high.
Lighting - I use Powersun UV 100 W. About 10 hours a day. Is this Powersun give off UVB.?
Temperature - It is about 80 degrees in the basking spot. Overnight around 75. 80 is great! To help reduce clutch sizes keep it no hotter then 85.
Humidity - About 80% humdity.
Plants - Only fake plants. 3 of them and lots of vines and branches.
Placement - Located on my floor. Nothing distracting.
Location - Tampa, FL

I gave you might tips in black. I will go get the blog for gutloading and the laying bin as well. Do you have any pictures so we can see that pretty little girl.? Does she have a name yet.?

 

[camimom]

I will post one in a second. The tank has a screen top on it and that's all I can afford at the time. I was told it is sufficient for the time being. The powersun has UVB. It is an all in one! I have 2 thermometers in the tank with her.

its not.
that set up does not allow air to flow in and out. like a screen cage would.

Those all in one bulbs dont work as well i think. ntm they get hotter than need.

what kind of thermometer?

if its not digital, its probably wrong.

 

[bgtfan]

Here is a picture of her tank and then a close up of her!

 

[bgtfan]

its not.
that set up does not allow air to flow in and out. like a screen cage would.

Those all in one bulbs dont work as well i think. ntm they get hotter than need.

what kind of thermometer?

if its not digital, its probably wrong.

It's not digital but I have spent so much money so far I can't really afford much more.

 

[camimom]

Shes very cute.

but you need to remove that substrate.
if she eats it, she can become impacted.

and she can eat it, veileds eat lots of things, and if a bug gets in it, and she hits the bug AND that mulch its not good.

and that cage really isnt going to work.

try to get a mesh/screen one asap.
like within the next few weeks.

 

[bgtfan]

Shes very cute.

but you need to remove that substrate.
if she eats it, she can become impacted.

and she can eat it, veileds eat lots of things, and if a bug gets in it, and she hits the bug AND that mulch its not good.

and that cage really isnt going to work.

try to get a mesh/screen one asap.
like within the next few weeks.

I had aspen in it originally cause that what I was told but I went to a specialty store and bought the bark. I will change it out though. What do you recommend for the floor? I think she may have eaten a piece of aspen the first time around. :/

 

[camimom]

I had aspen in it originally cause that what I was told but I went to a specialty store and bought the bark. I will change it out though. What do you recommend for the floor? I think she may have eaten a piece of aspen the first time around. :/

nothing.
or reptile carpet.


also, i dont think that basking bulb, is an all in one.

i looked up powersun 100 watt, and it doesnt say uvb.
it says uv, but not uvb,