Obesity in Chameleons

[WelshOneEmma]

Ok, probably a stupid question/statement - I presume that chameleons can become overweight / obese, as can most animals? What does it look like? Does it start to show in the casque first (if you had a veiled for example), and how does the casque go?

 

[JabbaThePanther]

well.....

im not sure, but i dont think you CAN over-feed chameleons, im probably wrong, but i think they will know when to stop. mine does.

 

[moody232002]

yeah Mista regulates himself too.

Will be interesting to see how this thread progresses though

 

[Chameleonboy]

Chameleons over eat all the time if given the opportunity. This can result in DEATH and or shorten the lifespan of your chameleon. Females tend to eat whatever that is given to them especially when gravid, this can result in over producing eggs and therefor dieing. So to answer your question briefly I would have to say YES chams can get obese.

-Clemonde

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I think it is one of those things we can forget about. I know we all concentrate on chams not eating, but we know that with females they can overeat (I think Tiff's cham lily was a good example of this) and that it can shorten their lives. I have noticed that Hugo's casque is quite plump - I am worried that I am becoming a "feeder"!

 

[Chameleonboy]

I think it is one of those things we can forget about. I know we all concentrate on chams not eating, but we know that with females they can overeat (I think Tiff's cham lily was a good example of this) and that it can shorten their lives. I have noticed that Hugo's casque is quite plump - I am worried that I am becoming a "feeder"!

Correct me if im wrong, I think veileds store extra fat in there casque's (called fat sorges). This may be a result of over feeding him. How much does he eat a day? How old is he? Think of it like this, if you were at a buffet and there was all this food you liked wouldn't you just go crazy and eat till your full? Well I guess that's what alot of chams do when at home and their being over fed.

-Clemonde

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Correct me if im wrong, I think veileds store extra fat in there casque's (called fat sorges). This may be a result of over feeding him. How much does he eat a day? How old is he? Think of it like this, if you were at a buffet and there was all this food you liked wouldn't you just go crazy and eat till your full? Well I guess that's what alot of chams do when at home and their being over fed.

-Clemonde

Which is why I asked the question. He is about a year old. He gets fed every other day, usually 3-4 extra large locusts, or 1-2 adult locusts. Some days he eats them all quickly, other days he might not eat all of them, at which point they are removed. They are left in all day so that he can eat when he wants. I monitor him, so should he have a day where is also eating his plants a lot, i might give him a couple more. Other days if he is not eating much, I may leave it two or three days before i Feed him.

 

[Pure]

From my observations I'd say that they first put on extra weight in the casque, then the legs. If your chams legs look like baby thighs then you are over feeding. Looking at your avatar...best I can tell, no your guy isn't over fed.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

That picture is a little old. His legs seem to be the same though, but I have noticed that his casque looks a little podgy at the back. His shedding started to calm down at about 5 months, but now he seems to be shedding every 3-4 weeks again. It's also one of those things that people don't seem to ask, as the chams are usually not eating, so I thought I would check!

 

[Miss Lily]

I think that in general the males do have fatter casques and cheeks than the females. There is a male at the livefood shop who is just the same and he always seems to be shedding a different part whenever I go in there! As they age they shed different parts at different times rather than the full body shed that the babies go through. Amy's growth has slowed right down now, and it's been 3 months since her last shed. I think there is one imminent though - she's looking a bit 'frosty' at the moment, lol!

Yes, Lily was a fat girl. I didn't know any better when I got her and let her eat all that she wanted. When I got her (at 6 months of age) she was bigger than Amy is now at 8 months. Sadly, I learnt that overfeeding females is bad the hard way, and, so far, Amy is nowhere near as greedy as Lily was. Lily weighed 200g one month after she laid 102 infertiles, but I think that some of this weight was due to the fluid build-up inside her body cavity as she was sick.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I think that in general the males do have fatter casques and cheeks than the females. There is a male at the livefood shop who is just the same and he always seems to be shedding a different part whenever I go in there! As they age they shed different parts at different times rather than the full body shed that the babies go through. Amy's growth has slowed right down now, and it's been 3 months since her last shed. I think there is one imminent though - she's looking a bit 'frosty' at the moment, lol!

Yes, Lily was a fat girl. I didn't know any better when I got her and let her eat all that she wanted. When I got her (at 6 months of age) she was bigger than Amy is now at 8 months. Sadly, I learnt that overfeeding females is bad the hard way, and, so far, Amy is nowhere near as greedy as Lily was. Lily weighed 200g one month after she laid 102 infertiles, but I think that some of this weight was due to the fluid build-up inside her body cavity as she was sick.

Sorry if you thought I was being mean Tiff, I wasn't. I remembered you saying she would always eat, so was trying to use that example that they won't always stop once 'full'. Lily was lovely. I think we all want to make sure that our animals are well looked after. I am constantly spoiling the cats and giving them treats, and am trying not to do the same with Hugo! (none of my cats are overweight by the way! ) I just noticed the other day that his casque seemed a bit podgy!

 

[Miss Lily]

Sorry if you thought I was being mean Tiff, I wasn't. I remembered you saying she would always eat, so was trying to use that example that they won't always stop once 'full'. Lily was lovely. I think we all want to make sure that our animals are well looked after. I am constantly spoiling the cats and giving them treats, and am trying not to do the same with Hugo! (none of my cats are overweight by the way! ) I just noticed the other day that his casque seemed a bit podgy!

I know you weren't being mean, Emma. If my experience with Lily can help someone else and enable their chameleon to live longer than Lily did, then I shall be happy. Amy is completely the opposite to Lily. If she's not hungry she just won't eat! Same as with drinking - it's impossible to make them do something that they don't want to! Lily would eat everything offered to her no matter what time of day!

 

[jojackson]

this is worth a read.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=98

 

[nightcrawler]

This is what a fat cham looks like...

See how he is resting his blubber on the branch, and how it overhangs and pools over his leg. Notice he is waiting by where I used to put the cup for cup feeding. Hes just sitting there waiting to be fed like a fat ass.

 

[hallenhe]

I, too, was poking around on Chameleon News, but couldn't find quite the article I remembered. At any rate, one of their articles (some years ago) said that at necropsy it was often found that pet chameleons had more in the way of stored fat than would be desirable, and that overfeeding was fairly common. With herptiles, we're so delighted when our animals eat (who ever heard of a dog owner saying, "Yeah, I have no trouble getting him to feed, and he drinks great, too!"), and it's one of the best chances for mutually positive interaction, so it can be easy to go a bit overboard.

 

[kinyonga]

In female chameleons, overfeeding can contribute to egglaying difficulties, constipation and even prolapsing, likely shortened life and larger clutches. In males I'm not sure what it does besides likely shortening its life.