Male Veiled not eating

bongrod269

bongrod269

New Member
One of my male veileds is not eating. It has almost been about 9 days since his last meal. I read on other websites that if they are very well fed they can get picky and loose interest in certain foods. he was eating about 14 crickets every other day. Any suggestions or concerns about him or his enclosure. I have noticed recently he has been rubbing one of his eye on a branch every now and then. Some pics are below of the habitat and him. I have a misting system that goes off 7 times a day. I had him in a bigger cage but when he stopped eating i tried this one to make hunting a little easier. What should i do :confused:



http://i29.tinypic.com/bhyh3t.jpg
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Have you tried cup feeding with some different type feeders? Has he had a fecal lately? He could have parasites. You have a really good chameleon vet, Dr. Alfonso in Orlando. I would be worried sick if one of mine had not eat in 10 days.
 
Last edited:
supplement concern

Hello. As well as jannb I'd recommend the fecal and the veterinary visit (as well as the appropiate deworming).

I noticed that you didn't told us if you offer some supplement (as vitamin/mineral supplement), do you?

I´m a veterinarian oriented to reptiles and I used to work for a chameleon breeder here in Mexico. He used to have the same problem from time to time with some of the larger veiled males. We figured that the case was that the supplement he offered was not suitable for their chameleons needs. Perhaps that is your case. My main concern would be the eye problem (maybe related to A vitamin), because I have seen these kind of problems progress to worse. Hope it's not the case.

Greetings from Mexico.

Saludos desde México.

P.S. Sorry for my english, I haven't had enough practice lately.
 
How old is he? I looked at the pictures first and then read what you had to say...and the eyes were the first thing that struck me.

You said you put him in a smaller cage so he could hunt easier...is he having trouble getting/catching the insects?

What supplements (please be specific) do you use and how often with each one? What brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear, etc.) UVB light do you use? Does he ever get direct sunlight (that does not pass through glass or plastic)? Have you changed lights/supplements recently? What specifically do you use to gutload/feed the insects?
 
Is it me, or is his casque quite big (as in fat)? How old is he? My veiled will have maybe 4-5 crickets or locusts every other day, and some days when he's eaten a lot he may just wait a few days. Is it possible (theory here) that he could just be 'full'?
 
I dont think hes full after 9 days.

Try the cupfeeding idea with a variation of feeders.

Also, as I just wrote about it in another thread I can write it again, I have had great success with increasing the light. Daylight tubes are great, I also use cheaper low energy bulbs. In some cases I have had great luck with putting the chameleon in the sun with a feeding cup.

He doesnt look ill in any way as of now. If it wont start eating, you should consult a reptile vet.
 
I have been dusting about every other feeding. I just read about that i should only dust them about once a week because it can raise dangerous using it to much. He used to be by my window and would get the morning sun. For calcium i use Rep-Cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with Vit.D3, for Multivitamins i use Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene. He used to eat SOOO much food. He is very active and is always moving around his cage. He has no problem hunting but when i put the crickets in he is not interested at all, he just stares a them. my guess he is about a year and a half. He does have a belly compared to my other males. I have the times on from 8 to 8 every day and the misting timer every hour and a half or so. He had some droppings today but it was all white and it was small. It didn't have any structure at all. I use 1 bulb for him and it is Exo-terra Neodium that produces UV rays as well as heat. I just ordered silk worms, phoenix worms and butter worms. If he doesn't eat tomorrow im taking him to the vet it is just hard because i don't have a lot of money for it. He is also drinking every other day from a dripper. He is acting completely normal but he just isn't eating and i am worried sick!
 
bongrod269 said:
I use 1 bulb for him and it is Exo-terra Neodium that produces UV rays as well as heat.
Click to expand...

It may not be causing your current problem but you will need a better light setup to prevent future problems. You need a fluorescent bulb for UV and another bulb for heat. You should get a repti-sun 5.0 for UV and a standard 60 watt normally works well for basking depending on the size of the enclosure.
Address you eating problem right away, but this should immediately follow.
 
ncosper said:
It may not be causing your current problem but you will need a better light setup to prevent future problems. You need a fluorescent bulb for UV and another bulb for heat. You should get a repti-sun 5.0 for UV and a standard 60 watt normally works well for basking depending on the size of the enclosure.
Address you eating problem right away, but this should immediately follow.
Click to expand...

I dont see any need for what you recommend. If the bulb is actually producing heat and UV (and we can only know what we are told here) more heat and UV is hardly something that is obviously lacking.
 
I just went out and got the UV bulb you recommended. It is night here so im going to try it in the morning. Ill let you know what happens.
 
Do you have a substrate in the cage? You said that there is no brown poop...just urates...coming out of him...so I'm wondering if it could be an impaction?

You said..."I have been dusting about every other feeding. I just read about that i should only dust them about once a week because it can raise dangerous using it to much"...from supplements, D3 and preformed vitamin A are the two that you have to worry about building up in the system.

You said..."He used to be by my window and would get the morning sun"...sunlight that passes through glass is not going to provide any useful UVB.

You said..."For calcium i use Rep-Cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with Vit.D3, for Multivitamins i use Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene"...its usually recommended that the insects be dusted at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder, twice a month with the vitamin powder you mentioned and twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. The insects should also be gutloaded/fed a nutritious diet. Crickets, roaches, superworms can be fed a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.).

Phos., calcium, D3 and vitamin A are all important players in bone health and important in other systems in the chameleon as well and they need to be in balance. You need to look at what you feed the chameleon, what you feed the insects and what you supplement when trying to attain a balance.

The most commonly recommended UVB bulb is the long linear tube fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0. A regular household incandescent bulb (in a hood) of a wattage that provides the right temperature in the basking area is all that is needed for heat.
 
I feed the crickets lettuce, grains, carrots, cubed water, potatoes, squash and sometimes bananas. I had no idea UV rays do not pass through glass. Where do you guys recommenced getting greens for crickets. I go to the major food stores but no one has any idea if they pesticides. I just put a UV tube bulb i bought from pets mart last night. Im going to try to feed him in 30 min and hopefully ill have some luck.
 
Yeahhhhhhhh he just ate!!! Only 5 crickets but its better than nothing. Thanks for everyones help :)... Not enough UV ways definitely the problem.
 
Glad to hear that he ate something! Lets hope he is back on track!

I get the greens at the local grocery stores or markets. If they are fit for human consumption, then they should be safe for the chameleons too.

For supplements, I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder (Rep-cal) to help make up for the often poor ratio of calcium to phos. in the insects that are used as feeders.

I dust twice a month with Herptivite which has a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A...so it can't build up in the system. However there is controversy about whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene to vitamin A so some people give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while just to make sure that the chameleon gets some. PrEformed vitamin A can build up in the system and prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD though, so its important not to over do it.

I also dust lightly with Rep-Cal/D3 twice a month. D3 from supplements can build up in the system too...so don't overdo it.
 
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