My baby veiled chameleon isnt eating ):

[MarqueeLynn]

I brought home Pascal 12 days ago. I got him from petco. He hasn't eaten and I can see his ribs now. His skin looks a little dry but I have a humidifier it keeps his cage at about 75 to 90 percent. I mist him twice a day and have a dropper set up. I have tried feeding him live crickets, dead flukers crickets, and meal worms and he just won't eat. He stays in the same spot and as of lately he hasn't opened his eyes much. He was the smallest one in the cage at petco. Am I doing something wrong? Please help!

 

[xcrystalx]

hi there so sorry to hear your chams not doing to good.

could you please fill this out for us and post a pic of your chameleon and his setup if possible.
just so we can get a clearer picture of his setup,supplements etc

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.

 

[MarqueeLynn]

Pascal is a male baby veiled chameleon unsure of his exact age, I've had him 12 days today. We handle him once or twice daily to check him out and make sure he's okay. Never longer than 10 minutes unless he falls asleep on my finger. I tried feeding him flukers crickets dusted with a calcium vitamin d supplement but he won't touch them. I've also tried live crickets gut loaded but still no interest. I gave him meal worms broken into smaller pieces dusted with the calcium supplement but still I haven't seen him eat even one. I'm unsure of the brand right now I'm at work I will update that asap. I mist twice daily and have a little dripper set up. I've seen him drink a few times, maybe 3 or 4. His fecal matter is very light in color and he has been going fairly regularly. He hasn't been tested in my care for parasites yet. Unsure if they tested him at petco. He was in a smaller cage with other baby veiled chams but he was the smallest of all the chams.
His cage is a medium sized zoo med reptibreeze open air aluminum screen cage. The dimensions are 16 x 16 x 30. He has a large tree stump and artificial vines to climb. Did have fake plant but took them out yesterday to clean and cut off pointy ends on the leaves. I have a uv daylight unsure of wattage and brand right now. Also have a uvb light and a night time light. I change the lights out around 8 each morning and 7 each evening.his temps range from 75 to 90 being 75 the night time lowest temp. I do have a thermometer to measure temp and a gage to measure humidity. Humidity ranges from 70 % to 90 % and I use a warm air humidifier. No live plants due to uncertainty of the plants in my area of living. The cage is in my room about 12 inches off the ground. Not much disturbance unless my dogs walk in and out of the room. I live in Wyoming in the usa but will be moving to Texas at the end of the month.
I'm concerned because he won't eat and I can now see.his ribs. He pooped on himself last night and has stayed in the same spot for about 2 days. He seems to be either having trouble opening his eyes or he's just basking an awful lot. Also when he climbs the vines he seems to not know where he's going and he sometimes grabs onto himself. Will post a pic of him and his enclosure asap

 

[MarqueeLynn]

it was hard to get a pic while he was basking

 

[zsazsa85]

Hi there,
I'm so sorry to hear your baby is sick..
Well I everything you said, how your baby acts, means he is sick: grabs himself, sleeps during the day, doesn't eat, isn't active....I noticed you have nightlamp? No lights at night! They don't sleep then! The other thing,the humidity seems too high. I mean by that, if it is always higher and never goes around 50%, it can cause respiratory infection. Always let dry out the enclosure before misting.
I would take him to the vet though! His poop is probably light and rare because he doesn't eat. Was he like that from the begining? Maybe he was sick already,before you bought him....
Do you see bobbles coming out of his mouth, or popping sound from his mouth?

 

[MarqueeLynn]

No bubbles or popping. He was more active when I first brought him home but I still haven't seen him eat anything. I have to drive an hour to take him to petco for them to take him to the vet, will he be okay? Also what should I use to provide heat at night other than a nighttime bulb?

 

[zsazsa85]

They would take him to the vet? Why don't you take him? At night you don't need anything. The temp can drop! Actually it needs to drop,it helps them digest at night! Even if it drops under 60 is good! It's cooler at night in the nature as well.

 

[Dannowar]

I've been feeding my baby veiled large flightless fruit flies. Sometimes he wants crickets, sometimes he wants flies.

 

[Kath44]

If he is pooping, he may be eating when you're not looking. Do the crickets roam if cup fed/hand fed?
No light at night, he may be tired and why he's closing his eyes etc.
check the caresheets over on the left to check you're doing everything ok, with supplementing etc.
kath.

 

[MarqueeLynn]

They would take him because he's sick within 15 days of buying him and they would have to pay but i can't wait on them made an appt at the vet going in an hour!

 

[TheAmbulatingFerret]

If he is pooping, he may be eating when you're not looking. Do the crickets roam if cup fed/hand fed?

kath.

I was thinking the same thing, when my guy was sick and had trouble eating he stopped pooping. He was just too sick to go around and hunt so I bought a 12" pair of tweezers to dangle the food right in front of his face so he could eat.

 

[MarqueeLynn]

My baby didn't make it.. Thank you to all of you who were helping but even when he arrived at petco, he couldn't eat the food they gave him. He tried very hard and I tried to keep him here with me but he was too little and fragile ): I feel horrible..

 

[symphonica]

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes, they're sick before you get them, to the point of no return. Other times, they're just not destined to make it. Not all babies that hatch survive to adulthood, and it has nothing to do with the care they receive - that's just their fate. That's why it is very important to purchase from a reputable breeder, who genuinely care about their chams and isn't just using them for profit. A good breeder's chams will be in good health and old enough to survive (at least 2 months old). And most importantly, you'll know their history.

 

[zsazsa85]

I am terrible sorry! My honest condolenses!
I wish the best for you and your future chameleon!

 

[MarqueeLynn]

Despite my stubbornness of saying I would not get another one, I fell in love with a much bigger female yesterday. I brought her home last night and she is doing well this morning! Petco should NOT be allowed to sell chameleons! I still feel so terrible for my poor pascal )" may he rest in paradise!

 

[fluxlizard]

I didn't see this thread earlier.

You mentioned that you were handling your previous baby chameleon 1x or 2x per day for up to 10 minutes.

That might (not necessarily) have been why it would not eat for you.
Chameleons take a while to acclimatize to being around people.

Handling a new chameleon is not recommended for a while after purchase. You might want to avoid making the same mistake with your new chameleon.

I usually tell people who buy my babies to avoid any handling at all for 7-10 days, and to use the time instead to observe the chameleon, get to know what is normal for it, and how much it normally eats. Once it is pooping regularly for a few days, then start to experiment with short handling sessions, and then use what you have observed previously to see if the chameleon is taking the sessions OK. For example- if the chameleon is eating less or nothing, it is a clue to stop handling until you have a few days of normal appetite before making another handling attempt.

Someone should have pointed this out to you last time- I'm sorry I missed this thread...

 

[MarqueeLynn]

He wasn't eating because they gave us crickets to feed him that were too big. They said if he didn't eat them to try meal worms (I know now they're a bit hard to digest and shouldn't be given regularly). He was skinny when I got him but he was also the smallest out of the bunch. I definitely won't hold Paisley for a while until she's settled in. She's also much bigger than he was.

 

[Devokid]

He wasn't eating because they gave us crickets to feed him that were too big.

That is definitely not the reason. Chameleons will choke trying to eat insects that are too big. The night time lamp, super high humidity, and probably being sick when you got him are all reasons for his not eating. Slightly bigger crickets is not. I would not listen to the people at petco.

 

[MarqueeLynn]

That is definitely not the reason. Chameleons will choke trying to eat insects that are too big. The night time lamp, super high humidity, and probably being sick when you got him are all reasons for his not eating. Slightly bigger crickets is not. I would not listen to the people at petco.

Yeah I learned that lesson..

 

[symphonica]

Yeah, a healthy cham should react to anything that's moving and smaller than them and regard them as prey, regardless of size. Their "pigginess" is why they have the "no larger than space between eyes" rule, because they will get carried away and choke.