Baby Veiled Cham Appetite concern?

[Ardentish]

My new 2 month old baby veiled chameleon will only eat 2-3 crickets a day. I recently got him 3 days ago and he ate the first day but only 3 crickets. Now he's only eating 2 crickets a day. The breeder I bought him from was free ranging his feeders so I tried that and that's when he eats 2. I use 1/4" crickets same as the breeder did. I also keep a cup with a few crickets in it but he doesn't seem interested. He's been exploring and active and likes basking (bask spot at 85°f and ambient stays in the 70s). idk how to get him to eat more

 

[Ardentish]

• #1

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled chameleon, Male, 2 months, 3 days now
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I don't handle him yet to let him settle in.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Only 1/4" crickets. He only eats 2-3 small crickets a day around 8-9 am. I gut load with Josh's frogs organic cricket feed along with fruits and veggies .
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-cal calcium without d3 every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Wednesdays I alternate between rep-cal with d3 and reptivite. Sundays I don't supplement.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I use repti-rain misting system for 60 seconds every 6 hours as well as a dripper. I haven't personally seen him drink but I tend to leave him alone rn as it's only been 3 days.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I haven't seen any droppings yet. He's never been tested.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No information to give at this time.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Reptibreeze XL 24”x24”x48”
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptisun 5.0 UVB and a 60 watt house bulb idk the brand (not coil).
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Floor 68 basking 85. I have multiple thermometers at different levels.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Ranges between 60% - 75% I use a mister and dripper with live dwarf umbrella plant to keep humidity up. zoo med humidity and temp gauge.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Dwarf umbrella tree.
• 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 my bedroom,.it's not near any vents or fans. Traffic is only me occasionally throughout the day. Cage top height is 5’ from the ground.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. He isn't eating as much as I've been told he should. He won't hesitate to eat 2-3 crickets if I put them on a near by branch or leaf but he won't eat more than that. I keep a cup with a few crickets in there in case he wants more but he just walks over the cup and doesn't bother with them.

 

[SourGrape4u]

The cage is a bit big for his age, the size you have is for an adult. I've always used a cage about half that size till about 4-6 months of age so they can find food easier. Not sure if this might be the issue or not.

 

[Ardentish]

The cage is a bit big for his age, the size you have is for an adult. I've always used a cage about half that size till about 4-6 months of age so they can find food easier. Not sure if this might be the issue or not.

so you've kept baby chams before? Do they tend to lose their appetite when shedding? He's been developing little white dots (like skin patches) around his face and feet. I believe he is about to start shedding from what I've read and researched. I just wanna be sure hes heathy and I can get paranoid easily lol

 

[SourGrape4u]

Yes they can get a little cranky and slow eating during a shed. Honestly if he is eating the he is good. Be concerned if he doesn't eat or drink at all for more then a couple days.

 

[Ardentish]

Yes they can get a little cranky and slow eating during a shed. Honestly if he is eating the he is good. Be concerned if he doesn't eat or drink at all for more then a couple days.

Okay thank you! He's been eating and this morning he ate 3 crickets which is one more than yesterday. He's staying hydrated and his urate is nice and white (not to be gross lol) thank you for the help if things don't Improve after he sheds (if that is the case) then I'll move him to a smaller cage and see if that helps

 

[jamest0o0]

The cage is a bit big for his age, the size you have is for an adult. I've always used a cage about half that size till about 4-6 months of age so they can find food easier. Not sure if this might be the issue or not.

That's a myth, baby chams can be kept in large cages.

OP 2 crickets is less than a young cham should be eating. Thanks for filling out the form I'll check it out in a little when I get time.

 

[jamest0o0]

Also, you didn't describe his fecal. What does it look like?

 

[Ardentish]

Also, you didn't describe his fecal. What does it look like?

Oh my bad, it's solid and dark brown. his urate is white and fat. I'm not really sure how else to describe it

 

[jamest0o0]

Oh my bad, it's solid and dark brown. his urate is white and fat. I'm not really sure how else to describe it

That is normal, however early on parasites may not show obvious signs. A fecal test is always a good thing to have done regardless about once a year(they're not expensive).

Can you get pictures of your set up and cham?

 

[jamest0o0]

Overall your husbandry looks pretty good, nothing sticking out.

 

[Ardentish]

 

[Ardentish]

The pic of him on my hand was 3 days ago after I unboxed him. The other one I just took

 

[Ardentish]

Good news! He ate 8-10 crickets this morning and he's doing good!! I guess he just needed some extra time to really settle in )

 

[Gingero]

Yup! Sounds about right. Glad to hear it!

Few comments on your husbandry:
- What fruits and veggies are you gutloading with?
- What's your reasoning for not supplementing on Sundays?
- 60 seconds is a pretty short misting session. But I'm mindful every chameleon has a different drinking response and it depends on your environment. Usually 2-3 minutes is what is recommended.
- You didn't mention if your UVB was a T5 or a T8... can you clarify?

 

[Ardentish]

Yup! Sounds about right. Glad to hear it!

Few comments on your husbandry:
- What fruits and veggies are you gutloading with?
- What's your reasoning for not supplementing on Sundays?
- 60 seconds is a pretty short misting session. But I'm mindful every chameleon has a different drinking response and it depends on your environment. Usually 2-3 minutes is what is recommended.
- You didn't mention if your UVB was a T5 or a T8... can you clarify?

I gut load with things like sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, mustard greens, kale, and carrots.
I don't supplement on Sundays cause I've read plenty of things about over supplementing and the schedule I use is one that was recommended by a friend that raised chams.
The misting system I use at the moment only goes up to 60 seconds max but it goes off every 6 hours and I've seen my Cham come down and drink when it goes off and his urate is pure white and fat so he's staying hydrated. Plus I live in Tennessee where it's always humid and I don't need to mist more that for humidity reasons either. I am saving up for a mist king tho so when he's bigger I can do the 2-3 minutes.
My uvb is a 5.0 reptisun T5 I believe but I can check when I get home from work.
Also thank you for responding! Anything else that might be off or needs clarifying?

 

[Gingero]

- Great gutloading choices.
- I don't see a major issue of not supplementing one day a week. Most of us supplement every feeding. Just be mindful your ratio of calcium without and with D3 might be slightly off since it'll be 11:1 instead of 13:1
- Gotcha. Glad you have found what works for you and your cham. Mistkings are awesome.
- If that is the UVB bulb you have than you are golden

And you're sure he is a he?

 

[Ardentish]

- Great gutloading choices.
- I don't see a major issue of not supplementing one day a week. Most of us supplement every feeding. Just be mindful your ratio of calcium without and with D3 might be slightly off since it'll be 11:1 instead of 13:1
- Gotcha. Glad you have found what works for you and your cham. Mistkings are awesome.
- If that is the UVB bulb you have than you are golden

And you're sure he is a he?

Thank you for the supplement advice! I'll definitely look into the ratios and figure out what works. Also I did check and it is a T5 uvb that I have so I'm glad to hear that was a good choice. As far as gender, he has tarsal spurs and I made sure to check when I unboxed him. I do realize he's pretty small and his veil is little compared to pictures I've seen so I'm not really sure what's going on there. I did buy a male so hopefully I'm not mistaking something for tarsal spurs and my breeder didn't mess up. I guess we'll see as he gets older. Is it possible that there's something wrong with him or he's like just extra small? I bought him from Flchams.com and they had great reviews plus the sire he came from was gorgeous so I went with them.

 

[Gingero]

I don't see anything visually wrong with him and your husbandry seems to be good, so just keep feeding him and he'll be as big as your arm before you know it!

Might be a good idea to get a food scale so you can weigh him and track his growth.

 

[Ardentish]

I don't see anything visually wrong with him and your husbandry seems to be good, so just keep feeding him and he'll be as big as your arm before you know it!

Might be a good idea to get a food scale so you can weigh him and track his growth.

I was actually planning on getting one soon! I really want him to have the best life and be as happy and healthy as possible. My original plan was to get a yellow body blue bar amilobe panther chameleon (and a juvenile at that) but then I decided a veiled might be something to look into and I fell in love with the father of my little guy and my heart was set. I'm so scared cause I know how picky their husbandry is and the fact that he's a fragile baby makes the anxiety 10× as high lol. I've owned plenty of reptiles and amphibians in the past but none of them were as touchy care wise. I did research for about half a year or more before I decided to get him and I'm still so paranoid. I'm glad there's chameleon forums and nice folk like you to help me out so thank you so much!