My baby veiled chameleon refuses to eat!

[cleofish347]

I just got my baby veiled chameleon yesterday. I figured that he would not want to eat because he was stressed so I decided to wait to hand feed him until the next day. He slept soundly and almost all the way through the night. Now it is morning and he refuses to eat I've been sitting with a mealworm hanging in front of him for almost 20 minutes now and it seems like he wants to look at everything other than the mealworm. I even tried to bring the mealworm up to his mouth. If you could give me any advice on what I should do to help him eat that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

 

[jannb]

If you just got him yesterday free range him some appropriate size, well gutloaded crickets and hold off on the hand feeding for awhile.

My blog for new keepers:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[oblgobl]

It's normal for them not to eat for a few days when you first get. I know it's hard but you need to try and leave him alone as much as you can for him to settle in he's probably unsure of you right now so won't hand feed until he feels safer in his new enviroment. Trying to get him to eat for 20 minuits when he's not interested probably stressed him out to be honest. Just put some crickets in his enclouser onces he's woken up and remove them before bed time if he hasn't eaten them. You could also make a feeder cup for him if you don't want them all over the cage.
Every new cham owner worries about their baby when they first bring them home. He just needs some time, and if you're unsure of anything just ask.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Give that a read if you havn't already (disclaimer: not written by me) you might already know everything but it has some precise information that might be useful if you havn't read it.