My 6 week old yemen chameleon will not eat

allanandsophie

New Member
Hi,

I was wondering if anybody could help me out, i am new to looking after chameleons and i have got a 6 week old boy yemen chameleon. His colour looks brilliant and he is moving about freely but we put some crickets into his enclosure and he just walks past them and does not even attempt to eat them and this has been going on for days now. The person we got the chameleon off said he was eat everyday with her so i am a bit concern.

If anybody could help this would be much appreciated.
 
Chams usually don't eat the first few days after putting him in a new enclosure. Make sure his tank is well misted and to keep a constant drip.
 
i agree with the above i bought a male just over a week ago and it took him 3 days to eat.

imagine your entire life and home change in minutes. Its very stressfull on him adjusting to new environments and human traffic etc. mines just got used to us and doesnt run and hide.

i wouldnt worry when hes ready he will eat he just need to assess the situation and see its safe
 
Thank you, i will give it a couple more days, could it be that he is in a to large enclosure as the pet shop recomended this reptibreeze but we think its to large for the size he is.

Is it normal that they dont eat after being in a new enclosure?
 
The Reptibreeze is 61 x 61 x 122 Cm, if it is to big could you advise on what size to get him so he will be comfortable and will eat in please
 
In no chameleon expert but that sounds enormous from your little man but hopefully others will agree or disagree, size of your repti breeze is the size my 9 month female is in. My 4 month male is in a 45 x 45 x 60 till he's bigger and ill put him in a 4 ft high viv.

On the plus you will notice that when he starts to grow he will at an alarming rate. Try putting a couple of cup feeders in there with a slice of carrot or apple to keep the crickets there this way your chameleon can feed easier till he grows.

Are you in the uk?
 
What? Leave crickets in the cage? Too large an enclosure? Hold on a minute buddy. The size is fine. Secondly never leave crickets in an enclosure with a small cham. Crickets are vengeful and love to chew on chams during the night time. First things first... check the care sheet on this forum and make sure you are meeting the chams minimum environment requirement ie: temp, basking spot temp, humidity, water source, and day time night time cycles with uvb lighting. After you have all that in order, now we can focus on eating issues. Many little dudes get bothered after a relocation and go on hunger strikes. Give him a pinhead cricket, no bigger than the gap between his eyes. At six weeks most small size crickets will do. Let him hunt the cricket first, hand feeding comes later. Lastly avoid leaving the cricket in his cage at night time, chams sleep deeply at night and wont notice when a cricket sneaks up and bites them. Last thing to note is to avoid handling him until he gets over his stress hunger strike. Good luck and seek vet help if he begins to look sluggish or chills too much on the floor of the cage.
 
The basking Temprature is 24 and the lower side is 19.

We attempted to feed him a meal work yesturday but he just shyed away.

We noticed this moring that there are crickets right next to his leaf he sits on but he does not even go for them and we are wondering if something is wrong with him as we dont want him to get ill because he does not eat
 
Thats brilliant information thank you,

So basically the size is fine just remove the crickets from the cage he is in and then put in a pin head cricket just one and let him hunt it, if he doesnt eat it remove it at night.

The tempreature is 24 and 19 we have a all in one 100w bulb which has uvb and basking.

Simon I am in the UK and there are nurmeous shops giving me different information and its confusing me, some are saving move him again others are saying dont, He was eating perfectly the day we got him from the lady.

So what i will do is remove all the crickets and just place a pinhead in there.

As you say below they go on hunger strike when they get relocated do they get over this hunger strike?

He is only 10cm big.
 
sorry just to justify about a feeding pot and cage size as sounding enormous that Vigilant seemed to have taken offense to. I didnt realise that he was that big at 6 weeks ive alway had them at a few months old.

I agree that theres so much info of contridicting details. so im just telling you what i what ive learnt along the way and trying to offer help.

I had an Elliots around 8-10cm and he struggled to eat in the sized exo-terra mentioned above so i used hanging yoghurt pots to keep the food in till he got bigger. i know hes a different breed and requirements but im comparing size.

I also agree that crickets are nasty and will bite/attack your cham at night.

these are just ideas to try and help. however im sure people will disagree with any comment that is put on any thread. IMO chameleons have there own personality and different things work but i wouldnt move him again, and I second that if he doesnt start eating and shows weakness and lathargigic traits a trip to the vets may be advised.
 
I see that you are located in Bicester, if you guys get stuck there is a brilliant reptile store in Oxford, it's called Evolution Reptiles. The guys in there are brilliant and it's well worth the drive over. I am located not far from you :) If he is only 6 weeks I am assuming you have small crickets?
 
Hello I have never had a yemen chameleon but that does sound really big I have two Jackson that live in a 45cm by 45cm by 91cm tall. Could you post pics and maybe we could help you better.
 
Thanks for all the advice,

I went to the shop in oxford and took my little one in there and they said he was mis sold to me is is in fact 2 months old and is not 6 weeks and the viv we have him in is okay for him, We also noticed that his temprature is not correct so we brought another heat source lamp and the temp has now gone up to 30c and he is drinking now which we have not seen before but he still will not eat a thing.

The cup idea you suggested is a brilliant idea but how do you get the crickets to stay in the cup?
 
When I used it I placed a piece of fruit/veg in it I've found apple works best. Now the temperatures changed etc I'm sure hell pick up they go lathargic in colder temperatures. You could also try small hoppers as well as they aren't as fast as crickets. If the crickets are to fast then I've heard putting them in the fridge for a short time will slow them down (not tried this though)

All this could help, but it may just be that he has had a stressful few days and he just need to be left along my girl has been preparing and now started to a shed and hasn't eaten in nearly a week so I'm starting to worry a little.
 
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