Chameleons wont eat

bassboost

New Member
Cage Info;
Cage Type: Wood/Coated Wire mesh W- 29" X D - 20" X H 36"
Lighting: 2 X 24" Reptisun 5.0 1 X Reptisun 10.0 CFL 1 X 60W Incandescent - All On 12 hours.
Temperature - Ranges within the cage from 75-90 at basking spot. Night temps low 70's
Humidity - 50%-85% When the cage is sprayed 4-5x a day
Plants - 1 Live Potted Ficus




Chameleon Info:
The chameleons are Ambilobe Panther Chameleons. I am not sure of the sex/exact age. They have not shown vibrant colors yet.

Feeding - Feeding on Crickets (Crickets are fed gut load, oranges, greens)
Supplements - Rep Cal Calcium & Heptivite
Watering - Cage is misted several times a day + water dripper.

Problem;

I purchased these 2 panthers from a local herp store on Aug 5th. They were nice and active. When I first purchased them, I ordered all my supplies online, and did not have everything I needed right then.
They were in the cage with 1 older 24" fixture with an old Reptisun 5.0 bulb (dont know how old it was) and another 24" regular fluro bulb.
I fed them crickets that were not dusted. They were still sprayed several times a day and ate and drank regularly.

Here are the happy guys:




(The red marks on their leg was so we knew which were mine at the pet store)

After about a week i finally received my Lights, Supplements, Water Dripper etc. The cage was setup with all the new stuff. They still seemed happy. Now all the crickets were dusted with the supplements daily 4:1 of calcium/herptivite. They were eating/drinking fine for another week or so.

Then, my problem. They both started acting real lethargic, keeping their eyes closed and sleeping all the time. Neither one wants to eat anymore. Both are drinking heavily.

In the past couple days they have been more active, but still wont eat.

Yes I do have them both in one cage. One is mine, and one is a friends, the cage I ordered for him is backordered. Hopefully I will get it soon. They dont seem to be bothered by eachother, they dont hiss or display colors. They both roam the entire cage without even being bothered by the other.

This is how they look now;




What are possible problems? If they are not feeling better by Monday, I am taking them to a local exotic pet vet.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Are they both still sleeping at times?
Have you tried to feed them anything else?
Sometimes a wiggly little worm or a flying moth will get their interest. I am assuming you are cup feeding maybe changing the location of that.
 
Are they both still sleeping at times?
Have you tried to feed them anything else?
Sometimes a wiggly little worm or a flying moth will get their interest. I am assuming you are cup feeding maybe changing the location of that.

They are both sleeping fine during the night. And lounging around during the day.

I have tried to offer them meal worms by hand as well. I had 1 cup in there, and I also hand fed them when they were eating. Since they have stopped eating, they will also not take food from my hand. I have since moved the feeder cup, and added a second cup, so there is plenty of food to choose from.

I will try putting a couple worms in a cup, see if that sparks their interest.

Thanks
 
You can use a milk jug with all but one high side cut off. Use the high side to secure the jug. You can use anything the idea is that this will provide the feeders room to move around and attract the chameleons. When using crickets remove their back legs so that they can not escape. Either refridgerate them for a minute or mist them both will slow them down so they are easier to catch for leg removal.

The place where you bought them could have been free roaming the feeders and they could be having trouble adjusting.

With suspect lighting at first and not dusting the crickets it is possible that their blood stream has developed some sort of imbalance. This could probably be cured with the adjustments you have already made and getting them to eat a couple good meals. If they do not eat taking them to the vet on monday is not a bad idea.

I guess caging them together could be an issue but it seems like one would become the bully not both stop normal feeding habits.
 
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