My 3 month old veiled chameleon has stopped eating

[Rango black]

Hi all, I'm new to owning a chameleon and also new to this forum. I wondered if anyone could give me some advice. My 3 month old male chameleon that I've had for 2-3 weeks now has stopped eating for 3 days, he still drinks plenty of water and seems quite energetic still. What could this be that makes him stop eating all of a sudden?

 

[sulley]

he may be due a shed

 

[Rango black]

I didn't realise this is what they done, I have noticed his skin looks quite dry maybe that's what he's about to do. Thanks for the help.

 

[sulley]

yeah some can lose there apptite before a shed but just incase theres another reason it would be good for you to fill this out.just to make sure all ok.

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.

 

[Rango black]

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled chameleon, 3 months old, male, been in my care for about 3 weeks.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I have him out about 3 times a week for about half an hour at a time.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed him 4 locusts in the morning and 2 when I get home at 5pm and another 2 about 7, I gut load the locusts with carrot peelings. I give him the occasional mealworm.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Nutrobal calcium and viteman d3 I dust his food twice a week.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist the vivarium for about a minute in the morning and the same at 5pm and again at 7. Sometimes he lick leaves that don't have water so I get water in a straw and let him lick the droplets.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. His feces is black with a bit of white in it.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I don't know the answer to this but it was bred in this country.
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? The viv is 4ft tall and 2ft wide, it's wooden with vents and glass sliding doors.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptiglo 5.0 uv light and reptiglow 100w heat lamp that come on at 7 and go off at 7.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Hottest part of viv is 79 degrees Fahrenheit and the coldest is about 67. I have 3 digital thermostats in different locations.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is usually about 30% but can drop to about 19 throughout the day.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No live plants yet.
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? The viv is currently on the floor as I'm awaiting furniture to sit it on. It is in the corner away from direct sunlight radiators and fans.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. My chameleon stopped eating 3 days ago, although still drinks plenty of water.

 

[sulley]

do you only gutload with carrot?do you use anything else as they need much more than this.
you want to try and just feed him the first half of the day.eating at 7pm is late imo especially if his lights go off at 7pm also.undigested food in his tummy overnight isnt good..you want him to have fully digested the food properly during the day.
other than misting do you have a dripper so he can have a chance to drink between mistings??
19% is way to low and 30% humidity is too low during the day.how long is it like this for?also how high does it get after you have misted?? the humidity needs to spike about 3/4times a day and be between 40% & 70%.
his basking spot should be about 82f and ambient should be about 72-75f
how do you feed him??

take a look at this https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[Rango black]

Yes I have only been gut loading carrot, and I have a dripper but I don't think he uses it. In the morning I put 4 locusts in his cage and when I come home I feed him the others by hand. The other day the 4 I put in we're still there when I came home so I took them out. What's the best way to get the humidity up and keep it up?

 

[Rango black]

I ment to say also it doesn't usually go higher than 30%

 

[sulley]

the humidity is a problem.my advise would be.buy some live plants as they hold humidity longer.ficus & umbrella plant is what i have.when i mist mine reaches 85% and 3hrs later it drops to 50% then i mist.i dont let mine get below 50%.i mist 3-4 times a day.at night & when i wake up in the morning its at 41%.you should mist for longer say 5-6mins.it may seem like overkill but it will dry up soon and help your humidity issues.30% is just too low and eventually he will become ill.you need it to spike to 80ish.you can get auto mist systems,so take a look at them.this needs to be sorted right away for your chams sake.you should be gutloading with more than carrot.i gutload with savoy cabbage,dandilion leaves,rocket,spring greens,apple,mango,dried cranberries,oranges,cucumber,bug grub.please dont take this the wrong way but its great that your asking for help but how much research did you do before you purchased your cham??

can you post a pic of your setup please
im really worried thats all
also your feeders arent being gutloaded properly.
the humidity is way off
the temps are not correct either
we will help you the best we can to get on track.

have you tried him on crickets? also how big is his food?

so if you buy 1 or 2 live plants that will help with humidity alot,but check here on the safe plants list first before you purchase any https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/gerhartrx/523-chameleon-safe-plants.html.the umbrella plant & ficus (weeping fig) are popular and hold water droplets well.

try misting 5-6 mins each time once the humidity gets to 40%

get a auto mister system as the humidity needs to be in the correct % whilst you are not home.

up his basking temp to 82-85f if its too warm and he gapes just drop it a little till his comfortable.

gutload with more than carrot its just not enough.take a look here for ideas https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/

i rarely see my cham drink but going buy his poos he is so still use the dripper .

 

[Rango black]

I really appreciate all your advice, I did do a bit of research but there seems to be tons of info on this I never knew and I feel the reptile shop that gave me him told me nothing. I haven't tried him on crickets. I will upload a picture once I'm home and sort out his humidity straight away. The locusts are small, I pick out the smallest ones in the box because I'm scared he'll choke on bigger ones.

 

[sulley]

forget what they told you,but your in the right place now.yeah my cham is 4 months old and i only feed him crickets & fruit flys as i feel locusts are a tad big for mine yet.you get way more crickets for your money than locusts also.
the humidity is very important and cant drop below 40% during the day and only at night.
i dust my live food with nutrobal 1 day a week and plain calcium (i use exo terra) 6 days a week.
i feed my guy at 9am & 12am.mine doesnt like to eat his food all at once.

if he is due to shed and your humidity doesnt increase he will have big problems.
later just mist for longer and see how high it gets and see how long it takes to drop.also make sure you mist with very warm water and not cold.also how are you measureing your humidity? and where are you measuring it from?

you can buy some dry gutload from pet shops.i use bug grub.but they also need fresh fruit and veg.all the goodness is going into your little guy without this there pretty much nothing

also please post a pic of your little guy as if his humidity is low he may be suffering from dehydration.

 

[Kate]

I agree with sulley. Nutrabol once a week and plain calcium without d 3 every feed. I use komodo cricket dust. I don't dust silkworms. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Kate]

Sulley have you tried yours on micro locusts and curly winged flys? My baby loves them.

 

[Rango black]

I have just came home there and he's started shedding, I've uploaded a picture of his setup.

 

[sulley]

not tried them as where i am all micro feeders are hard to get hold of.i will look online and see if i can get hold of some.i was thinking of offering some locusts in a month or 2 when my little guys older ,but now i know you can get micro ones ill take a look.thanks kate

 

[Rango black]

Meet rango. I hope no one thinks I neglect him or anything, I give him most of my attention, especially the last 3 days. There's just a lot I need to find out for him. I have 2 digital hygrometers and an Eco terra dial one. I sprayed his viv there with warm water and got it to 51%

 

[sulley]

well i think rango looks fine and very cute..i thought it may have been due to shedding its normal so dont worry.some do go off there food.51% is still not enough.just keep misting whilst you watch the hygrometer and stop when it reaches 80% then post back how many mins it took.you only need 1 hygrometer.make sure its placed hanging in the middle centre.you may be measuring in the wrong place? i did at first.easily done
aww i dont think your neglecting him.you have just been given some wrong advise.your in the right place now so thats all that matters.so lets try and get the humidity up.once you get a live plant in there you will see such a difference trust me.2 would be much better but you can see how 1 goes.make sure his viv completely dries between mistings.let me know how the next misting goes.keeping his humidity up will help with his shed.try and keep it above 40%.
your basking bulb isnt good.it shouldnt be inside.its exposed and he could get badly burnt.also i see his basking branch is quite far away from the basking bulb.he needs to be closer say 8 inches below the bulb.my suggestion would be to cut out the roof leaving 2-3inches edging and mesh it.its quite cheap from b&q.the bulb has to be on the outside not inside.the mesh roof will be good for air flow too as chams need good ventilation.im getting a wooden viv soon and putting a mesh roof ontop and putting in alot more vents.do you have anything to put the viv ontop of as they like to be up high? id put in some more vents too like the ones it already has.you can get some off ebay cheap enough.



have you tried cup feeding?
my alfie wont eat from anywhere but my hands lol hes not interested in a cup.all are different.

you need 2 or 3 digital thermometers.1 placed under where he basks,another placed in the middle centre and if you want a 3rd (i dont) but you can have it at the bottom.
also get his basking spot to 82-85f.
upto you but i have a habistat dimming thermostat on my basking lamp.so i can control the temp from the bulb.i wouldnt be without mine and if i didnt my temps would be all over the place.

 

[Rango black]

I bought a weeping fig plant yesterday and put it in, it took me about 3 1/2 minutes to reach 80% When misting.And I've been monitoring it. He wouldn't take any locusts today but he took 3 meal worms, I know there not exactly good for him so I'm going to get him crickets. I also put melon, lettuce and apple in for the locusts and worms.

I can't seem to see any misting systems on the Internet.

 

[Rango black]

Also ment to say, I've been thinking about taking the wooden roof off, but I'm not worried at the moment because there's no way he could come into direct contact with the bulb. I put up that background thinking it would make him feel more comfortable but I think it's confusing him because he keeps trying to grab it.

 

[sulley]

how long does it take to drop to 40% once you hit 80%?? you will have to play around a bit to get it right.the main thing is to get it right.what are your temps now?
great news that you have a live plant.i can assure you it will help.
heres a few misting systems.hubba mist,mist king,exo terra monsoon.check some classifieds as someone maybe selling it cheaper.imo they are dear but saving money isnt a bad thing.you can set them to go off say every hour or 2 for say 3-4 mins.this will really help you.check them out.yeah i dont feed mealworms at all personally.i stay clear of them.there not all that good.once my little guys a bit bigger i will give him 2-3 wax worms or wax worm moths a month.remember there ok in small doses.i would order the crickets and stop feeding the meal worms.many people i know have had there chams go on a hungerstrike due to being fed too many meal worms so be careful.he will be fine.chams can go quite a few days without food but you need to make sure hes drinking.im a stay at home mum so im lucky that i can monitor my cham all the time.when are you getting the crickets?? id say dont feed him for a day and get his hunger up.then offer crickets and see if he takes a fancy to them.

personally i would take the background off.hes needs to be able to bask closer to the bulb and the uv bulb too so it really needs to be on the outside.also by having it on the inside your taking up his space that he would prefer to have.you need a branch 8 inches below the bulb for a good basking distance.i have my ficus under my basking light so he can climb the leaves etc and he has different basking distances.you need him to be able to choose where he sits and not limit him to only a few places.try some bamboo its about £4 in b&q for loads and drill long screws into either sides of it and make him more pathways.