New Cham Owner

[Mackoy]

Hello, we just had our first cham pet (Senegal) 11 days ago. This is actually my daughter's and she named him Pascal I understand that he still needs to get acclimated to his new surroundings but it has been 11 days and he hadn't eaten yet. I know because I put live crickets in there and they just die 2-3 days after. The canned crickets and worms were also untouched from his feeding cup. He drinks a lot every morning though. I'm worried about his health. Please advise. Thank you!

 

[ChamDE86]

Hello, we just had our first cham pet (Senegal) 11 days ago. This is actually my daughter's and she named him Pascal I understand that he still needs to get acclimated to his new surroundings but it has been 11 days and he hadn't eaten yet. I know because I put live crickets in there and they just die 2-3 days after. The canned crickets and worms were also untouched from his feeding cup. He drinks a lot every morning though. I'm worried about his health. Please advise. Thank you!

I would get rid of the canned feeders all together. Chameleons for the most part will not be interested if their food isn't moving, and they just aren't as healthy as a properly gut-loaded feeder. Have you tried offering a variety of feeders? Silkworms, hornworms, superworms, dubia roaches, phoenix worms, etc. There are so many feeders out there that can help break your chams hunger strike. Take a look at the link below. It'll help you choose some excellent feeders as well as feeders that can be used as treats every now and then. Most can be ordered online either from one of the sponsors or "Chameleon Food" section on here.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[Bush baby]

Hello, we just had our first cham pet (Senegal) 11 days ago. This is actually my daughter's and she named him Pascal I understand that he still needs to get acclimated to his new surroundings but it has been 11 days and he hadn't eaten yet. I know because I put live crickets in there and they just die 2-3 days after. The canned crickets and worms were also untouched from his feeding cup. He drinks a lot every morning though. I'm worried about his health. Please advise. Thank you!

Keep trying the live crickets only…he won't eat the canned stuff. If it doesn't move, it's not food in his mind.

 

[Mackoy]

Thank you both for the replies. He moves away from live crickets I'll try worms this time.

https://vimeo.com/123518571

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

Senegal Chameleons are very beautiful (one of my favorites), is he still having trouble eating? What are his temperatures? What's the humidity? Any live plants, supplements or gutloading of crickets? Sleeping during day isn't good. Not eating is a general heat problem. Upgrade heat bulb, and see if that helps (should be 85 degress F)

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

Also, mealworms aren't very nutritious and can impact Pascal's stomach which might lead to death. Silkworms, horn worms, dubias (wait until he is 7 months), butterworms, and even superworms (wait till 1 year) are all great feeders.

 

[Bush baby]

As mentioned, sleeping during the day is not a good sign. Also, try smaller crickets. The one in the video seemed to intimidate him, due to it's size. When i put a large hornworm in front of my Jacksons chameleon, he puffs up as though it's a predator. Smaller is better.

 

[Mackoy]

Senegal Chameleons are very beautiful (one of my favorites), is he still having trouble eating? What are his temperatures? What's the humidity? Any live plants, supplements or gutloading of crickets? Sleeping during day isn't good. Not eating is a general heat problem. Upgrade heat bulb, and see if that helps (should be 85 degress F)

He is indeed beautiful! Average temp for the past week is 75F daytime, ave humidity is 30, no live plants, calcium powder on live crickets which he didnt eat I never caught him sleeping during the day but he always stayed on the upper branches in his cage. I tried to use feeding thongs but he just moves away. I will try all suggestions here. Thank you all for replying!

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

Get Pascal a better heat lamp ASAP! 85 degrees F can be achieved by a 100 watt Repti Basking Lamp (keep about 5 inches from where he sits). The humidity needs to be way higher than 30%. 80% is regular and is achieved by 4 sprays a day. Always remember if the temp is 75 F, he is too! Eating takes energy. Is he drinking? Live plants help keep humidity and make fresh air. Is he in a screen cage? If not, a reptibreeze large should be enough for his whole life. He needs two bulbs , UVB and basking. Drago

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

I forgot to mention, get him some more foliage. A ficus from Home Depot, or any nursery has a ficus about 34 inches tall (for a large reptibreeze), so he can hide in it when he gets stressed. He needs a supplement of Calcium w/out D3 (given twice a week/out of 4-5 feedings), Calcium w/ D3 (once a month), and a multivitamin (given twice a month). Commercial gutloads are to make insects (mostly crickets), to make them more more nutritious because crickets dust the calcium off themselves, leaving little Pascal with little to no nutritional value. Do you have a contact for a vet for reptiles? That is great for emergencies. Senegel chameleons aren't easy, and so are any other chameleons, so always keep an eye on him. Get some fecal tests done for parasites, and get a temp gun (they are very accurate and will be better for him).

If you want to gutload the crickets on your own, try this https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/

 

[Mackoy]

Thank you so much Drago! His cage has a basking lamp and UVB lamp, OK I will get a 100w basking lamp to raise the temp. 4 sprays a day, got it. I actually went to home depot closest to me before he came and there were no available plants that would fit in his cage at that time. Winter here in Jersey has been long and brutal, hopefully it gets better soon!

By the way, my 7 y/o nephew managed to handle Pascal last night! He said his teacher brought her cham in their class and let them touch it! When he put Pascal back in his cage he went hiding behind the leaves! I was thinking he got stressed out because that was the first time someone handled him since we got him. Will he come out from hiding again soon or do I have to do something to lure him out? THank you again for the responses!

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

No problem! I'm glad to help out! He will come out eventually, he just needs to get settled. Is he a dark color? My chameleon hid behind it for a few days. Once he gets the bulb, he should go out to bask. Update soon, Dragon.

 

[DragoLikesReptiles]

Is your UVB bulb a compact or fluorescent? Compact ones can cause disease. If you want to handle him a lot, handle him for about a minute a day. Then keep progressing to 2 min, 3 min, etc. My chameleon likes just to sit on my shoulder and he is 7 months old. Senegal chameleons are more shy than my Panther, so if he get stressed just put him back (common sense), and that might be the reason he is hiding. Is he on a 12 hour light cycle? Get a timer and that would ensure the sleeping habits.

 

[kinyonga]

For heat/basking all you need is an appropriate wattage of a regular household incandescent bulb in a domed fixture. The wattage is determined by the temperature you need to produce. As was indicated, the mid 80'sF should be fine. Chameleons need appropriate basking temperatures so that they can digest the food they eat so it could be why he's not eating.

The most often recommended UVB light is the Repti-sun 5.0 long linear tube light.

Senegals are water hogs and its important that they drink well every day.

Since most feeder insects have a poor balance of phos. to calcium its important to dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phos. free calcium powder at most feedings.

Its also important to dust twice a month with a phos. free calcium/D3 powder to make sure that it gets enough D3 without overdosing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause health issues. D3 produced from exposure to the UVB light should not build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it at will.

Its important to dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrEformed sources can build up in the system so you need to be careful with them but prOformed sources won't build up.

Its also important to feed/gutload the insects well. Crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts can be fed a wide assortment of greens such as collards, endive, dandelion, kale, escarole and veggies such as carrots, squash, sweet red peppers, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[OldChamKeeper]

For heat/basking all you need is an appropriate wattage of a regular household incandescent bulb in a domed fixture. The wattage is determined by the temperature you need to produce. As was indicated, the mid 80'sF should be fine. Chameleons need appropriate basking temperatures so that they can digest the food they eat so it could be why he's not eating.

The most often recommended UVB light is the Repti-sun 5.0 long linear tube light.

Senegals are water hogs and its important that they drink well every day.

Since most feeder insects have a poor balance of phos. to calcium its important to dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phos. free calcium powder at most feedings.

Its also important to dust twice a month with a phos. free calcium/D3 powder to make sure that it gets enough D3 without overdosing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause health issues. D3 produced from exposure to the UVB light should not build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it at will.

Its important to dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrEformed sources can build up in the system so you need to be careful with them but prOformed sources won't build up.

Its also important to feed/gutload the insects well. Crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts can be fed a wide assortment of greens such as collards, endive, dandelion, kale, escarole and veggies such as carrots, squash, sweet red peppers, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.

Hope this helps!

What he said. This was the first species of chameleon I kept as a pet almost 40 years ago.

If the animal is an import (99%) then it needs to be dewormed. A little dot of Panacur on a feeder animal once every two weeks for three doses will help.

Also, go get some green house flies and let them loose in the cage. This species has a short life span. A few years. So if you can keep it alive for 2-3 years you did great.

 

[Mackoy]

We have the stock flourescent UVB light that came with the reptibreeze screen cage. Family went out today and just came back about an hour ago and I noticed that he went back behind the leaves to sleep He usually sleeps on top of a vine in the middle of the cage, and just started sleeping behind the leaves last night. Hope he goes back sleeping on his vine again. Yes, we have a timer and have it on a 12 hour cycle from 9am to 9pm.

I will get him live worms and crickets tomorrow, hopefully he would start eating. We are all worried about his health. And will pick up a higher wattage bulb for his basking.

Thank you all again for the help. I will be updating this thread regularly about his progress.

 

[Andee]

I would definitely deworm him, or at least get a fecal done to see if he needs to be dewormed. As said above they are often imported/WC so they need to be checked over. It could be a reason as to why he's not eating, or just over all not feeling well. And don't worry about him changing sleeping spots, on occasion they will change sleeping spots, especially when something changes in their enclosure or they get stressed out that day... Or even if the lights just turn out at the right moment and they are caught unawares, they tend to just pass out, lol the cuties.

I wish you all the luck with your little one and will be offering help where I can ^^ keep with the updates

 

[Mackoy]

Thank you Andee! Quick update...I went to petsmart and got small crickets, mealworms and a 100w basking bulb. I immediately noticed that when I changed the bulb he became more mobile and even went down to the middle of the cage. I offered the cricket but he just stared and looked interested, but did not eat it I then offered the worm in the feeding cup. He was interested too and even went closer to the feeding cup. I almost thought he was going to eat it, as I saw him open his mouth for the first time and even stuck his tongue out but not the full strike! Failed but I'm feeling optimistic! Maybe tomorrow hopefully. Oh he also went back sleeping on his vine, in the middle of the cage close to the light The timer went out as I do this so maybe he was just tired and about to sleep, so I just let him sleep for now. He doesn't have problem drinking so at least he's well hydrated.

 

[Andee]

That's great to hear how he's showing interest in the prey and the light is helping. I will keep my fingers crossed for more progress.

 

[Mackoy]

Quick update: He started eating yesterday! He loves the small crickets I got him! He didn't like the mealworms though. Hopefully everything goes well moving forward. Thank you all for the help!