Chameleon not eating?

[MontyAndMelissa]

So, I got my chameleon yesterday, tried feeding her, she just hissed at it. My husband tried feeding her today to no avail. I'm assuming they take 2-3 days to adjust long enough to feel comfortable eating? I'll keep trying to feed her once a day. Any suggestions on how to feed?

 

[Carlton]

So, I got my chameleon yesterday, tried feeding her, she just hissed at it. My husband tried feeding her today to no avail. I'm assuming they take 2-3 days to adjust long enough to feel comfortable eating? I'll keep trying to feed her once a day. Any suggestions on how to feed?

She is still settling in so she's too preoccupied to eat right now. Put some feeders (not too many at once) in a plastic container in her cage and leave her alone. Make sure she can climb down to the rim of the container and watch/aim/shoot the feeders on her own. Don't disturb her or make sure there is some foliage in the cage she can hide in while hunting.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

She is still settling in so she's too preoccupied to eat right now. Put some feeders (not too many at once) in a plastic container in her cage and leave her alone. Make sure she can climb down to the rim of the container and watch/aim/shoot the feeders on her own. Don't disturb her or make sure there is some foliage in the cage she can hide in while hunting.

I told my husband to put two or three on a paper plate on the ground near the base of the potted lucky bamboo we have in there.

 

[carol5208]

What kind of chameleon do you have??? If a Veild, be aware that they are plant eaters also besides insects, so you have to be careful of the live plants you put in the enclosure. I am not sure if the bamboo is a safe plant.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

She is a veiled. I will double check to see, but I'm almost 100% sure that they're safe. I'll check again.

 

[MontyAndMelissa]

I looked, and found one article stating that it could be toxic, so I'm going to have my husband remove it from the tank and we will get her a fake plant to climb on. Will they get stressed out if they go without foliage (she has two short vines with leaves on them, but mostly branches so she can bask) for longer than a few days?

 

[Forestdellic]

Yes females will get stressed without any foliage. I give my female veiled lots more foliage than I give to my male as males are more chill about it but females get stressed out.

I am not sure what plant you are talking about being toxic but if it's a ficus you only need to be aware of the sap when you trim the plant. I usually trim the plant and leave it out for a couple of mins (30-40mins) so the sap will come out and dry. I also grab some tissue paper and dab it a little bit of absorb all the excess sap. I then put it in the cage and mist it to make sure. The sap is not dangerous but can cause unnecessary irritations such as in the eyes.

Anyway, back to topic, I had a female veiled (same one) who would not eat what so ever. I figured out later though that females get very territorial of their cages so what I do now is I grab a bunch of crickets, powder them and then let them loose in her cage. I usually place some on the vine-highway she's near too so she can see them or let them climb the sides of the screen cage. My female usually darts, really fast and eats them all up but if I put my hand in... or a foreign object (like a jar lid for worms) she will not eat and will remain like that until that foreign object is gone. I believe frilled lizards are also like this hehe

Try out leaving crickets in her cage and see if it works