Eating 20 Crix/Day & Still Skinny?

[AZJ0SH]

I am feeding my 5 month old veiled chameleon about 20 1/2" crickets each day, 15 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon around 3pm.

He seems a little skinny to me compared to pictures I have seen of other veileds the same age. After he eats in the morning he seems to have a full belly, and "puffs up" and basks for a few hours, but around noon he's back to his skinny self.

Should I try to feed him more each day, or do you guys think he looks ok?

Here is the most recent picture I have of him:

 

[jannb]

Could be parasites. Has he had a fecal lately? If not I'd recommend one. He also need more feeders than just crickets. Try some small silkworms, hornworms and superworms.

 

[AZJ0SH]

Could be parasites. Has he had a fecal lately? If not I'd recommend one. He also need more feeders than just crickets. Try some small silkworms, hornworms and superworms.

He poops everyday, it's always a solid piece with almost pure white urate. What do you mean by "had a fecal" do you mean like an exam? Do I just take some of his poop into the vet or am I required to take him in with me?

I thought Crickets were a staple feeder?

I don't have access to anything else but mealworms here in AZ and he hates those. I can't get silkworms until September when it's cool enough to ship here.

 

[camimom]

He poops everyday, it's always a solid piece with almost pure white urate. What do you mean by "had a fecal" do you mean like an exam? Do I just take some of his poop into the vet or am I required to take him in with me?

I thought Crickets were a staple feeder?

I don't have access to anything else but mealworms here in AZ and he hates those. I can't get silkworms until September when it's cool enough to ship here.

Yes, a fecal means you take poop to the vet who will put it on a slide and see if there are bugs in it. parasites can cause a cham to lose weight even when thye are being fed properly.
some vets may allow you to just bring his poop in and do the fecal, but if your vet has never seen your cham before, they may require you to bring him in for an exam first. then in the future thye may allow you to bring the poop in with no problem.
Dont feed mealworms on aregular basis, thye have a hard exo skeloeton which can cause impaction if they eat to many of them.

 

[jannb]

A fecal is when the vet checks the poop for parasites. Most vets (until you get a relationship built with them) require the pet be a patient before they do a fecal. You would need to call your chameleon vet to see how they do it.
I buy worms here: www.coastalsilkworms.com here: http://lazyhbait.com/ and here: http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/

 

[clarkrw3]

here in AZ I have not found a vet that will allow you to just bring in the fecal. There are places in town that have dubia, silks and small supers (try pets inc., and the pet store on Broadway and Dobson) but call first they don't always have everything. I even have extra small supersworms if you want some....and some dubia nymphs as well as some silkworm eggs you want to hatch out some if you have access to some mulberry. I would also maybe look at what you are gutloading the crickets with and try some larger crickets. Depending on what you are using I might have some extra gutload you can try as well.

 

[AZJ0SH]

here in AZ I have not found a vet that will allow you to just bring in the fecal. There are places in town that have dubia, silks and small supers (try pets inc., and the pet store on Broadway and Dobson) but call first they don't always have everything. I even have extra small supersworms if you want some....and some dubia nymphs as well as some silkworm eggs you want to hatch out some if you have access to some mulberry. I would also maybe look at what you are gutloading the crickets with and try some larger crickets. Depending on what you are using I might have some extra gutload you can try as well.

I live up on the north side, I might need to make a trip down to that side of town after I call to see if they have silks.

For gutload I am using flukers orange cubes, along with veggies/fruits such as carrots, orange slices, kale, etc.

I am getting ready to start buying crickets in bulk, since PetsMart never has consistent sizes for their small/mediums, I always end up with a ton of pinheads that die quickly and aren't much of a snack for ziggy.

I appreciate the silkworm offer, I will see if I can find some mulberry plants or some mulberry silkworm food and take you up on your offer.

Have you found a good place locally to get crickets at a good price? I am paying 12cents each, which ends up being like $15/week.

How much should a vet visit cost? I have $200 set aside as an "emergency fund" for ziggy lol so I think that should cover it right?

 

[camimom]

I live up on the north side, I might need to make a trip down to that side of town after I call to see if they have silks.

For gutload I am using flukers orange cubes, along with veggies/fruits such as carrots, orange slices, kale, etc.

I am getting ready to start buying crickets in bulk, since PetsMart never has consistent sizes for their small/mediums, I always end up with a ton of pinheads that die quickly and aren't much of a snack for ziggy.

I appreciate the silkworm offer, I will see if I can find some mulberry plants or some mulberry silkworm food and take you up on your offer.

Have you found a good place locally to get crickets at a good price? I am paying 12cents each, which ends up being like $15/week.

How much should a vet visit cost? I have $200 set aside as an "emergency fund" for ziggy lol so I think that should cover it right?

I dunno bout your local stuff, but i order crickets in bulk from mulberryfarms.com i pay 20 bucks for the crickets, plus 20 for next day shipping, and they last over a month,

 

[clarkrw3]

That should cover the vet I would think. The only two vets I know of that have cham experience are in the southeast valley. Dr. Todd Driggers 480.706.8478. And Dr. Jay Johnson. 480.275.7017. Btw the other store I mentioned is Arizona Reptiles and is the best pet store I have ever been in....all animals well taken care of and clean. They also raise there own crickets. Those are the only places in town I have bought from and both have good stuff and depending on who gets them for me I get some good over count. Now that I have been raising my own I haven't had to buy any for a while. Let me know if you want anything I offered and I will give you my address.

 

[jannb]

That should cover the vet I would think. The only two vets I know of that have cham experience are in the southeast valley. Dr. Todd Driggers 480.706.8478. And Dr. Jay Johnson. 480.275.7017. Btw the other store I mentioned is Arizona Reptiles and is the best pet store I have ever been in....all animals well taken care of and clean. They also raise there own crickets. Those are the only places in town I have bought from and both have good stuff and depending on who gets them for me I get some good over count. Now that I have been raising my own I haven't had to buy any for a while. Let me know if you want anything I offered and I will give you my address.

Rob, when you get a chance please add your vets to this thread.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/

 

[clarkrw3]

Rob, when you get a chance please add your vets to this thread.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/

Done Jann.

 

[jannb]

Done Jann.

Thank you! That might help some other keeper down the road.

 

[AZJ0SH]

I found a supposed reptile vet here in the north valley I will be giving him a call tomorrow to see if I can get Ziggy in. Thanks for the advice guys, I really hope it's not parasites!

What's the best way to transport him to the vet? A shoebox maybe?

 

[ataraxia]

if he is eatting like a champ and losing or not gaining wait, he could possibly have a internal bacterial infection.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/482-issues-body-region-internal.html

normally a chameleon infested with parasites. doesnt eat 20 crickets every meal but it is still worth giving a check though.

edit: one other thing came to mind. what size crickets are you feeding and whats measurement between his eyes?

 

[AZJ0SH]

if he is eatting like a champ and losing or not gaining wait, he could possibly have a internal bacterial infection.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/482-issues-body-region-internal.html

normally a chameleon infested with parasites. doesnt eat 20 crickets every meal but it is still worth giving a check though.

edit: one other thing came to mind. what size crickets are you feeding and whats measurement between his eyes?

I am feeding sizes ranging from pinheads to 1/2", since PetsMart does not carry consistent sizes.

If there is pinheads I usually add a few larger ones to even it out.

So should I take him in, or try upping his food first?

 

[jannb]

I would take him to a good chameleon vet for a check up and fecal. It's worth a drive even a long one to go to a vet that knows chameleons. A vet that doesn't know chameleons will still take your money and your chameleon may still be sick and then you have to find another vet. They also sometimes give medications that are not needs and can harm your chameleon.

 

[AZJ0SH]

I would take him to a good chameleon vet for a check up and fecal. It's worth a drive even a long one to go to a vet that knows chameleons. A vet that doesn't know chameleons will still take your money and your chameleon may still be sick and then you have to find another vet. They also sometimes give medications that are not needs and can harm your chameleon.

Well yeah that's the plan? I wasn't going to take him to a non-chemeleon vet, I just said I was calling the one near me to see if they have experience with chams before I make an hour long drive down to the east valley.

 

[clarkrw3]

Well yeah that's the plan? I wasn't going to take him to a non-chemeleon vet, I just said I was calling the one near me to see if they have experience with chams before I make an hour long drive down to the east valley.

Sounds good. If you end up making that hr drive let me know and I will make it worth your while with superworms and dubia nymphs. My superworm breeding project is going so well that I am going to be swimming in them pretty soon.

 

[ataraxia]

whats the distance between his eyes? i have no idea the size of your chameleon

 

[AZJ0SH]

Well the vet near me has no exp with chams, so looking into the east valley vets on Monday.

Sounds good. If you end up making that hr drive let me know and I will make it worth your while with superworms and dubia nymphs. My superworm breeding project is going so well that I am going to be swimming in them pretty soon.

How big are the supers? My cham is only about 5 months old, not sure if he can eat those if they're too big. I appreaciate it!

whats the distance between his eyes? i have no idea the size of your chameleon

Sorry I forgot to add that in, it's about 1/2 to 3/4" tops. He heats crix ranging from pinheads to 1/2" currently, getting him on a steady 1/2" diet since I am ordering in bulk now.