I think I need help

[kentpiper]

Your Chameleon - veiled cham, its around 6-7 months old, got at petco so not too sure about age
Handling - I handle him about once every 2 weeks
Feeding - i feed him around 10 crickets a day and i gutload them with fruits and oats
Supplements - reptivive with d3 about once every 2 weeks
Watering - habba mist every hour for a minute and a manual mist once a day
Fecal Description - he is regular and it is brown
History - got him at petco about a month ago

Cage Info:
Cage Type -2'x2'x3' mesh
Lighting - blue day light, reptisun 5.0 every 12 hour on/off
Temperature - Its basking temp is at 80-85 degrees
Humidity -the humidity is at 60-70% and i use a humidifier that runs 24 hours a day due to the mesh screen.
Plants - no live plants just artificial
Placement - it is in the corner of my room that only i go in for the most part and the top of the cage is at around 6 foot if not higher
Location - I live in bakersfield california which is 2 hours north of L.A.

Current Problem - karma seems very lethargic and i havent seen him eat in a while but the crickets do disappear. here is a few photos too in the link please look at them i dont want my first cham to die on me

 

[Carlton]

Are your crix free ranged in the cage? If so they are probably hiding during the day when he would try to eat them. They are also losing any nutritional gutload before he gets them if they roam around very long. He looks pretty thin based on his casque and also dehydrated. His casque should be full and rounded, not concave. Check your humidity gauge to make sure it's accurate.

Please check your "basic husbandry" against the sticky messages on this forum. Your supplementation is off. Chams need daily plain calcium, calcium with D3 more often, and also a vitamin dusting about once a month. Your feeder gutload needs improvement so the nutritional value of each feeder is higher.

Your cage is probably much drier than you realize without some live plants.

How old is your UV light? If over 6 months get a new one.

 

[carol5208]

a couple of things that need changing but are not probably the cause of his loss of appetite and lethargy. You need to be dusting with calcium without d3 everyday. The calcium with the d3 should be used twice monthly and also get a multivitamin to dust with twice a month. Your chameleons casque looks rather sunken in. Is your mister going off at night? If so, then you need to turn it off. He is not drinking at night and you do not want the cage constantly wet. What do you have in the bottom of the cage? What does his urate look like(the lighter part of the poop) it should be white, not orange or yellow. do you ever get him outside for natural sunlight? If not, you should. I would try and get a poop sample if possible(although I know he is not eating right) and get him tested for parasites just to rule that out. Lack of appetite and lethargy can be a sign of that.

 

[slinko9]

Supplementation is key!!!
Change your fake pathos with a real one,,,they are so easy to take care of and they add natural humidity to the cage!!!
Get a good gutload recipe or one of the store bought ones and let the feeders feed on it, I got my guy bowl feeding, which i like better than free ranging, just because I watched my first Cham get real sick due to infected cricket bites!!!!
Do your misting 2 or 3 times a day for about 2 to 3 minutes make sure theres enough time in between mistings to let the cage dry out!!!
Make sure your UVB is relatively new, I heard Zoo-meds are real good and last close to a year, any other ones seem to last about 6 months!!!
Keep a dripper going for large parts of the days so he can have easy access to drinking water!!
Good Luck!!
Check out this care sheet!!! It has lots of good advice!!!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[kentpiper]

i have only had the reptisun 5.0 bulb for a little over a month and yes the crickets are free range. how would i bowl feed crickets by the way what stops them from just jumping out. also what kinds of plants would be the best ones? thanks for the tip with the supplements i wasnt aware i am doing that wrong i fix that tomorrow.

 

[Elizadolots]

You can hobble the crickets by pulling their back legs off (sort of gross but they don't seem to mind).

 

[kentpiper]

okay thank u very much

 

[slinko9]

Im thinkin a straight sided bowl around 3 to 4 inches in diameter and at least 3 inches deep, the less room for them big critters to jump the better!!! Your Cham should be able to feast from the top rim, and shaking them around with calcium helps them from not jumping around so much!!
Oh,,,and a nice ficus tree with a pathos or a bottom bushing sufflera is always good,, I have the same cage as you for when Guber gets a bit bigger!!!!

 

[kentpiper]

okay thanks a lot and what can i do to get him to drink more, when my mister went off when i first got him he would always drink the droplets from the leaves but now i never see him do that, any ideas?

 

[Nrupaw]

okay thanks a lot and what can i do to get him to drink more, when my mister went off when i first got him he would always drink the droplets from the leaves but now i never see him do that, any ideas?

You could try to drop water on his lips using a eye dropper. I have had to do this for my Jacksons' Chameleon sometimes.

Initially your Chameleon might not understand that its just water in the dropper and will try to defend itself.

Drop 1 droplet at a time. you don't want to put too much and get it in his nostrils.

 

[camimom]

you wont really see them drink.

i have had my male veiled since he was two weeks old, ive seen him drink 4 times.. max.

 

[slinko9]

Lots of times you dont see them drink!! Put a cup up top and use a little needle to poke a hole in the bottom, then strategically place it so the drops hit leaves which catches your chams attention!!
Theres a couple of good threads on Rain Domes on here too!!!
The thing to watch as Ive learned over the last couple days is his poop and urinate!!! Even if you dont see him drink, pay attention to that and if the white part is indeed white, then you are doing fine,,any other colour and you gotta take more drastic measures!!!