Lazy even for a chamelion

[Lbrown]

I am new to this site because I have a breaded Pygmy chamelion. He's a sweet litte guy but we have a feeding problem. He eats well and has a healthy appetite but refuses to hunt down his food. I have to hold within range for him to grab it. He won't bother with anything if it's walking around or he has to move his body. This just seems odd to me. He loves walking all over the place in his terrarium but not to hunt. He just let's his food walk right past if I'm not keeping it from running. He loves silk worms because they don't crawl very fast. Any tips on how to get him to start hunting for himself?

Thanks

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum I don't have pygmys myself, but I think if he gets hungry enough he'll happily hunt a fruit fly.......how long have you tried leaving him without hand feeding him at all? Does he eat literally nothing if you don't hold it for him?

 

[Lbrown]

He will literally eat nothing. When I first got him he was a rather plump baby. His breeder called him slightly picky. The first week I had him he lost a lot of weight and I could see his ribs. I called the breeder and she told me about his odd eating habits. That's the reason she was selling him. She didn't have time for his pickiness. I really want to find a way to train him to hunt and eat when he's alone

 

[DavidBuchan]

Never heard of a story like that......I can't think of anything to suggest either. Maybe you'll just have to hand feed him all his life. I don't think there's any way you could train him. It's really something he should do by instinct. Cham parents don't need to teach them to hunt usually so it's not something I've thought about much......