Chameleon not eating properly

[americanmedic]

Hey guys. I just got a new chameleon hes male and about six months old... I got him from another owner who was not intentionally neglecting him but did not have him in the proper terrarium.. when I got him he was in a glass terrarium with moss on the bottom and one silk vine... I just moved him to a 2x2x4 cage with a hibiscus plant, bunch of branches, reptisun 5.0 its the small bulb im going to get the long one in the next few days and a heat bulb... so far he is doing pretty good, but he has been eating the hibiscus leaves and not the crickets. I am free ranging the crickets so when I put them on the bottom of the cage he is on the top branches.. they do crawl up the screen but he may have some trouble finding them.... any thoughts? solution? ive read about cup feeding but have no idea how to properly do it.. please help..

 

[Juancito]

Veiled chasm eat plant mattee so its important to not have toxic plants which you don't ans you could try a different feeder. he might be bored with crickets and for cup feeding you just put them in a clear cup and shake them so he pays attention to whats in the cup. I like cup feeding because i know that they have aten and I know how much the only downfall is that they eat at their own pace and sometimes my arm gets tired lol. I hipe I helped a little, good luck with your chameleon!

 

[cuhoaaatz]

Given the recent move, your chameleon is probably a bit stressed, which will affect his appetite. If you could fill out the "How to ask for Help" form, it will give us more information to be able to better assist you.

Also, pictures help a lot!

Good luck with the little guy and welcome to the forums!

 

[americanmedic]

Thank you guys for the help.... ill try the cup feeding and see how it goes. And cuhoaatz ill fill that out and send pictures

 

[kplatvoet]

I bought those velcro buttons and put them on the cup to stick it to the side of my panther's cage - right below his basking spot. (i put the other half of the button on a milk cap (beer cap) or what ever is flat enough to make it work) There are some good home made (sunny delight) cricket feeders that would work too- I like to hide treats in smaller cups also (with the velcro) - I'm pretty sure my breeder used a cup - because my panther didn't seem to get the idea of hunting right away- but now the little cups are empty- He may be intimidated by the bigger cage at first but I'm sure he will get used to it in his own time (they always do things in their own time) Look in the "feeders thread" or search for "sunny delight" I know I saw instructions on how to make one somewhere.
found this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_od47TlbXA
I like the sunny delight one better and I would be worried about the edges and using a coat hanger to hang it - but the general idea is the same

 

[americanmedic]

Thanks a lot.. That was very helpful and I am going to attempt to feed him this way... I tried to upload some photos , but for some reason they will not upload. so when I get it fixed i'll upload a bunch of them