Chameleon never wants to eat?

zelphos

New Member
I rescued my veiled chameleon on Christmas last year, he is quite older, 3 1/2-4 years old is what I was told, he was kept in a tiny 2 ft by 2ft screen enclosure you buy at the pet store with no plants or climbing material, he was so skinny you could literally see his bones and he was very dark. Someone brought him to a Christmas party in a tiny Tupperware plastic container passing him around like he was a toy and I offered $125 for him because of how enraged I was how he was being treated and how poorly he was cared for, I'm honestly surprised he held on so long without dying.I figured I'd give back history on him to help get an answer. He simply has had eating problems since ive had him although he is no longer skinny. Ive never cared for a chameleon but I have put much care into this little guy and can honestly say I have gained his love and trust my trying to work with him, he even comes right up to me when I go to his cage and puts his hand out to let me know he wants to climb onto my fingers. I just don't know where is eating problem lies. Here's some extra info.

Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, male, will have him a year this christmas
* Handling - Often, he always wants to grab my fingers.
* Feeding - crickets are his favorites, super worms, sometimes colored greens, apples, he gets mad if I try to offer anything else.
* Supplements - zoo med without vitamin D
* Watering - Mist, ice cubes top of the cage
* Fecal Description - solid, hasn't been tested for parasites, have used 2 treatments of reptaid incase
* History - Read above


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Screened custom built enclosure, 5 1/2 ft tall 4 ft wide and deep.
* Lighting - reptisun 5.0 36 inch. changed ever 5 months, 100 watt basking bulb
* Temperature - 85 where he mostly is
* Humidity - I mist quite often and dribble water in front of him which he drinks from
* Plants - hibiscus and pothos plants
* Placement - living room by a window which he loves to look out of.
* Location - Ohio
 
Hi, how long has he gone without food or you just wanting to perk his lacking appetite he has always had?

How long and often do you mist?
What color are his urates?
Do you have a multivitamin supplement?
 
Ok i attached a picture of him. He has came a very long way since ive had him, later on I'll try to find the picture I took of him the day of the Christmas party. his urate is yellow. Quite often I mist, I also mist him and give him distilled water to drink I figured the city with fluoride would be bad for him. I have a multivitamin its repcal I cover his crickets in calcium and the vitamin
 

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some advice

First: maybe add some D3 vitamins once or twice a month
Second: outside time for ten minutes is like hours under his reptisun
Third: maybe remove the fake moss in the upper left of pix (cause impaction)
Fourth: don't know how much he currently eats, so i don't know if over or under fed.
I am wondering though if maybe he previously shrunken stomach is smaller than normal or has it caused issues just starting to show. You may try a feeder you haven't used before to entice him (mantis. silkworm. hornedworm. butterfly. moth. locust.)
 
I take him outside and put him in a tree a couple times a week when I don't work and let him climb it but sometimes I can't cause he seems to get stressed out going outside and sucks his body in and gets white blotches and really light yellow spots along with turning dark so I get nervous and put him back. If I'm lucky I can get him to eat 1 cricket or super a day he just doesn't seem interested, when I first got him he ate a lot until he fattened up now he doesn't want to eat. ive done silkworms and butterworms and if I try to entice him with something bigger he gets mad and puffs out turning bright so I hurry and take it out :/
 
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