Is he eating...? New owner, please help!

[Seffers93]

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Jackson’s Chameleon, male, age unknown. I’ve had the chameleon for three days.
• Handling – I handle him about twice a day
• Feeding – So far, I have been feeding him about five or six crickets per day along with a few meal worms. I feed the crickets Rep-Cal Cricket Food and Fluker’s Cricker Quencher.
• Supplements – I dust the crickets with Fluker’s calcium with vitamin D-3. I’ve done this once so far. I’ve read to do so about twice a week.
• Watering - I have a humidifier that produces cool vapor with a hose running to the top of the cage. I runs for 15 minutes every hour. I spray the cage with a spray bottle about two or three times a day. I have yet to see him drink any.
• Fecal Description - unknown
• History – unknown. Purchased from PetSmart.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – The cage is a 36 x 18 x 16 aquarium with a screened lid.
• Lighting – I use a 40watt Zilla day bulb and a 26watt Repti Glo 5.0 UVB bulb along with a 100watt All Living Things infrared heat bulb. I run the day bulb and UVB bulb for 12 hours per day. And the infrared 24-7.
• Temperature – I use two thermometers (one on each side of the cage). During the day, the cool side is at 75 degrees and the basking spot is at 80 degrees. At night, both thermometers read 75 degrees.
• Humidity – The humidity is kept between 70% and 80%. I use a cool humidifier with a hose ran to the top of the cage. It runs for 15 minutes every hour. I spray the cage with water two or three times a day.
• Plants – I’m not using live plants.
• Placement – The cage is in my basement which is finished. It’s about three feet off the ground. I have a small fan that kicks on with the humidifier so some of it is blown away and doesn’t all go into the cage.
• Location – I’m located in Illinois. Right in the center.

Current Problem – Hello everyone, my girlfriend and I purchased a jackson's chameleon three days ago from our local PetSmart. I wasn't told how old the little guy is. I just know that's it's a male.
His cage is much bigger than what the store offered him, and we filled it with everything a chameleon could ask for.
There's a lot of branches, vines, lots of greenery and "chill spots", even a waterfall!
The only bad thing about all of this stuff is I can't tell if he is eating or not. I would dump five or six crickets in each day the first two days I had him. I only saw him grab up two of them off of the leaves. However, there is so much stuff in the cage, for all I know, the other crickets could just be hiding. Or he could've gobbled them down. I can't be sure, and it worries me. So I put a dish in the cage about three or four inches tall so the crickets can't jump out, hoping I could tell if he was eating or not. The only time he ate out of it, I was holding him and pointed his face towards the dish so he could see the crickets inside. He ate two of them while I was holding him, but nothing since. I tried to hand feed him, but he wouldn't accept the crickets from my fingers, and the crickets jumped from my grasp and into the cage, so they are no longer in the dish. I'm having the same problems with mealworms.

Any suggestions??? I'm very concerned!!!
Thanks guys!!!

 

[Seffers93]

Just thought I would add something.
As soon as I posted this, I went over to his cage and saw him licking up water droplets from the leaves =)

 

[camimom]

Welcome!
dont handle him so much, he needs time to settle in.
if you post photos of him, we can guesstimate his age for you.
you are over suplementing. jacksons dont need that much.
you need a calcium WITHOUT d3 for once to twice a week.
calcium with d3 once a month
multivitamin once a month to every 6 weeks.
thats alot of lighting in his cage, be careful he doesnt start shutting his eyes.
also, get rid of that infrared bulb, 1- he doesnt need it, and 2- they need DARKNESS to sleep at night. NO LIGHTS AT NIGHT.

remove that waterfall, they wont drink from it, and it can breed bacteria. if he falls in it, he could drown, if a bug gets in it, and it has bacteria, and he eats it, he can get sick. just not worth it.
dont feed alot of mealworms, they have a hard exoskeleton, which can cause impaction possibly.
if hes closer to an adult, he wont eat as much, so 5-6 bugs a day may be too much for him.
hope this helps./

 

[carol5208]

do you mean aquarium as in fish tank or terrarium? There is a difference with the ventilation. Fish tanks are a no no. But then again, I have never seen an aquarium with those dimensions so I am hoping it is a terrarium!

 

[Seffers93]

Thank you guys! Every little bit helps
And Carol, I'm not too sure I know the difference. It's all glass except for the lid.
I don't think it's good for him though.
I'm looking at one online.. It's an all screen cage. 24 x 24 x 48
Would that one be better for him?

 

[camimom]

yes it would.
as an adult that is waht he will need.

 

[Seffers93]

Here's a picture of the little guy!

 

[camimom]

hes cute!
he loooks to be almost a year old.

 

[Elizadolots]

Are there ventilation holes near the bottom? Typically that's what happens in a terrarium: small holes along the front, near the bottom, screened top. If that's the case there should be enough ventilation.

I use a 40watt Zilla day bulb and a 26watt Repti Glo 5.0 UVB bulb along with a 100watt All Living Things infrared heat bulb.

I'm assuming the infrared bulb is for night use. You should not use any light source at night. Not red, not blue, nothing. Let the enclosure cool down at night. I would only consider adding a heat source if it gets under 50 degrees for most of the night (if the coolest temperature is 50, that's fine). If it were that cold, I would get a ceramic heat emitter. Those screw into the same fixture as the bulb but just give off heat.

 

[Seffers93]

Thank you very much!
One more thing. He does close his eyes/sleep during the day. Not very much, but it does happen.
I took out the waterfall and got rid of the infrared light the moment I read the replies.
Any ideas?

 

[camimom]

if youve had that night light on him at night, it may be interuppting his sleep schedule.
how are you measuring your basking temps?
how close is his uvb bulb to his basking branch?
can we see apic o fhis enclosure please?

 

[Seffers93]

I have seen him up during the night a couple times. Hopefully his sleeping pattern is just a little off.
I would say the UVB bulb is about 10 - 12 inches from the top of the cage.
Here's a couple pictures of the setup.
The UVB bulb is in the bigger lamp on the left.

 

[camimom]

You plan to get him out of that FISH tank asap right?

that UVB bulb should be closer to him, but your whole set up is wrong.

 

[Seffers93]

Yes. ASAP
What should I change once I get the new cage?

 

[Seffers93]

And what should I change for now until I get the new cage?

 

[camimom]

Yes. ASAP
What should I change once I get the new cage?

the plants and stuff you can keep.
you want a screen cage taller than it is wide.
2ftx2ftx4ft is great.
i would get a tube style uvb light, so that more of teh cage will get the uvb rays.
lots and lots of plants for him to crawl on.
and maybe get two basking lights, and put in different corners, have the bulbs be two different wattages, so there are two different temps, so he can freely move from one to another.
do not place the basking bulbs directly on mesh, as if he touches it, he can get burned.

 

[Seffers93]

The cage I'm ordering is 24 x 24 x 48, and all screen.
I will definitely get the tube style UVB light.
Thank you so much for your help!