Female adult veiled not eating

xaviert

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled chameleon, female, about one year old. I bought it from someone a week ago.
Handling - Never as it is grumpy and hate to see me.. It will slant to one side and hide behind the jungle vine whenever it sees me.. :(
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed my chameleon crickets.. Up till now, it has only eaten 2 medium sized ones dusted with calcium powder without D3. I gutload my feeders with carrots, basil, alfafa sprouts and romaine lettuce.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I have exo terra calcium without D3 powder and exo terra multi vitamins.
Watering - Mistking. I set the timer to mist 4 times daily for 5 minutes each time. Misting times are 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm and 5 pm.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Haven't seen its droppings yet. Hasn't been tested for parasites but its previous owner told me its been dewormed.
History - Previous owner used to hand feed it 3 crickets everyday dusted with miner-all i think. (can't remember the name of the product.)

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 29 x 29 x 72 flexarium
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I put it outdoor at my balcony.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I never measure the temps
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Never measure too
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Umbrella tree
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? At my balcony, about 6 ft tall.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Malaysia

Current Problem - My veiled has only eaten 2 medium sized crickets for the past week since I've gotten it. I tried putting a container with crickets at the bottom of the plant but it doesn't seem interested. Its used to hand feeding by its previous owner but it will slant to one side and hide behind the jungle vine everytime it sees me and refuses to eat. I use a chopsticks to hold the cricket and let it shoot at it. It has poor aiming and often misses and even when it hits the target, the tongue isn't sticky enough to stick the cricket. Today is the first time i saw it went down to the bottom of the plant so i try putting the container there again but shes just scared and climbed up the branch and stayed there. :( Could it be pregnant? The previous owner told me she hasn't laid eggs yet.
 

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This picture was before I had taken over her from her previous owner.
 

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That's a male alright! Females have a different pattern to males and the males have taller casques on the head.

In the first picture he looks to be shedding in which case it's normal to lose appetite and hide. Folks on here tend to feed adults once every 2 or 3 days rather than daily so it could just be that he's not hungry. This forum also recommends a variety of good feeders, not just crickets.

Also, he's a year old and has only been with you for a week so it'll take him a while to settle down.

The tongue issues could be related to supplementation, does the multivitamin youre using contain vitaminA? And you need to use the multivitamin twice a month and also get calcium with d3 for twice a month. Plain calcium should be used at each feeding. I'm concerned about the lack of d3 as his front leg looks slightly curved in one of the pictures which could be an early sign of metabolic bone disease.

On the temperature, you really need to start measuring! It plays a big part in the health of your chameleon. If he's too cold he won't be able to digest his food properly and will be unhappy. If he's too hot under the basking light he will move to the bottom and not get enough heat. I know you keep him outside sp do you use any lights at all? It could easily be too hot for him outside, does he have enough shade in his enclosure?

I suspect that you have been a little mid informed by the previous owner so I'm going to link you to the https://www.chameleonforums.com/basic-husbandry-38769/ section of the forum.

I also think it could benefit to read Sandrachameleons blog in feeders and gutloading https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/

I hope this helps you! Feel free to ask any questions you have no matter how silly they may seem as people here are always happy to help :)
 
First, thats a male.

without a doubt. MALE all the way. the colors are a dead give away.

Second- you NEED to measure your basking temps. if the temps are too low, they wont eat!! They need hear to digest their food.

Third- the tongue isnt sticky probably because he is dehydrated. As for the tongue aim issue, that can be corrected with better gutloading and supplementing.

I had the same issue with my male. he would sometimes miss the bug. I switched to repashy all in one calcium plus, and after 2 months of using it on every feeding- his aim is 100% now.

SO to recap what you should do-
mist more frequently.
measure your basking temps.
get better gutload for your bugs.(also more types of bugs helps too)
and try a new supplement.
 
wow.. ok.. i have repashy all in one plus but it contains d3.. he's already getting sunlight everyday.. should i still use it? and ya.. the multi vitamin contains beta carotene.
 
wow.. ok.. i have repashy all in one plus but it contains d3.. he's already getting sunlight everyday.. should i still use it?

The repashy all in one can be used on a daily basis. it does have d3, but its so minute that it wont over do it.

If you are worried though, you can use it on every other feeding.
 
its outdoor but theres lots of foilage as im using umbrella tree.. i meant 110f highest.. my chameleon will climb down to cool down sometimes..
 
110 is WAY too hot for him.
when it gest that high, you need to bring him inside. that can also influence their eating habits.

their basking temps shouldnt really get over 95.

youre going to roast him.
:eek:
 
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