Hello,
We have an approx 8 month old male veiled cham we got from PetSmart about 3 months ago. He started off just fine and the store said (true or not) that he never minded being held. He would usu eat 10 crickets out of my hand a day when we first got him. He seamed to get tired of crickets so we started a dubia colony. He did great on dubias for a while, then seemed to tire of them. At the same time, he has become less and less tolerant of us. I don't know if they can really tell the difference between people, but he feeds better from me than my wife and daughter, but I am away traveling a lot during the week and not always available for feeding. When we come in the room, he will often turn around and face the corner turning his back on us
Our enclosure is a 3 foot tall, 18 in square base screened in enclosure with a double-tall dome light with a UVB light and 150 watt ceramic heater in the dome.
We have a "monsoon generator" I have set to deliver between 50-60% humidity. The temp is around 100F at the "prime" basking spot, but he doesn't sit there often, but is at the side a lot more under the UVB. I have fashioned limbs from outside where I can be at essentially any level of the viv he wants so he should be able to regulate his temp well.
He loves "worms," but I don't want to use a lot of superworms for common reasons. I have a colony of Phoenix worms (black soldier fly larva) that he has gone for a lot in the past, too, but lately, he is only eating a couple out of my hand before he quits.
He still seems to be growing, and he sheds on average about once a month, just completing a shed.
It it bothersome also how he turns all dark as soon as we enter to room to feed him. He'll often his and lunge (never really bites) as we approach him with food, but he'll calm down a bit. Oddly, if we try any socialization getting him out, he'll brighten up fairly quickly.
I am really getting concerned about his not eating. I don't want him to die of starvation. Honestly, he doesn't look thin. No bone lesions to speak of suggesting MBD.
We dust with calcium (the wife isn't as good about this as she should be) and multivitamins (weekly).
Any help on how to make him more tolerant of us and increase his appetite?
We have given him quite a variety including crickets, superworms, silkworms, BSF larva, dubia, kale and dandelion root (which he likes), hibiscus flowers and leaves (which he didn't seem to go for). If we leave some crickets in there, he doesn't seem to "hunt" for them. He always has been rather lazy and wants the food to come to him (which doesn't always happen, esp if we leave a dubia in there).
Any help is most welcome and appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Nathan
We have an approx 8 month old male veiled cham we got from PetSmart about 3 months ago. He started off just fine and the store said (true or not) that he never minded being held. He would usu eat 10 crickets out of my hand a day when we first got him. He seamed to get tired of crickets so we started a dubia colony. He did great on dubias for a while, then seemed to tire of them. At the same time, he has become less and less tolerant of us. I don't know if they can really tell the difference between people, but he feeds better from me than my wife and daughter, but I am away traveling a lot during the week and not always available for feeding. When we come in the room, he will often turn around and face the corner turning his back on us
Our enclosure is a 3 foot tall, 18 in square base screened in enclosure with a double-tall dome light with a UVB light and 150 watt ceramic heater in the dome.
We have a "monsoon generator" I have set to deliver between 50-60% humidity. The temp is around 100F at the "prime" basking spot, but he doesn't sit there often, but is at the side a lot more under the UVB. I have fashioned limbs from outside where I can be at essentially any level of the viv he wants so he should be able to regulate his temp well.
He loves "worms," but I don't want to use a lot of superworms for common reasons. I have a colony of Phoenix worms (black soldier fly larva) that he has gone for a lot in the past, too, but lately, he is only eating a couple out of my hand before he quits.
He still seems to be growing, and he sheds on average about once a month, just completing a shed.
It it bothersome also how he turns all dark as soon as we enter to room to feed him. He'll often his and lunge (never really bites) as we approach him with food, but he'll calm down a bit. Oddly, if we try any socialization getting him out, he'll brighten up fairly quickly.
I am really getting concerned about his not eating. I don't want him to die of starvation. Honestly, he doesn't look thin. No bone lesions to speak of suggesting MBD.
We dust with calcium (the wife isn't as good about this as she should be) and multivitamins (weekly).
Any help on how to make him more tolerant of us and increase his appetite?
We have given him quite a variety including crickets, superworms, silkworms, BSF larva, dubia, kale and dandelion root (which he likes), hibiscus flowers and leaves (which he didn't seem to go for). If we leave some crickets in there, he doesn't seem to "hunt" for them. He always has been rather lazy and wants the food to come to him (which doesn't always happen, esp if we leave a dubia in there).
Any help is most welcome and appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Nathan