Chameleon not eating

[Sydamestkaine]

Hi, I’m a new owner of an 8 months old veiled male chameleon and the last 3 days I’ve been freaking out. So, we got him 2 weeks ago from a guy who has a lot of different reptiles at his home and his chameleon girl had babies, but since he already had so many different reptiles to take care of he sold 3 of his chameleons. So one of them is ours now. I know for a fact that he was in good hands before, so everything was alright when he came home. So this guy that we got him from also custom built a big glass cage for him, put the right lightning and stuff in it because I didn’t know anything about that, but anyways in the cage he also but a lot of different branches so he could climb. Now 4 days ago me and my mom decided to redecorate the cage because the branches that were originally in there were starting to get messy and it was hard for him to move inside the cage. He has been a super friendly chameleon from the start, he likes to come out of the cage and climb on top of our heads and body. Always when I open the cage door he runs out on my hand, sometimes it’s hard to feed him because he thinks he’s getting out and tries to climb on me. When we were redecorating his cage, he was just chilling on my head the whole time watching the process. We put some new branches, a plant and one fake flower thingy, I don’t know what you would call it, but basically just a stick that has 2 fake white flowers on it, so it’s just for climbing basically. When we put him back to the cage everything seemed okay, he was curios, climbing around the new cage. After been put to the new cage he didn’t eat anything anymore at that day and I figured it was because he needs time to settle down in the new cage. But now for the past 3 days he hasn’t eaten anything. We usually feed him crickets, roaches and worms. He also likes salad leaves, we put them on some branches and he eats them. Usually when he has been in a “bad mood” some days, he has still eaten the worms, but now he wont even touch them. I’m getting really worried because he is getting skinnier from not eating I guess. He is still active and comes out the cage but he has gotten clumsy and sometimes closes his eyes for a little bit. I’m just so scared that something bad is happening and I don’t know what to do to help him. Can somebody tell me what’s going on, I’m new at taking care of a chameleon and I’m still learning his behaviour so yeah this freaks me out a lot..

 

[MissSkittles]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Without detailed information it’s impossible to determine what is going on. If you could please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible...copy and paste. Please make sure to provide pics not just of your cham but of your whole enclosure.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

 

[Sydamestkaine]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled male chameleon, 8 months old, been with me for 2 weeks
• Handling - Every other day, he likes to come out himself, everytime the cage door opens, he wants to come out.
• Feeding - Crickets, roaches and worms, crickets and roaches every day, worms some other days
• Supplements - JBL microcalcium every other day on the insects, I have bought also the JBL multivitamin but haven’t used it yet
• Watering - Hand misting with a spraying bottle, every 2-3 hours for 2-3minutes.
• Fecal Description - Haven’t really looked at it closely and haven’t seen any poo for 2 days because he hasn’t eaten
• History - Lived with a guy who had a lot of different reptiles, he had a big room just for the reptiles. When I walked in to the room to go look at which one of them I want, my baby was exploring outside the cage already so I guess he is used to being outside the cage and that’s why he always wants to come out with me too.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Big glass cage, I guess maybe a metre of height, I don’t know exactly
• Lighting - Don’t know because the guy we bought him from built us a custom cage already with the lightning inside. But it’s on/off with a timer of 12hours, so at 9am-9pm
• Temperature - hot spot is 32C and the bottom is 19C (I don’t know what they are in F)
• Humidity - I’m not sure
• Plants - One live plant, I have no clue what it is.
• Placement - The cage is in another room, that has dark walls and dark window covers so it’s completely black at night for him. The cage itself is on a shelf, pretty high from the ground
• Location - Finland

Current Problem - We redecorated his cage and he hasn’t eaten since

 

[MissSkittles]

Chameleons don’t like change...it causes them stress. He stopped eating after you redid his enclosure. However, that is not the root cause of his problem. He is closing his eyes and is getting clumsy which is not from stress.
But will need a little more information. Does your calcium supplement have vitamin D3 and does it have phosphorus? How are you gut loading the feeders? What kind of uvb light are you providing? Can you provide any side pictures of him?

 

[Sydamestkaine]

No D3 and low phosporus. Crickets and roaches get salad, apples, cucumbers, grapes. This side picture is taken 2 days ago, now he is a little bit skinnier, I can’t take a photo right now because he is sleeping in his room. I don’t know about the UVB bulb, the guy who built the cage put it inside there, I think he mentioned it being 60W ors

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok, thank you. First let me tell you that I’m not entirely familiar with the European style of chameleon keeping and I’m relatively new at this myself. However, I can and will give you some feedback on those things I can.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled male chameleon, 8 months old, been with me for 2 weeks
• Handling - Every other day, he likes to come out himself, everytime the cage door opens, he wants to come out. Chameleons, especially veileds are not friendly creatures. Usually if they want out of their enclosure it’s because they don’t like it. Hard to gauge size from your pic. It does have a lot of empty/wasted space.
• Feeding - Crickets, roaches and worms, crickets and roaches every day, worms some other days He seems old enough that his feedings could be cut back to every other day.
• Supplements - JBL microcalcium every other day on the insects, I have bought also the JBL multivitamin but haven’t used it yet I’m not familiar with the brand, but you are going to want to lightly dust at every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium powder. The phosphorus counteracts the calcium and most feeders, especially crickets already have a high phosphorus level. One feeding every other week you need to dust feeders with calcium with vitamin D3. Alternating with this, every other week you want to dust with a multivitamin.
  You may want to add more nutritious vegetables and fruits to your gut load. You are feeding the bugs to pass that nutrition on to your chameleon.
• Watering - Hand misting with a spraying bottle, every 2-3 hours for 2-3minutes. You really only need to mist 2-3 times a day for 2-3 minutes. You want the enclosure to dry out in between. Keeping it wet all the time helps bacteria to grow.
• Fecal Description - Haven’t really looked at it closely and haven’t seen any poo for 2 days because he hasn’t eaten. Normal poo should be a firm brown pellet with a white urate. It is encouraged to have it tested for parasites.
• History - Lived with a guy who had a lot of different reptiles, he had a big room just for the reptiles. When I walked in to the room to go look at which one of them I want, my baby was exploring outside the cage already so I guess he is used to being outside the cage and that’s why he always wants to come out with me too.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Big glass cage, I guess maybe a metre of height, I don’t know exactly
• Lighting - Don’t know because the guy we bought him from built us a custom cage already with the lightning inside. But it’s on/off with a timer of 12hours, so at 9am-9pm Usually, it is not good to have any lights inside of the enclosure as it puts your chameleon at high risk for burns. Your 12 hour schedule is perfect. Now you just need to get a uvb fixture and bulb. T5HO linear fixtures which span the width of the enclosure with a 5.0 (or 6%) bulb are best. The screw in type uvb bulbs are inadequate.
• Temperature - hot spot is 32C and the bottom is 19C (I don’t know what they are in F) I believe these are good.
• Humidity - I’m not sure This is important to monitor. You will need a hygrometer...they aren’t expensive. Ideal daytime humidity is about 40% and it can get much higher at night.
• Plants - One live plant, I have no clue what it is. I can’t tell what your plant is from the pic...maybe a ficus Benjamina (weeping fig). Live plants add so much to your guy’s living space. Helps increase and hold humidity, adds places for him to hide and climb. Veiled chams do and will eat your plant leaves, so you want to make sure the plants are safe for him. Pothos is always great. Hibiscus, Schefflera and Dracaena are also great. You should add some more branches and vines to give more walkways for him.
• Placement - The cage is in another room, that has dark walls and dark window covers so it’s completely black at night for him. The cage itself is on a shelf, pretty high from the ground
• Location - Finland

Current Problem - We redecorated his cage and he hasn’t eaten since

Putting all of your information together, I suspect that your chameleon has or is getting mbd (metabolic bone disease). In order to absorb calcium, he needs vitamin D3 which he can get thru both dusting his feeders and proper uvb lighting. Along with making the changes I’ve suggested, you should also have him seen by a reptile veterinarian who has experience with chameleons.
If I’ve left anything out or am incorrect about anything, I’m sure other members will step in.

 

[MissSkittles]

Forgot to add these, which may help you.

 

[Kaizen]

Ok, thank you. First let me tell you that I’m not entirely familiar with the European style of chameleon keeping and I’m relatively new at this myself. However, I can and will give you some feedback on those things I can.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled male chameleon, 8 months old, been with me for 2 weeks
• Handling - Every other day, he likes to come out himself, everytime the cage door opens, he wants to come out. Chameleons, especially veileds are not friendly creatures. Usually if they want out of their enclosure it’s because they don’t like it. Hard to gauge size from your pic. It does have a lot of empty/wasted space.
• Feeding - Crickets, roaches and worms, crickets and roaches every day, worms some other days He seems old enough that his feedings could be cut back to every other day.
• Supplements - JBL microcalcium every other day on the insects, I have bought also the JBL multivitamin but haven’t used it yet I’m not familiar with the brand, but you are going to want to lightly dust at every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium powder. The phosphorus counteracts the calcium and most feeders, especially crickets already have a high phosphorus level. One feeding every other week you need to dust feeders with calcium with vitamin D3. Alternating with this, every other week you want to dust with a multivitamin.
  You may want to add more nutritious vegetables and fruits to your gut load. You are feeding the bugs to pass that nutrition on to your chameleon.
• Watering - Hand misting with a spraying bottle, every 2-3 hours for 2-3minutes. You really only need to mist 2-3 times a day for 2-3 minutes. You want the enclosure to dry out in between. Keeping it wet all the time helps bacteria to grow.
• Fecal Description - Haven’t really looked at it closely and haven’t seen any poo for 2 days because he hasn’t eaten. Normal poo should be a firm brown pellet with a white urate. It is encouraged to have it tested for parasites.
• History - Lived with a guy who had a lot of different reptiles, he had a big room just for the reptiles. When I walked in to the room to go look at which one of them I want, my baby was exploring outside the cage already so I guess he is used to being outside the cage and that’s why he always wants to come out with me too.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Big glass cage, I guess maybe a metre of height, I don’t know exactly
• Lighting - Don’t know because the guy we bought him from built us a custom cage already with the lightning inside. But it’s on/off with a timer of 12hours, so at 9am-9pm Usually, it is not good to have any lights inside of the enclosure as it puts your chameleon at high risk for burns. Your 12 hour schedule is perfect. Now you just need to get a uvb fixture and bulb. T5HO linear fixtures which span the width of the enclosure with a 5.0 (or 6%) bulb are best. The screw in type uvb bulbs are inadequate.
• Temperature - hot spot is 32C and the bottom is 19C (I don’t know what they are in F) I believe these are good.
• Humidity - I’m not sure This is important to monitor. You will need a hygrometer...they aren’t expensive. Ideal daytime humidity is about 40% and it can get much higher at night.
• Plants - One live plant, I have no clue what it is. I can’t tell what your plant is from the pic...maybe a ficus Benjamina (weeping fig). Live plants add so much to your guy’s living space. Helps increase and hold humidity, adds places for him to hide and climb. Veiled chams do and will eat your plant leaves, so you want to make sure the plants are safe for him. Pothos is always great. Hibiscus, Schefflera and Dracaena are also great. You should add some more branches and vines to give more walkways for him.
• Placement - The cage is in another room, that has dark walls and dark window covers so it’s completely black at night for him. The cage itself is on a shelf, pretty high from the ground
• Location - Finland

Current Problem - We redecorated his cage and he hasn’t eaten since

Putting all of your information together, I suspect that your chameleon has or is getting mbd (metabolic bone disease). In order to absorb calcium, he needs vitamin D3 which he can get thru both dusting his feeders and proper uvb lighting. Along with making the changes I’ve suggested, you should also have him seen by a reptile veterinarian who has experience with chameleons.
If I’ve left anything out or am incorrect about anything, I’m sure other members will step in.

Wonderful post skittles! I too am unable to diagnose mbd , as I am not a vet, but his casque seems suspiciously misshapen, and this warrants a vet visit. As much as I applaud your loyalty to the seller, I must say that there are a lot of people who have too many reptiles in a basement, and having a huge collection is not always an indicator or competence. Also, a Cham who constantly wants to come out and engage with you can be a warning sign: especially since you have a male veiled, his natural state is to hate your guts, and want nothing to do with you. If he consistently wants out, it’s often less wanting to hang with you, and more him trying to escape an environment that doesn’t work for him.

 

[Sydamestkaine]

Wonderful post skittles! I too am unable to diagnose mbd , as I am not a vet, but his casque seems suspiciously misshapen, and this warrants a vet visit. As much as I applaud your loyalty to the seller, I must say that there are a lot of people who have too many reptiles in a basement, and having a huge collection is not always an indicator or competence. Also, a Cham who constantly wants to come out and engage with you can be a warning sign: especially since you have a male veiled, his natural state is to hate your guts, and want nothing to do with you. If he consistently wants out, it’s often less wanting to hang with you, and more him trying to escape an environment that doesn’t work for him.

His casque was like this already when we bought him. But thank you for all this, I will try to make all the changes needed and take him to the vet as soon as possible

 

[MissSkittles]

His casque was like this already when we bought him. But thank you for all this, I will try to make all the changes needed and take him to the vet as soon as possible

Please do keep us posted on the vet visit and don’t hesitate to ask as many more questions as you may need.

 

[Sydamestkaine]

I got a time for the vet for tomorrow, he is still not eating and his tail has turned a little bit white I’m so worried.. he still moves around a lot and came on my hand himself right now when I was trying to feed him...

 

[Sydamestkaine]

I got a time for the vet for tomorrow, he is still not eating and his tail has turned a little bit white I’m so worried.. he still moves around a lot and came on my hand himself right now when I was trying to feed him...

Also he is really grumpy right now, his tail is turning a little more whiter and he seems to be angry..

 

[MissSkittles]

Also he is really grumpy right now, his tail is turning a little more whiter and he seems to be angry..

I think he’s just starting a shed, which is perfectly normal and takes care of itself pretty quickly.

 

[Sydamestkaine]

I hope that it’s just shedding because i read some other post in this forum and someones chameleon died like 2 days after turning white, that’s why I’m concerned, his one side of tail is white and also back legs, everything else green and he is still grumpy. Maybe this not eating thing is then caused about the shedding too?

 

[MissSkittles]

I hope that it’s just shedding because i read some other post in this forum and someones chameleon died like 2 days after turning white, that’s why I’m concerned, his one side of tail is white and also back legs, everything else green and he is still grumpy. Maybe this not eating thing is then caused about the shedding too?

Well, as I said much earlier on, I’m still new at this myself. However, what is making me think he is starting to shed is the color and speed in which it’s progressing. As the old skin loosens, it pales or whitens beneath it. If it were a burn, infection or other process, it wouldn’t be spreading so very fast. It can’t be the most pleasant of sensations and it could be causing him not to want to eat and be grumpier than usual. Chameleons are dry shedders, meaning trying to help by an extra misting may make it harder for him to shed. If your humidity is too high, that too can make shedding harder. The process is a quick one and you should be starting to see flaking soon. Some chameleons will shed their whole body all at once and some will shed area by area. If he’s on the bottom of the enclosure, lethargic or weak, eyes closed during the day or gaping a lot, those are concerning signs of a serious problem. You do have your vet appointment tomorrow...try to take a fecal sample for testing if you can. Keep us posted on all.