Male veiled feeding patterns

[filius_peter]

well, my just a week over 3 month old veil has erratic feeding patterns. its not even that. he is too lazy and doesnt go around hunting for crickets in the cage. i dont know how good his eyesight is either. and he is too terrified of me, so even when i watch him from outside his cage, and dont make any fast movements, he just keeps staring at me and doesent do anything.

anyways.. i tried to feed him crickets in a bowl but he doesnt eat them. maybe he doesnt recognize them in a bowl? how do i get him to eat?

thanks for the replies..

 

[Brad Ramsey]

How long has this been going on?
Is he otherwise healthy?
He may just be in a stage between growing spurts, try giving him a waxworm.
Mine cannot refuse them, but I limit him to one or two a week.
It might wake up his appetite. I just put one on a branch in the enclosure and it usually takes about 10 seconds for that worm to be history.
I think it is also normal for these guys to be a little shy at a young age.

-Brad

 

[Heika]

I have had good success with bowl feeding by running a stick out of the bowl to a favorite basking area in the chameleon's cage. The crickets will run up the stick and the chameleon will shoot them off the stick. Eventually, you can take out the stick. Or, you could make a feed bowl that has screen running up the back. Here is an article in Chameleon News about that: http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/jan2003/hints/hints.html

Heika

 

[kinyonga]

You said he doesn't actively hunt for crickets...so I assume he spends most of the day just sitting in one spot...if so, that is not a good sign. Young veileds are usually fairly active.

Does he sit with his eyes closed during the daytime?
What do you mean that you don't know if his eyesight is good or not?

What is the temperature in the basking area? The ambient temperature? If a chameleon is not warm enough, it slows down the digestive process and he may not be hungry like he should be.

Are you gutloading the insects that you feed him? Do you have a UVB light on his cage? Does the light from it pass through glass or plastic? Do you supplement/dust the insects before feeding them to him? With what? How often?

Do you have a substrate in the cage? Does he poop?

How do you provide water for him? How often? Do you see him drink?

 

[filius_peter]

You said he doesn't actively hunt for crickets...so I assume he spends most of the day just sitting in one spot...if so, that is not a good sign. Young veileds are usually fairly active.

-- well he does move around. but not too much. i have seen him run for a cricket from the top of his tree to the ground fairly quick before but he doesnt do that anymore.

Does he sit with his eyes closed during the daytime? -- No. I would be really worried then.

What do you mean that you don't know if his eyesight is good or not?
-- I meant how good the species' eyesight is. Do they see clearly or just sharp movements? What is the range of their eyesight? How good is it in the dark etc. I just want to know if he isnt going for the crickets on the other side of the cage coz he doesnt see them or what?

What is the temperature in the basking area? - I have a 40w basking lamp in one and right now a normal 70 watt lamp in the other coz my other 40w basking lamp broke. The temp under the 40 w where he hangs out is about 32 C/ 90 F. The ambient temperature is around 28 c/ 82 F. What wattage shud i get? Is the ambient temp too high?


Are you gutloading the insects that you feed him? -- No.

Do you have a UVB light on his cage? -- Yes

Does the light from it pass through glass or plastic? -- Nothing. the light is inside the cage. If you mean if the tube light is made of glass or plastic, its a lomg glass mercury white light.

Do you supplement/dust the insects before feeding them to him? -- Yes

With what? How often? - Reptivite Zoomed reptile vitamins and.. Calcium. alternatively each day.

Do you have a substrate in the cage? -- Yes tree bark. Does he poop? -- I havent seen him poop but i havent watched him all day so i dont know.

How do you provide water for him? -- yes there is a dripper that is on for at least 20 mins (10 x 2 ) each day. How often?

Do you see him drink? -- Yes. but not recently.