Help! Pygmy Chameleons won't eat

[sjjsunkel]

Hi,
I am new to the chameleon world. But I have had 2 female chameleons for about a month and a half now. They have been doing fine, up until recently. I have them in a 10gallon tank, with live plants that I mist three times a day. I feed them mostly crickets dusted with vitamin d, and sometime meal worms. Right now for some reason they are not wanting to eat... And they are getting splotchy looking, especially the top of the small ones head.
Please help and let me know if there is something else that I should do, or change to help them.
Jsunkel

 

[ataraxia]

sorry i have no experience with pygmies but i will try and help you. someone with experience will hopefully come across this. first we will need this filled out.

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.


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?


Pictures are helpful

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

How do you know they're not eating? Do you count the bugs left over or do you just not see them eating? What are the temperatures in the cage during day and night? You should cut down on dusting with vitamin D and use a calcium without any phosphorus or D3. And do you have a better picture? It's too blurry to really tell but it almost looks like you have two different species. The one in the back is definitely a brev, but the other one looks like it could be a temporalis...

 

[melric]

I have pygmy's. You should try a forum search. Not many people have them.
Try reading this.
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05DecRouthouska.html

Here is a thread I refer back to also.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/rie...lease-i-need-help-filled-out-help-form-54290/

 

[melric]

And if that is their enclosure they need more than just one plant.

 

[sjjsunkel]

the place where I bought the Pygmy chameleons said they were about 4 to 6 months old. They are two females. Had them for 1 1/2 months, since the start of May.
Take the bigger one out every other day, the smaller one doesn't like to be handled so only take her out once a week.
Feeding the two small crickets dusted every other feeding with d3. On weekends give them meal worms once. keep the crickets in a container with cricket food and cricket water cubes. Refreshening it every other day.
When I feed the chameleons I give them, 3 crickets at a time around 2 pm, check the container at night for remaining live crickets and pull them out.
Mist the container three times a day, yes have seen the chameleons drinking from the leaves of the plants. Have a palm and umbrella plant, and three branches in the aquarium, one going across and two vertical.
Fecal white and greenish color, observed fecal from recently today. Have not been tested for parasites.

The cage is a ten gallon aquarium, with a screen top and light on top.
Lighting, is a 25watt UVB light just on one side of the aquarium.
Not sure of exact temperature and humidity levels, the room they are kept in is the bedroom, and it is kept at 78degrees.
Yes, using live plants a palm and umbrella plant, and have had also a fern in there up until recently.
geographically located in North Texas.

Will post a better picture tomorrow morning.

 

[ataraxia]

the place where I bought the Pygmy chameleons said they were about 4 to 6 months old. They are two females. Had them for 1 1/2 months, since the start of May.
Take the bigger one out every other day, the smaller one doesn't like to be handled so only take her out once a week.
Feeding the two small crickets dusted every other feeding with d3.It seems many supplement very little with these guys and you can over supplement. like once or twice a week with plain calcium with no d3. On weekends give them meal worms once. keep the crickets in a container with cricket food and cricket water cubes. Refreshening it every other day.
When I feed the chameleons I give them, 3 crickets at a time around 2 pm, check the container at night for remaining live crickets and pull them out.
Mist the container three times a day, yes have seen the chameleons drinking from the leaves of the plants. Have a palm and umbrella plant, and three branches in the aquarium, one going across and two vertical.
Fecal white and greenish color, observed fecal from recently today. Have not been tested for parasites. are they wild caught or captive bred? if they are wild caught i would get a fecal done asap.

The cage is a ten gallon aquarium, with a screen top and light on top.
Lighting, is a 25watt UVB light just on one side of the aquarium. Is this a coil bulb or a liner tube? if it is a coil bulb, replace it with a linear tube.
Not sure of exact temperature and humidity levels, the room they are kept in is the bedroom, and it is kept at 78degrees.They need temps in the low 70's all the time-say 70-74
Yes, using live plants a palm and umbrella plant, and have had also a fern in there up until recently.
geographically located in North Texas.

Will post a better picture tomorrow morning.

ive posted back some stuff in red in the quote. temps might be just a tad high for these guys.

 

[Shrilly]

Take it easy on the mealworms not too many because idk about pygmies but it gave my lil cham some problems something to do with their shells?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

A fecal is a good idea in theory, but pygs are much too tiny to even treat if they did have something so don't waste your money.

You really shouldn't be handling pymys at all imo. You are the biggest, scariest thing they've ever seen and they have little bitty heart attacks every time a ginormous fingers looms toward them. When they appear to be calm they're actually just being really still to look like a leaf (ie freaking out!) hoping you won't find them interesting and just leave them alone. You're probably stressing them out, which could cause them not to eat. The only time I handle mine is if I have to break down the cage, or once for a photo op with their babies. Chameleons in general are not really animals to play with, and this species in particular does not seem to handle it well. Remember these are in all likelihood wc, so they're not used to captivity and being grabbed. I would back off and see if that improves their appetite.

Hoe big are your crickets you feed them? I feed mine up to ~1/8" crickets. I would avoid mealworms as they have a lot of chitin and not much in the way of beneficial nutrients. Also you need to be gutloading them better with fresh veggies.

Try to keep temps in the lower-mid 70's and you should measure those temps with a thermometer in the cage. Glass retains heat well and it may be warmer in there than you expect because it's usually warmer than the outside environment.

Overall it doesn't look like you have too many corrections to make, just some minor changes really. Try those and see if they improve at all. Good luck!

 

[sjjsunkel]

I went to the pet store and got a thermometer and hygrometer and some vitalife. At first when the coil light was on the temperature was 80 and humidity 60%. I have since removed the light and sprayed the tank, and now temp is 76 and humidity near 80. I am going to call the vet first thing in the morning, to see if there is anything else that I can do.

 

[ataraxia]

you might want to try smaller prey. you may be offering food that is 2 big. try hidei fruit flies and pin head crix.

also from the pix from what i can tell...it looks like one of them is dehydrated.