not eating enough

[callumjohnson]

Hi,

I'm slightly worried about my 15 week old Glasgow based veiled chameleon Brian McIntosh. He is now only eating about 1 or 2 medium sized locust a day. He also won't touch crickets anymore and is happy for them to be sitting next to him on a branch.

I've tried not feeding him for 3 days to see if he'll eat whats in his cage but he wont. There is a fountain in his cage which i see him drinking out of regularly. Should i be worried or is he just not a big eater

Callum

 

[jannb]

Are you feeding him the appropriate size feeders for his age and size? At that age my guy would eat 10 ot 12 1/4 inch crickets a day. Jann

 

[veiledchamguy]

Hi johnson Please take the time to fill this out! then we can further help you

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - 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?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[callumjohnson]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - 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?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled or Yemen Chemeleon, Male, 15 weeks. I've had him 8 weeks.
Handling - he gets out and about for about an hour or so a day.
Feeding - i feed him about 3 or 4 locust in the morning. I drop in a few waxworms at night time which he eats immediately. I gut feed them carrots and lettuce
Supplements - Repton insect dusting supplement
Watering - got a waterfall. Mist with hand held spray every day for about 1 minute, just soak the tank walls really.
Fecal Description - dark brown shits, with a white bit at the top, about 2 or 3 centimetres. A new one every couple of the days, always in the same place
History - no problems. Used to eat 5 or 6, never more
Current Problem - not eating enough

 

[callumjohnson]

Cage Type - Glass, with doors at the front and mesh on the roof.
Lighting - got a roof top box designed for reptiles, uv bulb and a 50 W lightbulb in the other side?
Temperature - heat matt on the floor. Its a really warm flat though, have no way of recording it
Humidity - don't measure this
Plants - plastic plants
Location - on a small chest of drawers next to my desk in the living room. At desk height next to the window. No draft, great view, flat is 8 floors up. Gets to see the sun from 1pm to dusk.

 

[veiledchamguy]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - 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?

Cage info ???

And the waterful needs to go..they harbor bacteria
subsitute waterful with 5 mins of misting in the morning when u turn on lights, at noon and a few hours before lights off. Good way to pump up your popeye arms

 

[veiledchamguy]

Cage Type - Glass, with doors at the front and mesh on the roof.
Lighting - got a roof top box designed for reptiles, uv bulb and a 50 W lightbulb in the other side?
Temperature - heat matt on the floor. Its a really warm flat though, have no way of recording itHumidity - don't measure this
Plants - plastic plants
Location - on a small chest of drawers next to my desk in the living room. At desk height next to the window. No draft, great view, flat is 8 floors up. Gets to see the sun from 1pm to dusk.

Those are my only concerns heating pad does you no good...
and you should really consider live plants pothos, schflerra, ficus etc..

 

[FooL111394]

You prob. need alot more humidity. Get lives plants, ditch the fountain considering he is drinking bacteria water, then mist him3 to 4 times a day for 3 to 5 min. each

 

[lyricalmiracle]

don't feed him too many wax worms, they sometimes refuse food when they have too many as they get 'addicted' to them

 

[kinyonga]

I hope he hasn't been getting bacteria from drinking from the fountain.

Chameleons don't need any heat from below as a rule and they don't need heat at night unless the temperature drops below about 66F. Even though there isn't a draft from the window there can be "chilly air"...I don't know how to explain it any better...but I have heard of/seen chameleons that are left by the window in a cool climate develop fungal infections, etc. What is the temperature in the basking area?

You said you used Repton insect dusting supplement...what does it have in it in the way of D3, calcium, phosphorous, vitamin A? How often do you use it?

What brand and type (long linear tube or compact) of UVB light are you using?

As was suggested, size of the food might be playing a part.

Do you have a substrate in the cage?

 

[FaunaBgirl]

My veiled can be fussy about eating too. I have found that if I show him a number of different meals, always starting with a cricket first, there is usually one he does like and eats. In times of complete refusal, I use medium size phoenix worms knowing they are really too small, but I rub his head and when his mouth parts, I slip one inside. I do this when he has refused all foods for a couple of days. It restimulates his appetite and phoenix worms are very high in protein. I slip as many as I can until he closes like a clam. I try silk worms next. Butterworms if I have them because they are bright pink and if you always face the faces of the worms toward them, that seems to stimulate eating as well. I also use super worms, (zophoebas) because they are so wiggly that can inspire eating. I stay away from mealworms, unless I find one that is really soft and white from having just shed it's tough skin which is hard on their system. I feed only six a day to my quail/birds as it can cause kidney/liver damage. \

Sometimes it's the presentation. I purse my finger to simulate a hole that the worm is crawling out of. That works alot. Sometimes I hold the bug on a lieaf, trying to keep my fingers behind it as much as possible. And sometimes leaving a silk worm on a stem and backing away works. There are many ways of feeding, including the homemade feeders that you can hang in the habitat. It's just a matter of finding what your guy prefers/ Then again, like my guy, it can just be a mood thing and variety is his spice of life. lol I use wax worms as a last resort, since that is desert. I call it the ice cream of foods for my guy. I just make sure it's dusted with reptivite. You do what you have to do to get them to eat. They go through phases. No one said chameleons weren't time consuming. A labor of love, for sure. lol