HELP....Chameleon not eating.....HELP

petedoggg

petedoggg

New Member
Help I have two chameleons that are about 7 months old after reading about chameleons i'm assuming they are females I dont know what to do they wont eat and i'm scared bc since i got them 3 days ago one has eaten 5 and the other only 2 and I don't want anything to happen to them but these are my first chameleons and i have no clue what i'm doing please help they are in a very large cage with fake greenery and also a ficus tree plenty of room to explore temp at around 80-85 at the top and 70-75 on bottom humidity between 30-50% Im also offering lettuce and carrots and they wont touch them!!! Help Help Help what am i doing wrong???:confused:
Here are some pics........ chameleons 010.jpg

chameleons 007.jpg
:confused:
 
Fill this out


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and type 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?
* Location - 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?


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.

For the females get a big container, fillit up 2/3's of the way with damp sand/peat moss so she can lay eggs if necessary (7 months is young for development but hey, ya never know)

The not eating could be because of stress among other things,

Fill out the questionnaire so we can help you!!
 
I can't tell if they are female or not for sure because of not being able to see the base of the tail clearly....so in case they are...and in case they might need to lay eggs...I would put an opaque container of washed playsand in the cage that, when empty, is big enough for the chameleon to fit into with a couple of inches to spare on all sides including above and below....just in case!

Are they drinking well?
Are they WC or CB?
 
I believe you have 2 senegals.
They should not be housed together.
The hydration requirements are high for these animals, how are you providing water?

-Brad

Lynda: do you agree on the id?
 
kinyonga said:
I can't tell if they are female or not for sure because of not being able to see the base of the tail clearly....so in case they are...and in case they might need to lay eggs...I would put an opaque container of washed playsand in the cage that, when empty, is big enough for the chameleon to fit into with a couple of inches to spare on all sides including above and below....just in case!

Are they drinking well?
Are they WC or CB?
Click to expand...

Kinyonga, in another post he states he bought veileds. Are those senegal or gracilis, they both look the same to me at that size:eek:
 
cainschams said:
Kinyonga, in another post he states he bought veileds.
Click to expand...

Some pet stores get them and dont know what they have... a place where not to far from where my Mom lives were selling "Veilds"...They were actually Flap necks...

So maybe he bought some "Veilds"?
 
Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?we are using a sunglo daylight lamp 150 watt during the day and nightglo 150 watt at night
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?80-85 on the top with a vine just under it allowing for basking area, 70-75 on the bottom using a strip thermometer
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 30-50 and using a hang on meter
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? yes we are using both live and fake, the live is a ficus
* Location - 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?the cage is located in our living room, i guess you can say that it is a high traffic area, it is only me and my finance, it is about 5 feet. it is in a room that we watch t.v in. one dog that barks frequently and a playfull puppy that makes minimal commotion


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? we are not sure hat the age or the sex of the cham is
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? everyday
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?crickets, we are feeding the crickets calcium plus, dusting it with chameleon dust
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?chameleon dust, t-rex
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?we have seen the cham drinking we mist 3-4 times daily we also have a dripper
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? the poop has been brown have not had it 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. they dont seem to be eating as much as people say they should be eating. They eat between one and to crickets a day, if that. And one will not eat at all.
 
I noticed you left the cage description blank? that is very important as chameleons need good ventilation. Also have you noticed any white stuff attached to the poop? If you do it should be white. If it is yellow or orange it is a sign of dehydration.

Get a digital thermometer and put it on the branch that is used for basking!!!!

IMO a 150w bulb is over kill. I use a 75w for my big guy and a 60w for my little girl and that maintains a basking temp of a little over 80 in a screen enclosure.

also are you using a UVB bulb?
 
WC = wild caught

CB = captive born/bred

chameleons that are WC are more likely to have parasites which, with added stress, can cause some problems
 
the cage is all glass and vents on the bottom and the whole top is screened in chameleons 015.jpg not sure the exact size so hers a pic
 
upstate NY it is very cold here .......so what kind of chameleon are they???..... and why wont they eat???? How do we get them to eat????
 
They appear to be flaps. I thought that when I first looked at the photos but they weren't clear enough to tell for sure.

Are you keeping the two of them in the same cage? If so, I would recommend separating them. Stress can affect their appetite.

You said..."we are using a sunglo daylight lamp 150 watt during the day and nightglo 150 watt at night"...unless the temperatures drop really low at night you don't need a light at night. You do need a UVB long linear tube light (with no glass or plastic between the light and the chameleon) for the daytime and a regular incandescent household bulb in a hood will provide a basking area.

Is the cage up off the floor? How high? Its possible that the dogs will bother the chameleons.

I would recommend that you don't handle the chameleons any more than necessary to clean the cage, etc...especially since they haven't had a chance to settle in yet.

You said..."crickets, we are feeding the crickets calcium plus, dusting it with chameleon dust"...I use a wide variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, etc.) I don't like commercial products as a rule.

You said..."chameleon dust, t-rex"...I don't know what is in this...but its important to use a phos.-free calcium powder on the insects at most feedings to help make up for the rather poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous in most insects that we use as feeders.

I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A will, but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it so some people use a little preformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess preformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD so don't overdo it.

Exposure to UVB will allow the chameleon to produce D3 and thus use the calcium in its system. I still dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder though. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems, so again, don't overdo it.

Calcium, D3, phosphorous and vitamin A are all important players in bone health and they need to be in balance. To balance them you need to look at what is in the supplements, in what you feed to the insects and in what you feed to the chameleon.

You said..."the poop has been brown"...there should be a white part too. Is there?? Is the poop like a "sausage" or is it loose?

You said..."they dont seem to be eating as much as people say they should be eating. They eat between one and to crickets a day, if that. And one will not eat at all"...as I already mentioned, handling may be playing a part in this...or it might be possible that they are carrying eggs (if female, of course)...or they just might need some more time to settle in. If they don't start to eat at least 3 or 4 crickets a day soon I would take them to the vets to see if the vet can figure out what is going on.
 
Holy cow-150watts on that little glass cage? You are baking them! Tell me you have a digital thermometer and not an anlaog dial type thermometer.
 
Welcome to the forums, and i have to say that joining this forum is a good step in preventative maintenance and good health for your cham if you follow the excellent advice given here. I think someone should advise you on a supplement schedule.
 
Hilikus311 said:
Welcome to the forums, and i have to say that joining this forum is a good step in preventative maintenance and good health for your cham if you follow the excellent advice given here. I think someone should advise you on a supplement schedule.
Click to expand...

Here you go.
Should work well for flaps. Please keep in mind that the vitamin A is to be considered optional and at this point I would not start with it.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/supplements.html

-Brad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Alex7383
Chameleon refusing to eat, super active and losing fear of me.
Replies
6
Views
847
pascalpappi
pascalpappi
M
HELP!!!!!!
Replies
4
Views
605
kinyonga
K
Jle5116
Help with husbandry questions
Replies
17
Views
1K
GrannyK
GrannyK
D
Help, my yemen chameleon keeps hissing at night
2
Replies
29
Views
4K
LizardLurkin
LizardLurkin
M
Just help me please
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
MissSkittles
MissSkittles
Back
Top Bottom