Cham not eating

[chamtrainer]

My 5 month old male panther chameleon isn't eating because i am not handfeeding him. He has gotten used to me dropping worms or crickets in his mouth. It has been three days since i have been just throwing the crickets in his his cage and waiting for him to attack them like he did 2 weeks ago. I used to just put large crickets in his cage when i first got him and he would eat them. Latley i just kept dropping the crickets and worms in his mouth to make sure he got all of them. Now for about three days i started just putting the crickets in his cage in the morning and taking them out at night. He has gotten a little less aggressive and thinner since he has not been eating for three days. He also doesn't grip as tight as 5 days ago. I got pretty worried and kept him up until 7:40 trying to get him to eat but he doesn't eat unless i drop it in his mouth which i have not done for 3 days. I am really worried and i don't want only one person's feedback. If you are reading this then please comment. Thanks in advance.

 

[chamtrainer]

Please people i need your help!!!!

 

[chamtrainer]

Please people help me, just tell me any techniques you know. I need everybodies advice

 

[kinyonga]

Patience is a virtue! We all have other things to do than sit on the computer all day!

If he will only eat when you handfeed him and you are concerned that its starving, for goodness sake, just hand feed it something and leave something for it to catch itself.

You said its grip is not as strong either...is it getting UVB light either from a UVB light or sunlight that does not pass through glass or plastic?

What exact supplements are you using and how often for each?
How long have you had it?
Are its arms straight between the joints or does it look like it has an extra elbow above the real one?

Can you post a picture please?

 

[jessica]

Best place to start is with your husbandry. Has anything aside from not hand feeding changed?

I think you should fill out the dreaded form

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[chamtrainer]

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - He is a Red bodied blue barred panther chameleon male, and i have had him for 26 days.
* Handling -I handle him twice a day or sometimes more. (More than i probably should)
* Feeding - Medium Crickets, recently super worms, and before giant mealworms. 12 or 14 crickets a day, every other day about 5 giant mealworms. Feed crickets every 3 days, every other day worms. I use lettuce, carrots, and oranges.
* Supplements - Repcall with d3 every 3 days.
* Watering - About 5 times a day and yes i have seen him licking mist off leaves and the cage.
* Fecal Description -He has long dumps with yellow dump attached to the end. The color is medium brown to dark brown.. Never been tested for parasites.
* History - "He has awesome colors when he fires up, its intense. His dad was red bodied blue barred cham when fired-up. His grandpa from his mom's side has a bright red body and sky blue bars. When i put crickets in his cage he hunts like a pro. If you put a cricket in your hand he will shoot his tongue from far away. He was caged with 2 other chams, a sambava 3 and a half months old and a female 4 months old. He is 4 and a half months old. He was the biggest one of the clutch with the best colors." The first day i got him i put my hand a foot away from him with a cricket in my hand and he shot his tongue and ate it.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - 2 feet by 1 feet by 2 feet all screen
* Lighting - 18 inch hood uvb bolb 5 months old. and a heat lamp with 60 watts about 6 inches diameter.
* Temperature - During the day 75 degrees to 80 degrees. At night from 58 to 65 degrees. I use a house thermometer for night time and thermometer for the day.
* Humidity - At the very lowest it it rarely 50 percent regular is 60 and when misted 70 to 80.
* Plants - No live plants, other than fake plants i am using some dried twigs.
* Placement - Located in my room. No fans, one air vent across the room,no real traffic areas, At 4 and a half feet at the top of the cage. the height of the room is 8 feet.
* Location - I am located in Malibu California.


Current Problem - It has been three days since my chameleon has eaten. This is because i stopped hand feeding him for three days because i was told to let him hunt on his own if i want him to start shooting his tongue. How do i get him to start shooting his tongue and eating from his cage. He has got very a little thinner, his grip is almost the exact same, maybe a slight difference. And he fires up real easy lately. when i put him out to rome. I put crickets in his cage and take them out at night time. They are the exact same amount except for one or two which died.

 

[chamtrainer]

Okay so here are some quick pics i just took.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."If you put a cricket in your hand he will shoot his tongue from far away" in the history and then..."This is because i stopped hand feeding him for three days because i was told to let him hunt on his own if i want him to start shooting his tongue"...so he used his tongue in the beginning and then stopped? Tongue issues can be caused by calcium imbalance, dehydration, injury or infection...maybe more.

You said..."Repcall with d3 every 3 days"...IMHO you are really overdoing the D3 which can cause mineral imbalances. IMHO you should be using a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings, D3 twice a month and a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A twice a month.

Do you gutload/feed your insects a nutritious diet? (What do you use specifically?)

You said..."18 inch hood uvb bolb 5 months old"...what brand of bulb is it? Is there any glass or plastic between it and the chameleon?

 

[Elizadolots]

He has long dumps with yellow dump attached to the end.

I suspect that dehydration is part of the problem. The yellow "dump" is the urate and it's supposed to be white, maybe creamy....but not yellow (yellow tip is okay, but the bulk should be whitish)

No live plants, other than fake plants i am using some dried twigs.

Live plants are your friend! They increase humidity and your chameleon will love drinking off their leaves. I strongly recommend getting something alive in there.

You don't mention (possibly because the form doesn't specifically ask about it) if you are using a dripper to keep water available.

That's something I'm sure we want to know. If not, then I'm going to suggest you set up a dripper. The easy fast version is a plastic cup, poke a hole in it, stick it on top of the cage and let it drip onto a plant.

Ideal drip is one drop per second...so, use a small needle or pin. You'll have to play with it a bit.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."He has long dumps with yellow dump attached to the end"...good that you caught that Eliza...I meant to mention it but forgot.

 

[Matt1851]

ya i dont see a dripper and he has yellow in his ppoop so good possibility of dehydration, also like the others ssaid slow down on the d3! and ya live plaants are key for panthers i say, even if you can get a small schfflera or pothos that would do, and if you cant, mist him more often per day.

 

[chamtrainer]

My UVB bulb is a reptisun 5.0 and it is 5 months old. There is no glass or plastic in between it only screening. I am going to add drippers right now. Thanks guys is there anything else that can be done.

 

[chamtrainer]

Okay so Eliza, you were right now that i am checking his cage for droppings like i do every weekend, i paid close attention to them and they were actually creamy kinda white with a yellow tip. I couldn't stand having the little guy not eating so i hand fed him. Till next time when this becomes an actual problem. I also added a dripper to his cage and i am going to get him some live plants. Thanks.