Chameleon not eating much

[Pillowpants]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, about 8-9 months old, i have had him since May.
• Handling - He comes out every day, i open his cage and put a branch and he just lets out himself and walks around and then climbs his pothos plant that i have hanging up. Its always his decision to come out. I have just got him a huge cheese plant to play on.
• Feeding - This is the problem. He has dubias and red runner roaches, morio worms available in his feeding cup. All he will eat is wax worms and some lettuce.
• Supplements - Using the arcadia calcium pro every day, but only on his lettuce as he is not eating anything else, D3 once a week and multi-vits twice a month.
• Watering - He has a dripper on all the time and i hand mist 3-4 times a day. He has a humidifier that comes on for 5 mins every couple of hours.
• Fecal Description - Poops look ok, he is pooping daily.
• History - I found this guy online, he was advertised as 9 months old. I drove 3 hours to pick him up and i was surprised how tiny he was, also i realised there was something not right with his front legs. I let him settle for a week, changed his bulbs and started getting some calcium into him. I took him to the vet who confirmed he had MBD and said what i was doing was good for him. Also as i guessed, he was not 9 months old he was more like 3-4. The people i got him from had had him for 2 months so he must have been sold very young.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen Muji cage, 61cm x 61cm x 122cm (2ft x 2ft x 4ft i think)
• Lighting - Zoo Med LED canopy with T5 UVB, 100w Arcadia basking light with D3. His cage is so big i am pretty sure its ok to use these together.
• Temperature - Basking spot kept around 30 degrees, temperature and light gradient created in the cage using levels and plants for shade.
• Humidity - kept between 50 and 70% by hand spraying and the dripper helps a bit.
• Plants - Umbrella plant and pothos
• Placement - Cage is in the room at the back of the house, generally not much noise.
• Location - Am in the UK, south east.

So my little guy is addicted to wax worms, i have stopped giving them too him and added some dubias, red runner roaches and moiro worms into his feeding bowl. Its been 3 days and he has not eaten any. All he is eating is the lettuce and mint i give him, i have always offered him a small salad and turns out he only eats green things. He is still pooping. I have tried silk worms, but they are hard to get hold of in the uk and i was not impressed with he quality of them. I got some buffalo worms, but they are so tiny he wasn’t interested. we can’t get hornworms in the UK, i bet he would love them. He won’t eat crickets or locusts and more, so thats why i got the roaches. How long do i leave it before i give in and give him wax worms, i hate the fact he is not eating its upsetting me and its really hard not to give in and give him the wax worms he wants. This is his set up

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a recent photo of the chameleon.

Lettuce is not a good choice of food for a chameleon..it only helps with hydration IMHO. Other greens and veggies provide better nutrition...dandelions, endive, escarole, sweet red pepper, squash, etc.

Liquid calcium sandoz or gluconate would be absorbed more readily and speed up the recovery from the MBD.
How long has it been since you tried the crickets? Can you get locusts?

 

[Pillowpants]

Hi thank you for your response, here is a pic of him yesterday.

I have tried to feed him different fruits and veg, strawberries, mango, apple, banana, squash, sweet potato, i have some beardie mix with flowers in and always he will just pick out the green things and leave the rest. I will try get hold of some endive and dandelions.

Tried crickets and locusts a couple of days ago.

I am not sure the calcium is the issue any more, i could get some liquid calcium and put it in his humidifier.

Gave in this morning and gave him a couple of wax worms, hoping it would make him want to eat again.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I am not sure the calcium is the issue any more, i could get some liquid calcium and put it in his humidifier". Why would you put it in the humidifier?? It's meant to be given orally.

Also...please read the paragraph under the photo of the chameleon in this site concerning waxworms....I know it's the only thing he's taking right now...
https://books.google.ca/books?id=7Ai4BKhi0VUC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&dq=NSHP+wax+worms&source=bl&ots=IPhDssrUoZ&sig=f3K3YrM3k2ATKq7nlsSiRwCXZGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjc4e2--PnVAhUhw4MKHcr8DL4Q6AEIUDAF#v=onepage&q=NSHP wax worms&f=false

Has he had an eye problem? The eye looks a little baggie at the bottom of the turret.

 

[Pillowpants]

Sorry i was thinking about something else. i wont be able to get him to take it orally.

I know he should not eat just wax worms, but he wont eat anything else, it had been 4 days since he had eaten any insects. I made him go cold turkey but he still refuses to eat anything else. I don't want him to ill, how can i make him eat other insects?

 

[Graves923]

If he refuses to eat anything besides waxworms, try to just offer other feeders. Don't offer the worms for a while. If he is hungry enough to eat waxworms then he will eventually get hungry enough to eat something else.

 

[Pillowpants]

If he refuses to eat anything besides waxworms, try to just offer other feeders. Don't offer the worms for a while. If he is hungry enough to eat waxworms then he will eventually get hungry enough to eat something else.

he ate nothing for 4 days except some salad :-( i need to be tough with him i think and try again. Maybe i will just offer him morio worms to start with and then pop in a couple of roaches. thank you

 

[kinyonga]

Once again......has he had an eye issue because it looks baggie underneath. Maybe he's not eating other insects because he doesn't feel well?
Has he been drinking well?

 

[Pillowpants]

Hi, he has not had an eye issue that i know of. I don't see him drink, but he always has water available. If i put a wax worm in front of him he will eat it, but he wont eat anything else. added a closer view of his eye

 

[GreenChameleons]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, about 8-9 months old, i have had him since May.
• Handling - He comes out every day, i open his cage and put a branch and he just lets out himself and walks around and then climbs his pothos plant that i have hanging up. Its always his decision to come out. I have just got him a huge cheese plant to play on.
• Feeding - This is the problem. He has dubias and red runner roaches, morio worms available in his feeding cup. All he will eat is wax worms and some lettuce.
• Supplements - Using the arcadia calcium pro every day, but only on his lettuce as he is not eating anything else, D3 once a week and multi-vits twice a month.
• Watering - He has a dripper on all the time and i hand mist 3-4 times a day. He has a humidifier that comes on for 5 mins every couple of hours.
• Fecal Description - Poops look ok, he is pooping daily.
• History - I found this guy online, he was advertised as 9 months old. I drove 3 hours to pick him up and i was surprised how tiny he was, also i realised there was something not right with his front legs. I let him settle for a week, changed his bulbs and started getting some calcium into him. I took him to the vet who confirmed he had MBD and said what i was doing was good for him. Also as i guessed, he was not 9 months old he was more like 3-4. The people i got him from had had him for 2 months so he must have been sold very young.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen Muji cage, 61cm x 61cm x 122cm (2ft x 2ft x 4ft i think)
• Lighting - Zoo Med LED canopy with T5 UVB, 100w Arcadia basking light with D3. His cage is so big i am pretty sure its ok to use these together.
• Temperature - Basking spot kept around 30 degrees, temperature and light gradient created in the cage using levels and plants for shade.
• Humidity - kept between 50 and 70% by hand spraying and the dripper helps a bit.
• Plants - Umbrella plant and pothos
• Placement - Cage is in the room at the back of the house, generally not much noise.
• Location - Am in the UK, south east.

So my little guy is addicted to wax worms, i have stopped giving them too him and added some dubias, red runner roaches and moiro worms into his feeding bowl. Its been 3 days and he has not eaten any. All he is eating is the lettuce and mint i give him, i have always offered him a small salad and turns out he only eats green things. He is still pooping. I have tried silk worms, but they are hard to get hold of in the uk and i was not impressed with he quality of them. I got some buffalo worms, but they are so tiny he wasn’t interested. we can’t get hornworms in the UK, i bet he would love them. He won’t eat crickets or locusts and more, so thats why i got the roaches. How long do i leave it before i give in and give him wax worms, i hate the fact he is not eating its upsetting me and its really hard not to give in and give him the wax worms he wants. This is his set up

View attachment 189300

Pretty nice set up you have there

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Hi, he has not had an eye issue that i know of. I don't see him drink, but he always has water available. If i put a wax worm in front of him he will eat it, but he wont eat anything else. added a closer view of his eye View attachment 189455

It’s like being a parent if you let your kids choose to, they will just eat candy all day. You have to put your foot down and make the decision to not allow him to pig out on waxworms any more. Be strong, you’ve got this!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

He will not starve himself to death in protest. He will cave in eventually.