New born cham wont eat

[Taylor0602]

I got him 2 days ago i saw him eat 1 time but ever since then all i see him do is drink water. I have a huge screen cage for him and inside i have about 100 small crickets. i always see them walk right passed his face and he sees them but wont eat them. he seems to do this thing with his mouth where he move his tounge around in his mouth almost like he cant use his tounge to catch them? i dont understand please help???????

 

[CoLoRcHaNgEr13]

I got him 2 days ago i saw him eat 1 time but ever since then all i see him do is drink water. I have a huge screen cage for him and inside i have about 100 small crickets. i always see them walk right passed his face and he sees them but wont eat them. he seems to do this thing with his mouth where he move his tounge around in his mouth almost like he cant use his tounge to catch them? i dont understand please help???????

If you overwhelm a chameleon with lots of crickets it will not eat. You say hes a baby? You should be feeding him fruit flies until he gets a bit bigger to move on to pin head crickets.

 

[CoLoRcHaNgEr13]

You might also want to keep him in a smaller cage or what i do is use a 50 qt plastic container with fake vines for the first 3 months.

 

[kinyonga]

What's the temperature where he sits in the cage?

As was said, the number of crickets in the cage and the size of the cage may be part of the problem.

 

[xanthoman]

newborn cham not eating, gee, never heard that before.

does it have proper uvb/uva lighting? newborns have the same lighting requirements as adult chams, the only difference being that it is even more important with newborns. they can go down hill in a matter of days without it.

also, have you been supplementing it?
if so, be advised, that because of their relatively small size, it is , super, super, ultra, ultra, ULTRA, super easy, to over-supplement very young chams. especially if one is just summarily supping, without a balanced plan, or any concept/knowledge of dosing etc.

imo either/both issues is likely at the root of the problem.

cricks are a terrible feeder for newborns anyway, too high in phosphorus, which becomes more critical , the smaller the cham is. a phosphorous imbalance in adult cham is one thing, but the risk of that and all other dietary/supplemental issues, increase exponentially, as the cham size decreases.

i dont know what your setup is, but he needs appropriate heat(appropriate everything), but heat should be delivered by means of uva, not infra red.

whatever the prob is my advice would be;

1. review your lighting scheme from the ground up.
2. if you are supping, i would discontinue immediately, until you have put together a balanced and informed plan. except for d3, all of the nutrients it needs are in the food it eats, just not in enough qty for adult chams, but most young chams will do just fine without any direct supplementation whatsoever, during the first 2 mths. even plain cal (no d3), should be given ultra sparingly, if at all. at this stage, the single best thing you could do for it would be to discontinue all supplementation and get it at least 2-3hrs a week of natural sunshine (or even in the shade, depending on temps).
3. discontinue feeding of petstore crickets and petstore melongaster, and put it on o diet of D. hydei, via a controlled release container.
4. young chams dont do well in adult size cages, depending on its size, you would probably do better with a properly setup, makeshift cage, like a 10 gal. aquarium, or a similarly sized clear rubbermaid tote, dont forget, it will still need all of the things an adult cham would have in a properly setup cage. this incudes proper uvb/uva lighting. because of the smaller cage size, temps need to be monitored and controlled that much more closely, basking temps should be monitored by a digital therm with a remote sender(about $20 for the zilla thermometer/hygrometer with dual remote sensors.also measures humidity and records hi/lo temps very usefull)

young chams typically have a very small window of time in which to correct problems, much more so than adults. it would probably be prudent to fill out the help form in its entirety, and repost in the cf health clinic. jmo

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. Sorry to here that your baby is not eating. Please tell us more about how you are keeping him by filling out the ask for help form. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

I am attaching my blog for new keepers below and it will help you to get everything that you need for your new cham.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[kinyonga]

I doubt that in the two days you've had the chameleon the lighting or the supplements that you have/have not given the chameleon will have been the cause of the problem...but its still a good idea to learn about proper husbandry.

However, if your temperatures are not warm enough, it could be a reason for not eating. The cage size might be playing a part in this if the chameleon is not sitting close enough to the lights to be warm enough to digest its food.

Also...the fact that you have let so many crickets loose in his cage might be overwhelming him.

Does he keep his eyes open all day?

There is nothing wrong with using store-bought crickets for babies....as long as they have been well-fed/gutloaded before they are given to the chameleon. I have used store-bought crickets for years as a sole source for getting young chameleons started....and then adding other insects as they get to be big enough to handle them.

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[Whammo72]

I think we are missing some crucial information (unless I missed it)

What species of Chameleon? Thats going to help narrow down temps and caging issues. What size cage and what size feeders? When you say newborn what do you mean exactly? 2 days old? 1 month? 3 months?

 

[Taylor0602]

I have a pretty big cage and i have a 100 watt uvb bulb the power sun and i also have a spiral uvb bulb but he seems to be much brighter in color and eating now that i removed the 100 crickets i had in there with him haha, my mistake i guess all those things overwhelmed him

 

[kinyonga]

Is he eating now?
Keeping his eyes open all day?
What species is it?

 

[xanthoman]

imo

1. imo, powersuns not recommended for jacksons
2. imo, you should never feed more cricks than will be consumed in the next hr or so, cricks will hide in the crevices, and under the pots and come out at night an chew on his eyelids causing internal stress and probable other issues
3. cricks are a terrible staple feeder, high in phosphorous, which jacksons dont tolerate well, imo, a diet too heavy in cricks is likely to eventually cause problems.
4.imo, the fact that you are not aware or just dont care about the above 3 items makes me concerned for your overall husbandry.
5.imo, i have a feeling you will be posting in the hc in the not to distant future, jmo