A little concerning

Simon1986

New Member
Hey guys,
My yemen chameleon Charlie hasn't eaten in nearly 2 weeks she's just been through a shed which lasted 4 days it sh hasn't show the slightest interest, I've offered hoppers, crickets and silk worms. I ended up getting her to eat 3 silkworms by moving close with one hand till she gapes the popping one in with the other hand and she ate them no problem.

She's still drinking an moving and showing normal bright colours but she just doesn't seem to eat nothing overly stressful has happened to her over the past 4-5 weeks

Should I be worried?
 
Could you post a photo of her and fill in this Form? Please be thorough with the form, it'll help us tremendously. It could be a few things, but we can't begin to offer anything useful until we know more.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? veiled chameleon, female, 8 months old and had her since January
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? handle her about 2-3 times a week shes quite friendly and as the suns out at the moment we have a umbrella plant she can free range on in the sun
Feeding - we have been feeding her on gutloaded crickets and hoppers (gutloaded on apple greens carrots and pepper, tend to put in 2-3 in every day and remove them at night if any remain if not i put in 2-3 when i get home from work
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? i use calcium power without D3 which i give her light dusted food every other day and neutribal with d3 every 2 weeks which is what the vet recommended
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? the tank is heavily misted in the morning and afternoon and she has a dripper system. we regularly see her drink from the dripper but not since friday
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.her last poo didnt have a lot of black to it which im assuming is down to her not eating but it had a good amount of white urate to it which was healthily white
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. she has an illness which i cant remember to pronounce but it lead to her having an opperation to have her inner lady bits removed 7-8 weeks a go then she had the stitches out last tuesday

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? wooden vivarium with glass front and vents 3ft high by 2ft by 1.5ft
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? exoterra basking light at 87-93 degrees. 5% uvb tube. lighting comes on 7am till 7 pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? exo terra humidity guage ranging from 50-70%
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? umbrella plant
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? In the living room in the corner, viv top around 4-5 ft from the floor
Location - Where are you geographically located? UK

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
he current problem is that she has stopped eating and as far as i know drinking as ive not seen her drink since friday but her poos very white so she must be getting fluid. anyway she got fussy 3 weeks ago and started only eating meal and wax worms. she then began to show signs of shedding. her skin went paler as the skin got ready to peel and it lasted a week like this and throughout this time she didnt eat but over this week she has shed showing her bright greens again. she did eat a wax worm friday but thats it and i dont know if its worth seeing the vet tomorrow?
 
I've been to the vets on Monday and they y crated her and found nothing wrong but she's not right at all she's only eating waxworms which I know aren't good but it's something.

Crickets and hoppers are looked at as though they are plagued as are silk and meal worms. I'm getting kinda worried as she's a little darker than normal and she's generally looking very depressed and I really don't know what else I can do

Is there anyone who's had this before or similar situations.

Any help or advie would be deeply appreciated
 
can you post a photo?
Is it possible she's gravid and going to lay eggs soon? Do you have a suitable laying bin in her cage?

Is it possible she is just holding out until you offer more junk food (waxworms)? If that's the case, she'll eat when she's truly hungry. That she is still drinking is good.

what are the cage temps?
 
I wish that was the reason but gravid is impossible as she has had an emergency hysterectomy 2-3 months ago, i think ahes deinking but i havent seen her drink, she also hasn't pooped since Friday which is becoming a worry. I'm aiming to shower her tomorrow to see if the heat helps her poop. I've literally started wax worms yesterday and I'm rationing them, mainly using them to dust ensure the supplements are getting to her. I'm genuinely getting worrid,
 
I know you said she is only eating waxworms and mealworms. That is no surprise since those are the junkfood items in the chameleon world. If she knows you are gonna give her those then she will most likely rufuse everything until you give in and give her her those tastey treats. It sounds as though she may just be going on a junkfood hungerstrike. Meaning that is the only thing she will eat. Especially since your husbandry looks to be pretty good and in line and the Vet didn't see any problems. I know its hard because you feel like anything in her stomach is better than nothing, but this happens all the time to all kinds of members. They start to offer only crickets, phoenix, silkworms, dubia roaches, or any other better staple food until the chameleon breaks down and gets hungry enough to eat. These guys can go for a surprisingly long amount of time without eating. It sounds as if she is getting one over on you and just waiting it out till you give in and give her junk food. no more junkfood lol! If this is the problem then she WILL give in when she gets hungry enough. I have read people saying that they had to wait in excess of two weeks before the chameleon gave in and started eating healthy food again. Regardless if this is the problem or not you gotta pull your lady off that bad food and get her on a good diet. Her eating bad could be as bad as her not eating at all, so toughen up and show her you care by making her eat her greens! (well crickets or better staple in this instance)
 
Ok im not wanting to be mean but I saw that in the "How to ask help" form you said that "she got fussy about three weeks ago and started only eating waxworms and mealworms" Then when someone said something about her holding out for "junkfood" you replied back and said that "I literally started feeding waxworms yesterday"?? If that was a mistake i see, but its cool if you where worried and wanted her to eat something so you have been giving her wax and mealworms for awhile. The thing is now you know and can correct the problem.
 
im new here,,an i havent got a clue where to write,,ive got a yemen chameloen hes 2,but ive noticed today hes going a chalky white around his mouth going up to his eye,i caught him earlyer rubbing his face against the branches in his tank,does anyone know wot this can be, thx
 
Sorry I deleted a section and didn't re-read it to ensure it makes sense . Sorry my comment hasn't appeared and I didn't mean it to sound arsey (if it appears) it doesn't help I'm writing on my iPhone that autocorrects all the time.

But no she hasn't eaten a bug in 18 days and started with 2 dusted waxworms yesterday.
 
im new here,,an i havent got a clue where to write,,ive got a yemen chameloen hes 2,but ive noticed today hes going a chalky white around his mouth going up to his eye,i caught him earlyer rubbing his face against the branches in his tank,does anyone know wot this can be, thx

you should start your own thread in the health clinic. Post a pic. Sounds like he is going to shed in that area.
 
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