Chameleon not hunting

[Charliefoxtrot98]

Good evening everyone. My female veiled chameleon doesn’t seem to want to hunt on her own. I may be part of the issue because I was hand feeding her, but im not sure how to undo what I did. I put crickets in the bottom of her enclosure only to come home to them still at the bottom. Any suggestions!?

 

[Serbianchameleon]

Good evening everyone. My female veiled chameleon doesn’t seem to want to hunt on her own. I may be part of the issue because I was hand feeding her, but im not sure how to undo what I did. I put crickets in the bottom of her enclosure only to come home to them still at the bottom. Any suggestions!?

Catch a fly or a bee and you will see what’s gonna happen. Btw I am from the future and I can tell she will pop it right in the air. Byee!

 

[Ares05]

Hmm, she is interested in food though, correct? Appetite is fine, when she is hand fed?

There is a difference between not wanting to hunt and not wanting food altogether.

 

[Gingero]

I think some chams get spoiled with hand feeding. I'd have a little tough love and cup feed or free range feeders. When she gets hungry enough, she'll eat the crickets in her enclosure.

It's also hard to track if she only eats some and not all of the crickets if you free range them versus being able to track exactly how much (if any) she ate if you cup feed.

 

[Prince of Duval]

Good evening everyone. My female veiled chameleon doesn’t seem to want to hunt on her own. I may be part of the issue because I was hand feeding her, but im not sure how to undo what I did. I put crickets in the bottom of her enclosure only to come home to them still at the bottom. Any suggestions!?

Try putting them near her on the screen instead of on the bottom of the cage.

 

[Tinytort]

I always put my feeders up top. They will eventually go all over, but they mostly stay up top or the crawl up the cork background.

 

[Charliefoxtrot98]

Hmm, she is interested in food though, correct? Appetite is fine, when she is hand fed?

There is a difference between not wanting to hunt and not wanting food altogether.

When I had feed she will crawl across the cage full speed and take them out of my hand. Or if she sees one on the screen she goes for it. But if they’re at the bottom she wont go and hunt. Just stays up top

 

[Charliefoxtrot98]

I always put my feeders up top. They will eventually go all over, but they mostly stay up top or the crawl up the cork background.

Where up top do you put them? Mine fall straight to the bottom ..

 

[Tinytort]

I tried to design his enclosure with some logic, but it's harder than I thought it was going to be lol so the photo I have attached is the three stages. When I put the crickets in I put them in the flowers and they will go wherever. Most of the time they will climb the cork board background and congregate in the middle of it or they will roam. I have a leaf dish that is suction cupped to the to where I put larvae for him to eat.

 

[summerlake]

Good evening everyone. My female veiled chameleon doesn’t seem to want to hunt on her own. I may be part of the issue because I was hand feeding her, but im not sure how to undo what I did. I put crickets in the bottom of her enclosure only to come home to them still at the bottom. Any suggestions!?

i put my crickets on the screen and have them walk on the screen and my cham eats them that way

 

[Raven]

Hi! I just saw your post and read your comments. The reason your crickets are staying at the bottom and not going all over the place is because you have what looks to be a glass enclosure. I’ll bet if you switch to a screened enclosure she will hunt. Remember, they are top hunters. They stay in the tree tops. Do you have any ventilation technology on the glass of the enclosure? Do you have any top ventilation? This is important for your Cham because glass enclosures, even the ones with mesh tops, create stagnant air and the chameleon is prone to upper respiratory infections. I’m not sure if you knew that or not so I decided to let you know. By the way, her home looks beautifully decorated! If you decide to switch to a mesh enclosure it seems to be really hard to decorate because everything uses suction cups but there is a way around it. I watched a video on YouTube where this lady suggested using fishing line to hold up the decorations instead of poking holes in the mesh. That was a beautiful thing to learn for me! I was getting frustrated trying to decorate my Cham’s mesh enclosure or to hang the thermometer and hygrometer. So, I figured I’d pass the info along. I can’t remember the lady’s name that put that video out but big thanks to her! I know she is active on this site. Anyway, hope this helps!!!

 

[Tinytort]

Hi! I just saw your post and read your comments. The reason your crickets are staying at the bottom and not going all over the place is because you have what looks to be a glass enclosure. I’ll bet if you switch to a screened enclosure she will hunt. Remember, they are top hunters. They stay in the tree tops. Do you have any ventilation technology on the glass of the enclosure? Do you have any top ventilation? This is important for your Cham because glass enclosures, even the ones with mesh tops, create stagnant air and the chameleon is prone to upper respiratory infections. I’m not sure if you knew that or not so I decided to let you know. By the way, her home looks beautifully decorated! If you decide to switch to a mesh enclosure it seems to be really hard to decorate because everything uses suction cups but there is a way around it. I watched a video on YouTube where this lady suggested using fishing line to hold up the decorations instead of poking holes in the mesh. That was a beautiful thing to learn for me! I was getting frustrated trying to decorate my Cham’s mesh enclosure or to hang the thermometer and hygrometer. So, I figured I’d pass the info along. I can’t remember the lady’s name that put that video out but big thanks to her! I know she is active on this site. Anyway, hope this helps!!!

I have an all glass enclosure and my cham hunts without issues. And if the door is being opened daily for cleanings and feedings the air circulates and does not become stagnant. Anyway, the op is having issues not me.

 

[Raven]

I have an all glass enclosure and my cham hunts without issues. And if the door is being opened daily for cleanings and feedings the air circulates and does not become stagnant. Anyway, the op is having issues not me.

Yeah, I apologize for the confusion. That’s the person I was replying to. I’m new to this site and still learning how to do things. I just figured out how to reply to the right person.

 

[Ares05]

Hi! I just saw your post and read your comments. The reason your crickets are staying at the bottom and not going all over the place is because you have what looks to be a glass enclosure. I’ll bet if you switch to a screened enclosure she will hunt. Remember, they are top hunters. They stay in the tree tops. Do you have any ventilation technology on the glass of the enclosure? Do you have any top ventilation? This is important for your Cham because glass enclosures, even the ones with mesh tops, create stagnant air and the chameleon is prone to upper respiratory infections. I’m not sure if you knew that or not so I decided to let you know. By the way, her home looks beautifully decorated! If you decide to switch to a mesh enclosure it seems to be really hard to decorate because everything uses suction cups but there is a way around it. I watched a video on YouTube where this lady suggested using fishing line to hold up the decorations instead of poking holes in the mesh. That was a beautiful thing to learn for me! I was getting frustrated trying to decorate my Cham’s mesh enclosure or to hang the thermometer and hygrometer. So, I figured I’d pass the info along. I can’t remember the lady’s name that put that video out but big thanks to her! I know she is active on this site. Anyway, hope this helps!!!

Incorrect. Completely depends on the design and size of a glass cage on whether its okay to use. Correctly designed glass cages create a chimney effect, creating good airflow, while a few do not. Warm air exits through the mesh top, since warm air rises, and then cool, fresh air is drawn in through the vents under the doors. Glass is perfectly fine to use if it is the correct size and design. Whether the cage is glass or screen shouldn't effect a chameleons willingness to hunt.

 

[Tinytort]

Yeah, I apologize for the confusion. That’s the person I was replying to. I’m new to this site and still learning how to do things. I just figured out how to reply to the right person.

No worries lol

 

[Raven]

Incorrect. Completely depends on the design and size of a glass cage on whether its okay to use. Correctly designed glass cages create a chimney effect, creating good airflow, while a few do not. Warm air exits through the mesh top, since warm air rises, and then cool, fresh air is drawn in through the vents under the doors. Glass is perfectly fine to use if it is the correct size and design. Whether the cage is glass or screen shouldn't effect a chameleons willingness to hunt.

Well, ya learn something new everyday! I didn’t know that. Everything I’m reading makes glass enclosures that don’t have built in ventilation on the sides out to be horrible and forbidden. Good info to know. I personally like glass enclosures. I just wanted to get the best thing for Bling instead of getting just what I wanted. I might try that out when I upgrade when he gets bigger. There’s a hexagon one I’m looking at that I really like a lot. I used to have a hexagon shaped fish tank and it was absolutely beautiful.
I do understand what you’re saying about whether or not it should effect the chameleon’s willingness to hunt. I’m just thinking of it as more of a personality thing. She might be a little spoiled, which is super cute. She might also be a little lazy. Whatever the case, I believe that things should be done to suit what she wants and needs instead of what we want to see. You know what I mean?

 

[kinyonga]

@Raven theres a difference between a fish tank and a glass chameleon cage. The recommended glass chameleon cages have vents elbow the door to give airflow.

Years ago I used fish tanks because when I started keeping chameleons (back in the days before the wheel was invented) that's all they had...but they take knowledge about airflow, etc to make them work properly. I don't recommend them as a rule any more.

 

[Tinytort]

@Raven theres a difference between a fish tank and a glass chameleon cage. The recommended glass chameleon cages have vents elbow the door to give airflow.

Years ago I used fish tanks because when I started keeping chameleons (back in the days before the wheel was invented) that's all they had...but they take knowledge about airflow, etc to make them work properly. I don't recommend them as a rule any more.

That was also before uvb lights were in use .

 

[kinyonga]

We had lights called grolights....which were UVB but not great. when I bought my first chameleon I was asked why I would buy it and told they only live a week or two. The first one lived over a year...stopped counting at a year....the next one was a adult female and lived over 4 years with me. First eggs (C. Chamaeleon) I hatched...I had no idea what temperature to keep them at and lucked out with my guess....and couldn't believe that they actually hatched! Information/knowledge has definitely increased since then!

 

[Raven]

@Raven theres a difference between a fish tank and a glass chameleon cage. The recommended glass chameleon cages have vents elbow the door to give airflow.

Years ago I used fish tanks because when I started keeping chameleons (back in the days before the wheel was invented) that's all they had...but they take knowledge about airflow, etc to make them work properly. I don't recommend them as a rule any more.

Technology is amazing! I do know that there are differences between fish tanks and reptile tanks. But I didn’t know they had proper reptile tanks to house chameleons until where recently. I think it was yesterday when I saw something about a ventilated glass enclosure that I believe ZooMed put out. But I really want to find a good hexagon one for Bling that would be appropriate for his species. Like I said, I do like glass enclosures, I just believe that we as keepers should give our pets more what they want and need rather than what would be appealing to our eyes. I have moss in Bling’s home and it looks beautiful. I think he even likes it a lot and it does keep humidity up for him but I’m wondering if it is really the best thing for him, even though the package it came in said it is good for Cham enclosures. I would be open to your opinion about that.