New cham won't eat -- help pls!

[whereisnl]

hi there -- we got a juvenile cham a little over 2 weeks ago, and it eats very little! We got her from PetSmart and they say she ate around 7 crickets/ day. On the first couple of days at our house, she ate 2 from a cup and a couple from my tongs. But then he stopped eating from cup & hand, and preferred to hunt crickets free range. But in the last week, she's only eaten 1-3 crickets every couple of days, despite our best efforts of cup, hand, and free range. She's getting skinnier and skinnier and we are worried! Other behaviors seem relatively fine... moving around, eyes are active, very friendly towards my daughter and I when we handle her, and her poop looks regular (no signs of dehydration).

All suggestions are most welcome! Here's more detailed info below:

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? We've had it for 2 weeks and 2 days... it's a juvenile veiled cham, 5 inches from head to tip of tail; not sure of gender or age... would love help identifying gender (couldn't detect a spur on hind feet so we suspect it's a she, but would love help in verifying)
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? In the first week, we only handled her only once (after a week of having her) in order to reduce stress. In the last couple of days, we've handled her daily in an effort to get her to eat. The folks at PetSmart told us that she was a very friendly cham, and it's true... no signs of stress/ changing color when we handle her.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? We're feeding her "small" crickets... tried cup, tongs, and free range. We started her off in a 16x16x30 cage, and thinking the cage was too big for her (couldn't find the crickets at the bottom of cage), we tried putting her in a much smaller tank during the day time with 6 crickets free ranging. At first that worked (2 days ago, she ate 3 crickets that way), but today she didn't eat any at all... just stared at the crickets as they ran around her and sometimes under her!
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? yes we dusted the crickets with calcium (w/o D) everyday. and had bought a multi-vitamin to dust every 2 weeks but haven't done that yet given the eating situation.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We mist 3 times a day by hand, and also humidify the cage. We try to get a humidity level of 50-70% during the day. We rarely see her drinking, but her poop is dark and bright white (no signs of yellow or orange).
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Black and bright white... regular poops, every couple of days which makes us think she's eating, but we know she isn't. No, she hasn't been tested for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. We interrogated the PetSmart people on their feeding routine, and apparently they put 7-10 crickets into her tiny cage which she hunted. That's what gave us the idea to move her to a much smaller cage, in case she was used to easy hunting. But that hasn't helped in the last 2 days.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Reptibreeze 16x16x30, with shower curtains on 3 sides to keep in humidity.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptisun 5.0 UVB, 60 watt basking light... we turn them on for 12 hours/day, from 7:30am to 7:30pm.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At the top of cage under the basking light, it's 85 degrees, room temp at bottom of cage (around low 70's); at night it doesn't get below 65.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We try to keep humidity between 50-70 during the day, and have a humidity gauge in the cage at all times.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Live plant (umbrella), plus some fake vines at the top of the cage.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? In my daughter's room, on her dresser.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? san francisco bay area

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. She's only been eating 1-3 crickets every couple of days, (whereas petsmart said she was eating around 7 crickets per day).

 

[CharlesYamaguchi]

Are her eyes often closed? Do not believe what they say at Petsmart. No one there is actually watching the chameleon eating 7 crickets a day... Besides, that is not enough for growing veiled chameleon. They should be eating constantly! haha.

 

[whereisnl]

Are her eyes often closed? Do not believe what they say at Petsmart. No one there is actually watching the chameleon eating 7 crickets a day... Besides, that is not enough for growing veiled chameleon. They should be eating constantly! haha.

There have been a few days last week where she seemed to sleep an awful lot... as in she'd wake up around 11am and fall back to sleep around 7pm. But the the last couple of days she's seemed a lot perkier... for example today she was awake and moving the whole day from 7:30am to 7pm at night. Maybe because we moved her into a much smaller cage?? Don't know exactly why.

 

[whereisnl]

But why do you ask the question? There might be coorelation between lethargy and lack of eating, for sure. So wondering what you're thinking...

 

[CharlesYamaguchi]

Oooh okay. I was not sure if you meant she was sleeping during the day randomly. That is not good. But getting into her sleeping position when it is nearing time for bed is okay . Yes, if she is not eating then yes, no energy!

I have a good feeling, the Petsmart people had no idea what she was really eating to be honest. They do not care about the animal nearly as you very clearly do! You seem to be doing everything very well. I worry if she has a parasite that is causing her to not have an appetite but let us try to rule out other easier things first.

Have you tried another type of a feeder? Also what size are you feeding of the crickets? Sometimes if they are too big or too small, the chameleon will not show any interest!

Although, I do not think this is the case here from being in your care, I would recommend updating to a 10.0 bulb when you can. Veiled chameleons require much more uvb than panthers and honestly, I do not recommend even 5.0 for panthers! I use 10 only in emergency but have much more powerful bulbs for all of my veiled and panther adults and babies.

Also, have you seen her drinking?

Have you given her outside sun time? That is natures medicine for chameleons haha