fussy eater

william1987

New Member
Hi i recently bought a veiled chameleon and when i first got her she was eating crickets,locust,salad and mealworms but now will only eat salad i am wondering if anyone can give my some idea why she would have stopped eating the insects thanks will
 
Can you provide some more information please, like her overall apperance and tempermeant, have you been able to notice any other changes?
 
Her appearance is of light green she seems to be moving fine and her eyes are looking all over the place and don't appear to be sunken in so there isn't any dehydration issues her temperment is very friendly if i open the tank she will come to my hand so i'm really stumped as to why she is not eating the insects
 
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Please fill this out, it will help much more.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
 
Cage:glass screened vivarium 2ft wide,2ft long and 3ft high
Lighting:full spectrum uv light made by exo terra at 5% uvb output
Temperature:30 degrees celcius daytime and dropping to 22 degrees celcius overnight measured using a thermometer
Humidity:40% measured using a hygrometer levels maintained by misting
Plants:eek:nly fake non toxic plants
Placement:located nets to solid wall by my coffee table with half a foot of space at the back for ventilation
Location:Cardiff,south wales,united kingdom


My chameleon:Female veiled she is about 6 months old and i have had her since march
Handling:maybe once a week twice at most
Feeding:crickets size 3,locusts size 3,regular mealworms,water cress and lettuce
Supplements:nutrobal dust twice a week
watering;spraying the fake leaves and sides of the vivarium and misting twice a day for one minute intervals or when i notice humidity levels down
Fecal description:brown with a slight green hint and a smaller amount of white,never tested for parasites
History:bred in captivity from the shop i bought her from
Current problem:she is only eating the salad and not the feeder insects
 
I put about 5-8 crickets a in the morning i leave a small amount of mealworms in a dish salad everyday and locust as a treat
 
Well it is possible that she is slightly dehydrated, which could explain why she is only eating the salad (high water content) and not the bugs (especially since your feeding "rough" bugs that have relatively no water content). I recommend you purchase, or create your own dripper system and run it at least two or three times a day. Also, I would purchase some worms that contain more moisture (like silkworms and butterworms).
 
Right i will go and buy a dripper system today and will get some silk worms and let you know how she gets on thank you very much for your time and help its very much appreciated
 
here is another idea that is not related to your problem....

I noticed that you have fake plants only.
by putting in some live plants as well, you will have not only more water for your cham to drink but also have to mist less due to low humidity. as live plants help keep the humidity about 10%-15% higher then without them.

Harry
 
Well my best guess is slight dehydration. Increasing your misting frequencies and durations would also help. Remember undermisting is possible but overmisting is practically impossible. Also remember that this is my best guess, but it does not mean it is the right answer. However, even if my guess was wrong, you still should be using and dripper and misting more often :). Keep posting updates on the forums.
 
What sort of plants would be good to use as i have read that some are poisonous to them and some can cause inflamations
 
I feared that response. Those bulbs have been know to cause eye issues and even death. It could be possible she is only eating greens because she only has to grab them instead of shooting at them like insects. I would add the live plants and change out the UVB light and see what happens. You should actually just turn off the UVB now-she will be fine until you can get a linear bulb.
 
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