food and diet

didney

New Member
I just got a baby veiled chat and he has been eating two to three little crickets a day for the past week. However between yesterday and today I haven't seen him eat much at all. What should I do to get his apatite up,,:confused:
 
Post some pictures, also fill this out it helps a ton to determine any underlying issues that may be affecting his appetite :)

I know it's a long form to fill out, but it's hard to give you any advice/tips based on what you have said.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/


Babies should definitely be eating more then that, and every day.
 
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Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled. 3 months. I've had him a week
Handling - once a day because he actually really likes to be out and about with everyone.
Feeding - little crickets. About ten at a time. They live with him. Till they are all gone. I feal them orange peels and I dust them.
Supplements - just reptile Cal with d3. The pet store near me don't have vitamins.
misting: i mist 4 to 5 times a day anf i have a drip on a glass sheet that he likes to lick. He will drink if there is moisture on the glass but HATES being misted.
Fecal Description - he has never been tested for parasites but his poops at brown with white
History - I have had him only a short time but he loves to be out and about and if I put him down some where he will get sstripy until I puck him up again then he's all smiles (or what I can figure is a chameleon smile) he is a happy green when he is with us

Cage Info:
Cage Type - ten gallon terrarium
Lighting - reptile sun and uvb. And I Run 11 to 11 lighting
Temperature - his basking is about 70 to 75 right now for its cold where I am. But his lowest has been like 67 so far and he doesn't turn black so I think that's ok. In the summer the basking can get to 80 to 85.
Humidity - I mist a lot and always make sure there is some for of moisture on the walls.
Plants - fake plants and live dandelions
Placement - on my desk. Mot A Lot Of People Pass It But He Gets Good Ventilation Around The cage. It's about 3 feet off the floor.
location: massachusets.

Current Problem - I want him to eat more. He eats about 3 a day but I haven't seen him east at all yesterday or today
 
Please post a pic of your set up. It sounds like a fish tank to me, which would be inadequate. Do not leave uneaten crickets in the cage. They can bite your chameleon and cause him harm. PLEASE read the caresheet the other member attached for you and make the necessary changes. A healthy 3 month old chameleon should be eating about 20 small crickets or feeders a day. Your cage is TOO cold. He may not be able to digest his food properly. You need to get a basking temp in the 85 degree range and the rest of the cage should have about a 10 degree temp drop. The caresheet will tell you everything you need to buy and what you need to do to keep your chameleon healthy. If you keep him in the current conditions, he will not thrive. I just realized you posted another thread about him sleeping and I commented on that. Yes, you are using a fish tank and that really is not suitable for housing.
 
As carol said, everything about your set up is wrong.

you need to read this forum's caresheets to get your set up done correctly.

I will bet that hes not eating because he is too cold.

Please read through, and then post any questions you have.
 
Hey thanks for filling out that form! I know it can be tedious. As you can see, by simply filling out the form very respected and knowledgable keepers/members have given some great advice/tips. The faster you can fix the issues the better. Time is key with chameleons. Things will turn ugly fast.

You got bombarded with a lot of critiques. The good thing is, you found the forums and are in the right place at the right time. Everyone here is very passionate. Just try and stay calm and read through everything. You can purchase a screened enclosure at petco- or order one from here. Personally i'd go to petco because it's the fastest and you need a lot of things to be changed fast. Moving to a screen enclosure and getting your temps up would be what I'd work on first as well as not leaving crickets in his cage- like the others have suggested. You can use a regular ole house light bulb for basking. You don't have to buy the expensive ones at the pet store. I'd start with a 75 watt and see if you need stronger or weaker from there.

I live in Minnesota so I understand the difficult issues keeping it warm enough and the humidity up. My chameleons are kept in screen enclosures with no problems. In the winter I have to cover a couple sides to help with humidity, I also have live plants in the enclosures which helps a TON. Basking bulb wattage has to be bumped up in the winter for my guys. Make sure all lights are off at night. They need complete darkness for good sleep. As long as your house isn't getting below say 55- he will not need a night heat source. The temp drop is actually very good for them and needed.

Again- thanks for filling out that form- it helped a ton!! Looking forward to seeing how things go from here.
 
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As I said before I am just waiting till he can be in the huge bird cage. And I have to get Sean to put in the cage. I have the expensive duel bulbs for veiled how is he still to cold!? Dog get how I can get the right bulbs and still be wrong it's just a little frustrating with the price of the bulbs.
 
Yeah it's quite frustrating at first. That's why it's really important to have the setup up and running before the Cham arrives. So you can monitor the temps and humidity and such. You don't have to use the expensive bulbs. A regular old house bulb works. Don't waste your money on the basking bulbs from the pet store. You'll find almost all the experienced keepers on here use house bulbs for basking. They are cheap and work like a dream. Misting brings down temps a lot. How are you measuring the temps? I'd work on the bird cage now. Just put screen around it.
 
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Hey guys I got a new baby cage. And am getting a large screen cage. In december. He seems to love all of the new things in his cage. I got some bendy vines and new leaves. He seems to be much more acive. And the wax worms got him to eat more. So far he is 3 wax worms down and two medium crickets.i got a sticker thermometer and his basking temp is exactly 85. Thanks go for helping me guys!
 
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