Just wondering

[Taylor0602]

Ok ihave a 1 month old cham whos a male. I love him so much its weird how bonded he is, because when i stick my arm in the cage i dont even have to grab him he just jumps on haha. anyways hes great but i never ever see him eat or drink he just sits in front of the uvb lamp for hours. I dono if its normal but he has a perfect body and color, he seems to be hydrated because his skin is tight and hes extremely fast. Im just wondering does he eat when im not looking, like does he leave the light and eat then come right back, same with drinking. i just dont know if i should try hand feeding him or if he is eating. theres not really any problems with him im just scarred i dont want to do anything wrong. Oh and i put about 10 crickets dusted in at a time and they seem to like to stick to the walls in the top of my screen cage do you think he can see these or should i knock them down or something? Thanks T bro. )

 

[flyty808]

im guessing you just got him recently huh?

 

[Pilotman800]

Count how many crickets you put in and see if any are missing. If any are missing, he is probably eating. If you think he is having trouble finding them, try cupfeeding and handfeeding. Get a cup, put the crickets in, and hold it in front of him or put it in the cage. How long ago did you get him?

Fill this form out so we can answer your questions better.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[Taylor0602]

Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, 1 month, And 1 week
Handling - Only once a day when i try to show him im puting food in the cage
Feeding - Crickets 10 a day and i have orange flukers calcium jelly stuff
Supplements - every time i put crickets in i dust them withrepcal herpative and repcal calcium.
Watering - Dripper all day and night i didnt htink i had to mist a veiled since i have drip, and i have never seen him drink
Fecal Description - never been tested i got him from flchams
History - He seems great in color and is never lethargic and has tight skin

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen cage 24x24x36
Lighting - 12 hours a day of powersun uvb in deep dome and black heat light at night.
Temperature - 90 all day at top 80 at bottum never below 75 at night
Humidity -not quite sure
Plants - fake
Placement - my ceilings are 25ft tall haha and its in my reptile room
Location - suwanne georgia
:0 hahahahah

 

[Taylor0602]

im guessing you just got him recently huh?

Yes i got him about 1 week ago from flcham

 

[Pilotman800]

Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, 1 month, And 1 week
Handling - Only once a day when i try to show him im puting food in the cage
Feeding - Crickets 10 a day and i have orange flukers calcium jelly stuff A cham that old should be eating 15-20 crickets per day. Flukers orange cubes are good for hydration, but need to be used in addition with other things. Check out Sandrachameleons blog on gutloading. Some recommended gutloads are apples, butternut squash, carrots, mango, dandelion leaves, oranges, sweet potato, and much more.
Supplements - every time i put crickets in i dust them withrepcal herpative and repcal calcium. Chameleons need regular calcium WITHOUT D3 every day, calcium WITH d3 twice a month, and a multivitamin twice a month as well. Make sure you are NOT giving calcium WITH d3 every day.
Watering - Dripper all day and night i didnt htink i had to mist a veiled since i have drip, and i have never seen him drink Just a dripper isn't really enough. You should mist around 2-3 times per day for a few minutes each mist.
Fecal Description - never been tested i got him from flchams
History - He seems great in color and is never lethargic and has tight skin

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen cage 24x24x36
Lighting - 12 hours a day of powersun uvb in deep dome and black heat light at night. At night they need darkness. No night light. Does he have a basking light? I assume so since the top of his enclosure is around 90.
Temperature - 90 all day at top 80 at bottum never below 75 at night 90 is a little bit hot for such a youngin. Try and get it a few degrees cooler. How many watts is his basking light?
Humidity -not quite sure
Plants - fake
Placement - my ceilings are 25ft tall haha and its in my reptile room
Location - suwanne georgia
:0 hahahahah

Yes i got him about 1 week ago from flcham

My answers are in red. Could you upload a picture of him and his cage please? It would be really helpful.

If you've only had him a week, chances are that he needs to settle in before he will eat. It is completely normal that when chams are introduced into a new environment, they won't eat for awhile.

 

[Elizadolots]

You'll be getting some comments on husbandry, you're a bit off what is normally recommended by this board.

Has he pooped since you got him?

It's not unusual for chameleons to be shy about eating so he might well be waiting until he thinks he's alone.

 

[Taylor0602]

ohh i see

ok i didnt know d3 only that little. what calcium brand should i get for him. oh and how many crickets should i keep in the cage since he needs so many per day? i will try to upload a photo im not sure how to but ill try

 

[Pilotman800]

ok i didnt know d3 only that little. what calcium brand should i get for him. oh and how many crickets should i keep in the cage since he needs so many per day? i will try to upload a photo im not sure how to but ill try

Theres a somewhat new product called Repashy Calcium Plus which actually has ALL in one that is designed to be used every day. That way you don't need to worry about scheduling d3 and all that.

As for the crickets, have you tried cupfeeding? Get a cup and put the crickets in it. You can either leave the cup in his cage, or hold it up to him. This way you can more or less keep track of how much he is eating.

 

[Taylor0602]

Ok i think ill order that today and i have not tryed cup feeding should i leave the cup at the bottum of the cage or maybe zip tie it to a branch. oh and i have dusted d3 for a week do you think he is dying. i should have learned more before i purchased him but at least i found this sight before it was to late so thanks for helping me

 

[Elizadolots]

Ok i think ill order that today and i have not tryed cup feeding should i leave the cup at the bottum of the cage or maybe zip tie it to a branch. oh and i have dusted d3 for a week do you think he is dying. i should have learned more before i purchased him but at least i found this sight before it was to late so thanks for helping me

I would zip tye it to a branch. One week of d3 won't be harmful, especially for a young one.

 

[Pilotman800]

Yeah one week won't be harmful.

Just a random tip, you should take your cham out for sun whenever you feel like it. Its VERY good for them. No imitations are better than the sun itself. You'll see your cham turn some awesome shades of color in natural sunlight.

 

[Shimpy45]

When i first got my Vield "Zem" i just put his crixs in a cup showed it to him he seen it and was stoked i put it at the bottom of his cage inbettween two branches wedged in there in a spot where he could see it from where he was shut the door and off he went was eating them in no time and now anytime he see's the plastic cut he sways back and forth out of exsitemet.. i drilled some 1/4th holes in the bottom of my cup to let extra water if it got in the cup drain due to my crixs drowning a few times... wich this happens easly when you mist 3 or 4 times a day but make sure to drill down into the inside of the cup and not up throw the bottme for it kinda makes the one side kinda pointy and you dont want him spiking his tounge on one now..