My Veiled chamaleon is not eating!!help!

[Philaygah]

hello guys! I have a juvenile veiled chamaleon. And he stopped eating!
Before, i used to give the crickets and he eat rigth away. Now ( past one month) he don’t eat ( at least not in front of me)! He drinks water normally, but he don’t eat. It’s normal in the winter? It’s normal if he eats less when he gets bigger!?

I’m gonna show his cage ( pic)
Can you help me??
Thank you!

 

[VJPeli73]

Can you show pictures of your chameleon? There could be something wrong with him, I just want to see him up closer

 

[Katacara]

Please fill out the "how to ask for help" form. People here can take a look and see if there are things that need improvement or tweaking. Please use as much detail as you can! The more information we have the better we can help you and your cham! Pictures are always helpful also.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

I can see right away that there are some things that need some attention. The cage is very dark!, I can not tell what your using for lighting, but is doesn't look right. Temp's may have a lot to do with it. If you can fill out the form I can try to help.

 

[Philaygah]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chamaleon, Male,9 months .6 months with me.
• Handling - once a week
• Feeding - Crickets( 15), meal worms( 4) , once a day, i use a recipient and inside the cage, he di t set in my hand. Only when he was baby , not anymore.
• Supplements calcium once a day with the crickets. ( Fluckers relata calcium)
• Watering - automatic mist machine ( reptirain), sometimes I️ see he drinking, and i mist manually too ( leaves and him )
• Fecal Description - Normal poop, brown.Never Beeing teste for parasites before.
• History - no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Cage Zoomed reptibreeze (Screen), very big,24 x 24 x 48-Inches
• Lighting - Zoomed tropical uvb and lighting( 60 watts) kit, schedule is 6am-6pm
• Temperature - temp range (cage floor “70-76 “ to basking spot “84-90 “) Lowest overnight temp “76”, I used m analog hydrometer and thermometer combo.
• Humidity - humidity levels ( 45-55) creating and maintaining using mist, I use hydrometer .
• Plants - I don’t know the names but is it’s a good ones and he don’t eat them. ( picture)
• Placement: my cage is located inside my studio,i live in one big room, no Day Ligth inside, no window,not near any fans or air vents, or high traffic areas. The height of the top of the cage relative to my room floor is 4 feet.
• Location - In located at New Jersey Usa.

Current Problem - i don’t see him eating anymore, the crickets keep aglomeraring inside the cage. Before he used to eat like a beast. Not anymore.

 

[Philaygah]

Can you show pictures of your chameleon? There could be something wrong with him, I just want to see him up closer

 

[CJ's Exotics]

I'd recommend linear UVB bulbs, he might not be getting enough UVB, and if he tries to get it, he can overheat (from having to be exposed to the basking bulb to get UVB)

 

[kinyonga]

@Philaygah ...at that age he should be fed every second day or three times a week...so he may not be hungry. Also winter does slow them down a bit.

Regarding your husbandry...
Dripper...I would add a dripper. It can be a tall deli cup with a tiny hole in the bottom so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second.

For supplements...is your calcium phosphorous-free? I would add a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month and a vitamin powder twice a month.

Are you feeding/gutloading your insects properly? I use a wide assortment of greens, veggies and a bit of fruit.

There are better feeders than mealsiwwms. I would not use them very often and add things like silkworms, superworms, roaches, etc.

 

[Katacara]

My answers & suggestions will be in red

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chamaleon, Male,9 months .6 months with me.
• Handling - once a week
• Feeding - Crickets( 15), meal worms( 4) Mealworms are a bad choice, they have almost no nutritional value, & cause impactions. Superworms are better , once a day, i use a recipient and inside the cage, he di t set in my hand. Only when he was baby , not anymore. He needs a lot more verity for his diet, silkworms, hornworms, red-runner roaches, orange-head roaches, & BSFL, are great choices. The occasional wax worm is good for a treat. What are you gutloading your crickets with??
• Supplements calcium once a day with the crickets. ( Fluckers relata calcium) IMO and many will agree, Flukers products are not the way to go! Rep-Cal is a much better choice!
• Watering - automatic mist machine ( reptirain), sometimes I️ see he drinking, and i mist manually too ( leaves and him )
• Fecal Description - Normal poop, brown.Never Beeing teste for parasites before. How are his uraites? White, yellow, orange?
• History - no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Cage Zoomed reptibreeze (Screen), very big,24 x 24 x 48-Inches
• Lighting - Zoomed tropical uvb and lighting( 60 watts) kit, schedule is 6am-6pm As mentioned above, you should use a linear UVB. Arcidia T5 12% is a great choice, there is another recommended brand I think its zoo-med but I'm not sure right now, maybe someone else will jump in for that part
• Temperature - temp range (cage floor “70-76 “ to basking spot “84-90 “) Lowest overnight temp “76”, I used m analog hydrometer and thermometer combo. You may want to invest in a heat gun to measure temps. I found mine on e-bay for $20 bucks I think, and it is much more accurate, and convenient than an analog
• Humidity - humidity levels ( 45-55) creating and maintaining using mist, I use hydrometer .
• Plants - I don’t know the names but is it’s a good ones and he don’t eat them. ( picture) Are you sure the plants are safe? Did you check the "Safe plants list" before/when you got them?
• Placement: my cage is located inside my studio,i live in one big room, no Day Ligth inside, no window,not near any fans or air vents, or high traffic areas. The height of the top of the cage relative to my room floor is 4 feet. So if I am doing my math correctly, his cage is on the floor? You should put on top of something that can hold the weight. He will be happier the higher he is.
• Location - In located at New Jersey Usa.

Current Problem - i don’t see him eating anymore, the crickets keep aglomeraring inside the cage. Before he used to eat like a beast. Not anymore. Adjusting and correcting these things is the first place to start. With the lighting and cutting out mealworms first. You said that he is still pooping, which is great, but If he has been eating mealworms everyday, he may still be backed-up &/or impacted, so keep a close eye on him, watching for signs.

 

[Philaygah]

Can you show pictures of your chameleon? There could be something wrong with him, I just want to see him up closer

 

[Philaygah]

My answers & suggestions will be in red

My answers will be in blue




Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chamaleon, Male,9 months .6 months with me.
• Handling - once a week
• Feeding - Crickets( 15), meal worms( 4) Mealworms are a bad choice, they have almost no nutritional value, & cause impactions. Superworms are better , once a day, i use a recipient and inside the cage, he di t set in my hand. Only when he was baby , not anymore . I️tried to put vegetables and fruits in a recipient inside the cage by he don’t eat.He needs a lot more verity for his diet, silkworms, hornworms, red-runner roaches, orange-head roaches, & BSFL, are great choices. The occasional wax worm is good for a treat. What are you gutloading your crickets with??so, the pet store around here don’t have many options of live food, they have crickets, mealworms and super worms only. Immgurlowading my crickets with potatoes, carrots and bred.
• Supplements calcium once a day with the crickets. ( Fluckers relata calcium) IMO and many will agree, Flukers products are not the way to go! Rep-Cal is a much better choice!
• Watering - automatic mist machine ( reptirain), sometimes I️ see he drinking, and i mist manually too ( leaves and him )
• Fecal Description - Normal poop, brown.Never Beeing teste for parasites before. How are his uraites? White, yellow, orange? I️ can’t see
• History - no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Cage Zoomed reptibreeze (Screen), very big,24 x 24 x 48-Inches
• Lighting - Zoomed tropical uvb and lighting( 60 watts) kit, schedule is 6am-6pm As mentioned above, you should use a linear UVB. Arcidia T5 12% is a great choice, there is another recommended brand I think its zoo-med but I'm not sure right now, maybe someone else will jump in for that part I’m buying another one, quite expensive but nice orizontad led uvb light (reptisun led uvb terrarium hood 24 inches)
• Temperature - temp range (cage floor “70-76 “ to basking spot “84-90 “) Lowest overnight temp “76”, I used m analog hydrometer and thermometer combo. You may want to invest in a heat gun to measure temps. I found mine on e-bay for $20 bucks I think, and it is much more accurate, and convenient than an analog can you indicate one?
• Humidity - humidity levels ( 45-55) creating and maintaining using mist, I use hydrometer .
• Plants - I don’t know the names but is it’s a good ones and he don’t eat them. ( picture) Are you sure the plants are safe? Did you check the "Safe plants list" before/when you got them? Yes
• Placement: my cage is located inside my studio,i live in one big room, no Day Ligth inside, no window,not near any fans or air vents, or high traffic areas. The height of the top of the cage relative to my room floor is 4 feet. So if I am doing my math correctly, his cage is on the floor? You should put on top of something that can hold the weight. He will be happier the higher he is. It’s a vertical cage of 4 get highs , he Is happy.
• Location - In located at New Jersey Usa.

Current Problem - i don’t see him eating anymore, the crickets keep aglomeraring inside the cage. Before he used to eat like a beast. Not anymore. Adjusting and correcting these things is the first place to start. With the lighting and cutting out mealworms first. You said that he is still pooping, which is great, but If he has been eating mealworms everyday, he may still be backed-up &/or impacted, so keep a close eye on him, watching for signs.

 

[VJPeli73]

From the picture i saw, it looks like he is very healthy. I think he may be dehydrated. Now, I'm not the most experienced with chameleons, but i have been researching them every day for a year and a half now and from what ive heard and seen. Dehydration may be leading to your cham not eating. Here are some more experienced people, @jannb @Kristen Wilkins

 

[Graves923]

Not much more I can add that hasnt been suggested already. He looks healthy. Next time you see a dropping check for a urate and take note of the color.

I am also in New Jersey and my cham is also slowing down a bit on feeding since the winter almost here. He usually will eat every 2 or three days.