baby veiled chameleon won't eat?...

[beeek0]

hey, my baby chameleon doesn't seem to be eating, he looks real skinny, i can see his ribs and stuff, he sleeps a lot, and his legs and arms look real skinny as well... I don't know what to do... He is really shy and scares easily when he is awake... he is housed alone in a 24x24x48" screen cage and is only about 2 to 3 " long... If anyone has any advice please let me know..

 

[brandychams]

shouldnt sleep during the day whats your lighting and temps your supplement schedule like?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Can you fill out the form? It will help people work out what might be wrong......


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
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?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[beeek0]

I have two babies and one looks great, has a full stomach, eats often, ventures around the tank pretty often as well, etc.
but my other ones eyes look a little sunken in and real skinny, sleeps a lot, etc...


for the info you requested of me:
veiled chameleon, I'm not quite sure which one is which yet for the sex, its age is around 4 months at most.
I have only handled him about 4 to 5 times, when cleaning his tank, putting him in an area with crickets to eat b/c he doesn't feed on his own, and when moving him into his new home.
I feed him baby crickets, by just putting about 10 to 15 gut loaded crickets (various greens dusted with calcium ) into his tank at a time... i sometimes dust the crickets with calcium D3 before putting them into the tank as well... but he doesn't seem to be making much progress lately with feeding though..
my schedule that I have been trying to keep with my supplements is calcium dusting the crickets once a week.. and calcium with D3 once or twice a month.. but i haven't had them that long yet..
I do misting twice a day, once early and once later on... while having a couple of Dixie cups as drippers at the top of the cage for throughout the day...
his fecal matter looks brownish with some white usually.. cant really tell which are newer.. and I have no idea if it has been tested for parasites.. i bought him from a website called FLCHAMS.com...
cage is a 24x24x48" screen cage
I'm using one 24" uvb strip and one lamp with a uvb/uva reptisun bulb. I have the set timer scheduled for 12 hrs on and 12 hours off.
humidity is at about 60 to 65 percent almost at all times.. I use a humidity gauge to tell me the percent..
the temperature is at about 75 -80 degrees during the day, 70 - 75 degrees at night. Their basking areas are at about 90 to 100 degrees at most depending on where they sit on their perches.. I just have a thermometer I got at pets mart that came in a dual pack with a humidity gauge as well.
I have one hibiscus plant in the tank, a small tree, i forgot the name of it and another plant that I am not too sure of the name... They are both non toxic though.
The cage is in my bedroom, my ceiling fan is on almost at all times, its not too powerful though, keeps the room temp from getting higher than 80 degrees during the summer.. and I am located in Arizona.

I included a picture of his cage setup as well...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=42239&stc=1&d=1317589805

I hope that information was helpful in finding out what is wrong with him..
Thanksss.

 

[brandychams]

cal without d3 every feeding d3 2 a month and vitamins 2 a month temps are alittle high for a baby try lowering them 80- 85 and get a temp with a probe the analog ones as you have are unreliable also are they housed together?

 

[DavidBuchan]

If they are housed together then that's likely the issue.......can you post pics, especially of the back legs.....you should be able to see clear spurs on a male.....
Also, as brandychams said the calcium without d3 should be every feeding, and your temps would be better at 80-85 for basking, as low as 70 for ambient

 

[beeek0]

thanks, i will lower the temp a bit more... and they are not housed together, they are in separate cages around the same size.. but i found my little guy laying on the floor of the tank this morning... i thought he was dead, but hes still alive, barely... his eyes are really sunken in, barely moving, and he has a white discharge, it looks like, around the area underneath his tail.. I don't know what to do.. i feel like I'm going to lose this little one :/

 

[beeek0]

also, what kind of vitamins should i be getting other than the calcium without d3 and calcium with d3??

 

[Olimpia]

I'm sorry to say but I am doubtful that we can do anything for him at this point One of the ones I've lost was like that in the moments before he died, and I was on the phone with one of the top cham vets in the country and there was nothing else to be done.

However, I'm wondering why this could have happened. The best I feel we can do for you at this point is prevent anything this like from happening to your other chameleons. He may have declined from stress - can you think of anything that would cause stress in this chameleon? Can he see other chameleons, or other pets? Are you constantly at the cage doing things, modifying things in the cage? I'd also say parasites might be possible but he's so young, I have a hard time thinking he would have declined that quickly from them. It couldn't hurt to have a fecal done on your other chameleons, just in case. They go for about $10-15 at most vet offices. Make sure they do a fecal float, this is often skipped but tends to provide lots of info on parasitic loads.

Again, I'm really sorry about this guy. I hope we could have helped but it sounds like we might be too late to help. These guys go downhill so quickly!

 

[Riven]

I'm not really familiar with chams ( way newbie here), but since he/she hasn't been eating, if they're strong enough would be ideal to force feed pureed crickets? Also make sure they're drinking and getting water...

 

[aaron12]

how many inscets is a baby yemen chameleon ment to eat?

 

[Big Gulp]

also, what kind of vitamins should i be getting other than the calcium without d3 and calcium with d3??

Twice a month you should dust with a multivitamin like this.

http://www.southernagriculture.com/...ANextag&zmam=17172995&zmas=1&zmac=2&zmap=5534