Paranoid new cham owner...would you check on me, please?

[mirrinias]

Here's the info:



Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled, 4.5 months, I've had him since Friday evening

Handling - About 5 minutes every day

Feeding - Small crickets -- on Saturday he ate 7 crickets and two butterworms. They had been gutloaded with apples and carrots. Yesterday he only ate one. Today he hasn't eaten any at all.

Supplements - Repcal calcium without D3 on everything every day so far, planning on with D3 and a vitamin once a week.

Watering - I have a mister from Exoterra which I really like. I only see him drinking when I directly mist him and he gets drops on his mouth. He hates being misted. He's been misted for 2 minutes every hour and a half or so.

Fecal Description - Never been tested for parasites as far as I know. His first poop was brown and white, the next day's was brown and just a bit yellow, so I've been misting more but I'm worried about that too. Today he hasn't gone.

History - None that I know of.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen 18x18x36"

Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 18" long, 100 watt basking bulb

Temperature - 80 to 90 degrees basking spot, down to 71 at the bottom of the cage. Measured with two thermometers. At night, doesn't get below 70, tested before getting him. Also I don't really tolerate the room getting below 70 very well.

Humidity - I have three live plants which helps, the cage ranges from 40% to 70% right after misting.

Plants - 1 coleus, one ficus benjamina, one pothos

Placement - It's on a table in my bedroom, the top is about four feet up. Not near any vents and it's in my bedroom, so I'm the only one who comes in here.

Location - North of Seattle

Current Problem - He ate on Saturday, the first day I had him, but Sunday he ate only one cricket and today I haven't seen him eating at all. I'm worried about dehydration too, so I have upped the mistings. He only seems to drink when droplets hit his mouth. He has crickets within reach in the cage, but he hasn't gone after them. If this keeps up he won't be getting enough calcium either...

 

[pbveiled]

It can take up to 2 weeks for your cham to get fully acclimated to his new environment. Give him some time to settle in and he should be OK.

You may want to try a dripper going all day for drinking. You should also check member sandrachameleons blogs on gutloading as apples and carrots are not enough to give your cham the nutrients he needs.

 

[mirrinias]

That's just the gutload I'm starting with, I also have collard greens and orange that I'm going to put in with fresh apple and carrot tonight.

 

[SpartyTessy]

That's just the gutload I'm starting with, I also have collard greens and orange that I'm going to put in with fresh apple and carrot tonight.

You can also dust those fruits and veggies with cricket crack and/or DinoFuel which you can get from sponsors on this forum which have tons of stuff you want to include in your gutload. Both are highly recommended.

 

[mirrinias]

You can also dust those fruits and veggies with cricket crack and/or DinoFuel which you can get from sponsors on this forum which have tons of stuff you want to include in your gutload. Both are highly recommended.

I think I'm going to order some of that Dinofuel on payday

 

[pbveiled]

Repashy superload is also very good. The crickets cant get enough of it. I've heard the same about cricket crack.

 

[Grim Crow]

The crickets could also be too big. If you get crickets from petstore, alot of the time "small" isn't really all the small. I've ordered 4 week old crickets that look smaller than a pet stores "small" crickets. Try getting some smaller crickets from an online cricket ranch like flukers or american cricket ranch. On the bright side, you tend to save alot of money ordering and caring for your own crickets, just be careful to keep things clean. And also, crickets can get smelly.

 

[mirrinias]

The crickets could also be too big. If you get crickets from petstore, alot of the time "small" isn't really all the small. I've ordered 4 week old crickets that look smaller than a pet stores "small" crickets. Try getting some smaller crickets from an online cricket ranch like flukers or american cricket ranch. On the bright side, you tend to save alot of money ordering and caring for your own crickets, just be careful to keep things clean. And also, crickets can get smelly.

The sellers (chameleons northwest) approved of the size of cricket I had, but I'll keep it in mind.

He just rubbed his head on a branch. Could he maybe be ready to shed already? He still has some shed on his back from last time.

 

[mirrinias]

Hey! He just ate five crickets, and one of them was really big! Turns out he likes me to dish them up in a piece of egg carton

 

[Black Panther]

The vitamin and calcium with D3 should be given twice a month. Also I dont know the temperatures in your house but the 100w seems excessive. A 40 or 60w bulb worms for most owners

 

[mirrinias]

The vitamin and calcium with D3 should be given twice a month. Also I dont know the temperatures in your house but the 100w seems excessive. A 40 or 60w bulb worms for most owners

Cool, twice a month, I can do that. I did post my temperatures up there...the 100w is giving me normally about 85-90 in the basking spot with a gradient down to 70. He likes his basking spot, moves when he's too hot, and can't get close enough to burn himself