Stingman44
New Member
About 9 days ago my wife and myself adopted an adult (age unknown) female Jackson's Chameleon that we have named skittles. We have experience with numerous other reptile species (tortoises, monitors, geckos, etc) but this is our first chameleon. That is why we are seeking the advice of those much more experienced than we are. We have been doing research into how long Chameleons can go on hunger strikes and we have got conflicting answers. Three days I decided to try and hand feed her, because I was concerned and that was to no avail. Against my better judgement I force fed her (gently of course) and I had success getting around 10 mealworms and 2 crickets down her. i don't think it is in her best interest to do this so I would like to stop, and see if she will start eating on her own. I would like peoples opinions on how long it is okay for her to not eat. She is active during the day and sleeps well at night. The temperature drops to about 60 degrees at night so she has a nice temp dropoff. Her basking spot is about 77 degrees during the day. However she always appears dark during the day and light at night, but her eyes are always allert and checking her surroundings out. I understand that a lot of her stress is being in a new environment. I just want her to adjust and eat on her own, but I am not sure how long without eating is okay. Listed below along with photos are everything in her habitat. If something isn't right please let me know.
Enclosure: Reptibreeze Large 18"x18"x36"
UVB: Reptiglow 10.0UVB
Heat: Sun Glow 50w
Humidity: 70-80%
Food: Crickets, Mealworms, Superworms, Dabai cockroaches
Misted 5 times a day, plus a drip system
Basking temp: 77 degrees
Enclosure: Reptibreeze Large 18"x18"x36"
UVB: Reptiglow 10.0UVB
Heat: Sun Glow 50w
Humidity: 70-80%
Food: Crickets, Mealworms, Superworms, Dabai cockroaches
Misted 5 times a day, plus a drip system
Basking temp: 77 degrees