Ok I'm getting a little worried...I picked this little guy up from LanceCham 3 days ago. He is only 3 months old and is extremely active (I am actually surprised by how much he likes to climb on me and won't get off my hand to go onto his tree oftentimes!). His colors are always nice and bright, except in the early morning sometimes before I turn on his heat lamp.
Also, I cannot get him to drink at all. Everytime I mist, he runs away (at a really high speed, almost recklessly!! I worry he will fall off the plant at the rate he's "running away" from the water). I am using a pressure-garden mister; it is a fine mist. I have also tried using the classic spray bottle but no luck either.
His stool on days 1 and 2 looks perfectly fine. Solid brown lump with a small white chunk next to it. However, his stool this morning did not look as good. The stool itself looks fine but the urate is white with a big blob of yellow in it.
I have a reptisun 5.0; a daylight bask lamp with a temp gradient from 90-70. I mist him multiple times a day at various intervals but he ALWAYS just runs away from the water immediately.
Also, I can't confirm if he is eating or not. On day 1 he cup fed as soon as I introduced him to it, but since then I haven't seen him eat a single cricket. I put 10 in this morning before class, and I can still count 5 in the cup and at least 3 in his enclosure, meaning he ate at MOST 2 (they could very well be hiding in the enclosure). I am dusting his food with Calcium w/o D3 daily (and plan to use +d3 and multivit once every 14 days or so.
It almost seems like he can't see the crickets...
Yesterday, he ate ~5 small (1/2" or less) crickets. Same with day 1.
In terms of behavior, he shows absolutely no negative signs and is quite active and brightly colored; I take this to be a good sign, but I still feel like he is heavily under-eating...any suggestions?
*************
I currently free-range him during the day and have a 5.5 gal tank (8"x10"x16") I put him in at night. I know this is too small for him; it is only for 3 more days until I can get my mesh reptarium out of storage. He *clearly* does not like the tank though; he is often dark inside and immediately brightens up when I take him out, even when the temperatures are ok. Can this be a cause of him not eating?
Perhaps I should feed him something other than crickets...? Any advice appreciated; I hope I'm not being overly concerned
EDIT: Here's the "general help info" in more compact form:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Owned him for 3 days. He is 3 months old from LanceChem (son of AmazeJrJr)
Handling - Often/daily; he seems to love it
Feeding - 1/4-1/2" crickets; fed Flukers Cricket Diet as well as fresh veggies. I put 7-8 crickets in his enclosure in the early morning (I begin free-ranging him around 11-12). I also place 2-3 crickets in a cup on his ficus, but so far he hasn't taken any and I just have random escapees around...
Supplements - RepCal Calcium. I've only had him 3 days so I havent used +D3 or MultiVit yet (figure I do that ~14days)
Watering - I mist using a pressurized garden mister several times a day (5-10); I have also tried using larger-droplets via a standard bottle sprayer. He always runs away; have yet to see him even remotely enjoy it.
Fecal Description - Solid brown with a white bit until today; todays had an orange blob in the white part.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Free-range ficus on my desk throughout the day; 5.5 gal (TEMPORARY) enclosure at night when I sleep.
Lighting - 18" reptisun 5.0; 75W heat bulb
Temperature - 70-90 during the day, 65-75 at night
Humidity - Haven't recieved my probe yet, but I mist several times a day at various intervals; I also thoroughly mist the 5.5gal tank before I put him in it at night and again in the morning.
Plants - Free-range: Large Ficus; Inside enclosure: Small Hibiscus
Placement - On my computer desk; very low traffic area.
Location - Orange County, California (southern cali)
This last picture is right when I got him home on day 1. Its only been a few days but he is developing some colors quickly!
Also, I cannot get him to drink at all. Everytime I mist, he runs away (at a really high speed, almost recklessly!! I worry he will fall off the plant at the rate he's "running away" from the water). I am using a pressure-garden mister; it is a fine mist. I have also tried using the classic spray bottle but no luck either.
His stool on days 1 and 2 looks perfectly fine. Solid brown lump with a small white chunk next to it. However, his stool this morning did not look as good. The stool itself looks fine but the urate is white with a big blob of yellow in it.
I have a reptisun 5.0; a daylight bask lamp with a temp gradient from 90-70. I mist him multiple times a day at various intervals but he ALWAYS just runs away from the water immediately.
Also, I can't confirm if he is eating or not. On day 1 he cup fed as soon as I introduced him to it, but since then I haven't seen him eat a single cricket. I put 10 in this morning before class, and I can still count 5 in the cup and at least 3 in his enclosure, meaning he ate at MOST 2 (they could very well be hiding in the enclosure). I am dusting his food with Calcium w/o D3 daily (and plan to use +d3 and multivit once every 14 days or so.
It almost seems like he can't see the crickets...
Yesterday, he ate ~5 small (1/2" or less) crickets. Same with day 1.
In terms of behavior, he shows absolutely no negative signs and is quite active and brightly colored; I take this to be a good sign, but I still feel like he is heavily under-eating...any suggestions?
*************
I currently free-range him during the day and have a 5.5 gal tank (8"x10"x16") I put him in at night. I know this is too small for him; it is only for 3 more days until I can get my mesh reptarium out of storage. He *clearly* does not like the tank though; he is often dark inside and immediately brightens up when I take him out, even when the temperatures are ok. Can this be a cause of him not eating?
Perhaps I should feed him something other than crickets...? Any advice appreciated; I hope I'm not being overly concerned
EDIT: Here's the "general help info" in more compact form:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Owned him for 3 days. He is 3 months old from LanceChem (son of AmazeJrJr)
Handling - Often/daily; he seems to love it
Feeding - 1/4-1/2" crickets; fed Flukers Cricket Diet as well as fresh veggies. I put 7-8 crickets in his enclosure in the early morning (I begin free-ranging him around 11-12). I also place 2-3 crickets in a cup on his ficus, but so far he hasn't taken any and I just have random escapees around...
Supplements - RepCal Calcium. I've only had him 3 days so I havent used +D3 or MultiVit yet (figure I do that ~14days)
Watering - I mist using a pressurized garden mister several times a day (5-10); I have also tried using larger-droplets via a standard bottle sprayer. He always runs away; have yet to see him even remotely enjoy it.
Fecal Description - Solid brown with a white bit until today; todays had an orange blob in the white part.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Free-range ficus on my desk throughout the day; 5.5 gal (TEMPORARY) enclosure at night when I sleep.
Lighting - 18" reptisun 5.0; 75W heat bulb
Temperature - 70-90 during the day, 65-75 at night
Humidity - Haven't recieved my probe yet, but I mist several times a day at various intervals; I also thoroughly mist the 5.5gal tank before I put him in it at night and again in the morning.
Plants - Free-range: Large Ficus; Inside enclosure: Small Hibiscus
Placement - On my computer desk; very low traffic area.
Location - Orange County, California (southern cali)
This last picture is right when I got him home on day 1. Its only been a few days but he is developing some colors quickly!
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