chameleon not eating much

kogodogo

New Member
hi everyone ,

i’ve had my juvy nosy be cham for a couple weeks now, and he seems to be settling in pretty well.

however, he doesn’t want to eat much when i feed him. i try feeding him multiple times a day, and sometimes he eats, but other times he just seems uninterested.

he eats about 2-5 insects (crickets / wax worms) a day, and while that would be acceptable for an older chameleon, i’m worried about him not eating enough since he is so young.

should i just accept that he will eat until he is full and not worry about him eating less, or is there something i should be doing to get him to eat more?

thank you !
 
Hi. ? Since it could be any number of things, it would be best if you could fill out the help form below to give a complete picture of everything.

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.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Hi. ? Since it could be any number of things, it would be best if you could fill out the help form below to give a complete picture of everything.

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.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
my chameleon is a male nosy be panther chameleon. he’s about 4 months old and i’ve had him for almost 3 weeks now. i’m still working on gaining trust with him, and i’ve only handled him when he first arrived and i moved him into his cage. i don’t have a strict schedule, but typically try feeding him once in the morning, afternoon, and evening. sometimes i’ll try a couple times around the same time frame. i use zoo mes repti-calcium without d3 to dust his crickets. i do this every other time i get a batch of crickets. i mist a few times a day, with a spray bottle. i typically do it from the top since he gets pretty upset when i just spray him lol. i do see him drinking, and he usually lets me know when he’s dehydrated by hanging out at the bottom of his cage. when he does this, i spray some water onto the lower leaves and he drinks it up no problem. his poops seem pretty regular, and are solid, with one brown bit and one white bit.

his cage is a reptibreeze starter cage. it’s all screen, and is 12x12x24. i have a white pillowcase covering one side of the cage, just so he doesn’t get too stressed seeing me hang out in my room and such. i have a zoo med heat bulb, an exo terra uvb bulb, and a t8 linear light. i turn these three on between 8-10 am, and they go off between 7-9 pm. i have a thermometer in the cage, and his basking spot is typically at 80 degrees, with the rest of the cage being around 75. the lowest night temp is 65. i don’t have a way of measuring humidity yet, but i mist quite a few times a day, so i figure it should be okay. i have a few fake plants, and one small live pothos in the corner. he uses the leaves of this as his bathroom haha. his cage is pretty high, as i noticed he was getting stressed being lower. he can see out of a window, but the street i’m on is rarely busy, i haven’t noticed him being stressed out from the window. he usually hangs out pretty close to it. i have it on a shelf, and when he’s at the lower area of his cage he’s about eye level, i am 5’8”. i’m located in southern california.
 

Attachments

  • E5D50652-4007-48CF-A3FA-330DF8150F1E.jpeg
    E5D50652-4007-48CF-A3FA-330DF8150F1E.jpeg
    170.2 KB · Views: 67
  • 278BFCD1-5619-4F4D-9B9A-9131975976BD.jpeg
    278BFCD1-5619-4F4D-9B9A-9131975976BD.jpeg
    219.2 KB · Views: 61
  • E05AC916-2129-41E0-A840-3F9323BEF1B2.jpeg
    E05AC916-2129-41E0-A840-3F9323BEF1B2.jpeg
    192.6 KB · Views: 54
  • 37F8C00E-2576-462A-A8FA-263405E7B929.jpeg
    37F8C00E-2576-462A-A8FA-263405E7B929.jpeg
    211.4 KB · Views: 50
So I see that there are some changes that you need to make. Putting my feedback in red.
my chameleon is a male nosy be panther chameleon. he’s about 4 months old and i’ve had him for almost 3 weeks now. i’m still working on gaining trust with him, and i’ve only handled him when he first arrived and i moved him into his cage. i don’t have a strict schedule, but typically try feeding him once in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Is best to feed just once in the morning to provide plenty of time to bask and digest his food. I would guess that this may be why he isn’t eating as much. sometimes i’ll try a couple times around the same time frame. i use zoo mes repti-calcium without d3 to dust his crickets. You should be dusting every feeding with the calcium without D3 except for one feeding each week. That one feeding you’ll want to dust with a calcium with D3 every other week, alternating with a multivitamin. i do this every other time i get a batch of crickets. i mist a few times a day, with a spray bottle. i typically do it from the top since he gets pretty upset when i just spray him lol. i do see him drinking, and he usually lets me know when he’s dehydrated by hanging out at the bottom of his cage. when he does this, i spray some water onto the lower leaves and he drinks it up no problem. If dehydration is a frequent concern, you could add a dripper for a few hours daily. Can be as simple as poking a small hole in a plastic cup and sitting it on top of the enclosure. his poops seem pretty regular, and are solid, with one brown bit and one white bit.

his cage is a reptibreeze starter cage. it’s all screen, and is 12x12x24.You will be needing to upgrade to a minimum of 24x24x48“ or equivalent. i have a white pillowcase covering one side of the cage, just so he doesn’t get too stressed seeing me hang out in my room and such. i have a zoo med heat bulb, an exo terra uvb bulb, and a t8 linear light. You can get rid of the Exo Terra uvb...it does little to nothing. T5ho’s with a 5.0 (or Arcadia 6%) uvb are preferred. i turn these three on between 8-10 am, and they go off between 7-9 pm. Lights should be on/off on a 12 hour schedule. i have a thermometer in the cage, and his basking spot is typically at 80 degrees, with the rest of the cage being around 75. the lowest night temp is 65. i don’t have a way of measuring humidity yet, Knowing your humidity is important. It should be between 50-70% during the day. At night it can go higher. but i mist quite a few times a day, so i figure it should be okay. i have a few fake plants, and one small live pothos in the corner. he uses the leaves of this as his bathroom haha. his cage is pretty high, as i noticed he was getting stressed being lower. he can see out of a window, but the street i’m on is rarely busy, i haven’t noticed him being stressed out from the window. he usually hangs out pretty close to it. i have it on a shelf, and when he’s at the lower area of his cage he’s about eye level, i am 5’8”. i’m located in southern california.
Looking at your enclosure, you really need to add more branches and vines. You could also get rid of whatever it is that you have on the enclosure floor and replace it with live plants. To better hang things inside, you could create a little scaffold type support attached to the enclosure frame. When you upgrade to a larger enclosure, you may want to invest in some Dragon Strand ledges.
 
@kogodogo said ...". i do this every other time i get a batch of crickets"...you mean you dust the crickets when you get them not just before you feed them to the chameleon?
 
Back
Top Bottom