How do chams eat

[Rune]

My cham.. Still isnt eating. He did eat one cricket. He shot it, chewed, then that flap of skin he has puffed up and he swallowed. He then went under his 40watt basking light, even though there was a cricket close to him. Do chams shoot one after the other, or do they shoot one, then digest, then go shoot another? I just want to make sure he is eating normally. Thanks.

 

[Chamifornia]

I think it just depends on how they feel. My old veiled would eat one after another until he was fool and sometimes just take one and wait.

 

[mattcast1214]

Yea my cham is mostly the same way, he will eat one cricket first thing in the morning, then chill under the uvb for a while and then crawl around til he's hungry again.

 

[antithesis123]

Sometimes mine eat out of my hand, sometimes they eat like they've been waiting for food all morning then sometimes I dont see them eat for a week, the food dissapears though.

 

[cuso]

Mine eats one after the other but he's still young and eats a lot. How old is yours?

 

[kinyonga]

I went over all of your posts since you first posted on here because I think your chameleon should be eating better. I'm worried that if he doesn't get the problems solved soon you will lose him. Sorry if I mention things that you have already corrected but its hard to remember everything you have said in so many posts.

Is your chameleon still shutting its eyes during the day?
How long have you had the long linear tube actually on the cage? It doesn't pass through any glass or plastic does it?
What is the temperature in the warmest area of the cage?

I explained in my post (post #3 in the same thread) how to dust...dust at all the feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder except for the two times a month that you dust with a phos.-free calcium powder and the two times a month that you dust with the vitamin powder. You could give the D3 on the first day and the 15th day of the month and the vitamin powder on the 7th and the 21st of each month leaving every other feeding in the month to be a calcium dusted feeding. Is this basically what you are doing now? Are you feeding it once a day? A young chameleon should be eating about 15 or so appropriately sized crickets each day. I feed mine as much as they will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding and then leave a couple in the cage for a snack later on...and its always about 15 crickets.

Are you still using the blue light? All you need for a chameleon up to 3 or 4 months old is a long linear Repti-sun 5.0 UVB light and if that doesn't put the cage temperature in the warmest area of the cage into the low 80's you will also need a regular household incandescent light bulb in a domed hood. As the chameleon gets closer to being an adult you can increase the basking area temperature for a male veiled until it reaches the mid to high 80's for an adult male.

Did you get a fecal done?

 

[Bernie]

Please get a fecal done.

Unfortunately I lost my 5month old Cham recently. Coccidia got the better of him. It started when his appetite started to decline, then came the vomiting, then he eventually ate next to nothing.

Worth doing just for peace of mind. I shall be getting fecal tests done regularly from now on for both my new Chams.

To answer your initial question, sometimes mine eat one after another. Somtimes they zap one and wait for a while. Guess it depends how hungry they are.

 

[Rune]

I went over all of your posts since you first posted on here because I think your chameleon should be eating better. I'm worried that if he doesn't get the problems solved soon you will lose him. Sorry if I mention things that you have already corrected but its hard to remember everything you have said in so many posts.

Is your chameleon still shutting its eyes during the day?
How long have you had the long linear tube actually on the cage? It doesn't pass through any glass or plastic does it?
What is the temperature in the warmest area of the cage?

I explained in my post (post #3 in the same thread) how to dust...dust at all the feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder except for the two times a month that you dust with a phos.-free calcium powder and the two times a month that you dust with the vitamin powder. You could give the D3 on the first day and the 15th day of the month and the vitamin powder on the 7th and the 21st of each month leaving every other feeding in the month to be a calcium dusted feeding. Is this basically what you are doing now? Are you feeding it once a day? A young chameleon should be eating about 15 or so appropriately sized crickets each day. I feed mine as much as they will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding and then leave a couple in the cage for a snack later on...and its always about 15 crickets.

Are you still using the blue light? All you need for a chameleon up to 3 or 4 months old is a long linear Repti-sun 5.0 UVB light and if that doesn't put the cage temperature in the warmest area of the cage into the low 80's you will also need a regular household incandescent light bulb in a domed hood. As the chameleon gets closer to being an adult you can increase the basking area temperature for a male veiled until it reaches the mid to high 80's for an adult male.

Did you get a fecal done?

No problem. Thank you for following my post. I am also very worried..
I havent seen him shut his eyes lately, but yes he last did about a week ago. Its been about 4 or 5 weeks? And It does not pass through anything. Just the screen. I dont know the temperature in the hot area. It is 72 in his cool spot though. I will go take the temp now.
Yes, I do use that schedule. I dust with cal stron calcium, Herpvite multivitamin, and I forgot the brand name of the d3. I think it is reptivite?
I feed it about 2-3 at a time, and if I dont seem to see the crickets I put in more.
I have the uvb light and also I dont have the blue light, I have a 40 watt incandescent bulb In a dome fixture. I did get a checkup but the vet obviously wasnt good in reptiles. He weighed 8.7 grams. She looked at his eyes and said he was healthy.. I do want a fecal done though. Im trying to convince my dad that he needs it. Maybe since my birthdays in a week I can ask for that for my birthday. Thank you! I will take the temps now.

 

[Rune]

Temps are-
Basking- 77.7
Cool area- 72.1
If you need the uvb let me know.

 

[dodge]

Temps are-
Basking- 77.7
Cool area- 72.1
If you need the uvb let me know.

how old is the chameleon, those temps seem rather low to me, more of a night temp for a adult veiled

 

[Rune]

how old is the chameleon, those temps seem rather low to me, more of a night temp for a adult veiled

I think 2 months. But he is tiny compared to other chams so Im not totally sure. He is only 8.7 grams.

 

[mbondy]

Temps are-
Basking- 77.7
Cool area- 72.1
If you need the uvb let me know.

Your basking area is not hot enough, it should be in the low 80s. About 85 would be your high. Your cool area is fine. It could also be taking him awhile to eat if he's not having enough heat to digest his food thoroughly, just a thought. Get the temps up though!

 

[Rune]

How many watts do you suggest?

 

[kinyonga]

Use a wattage that provides the right temperature in the basking area. You can raise the bulb or lower it to get the temperature right in the basking area if need be.

 

[EvilLost]

@Rune: if you do not already have one, you should purchase a simple point and shoot Digital Thermometer (you can buy one for about $20). Get whatever wattage bulb YOU need to make it 85ish...

we can't tell you what wattage because that entirely depends on your local climate. if you are currently using 40W and its at 77....then probably going to 50W will do the trick. also as someone else said, moving it closer/further away helps but make sure the cham can't touch it! They do not realize that they are burning themselves and will touch it/grab it if they can!

 

[reptoman]

You are close to my area so a 40 watt should be enough depending on where you keep your cage. I usually mount a board to the wall behind the cage with 1 screw and clamp the basking lamp to that. I rotate the board to raise and lower the lamp as needed to acheive the best temp. PM me if you need help setting up your lighting. You are also welcome to stop by our house to check my setups if you need an example.

 

[Rune]

I would like that reptoman. I think it is a little hotter, but my thermometer might not be the best. I will find a temp gun. I think i might go up to 45 though, just to be careful. Thanks!