New baby not eating much and how much should it eat?

[fett42]

I just got a very small baby Veiled Chameleon yesterday. I'm not sure on the age, but he is about 2 or 3 inches long from the tip of his nose to the base of his tail, not including the tail of course. I made a milk carton feeder for him last night and put it in his cage this morning. So far he hasn't gone near it on his own. I picked him up and put him on the feeder itself and soon after he ate 1 cricket. Later I picked him up again and put him back on the feeder and he ate two more crickets. So he has only eaten 3 crickets all day.

I'm afraid that he won't be able to find the crickets on his own in the new feeder because he likes to be towards the top of the cage and the top of the milk carton blocks the view of the crickets from there. I have a small 16x16x20 cage for now and when he gets bigger I'm going to upgrade to a 24x24x48 cage. The crickets like to be at the top of the milk carton away from sight unless you look from below the top of the carton. I thought about cutting the top of the milk carton off, but I'm afraid the crickets will get loose.

I am wondering if I should switch to cup feeding rather than the milk carton feeder. I have a very small Christmas bucket I got some chex mix in that I could cut down to be a cup feeder.

Does anyone have any suggestions of thoughts on how to get a baby chameleon to eat? Also, how much should he be eating a day?

Thanks for any help that can be given.

 

[camimom]

Welcome and congrats on your new baby!
new chameleons may not eat all they should the first few days they get into a new place, so no worries there.
you can cup feed until hes bigger, but dont expect him to take to that right away either.
Please fill this out so we can see waht you got going on with your new guy, and make any suggestions to your husbandry. Also, post pictures!! and are you sure its a boy? can you post pics of the back of his back feet please?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[icekunai]

Hello! And congrats on the new cham!

I have a baby as well, who I also recently got about 3 weeks ago.

I found that I had to add more crickets in the cage so he could get to them better. Your cham may not eat the amount everyone says because he is adjusting to the new cage and all the changes. My cham didnt eat for 3 days when I first got him. And he now eats a lot! haha

 

[JSERBIN]

you shouldnt panic its very common for chams to not eat at all sometimes when first introduced to their new set up my boy didnt eat for three days and i went nuts, found this forum read a few posts waited and he finally came around. my boys a panther but he started off eating up to 8 crickets a day and a few butterworms to give you an idea of what u can offer yours. as far as the milk carton try placing a vine or stick from the top of the cage to pass directly in front of the opening, it will allow him to climb to the top and see his food while hes on his way up trust me when hes hungry enough hell look for food, also try throwing a few on the screen near his favorite hang out spot itll get him moving around knowing there is more food to be found its awesome to watch them hunt!

 

[fett42]

Welcome and congrats on your new baby!
new chameleons may not eat all they should the first few days they get into a new place, so no worries there.
you can cup feed until hes bigger, but dont expect him to take to that right away either.
Please fill this out so we can see waht you got going on with your new guy, and make any suggestions to your husbandry. Also, post pictures!! and are you sure its a boy? can you post pics of the back of his back feet please?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Thanks and here are the answers to what you wanted me to fill out.

Veiled Chameleon, not sure on the age.

Handling - a couple times so far.

Feeding - I'm feeding the chameleon crickets. I put them in the cage in the morning in a milk carton feeder. I feed the crickets gutloader flakes, I'm going to add in mustard greens to their food tomorrow.

Supplements - Rep-Cal Phosphorus-free calcium with vitamin D3.

Watering - I mist 3 times a day for about 1 to 2 minutes at a time. I try to keep it short because the misting seems to scare the little guy. He goes off into hiding when I mist. I haven't seen him drink yet.

Fecal Description - I haven't seen any fecal samples yet.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - screen cage 16x16x20

Lighting - I'm using a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb and I was using a ceramic heat emitter but I will be switching to a heat bulb today instead since I read they don't recognize heat emitters.

Temperature - I have 2 thermometers in the cage. The basking thermometer is at around 95 to 97 and the cage floor is around 75.

Humidity - I have a humidity meter but it right now says that it is below 20. I try to get it higher, but it is hard to maintain humidity levels in this screen cage. Any suggestions would be great.

Plants - No, but I want to get some Dracaenas sometime soon to hopefully help keep humidity levels higher. All plants are plastic. *edit* I just read Dracaenas are poisonous to animals, but the plant guide here said they are safe. So I am confused.

Placement - The cage is located in my living room. It is about 26" off of the floor, that's a rough guess.

Location - I'm located in Illinois.

Here is a picture of my new chameleon named Cosmo when I first brought him home.

 

[clarkrw3]

In a cage of that size I have always been more successful with acclimation by free ranging the crickets. It is what he is already use to so it will be natural for him to hunt them down. You can train him later with a cup if you like.

 

[clarkrw3]

Thanks and here are the answers to what you wanted me to fill out.

Veiled Chameleon, not sure on the age.

Handling - a couple times so far.

Feeding - I'm feeding the chameleon crickets. I put them in the cage in the morning in a milk carton feeder. I feed the crickets gutloader flakes, I'm going to add in mustard greens to their food tomorrow.
Read up on Sandrachamelons blog on gutloading it is quite possibly the most important part of keeping a chameleon healthy. You need to be doing a lot more than adding mustard greens to flakers!!
Supplements - Rep-Cal Phosphorus-free calcium with vitamin D3.
You should only be using the D3 calcium 2-4 times a month (not more than once a week) and you need plain calcium every day and a multivitamin too Or Get Repashy Calcium Plus and use it every day and nothing else. The Rep-Cal D3 has a REALLY high concentration
Watering - I mist 3 times a day for about 1 to 2 minutes at a time. I try to keep it short because the misting seems to scare the little guy. He goes off into hiding when I mist. I haven't seen him drink yet.
Don't worry about him hating it...they all do at first....just mist the cage not him in particular and they will enjoy the water and humidity it brings
Fecal Description - I haven't seen any fecal samples yet.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - screen cage 16x16x20

Lighting - I'm using a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb and I was using a ceramic heat emitter but I will be switching to a heat bulb today instead since I read they don't recognize heat emitters.
The UVB bulb is good. Unless your house is getting VERY cold you do not need night time heat. For basking most of us just use house hold bulbs in the 40-60 range. They don't need any light/heat at night if the house is staying 65degs
Temperature - I have 2 thermometers in the cage. The basking thermometer is at around 95 to 97 and the cage floor is around 75.

Humidity - I have a humidity meter but it right now says that it is below 20. I try to get it higher, but it is hard to maintain humidity levels in this screen cage. Any suggestions would be great.
You can cover a couple of the sides with plastic (like a shower curtain) Also I use a cool mist humidifier to keep humidity up (the ones you get at the drug store) But he NEEDS higher humidity than less than 20%
Plants - No, but I want to get some Dracaenas sometime soon to hopefully help keep humidity levels higher. All plants are plastic. *edit* I just read Dracaenas are poisonous to animals, but the plant guide here said they are safe. So I am confused.

Placement - The cage is located in my living room. It is about 26" off of the floor, that's a rough guess.
He will feel more comfortable higher....like table height in a baby cage like you have him in
Location - I'm located in Illinois.

Here is a picture of my new chameleon named Cosmo when I first brought him home.

Cute little guy!! (the cham not you )

 

[Beachbabies]

what a cute little baby! use a feeding cup if youre feeding crickets, they're nasty little things! she should be eating 3-5 crix a day. try adding a live hibiscus plant to he englosure, some veileds like to eat vegitation, and hibiscus are both sturdy enough to support he weight, and edible. and the moisture in the soil will aid in keeping humidity levels up!

 

[Thezillaman21]

Cute little guy!! (the cham not you )

haha that made me laugh.\ nice\ color\ for\ so\ such\ a\ tiny\ guy.