Chameleon not eating

ariez189

Established Member
My chameleon Leon does not seem to want to eat. He also is staying at the top to sleep. I live in Central Florida, but I noticed this right after the few cold snaps we've had. The room he is in is between 73-77 degrees. His basking spot seems to only get to 74-77, despite using a 100w basking bulb. Any suggestions on how to help with the heat? I currently have a ceramic heater with a dimmer.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled around 15 months old.
Handling - None. Just to move him initially into his cage.
Feeding - Every other day- rotated between discoids and crickets with the occasional hornworm treat. They are gut loaded with sweet potato, carrots, and kale.
Supplements - Without D3 everyday and reptivite on the 1st and 15th so I've only given it to him once so far.
Watering - I have a monsoon solo mister that goes off for 3 hours for 30 seconds since I am not home during the day.
Fecal Description - Normal dropping with white urates
History - Rehomed that I've had for a couple of months. He was apparently kept with another chameleon and used for breeding.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Homemade 24" x 24" x 48"
Lighting - Basking bulb: 100W. I recently increased this to help basking temp. This was the only bulb that could get his basking temperature at 85 degrees. UVB: T5 HO 5.0. They come on at 7:30 AM and off at 7:30 PM.
Temperature - Between 70 and 75 for basking. Lower part is between 70 and 75. Temperatures dropped to low or mid 70s at night.
Humidity - Between 50-65%. Goes up to about 80 at night. I have a humidifier that runs at night from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am.
Plants - 1 hibiscus, 1 bromeliad, 1 corn plant and 1 pothos. I washed each plant with soap and water and used organic soil before introducing them.
Placement - In my home office partially in front of window but does not get direct sunlight. He is not underneath any vents.
Location - Central Florida

Current Problem: He seems to not want to eat and is even staying at the top to sleep. Poop and urates normal.
 
how long has it been since he last ate? how many feeders do you give him at each feeding?

Can you post some photos of your cham, and of your entire enclosure including lights?
 
It's been over a week. I was hoping it would improve after the bulb change, but it hasn't.
 

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I would ditch the emitter and swap out with a simple incandescent bulb, the emitters are really only for your temps are below 60, incandescent is more spot concentrated heat, thats what you want and should be able to easily reach 90 and even hotter but dont do that!🔥🔥🔥

I think he may just be bored, the GREAT thing about chams is there is SO MUCH VARIETY literally millions of types of bugs, i highly recomend bsfl or silkworms or any different kind of roach @jamest0o0 is ROACH KING👑 give em a shout! Setup looks good! Good luck🍻
 
I would also ditch the che unless temps are really low. There is no benefit other than heat. I personally use an arcadia 75 watt basking halogen spot which provides uva and ira which I feel my girl is getting more benefit from.
 
I noticed today that he seems to be keep his eyes closed during the day or at least his left one.
 
Here are some pics for reference. I was concerned since he is looking thin.
 

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I noticed today that he seems to be keep his eyes closed during the day or at least his left one.

He does not stay that way though. Not sure if it matters, but he will open his eyes and move around some, but in general he is staying in the basking spot.
 
You said..."Between 70 and 75 for basking"...and you said..."Basking bulb: 100W. I recently increased this to help basking temp. This was the only bulb that could get his basking temperature at 85 degrees. UVB:"....so for how long was the basking temperature between 70 and 75? Lower temperatures can slow digestion and make them less hungry.

The look of your chameleon is telling me he is sick...legs too thin, crest sunken in, eyes sunken in as well. He needs to see a good chameleon vet ASAP IMHO.
 
Your poor guy doesn’t look good at all. :( You need a vet ASAP. What part of Central Florida are you in? In Orlando there is Dr Bruce Bogoslavsky at https://myavho.com/ who is highly recommended by one of the forum members. In Brevard there is (my vet) Dr Brennan at https://cocoaveterinary.com/ In south Brevard there is https://alohavet.com/, although I’ve only taken a leopard gecko to them.
 
Thank you everyone. He has not had a fecal done with me and I believe the previous owner had one done in June. He also seems to rub the left side of his head on the branch. I will take him to the vet in Orlando first thing tomorrow. What is the best basking bulb to help with the temperature? My ZooMed 100w basking spot lamp barely helps get it to 80 with our current weather down here.
 
Thank you everyone. I will take him in first thing tomorrow. What is the best basking bulb to help with the temperature. My 100w basking barely helps get it to 80 with our current weather down here.
I do not think your temp probe is working... 100 watt would produce well over 80 degree basking spot. I can get a 82-85 degree basking spot with a 60watt bulb.
 
I do not think your temp probe is working... 100 watt would produce well over 80 degree basking spot. I can get a 82-85 degree basking spot with a 60watt bulb.


I think you may be correct....the branch underneath it that he stands on is measuring in at 81 degrees. Is that sufficient enough?
 
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