2nd day decreased appetite

[Kaianuanu]

I just got my 3 month old nosy be in the mail early yesterday morning. Yesterday, he was eating like a horse, he probably ate close to ten small crickets. He even zapped two straight from the tongs. This morning, I watched him lap up a little water after the aquazamp came on, but today, he seems really scared of me, you can see him tense up every time I enter the room, and I only got him to eat one cricket this morning with me hiding around a corner. I have been feeding him by putting a cricket on a vine in front of him, because his cage is too big for him to find free ranging crickets (2x2x4). Should I be worried? If so, I'll fill out the how to ask for help form.

 

[carol5208]

No u have what's called "new mommy or daddy syndrome". Relax! He will eat when he is hungry. Try putting a cup in there with food

 

[Kaianuanu]

No u have what's called "new mommy or daddy syndrome". Relax! He will eat when he is hungry. Try putting a cup in there with food

I hope you're right and it's me with the problem lol, I actually put in the cup right before i posted the OP.

BTW, I have been dusting with repashy SuperCal NoD.

 

[carol5208]

Haha we all go through it. Did u get the supercal from kammers? The one they sent me had d3. I don't use it everyday especially cause I house my guys outside almost all day

 

[AnvilsHammer]

The advice i was given from my breeder when i brought home my faly was put a blanket over his cage for the first week so he can have privacy while getting used to his new habitat.

I saw in your other thread that the cage is the XL reptibreeze. If you can you should just make a Sunny D death trap and put it somewhat close to his basking spot so he can see them.

It takes 7-10 days for a chameleon to get used to his new home. just give him space and time to get used to his surroundings

 

[Kaianuanu]

Haha we all go through it. Did u get the supercal from kammers? The one they sent me had d3. I don't use it everyday especially cause I house my guys outside almost all day

No I bought it from LLL, the SuperCal NoD is just plain calcium, then I bought the SuperCal HyD for twice a month, and then I bought both Reptivite(w/o D3) and Herptivite to use each once a month for my multivitamins. I also have some Dinofuel on the way that I plan to use weekly.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Would a sheet that's white over the cage be stressful as opposed to any other color?

 

[tkilgour]

Just a guess, but I would think that bright colors would be more stressful. In nature, many things that are brightly colored are dangerous.

 

[Kaianuanu]

I'll put up the sheet then. Btw, I thought I'd add that he still hasn't eaten anything since that one cricket this morning.

 

[Kaianuanu]

I found one w/ palm trees that should do. I'll leave it up for a week or so.

 

[Kaianuanu]

I picked up some Insectivore Repta boost just in case his apetite doesn't pick up in the next few days. In the meantime, any other advice to help me get him to eat today?

 

[biffle]

In my experience,

He will eat when he is hungry. If you try to influence his eating behavior, you may end up training him to be a picky eater.
If you get desperate, Wax worms have never failed me. They are like chameleon popcorn.

Jason

 

[Kaianuanu]

Darn, I was just at petsmart, now I wish I would have picked up some waxworms, at least I have the repta boost, it feels somewhat like a $6 insurance policy? Anyway, how long do you think I should wait before I get worried, or start to give him repta boost? Could I try to give him some repta boast now?

 

[biffle]

IMO you should not worry. Just make sure you see him drinking and pooing. Get worried if you don't see those.

Jason

 

[Kaianuanu]

Speaking of which, I just caught him dropping this, so I caught it in my hand, kind of gross, but it looks nice and healthy and i'm glad to see that his digestive tract is not empty. And I won't have to clean it out later. I this is his third poop that I have actually seen him do since he ate a bunch on the first day. Maybe now he'll be in the mood for some food.

 

[biffle]

That's a good looking poo you got there.

 

[Kaianuanu]

That's a good looking poo you got there.

Thanks lol. BTW, I gave him a drop of the Repta-Boost and an hour later, he ate 3 more crickets, which is a relief. But i still think he should be eating more. How many do you think he should be eating a day?

 

[biffle]

That depends on the size of the cham and the size of the cricket.

I try to give 4-6 crickets per day if they are on the large size for the cham or 12 per day if the cricket is on the smaller size compared to the cham. Once they reach maturity they eat much less.

Jason