Charizard won't eat :/

[Constantino]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums as well as a chameleon owner. I purchased a veiled which I believe to be female, from petco which is not ideal. I think of it as rescuing him! I bought the starter screen kit as well as some other leaves and what not. Everything seems fine so far except I'm having a hard time getting him to eat crickets. I bought a container of crickets from petco and dusted them with calcium w/o D3 and put 5 in a cricket cup I made with a quart milk jug and screen. Positioned it near a good perch spot and he has yet to eat one! It's been 2 days and he hasn't eaten a single cricket or meal worm. It's also hard to tell if he's drinking or not but I have a little dropper and mist twice a day. Temps and humidity are all good as well. One more thing to note is he keeps his one eye closed a lot and was rubbing it on a branch not sure if I should be concerned about it or not. Sorry for the long post!!

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the world of chameleons!
Please post some recent photos of your chameleon.

 

[Andee]

The rubbing of his/her eye could be because of a stuck shed especially since she/he is rubbing it. Though I would definitely post pics so we can see what it looks like and advise from there. 2 days isn't too long to be without food depending on the age of your cham, but remember he/she is just settling in and that could be a huge reason as to his/her lack of appetite. Chameleons do NOT like change. Even tiny changes can upset them, a totally new home would really upset them.

 

[Constantino]

Thanks for the responses! Okay so she eats now! Must have been settling in. I put like 8 to 10 small dusted crickets in her cricket cup I made and devours them. As well as a few meal worms each day. As far as her eye, it's hard to tell what's wrong, some days it looks perfectly fine and others it's like her eye is behind the skin. Not too sure if it's something to be worried about or not. I'm gonna try and get a clear picture of the eye as soon as possible.

 

[Constantino]

Now a new problem has surfaced lol. She does not like when I come up to her cage and definitely does not like my hand. I'm trying to tame her and teach her to eat wax worms from my hand but she puffs up, turns dark, hisses, and tries to bite. I'm taking it slow and trying each day but she's not getting any better. My girlfriend gets her out with a stick every now and then and we try to feed her but she won't take the food and just stresses the whole time so we put her back pretty quickly. I've read a lot and watched a lot of videos online of how to tame them, but mine might be one of those that will never tolerate being held

 

[Theveiled]

It takes time and depends on your chameleon. I also got my chameleon from petco at 5 months old. He was aggressive but i took time with him and now he wants to come out every day! Also I saw in your original post you said you thought he/she is a girl. Then you used "he". My question is, is your chameleon a girl or boy? Just wondering he/she is cute though!

 

[Theveiled]

Ok sorry I see you used "she in the more recent posts. Sorry

 

[Andee]

How long have you had her? I wouldn't start trying to hand tame until she's been settled in, which means eating on her own, for about two weeks. Especially if they don't respond happily to your advancements. If they don't come onto your hand on their own and just puff or hiss, and you've only had them a short time give them another week, I always give at least 2 weeks if I need to. None of my chams hand feed outside the cage anyway. Though they will happily come outside for sun and handling, because they know it means outside time, which is real uvb. I would definitely give her more time if it's not been 2 weeks yet.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

u have any REAL plants in your cage? they are pretty essential to the health of a chameleon as they provide humidity and also help to refresh the air a bit inside the cage. not to mention the aesthetic appeal

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

Now a new problem has surfaced lol. She does not like when I come up to her cage and definitely does not like my hand. I'm trying to tame her and teach her to eat wax worms from my hand but she puffs up, turns dark, hisses, and tries to bite. I'm taking it slow and trying each day but she's not getting any better. My girlfriend gets her out with a stick every now and then and we try to feed her but she won't take the food and just stresses the whole time so we put her back pretty quickly. I've read a lot and watched a lot of videos online of how to tame them, but mine might be one of those that will never tolerate being held

I too own a female chameleon from petco. I bought her a few months ago with little to no knowledge of the hobby. Like you, I also bought the starter kit and did everything you are talking about. The eye problem could be a possible infection and you should continue to mist her a couple times a day to try and relieve it. If it doesn't open any time soon, you should take her to a vet to have examined so that she doesn't go blind in that eye. About her feeding: At this stage in her growth it isn't that great to be feeding her meal worms. Meal worms have a stronger skin than crickets and because of this, feeding her multiple a day could potentially give her a stomach impaction. Meal worms also have little nutrition for a chameleon and shouldn't really be used as a feeder. Stick to crickets for daily feeders and give her a few wax worms/butter worms throughout the week to provide additional nutrition and fat. She also will want to eat leaves if you have not provided her with a real plant. What I do is hang a plastic cup from the mesh ceiling near her basking spot and fill it with a mix of kale greens/romaine lettuce leaves so she can easily eat and obtain water from them. My cham doesn't drink from dripper unless very thirsty; she mainly gets her water from leaves. So definitely provide that on a daily basis. When handling your cham, you want to be very slow and methodical in your movement. They react to quick movements when hunting and if your hand is all of a sudden in her face she will freak out and not like that at all. So approach her slowly and carefully. To get my cham comfortable with me, I lure her out of her cage onto my arm with a shallow dish of worms. She will see them and immediately dart towards them using my arm as a bridge to get near them. Once she is out she is free of her cage and has to accept that she is on my arm. Just don't drop her and if she is scared and trying to get away just let her go back into her cage. As mine got older she has become less aggressive and more acceptable of me. So just be patient.

 

[Constantino]

I've had her for about 3 to 4 weeks now and she eats about 8 to 10 dusted crickets a day. I put a small bowl of meal worms in there after she eats the crickets incase she is still hungry. I mist 2 times a day and the dripper drips on the leaves of the synthetic plants I have in there where she goes to drink. I do not have any real plants but I also put a bowl of shredded collard greens in there, but I have yet to see her eat them. As far as her eye I caught her rubbing it on a branch again and tried to take some pics. I'll post what I have even though they're not the best.

Also when I attempt to take her out I approach her slowly and talk to her so she is aware I am there but still kinda moves away from me when I come up to her. If I hold a wax worm in my fingers or in a small cup she doesn't seem to care about the food, only that I'm there and wants nothing of it.

Thanks for all the responses and advice! I'll just keep trying to get her to trust me slowly and see how it goes.

 

[Constantino]

Here are some of the pics

 

[Constantino]

 

[Andee]

That almost looks like she has an infection in that eye, have you given her a long shower to help her clean it out?

 

[Constantino]

Those are close ups of her one eye

 

[Constantino]

That almost looks like she has an infection in that eye, have you given her a long shower to help her clean it out?

Damn really? I may have to take her to the vet then and I have not given her a shower. It's hard enough as it is trying to get her out of the cage let alone a shower. And I assume you mean put her in my shower and let the water just shower over her? She's afraid when I mist her cage lol

 

[Andee]

Let the water bounce off the wall and place her on a plant. The water should be just above luke warm.

 

[Constantino]

Let the water bounce off the wall and place her on a plant. The water should be just above luke warm.

OK I'll most definitely try it, if I can get her out of the cage. Thanks!!!

 

[Constantino]

Ok so I put her in the shower for about a min and she didn't really like it. The eye in question she's keeping it shut after the shower. I'm gonna call a vet tomorrow and see what we can do. It's just weird how she all of a sudden has an eye issue after taking her home.

 

[Andee]

She could have had it in the store also and you just didn't realize it. It could be a stuck shed that won't come out and got infected, lots of options.