lilygayton6040
Member
Okay so I just got my chameleon and he will not eat worms or live crickets so i tried drowning the crickets than giving it to him and that’s the only way he eats, is that okay or should i stop that as soon as possible.
Eating
- Thread starter lilygayton6040
- Start date
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Chameleons only eat live bugs. If you just got him, he may be needing time to adjust and settle in to his new environment. The feeders need to be appropriately sized too. Rule of thumb is feeders should be no bigger than the space between his eyes. Make sure that you are gutloading your feeders properly too. Whatever you feed them gets passed on to your cham, so make sure it’s nutritious.
lilygayton6040
Member
I give the crickets OMG nuts over chameleon i know he needs to get used to his new home but i also do not want him not eating ya know
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
How old is he?
lilygayton6040
Member
2-3 months
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
He’s a little guy. So he should be getting crickets that are probably around 1/4” or smaller. You could try some bsfl (calci worms, Phoenix worms) which are small and good feeders.
How are you giving the feeders? In a cup? In your hand? How many days have you had him? Can you post a pic of him and his enclosure?
How are you giving the feeders? In a cup? In your hand? How many days have you had him? Can you post a pic of him and his enclosure?
lilygayton6040
Member
yeah let me get more recent pictures i am putting the feeders on his branch and letting him get them on his own
lilygayton6040
Member
also added the cricket size, this morning he had 3 one left in the encloser and yesterday he had 10 (not all at once spread out into three times)
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lthrbecks
Established Member
Good afternoon
Just read your post about dead crickets.
I had to stop buying crickets because the escapees were driving me insane with their incessant chirping all night long. I was actually getting depressed due to lack of sleep!
Sadly, Hammy, my juvenile chameleon, i think really misses them. I tried sadly, in vain, to feed him with snails wax and silkworms, red runner and banana roaches. No use! So, it pains me to say, I've ordered banded crickets to try (I usually bought silent browns). They're supposed to be silent ? I'm very doubtful, personally.
Just wanted to share my current experience with you. Good luck with your dietry requirements! Mark
PS hornworms are illegal in the UK ??
Just read your post about dead crickets.
I had to stop buying crickets because the escapees were driving me insane with their incessant chirping all night long. I was actually getting depressed due to lack of sleep!
Sadly, Hammy, my juvenile chameleon, i think really misses them. I tried sadly, in vain, to feed him with snails wax and silkworms, red runner and banana roaches. No use! So, it pains me to say, I've ordered banded crickets to try (I usually bought silent browns). They're supposed to be silent ? I'm very doubtful, personally.
Just wanted to share my current experience with you. Good luck with your dietry requirements! Mark
PS hornworms are illegal in the UK ??
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ok. So I’m super glad that you posted a pic of the entire enclosure. There are a lot of improvements that you need to make. Let’s start with the cricket though. That cricket is much too large for your little guy. You need much smaller ones. Also, you have caked supplement on it. I’m assuming it caked because you drowned it and it was wet. Stop drowning or killing the crickets. Dead or alive they are too big. When you get the correct sized feeder, you want to lightly dust them. If they look like little snowmen, you put too much. Bsfl are really high in calcium so you don’t even need to dust them. Give me a few minutes and I’ll grab you a pic of the right sized crickets and proper dusting amount.
lilygayton6040
Member
thank you for sharing it’s not the chirping i am a deep sleeper so it doesn’t really effect me but it’s that he will not eat them. he will stare them down and that’s all so that’s why i started to drowned them right before i gave thme to him because that’s what he’d eat i tried worms and so use he won’t go to the bowl to eat them i’ve tried to put them in the branch’s like i do with the crickets and still nothing. this seems to be the only thing working and i wanted to see if anyone else could help
lilygayton6040
Member
okay so do you recommend doing the bsfl or the crickets i have to go get more today anyways or do i try get both and see which ones work better. i dyy ugh don’t know there were different sizes the per strike gave me those j didn’t have the option of getting them also i know you’re going to talk about more foliage i have more on the way
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
This is the size that you want. Penny for scale.
I put just a little supplement in my container and as the crickets hop around, they get enough on them. Today is multivitamin day so it’s hard to see, but it’s there. I got a few too many crickets in the cup, but your little guy should be eating around 15 or so daily. Feed in the morning so he has time to bask and digest properly. Bsfl are generally a good size. Pet stores usually know very little about chameleon husbandry, especially the chain stores. So, I’ll address the visible and not visible in a separate reply.
I put just a little supplement in my container and as the crickets hop around, they get enough on them. Today is multivitamin day so it’s hard to see, but it’s there. I got a few too many crickets in the cup, but your little guy should be eating around 15 or so daily. Feed in the morning so he has time to bask and digest properly. Bsfl are generally a good size. Pet stores usually know very little about chameleon husbandry, especially the chain stores. So, I’ll address the visible and not visible in a separate reply.
lilygayton6040
Member
when i buy these and what if he still won’t eat the live moving ones what will i do next
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Usually I would provide you the help questionnaire but I think it may be easier to just give you the basics.
Enclosure: hard to tell how big it is, it it looks to be good sized and should be big enough for him to grow into. I see a substrate on the floor. Is best to have it bare for ease of cleaning and hygiene. Chams spend almost no time on the floor, but substrate can pose some risks for ingestion, respiratory and other infection, mold, etc.
All of that empty space is wasted space. You need to give your little guy lots of branches and vines to travel along. Not just vertical, but horizontal as well. It can be a challenge to attach things to screening. However, you have a solid wood frame...use it! You can attach a scaffolding type inner frame with horizontal supports to attach branches, vines and even plants to.
Plants...avoid the fake and get real ones. Veileds nibble their plants and have been known to eat the fake leaves and get impacted. Live plants will also help maintain humidity and clean the air. Pothos is always a favorite as it’s easy to grow, provides vines for more climbing area, big leaves to drink from and a quick snack. This is a great resource to find which plants are safe. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
Do keep in mind that some may have higher light requirements that you would need to add a grow bulb.
Lights: I’ve no idea what type of light you have, but you have only one. At a minimum you need a basking light. You can use either a regular old fashioned incandescent bulb or halogen. LED doesn’t give off enough heat. It is absolutely essential that you get a linear T5HO fixture with a 5% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure and goes on the top. Repti Sun is pretty good and some come with a bulb. The Repti Sun bulb needs to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia makes a 6% uvb bulb that lasts a year.
Heat and humidity: for a little guy, you want basking temps to be in the low 80’s. At night they can and really should drop down. They can tolerate temps as low as the 50’s. With added plants and such, you’ll be creating different gradients of heat and humidity pockets, enabling your cham to move to an area he finds comfortable. Humidity during the day should be between 30-50%. At night when it’s cool, it can get as high as 100%. But heat+high humidity=respiratory infection. If you have trouble maintaining a high enough humidity level, you could wrap a shower curtain around a couple of sides of the enclosure.
Supplements: There are several ways to supplement. I’m going to tell you the basic one. Phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. That one you will need to give calcium with D3, the next week give a multivitamin for that one and rotate those two.
It is always a good idea to locate an exotic/reptile veterinarian near you, preferably one that is experienced and knowledgeable of chameleons. You should also have a fecal test to make sure he doesn’t have any parasites.
Water: I mist at least 3 times daily for 2 minutes each time. This gives not only plenty of water, but allows time for a cham to clean it’s eyes. They do not drink from bowls or waterfalls and those present risks of infection. You want to give the enclosure time to dry out in between misting.
I think I have covered all of the basics...I think. Lol
Great sources to learn more: https://chameleonacademy.com/
Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube
Ask questions...the forum loves to help new keepers.
Hope this helps.
Enclosure: hard to tell how big it is, it it looks to be good sized and should be big enough for him to grow into. I see a substrate on the floor. Is best to have it bare for ease of cleaning and hygiene. Chams spend almost no time on the floor, but substrate can pose some risks for ingestion, respiratory and other infection, mold, etc.
All of that empty space is wasted space. You need to give your little guy lots of branches and vines to travel along. Not just vertical, but horizontal as well. It can be a challenge to attach things to screening. However, you have a solid wood frame...use it! You can attach a scaffolding type inner frame with horizontal supports to attach branches, vines and even plants to.
Plants...avoid the fake and get real ones. Veileds nibble their plants and have been known to eat the fake leaves and get impacted. Live plants will also help maintain humidity and clean the air. Pothos is always a favorite as it’s easy to grow, provides vines for more climbing area, big leaves to drink from and a quick snack. This is a great resource to find which plants are safe. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
Do keep in mind that some may have higher light requirements that you would need to add a grow bulb.
Lights: I’ve no idea what type of light you have, but you have only one. At a minimum you need a basking light. You can use either a regular old fashioned incandescent bulb or halogen. LED doesn’t give off enough heat. It is absolutely essential that you get a linear T5HO fixture with a 5% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure and goes on the top. Repti Sun is pretty good and some come with a bulb. The Repti Sun bulb needs to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia makes a 6% uvb bulb that lasts a year.
Heat and humidity: for a little guy, you want basking temps to be in the low 80’s. At night they can and really should drop down. They can tolerate temps as low as the 50’s. With added plants and such, you’ll be creating different gradients of heat and humidity pockets, enabling your cham to move to an area he finds comfortable. Humidity during the day should be between 30-50%. At night when it’s cool, it can get as high as 100%. But heat+high humidity=respiratory infection. If you have trouble maintaining a high enough humidity level, you could wrap a shower curtain around a couple of sides of the enclosure.
Supplements: There are several ways to supplement. I’m going to tell you the basic one. Phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. That one you will need to give calcium with D3, the next week give a multivitamin for that one and rotate those two.
It is always a good idea to locate an exotic/reptile veterinarian near you, preferably one that is experienced and knowledgeable of chameleons. You should also have a fecal test to make sure he doesn’t have any parasites.
Water: I mist at least 3 times daily for 2 minutes each time. This gives not only plenty of water, but allows time for a cham to clean it’s eyes. They do not drink from bowls or waterfalls and those present risks of infection. You want to give the enclosure time to dry out in between misting.
I think I have covered all of the basics...I think. Lol
Great sources to learn more: https://chameleonacademy.com/
Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube
Ask questions...the forum loves to help new keepers.
Hope this helps.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
He may take a few days to settle in. Some chams are very secretive about eating and/or drinking. Mine are secret drinkers but have no problem eating when I’m around. I suggest putting the feeders in a little cup where he can see and reach and leave him alone for a little bit.
lilygayton6040
Member
i mist three times a day for two to three minutes each time. in the picture you only see one but i have two lights i’ll send you what types they are i don’t have a bowl i know they drink off of plants i’ll order some real plants off that link the enclosure is 24 width 24 depth and 48 height. as of right now the temp is 77 and the humidity is exactly 50. thank you so my for helping me i appreciate it’s so much!Usually I would provide you the help questionnaire but I think it may be easier to just give you the basics.
Enclosure: hard to tell how big it is, it it looks to be good sized and should be big enough for him to grow into. I see a substrate on the floor. Is best to have it bare for ease of cleaning and hygiene. Chams spend almost no time on the floor, but substrate can pose some risks for ingestion, respiratory and other infection, mold, etc.
All of that empty space is wasted space. You need to give your little guy lots of branches and vines to travel along. Not just vertical, but horizontal as well. It can be a challenge to attach things to screening. However, you have a solid wood frame...use it! You can attach a scaffolding type inner frame with horizontal supports to attach branches, vines and even plants to.
Plants...avoid the fake and get real ones. Veileds nibble their plants and have been known to eat the fake leaves and get impacted. Live plants will also help maintain humidity and clean the air. Pothos is always a favorite as it’s easy to grow, provides vines for more climbing area, big leaves to drink from and a quick snack. This is a great resource to find which plants are safe. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
Do keep in mind that some may have higher light requirements that you would need to add a grow bulb.
Lights: I’ve no idea what type of light you have, but you have only one. At a minimum you need a basking light. You can use either a regular old fashioned incandescent bulb or halogen. LED doesn’t give off enough heat. It is absolutely essential that you get a linear T5HO fixture with a 5% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure and goes on the top. Repti Sun is pretty good and some come with a bulb. The Repti Sun bulb needs to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia makes a 6% uvb bulb that lasts a year.
Heat and humidity: for a little guy, you want basking temps to be in the low 80’s. At night they can and really should drop down. They can tolerate temps as low as the 50’s. With added plants and such, you’ll be creating different gradients of heat and humidity pockets, enabling your cham to move to an area he finds comfortable. Humidity during the day should be between 30-50%. At night when it’s cool, it can get as high as 100%. But heat+high humidity=respiratory infection. If you have trouble maintaining a high enough humidity level, you could wrap a shower curtain around a couple of sides of the enclosure.
Supplements: There are several ways to supplement. I’m going to tell you the basic one. Phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. That one you will need to give calcium with D3, the next week give a multivitamin for that one and rotate those two.
It is always a good idea to locate an exotic/reptile veterinarian near you, preferably one that is experienced and knowledgeable of chameleons. You should also have a fecal test to make sure he doesn’t have any parasites.
Water: I mist at least 3 times daily for 2 minutes each time. This gives not only plenty of water, but allows time for a cham to clean it’s eyes. They do not drink from bowls or waterfalls and those present risks of infection. You want to give the enclosure time to dry out in between misting.
I think I have covered all of the basics...I think. Lol
Great sources to learn more: https://chameleonacademy.com/
Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube
Ask questions...the forum loves to help new keepers.
Hope this helps.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
If your uvb is a coil bulb, I’m afraid that isn’t able to provide adequate uvb levels.
You’re very welcome! Do keep us posted if your little one eats or not. Other members may have better input than I.
