picky eater

[nimax67]

hi folks. I've had my adult male panther chameleon, Alfie, for just under a year (he's about 14 months old). He's always had a good appetite. A few months ago I moved him into an XXL Reptibreeze mesh vivarium, mix of live and plastic plants, plenty of branches, arcadia luminaire D3 UVB light, heat spot, good humidity and spraying, etc. Pretty good set up I think.

Couple of questions, please. Over the last couple of months, he's gone off pretty much all of his food except morio worms (he was eating dubia roaches, locusts, crickets and an occasional fruit beetle larva, but not anymore). I'm now keeping insects as pets, not what I set out to do however pretty fruit beetles are!! I have been dusting with Vet Ark ArkVits and Vet Ark Calci Dust (recommended by local reptile experienced vet) but I've been told the arkvits are no good and should switch to Sticky Tongue Miner Al (which I've just sent off for, so will switch up, if that's what's recommended).

However what do I do about his refusing to eat anything but morio worms? Even with supplements and gut loading, I'm sure morios aren't enough. He's otherwise happy and active and poo'ing well. Someone said I should get him checked for parasites, but surely that would affect overall appetite and not just some insects? Obviously I will take him to the vet if that's the right thing to do, but he is totally otherwise healthy as far as I can see... Any advice welcome please?

 

[jcarlsen]

I feel your pain, man. The advice I've been given a few times, and that I'm currently trying to do, is just stop offering the worms he'll only eat. As long as he's watered properly, he'll eventually get hungry enough to eat something else. I'm assuming morio are the same or are similar to superworms, which is what my guy, Jasper, is hooked on.

I'm currently a week into not offering any superworms and only dubia for now. No takers so far... I'm not sure how much longer I want to hold out, but I'm monitoring his weight closely to make sure it stays in the right range.

 

[nimax67]

I feel your pain, man. The advice I've been given a few times, and that I'm currently trying to do, is just stop offering the worms he'll only eat. As long as he's watered properly, he'll eventually get hungry enough to eat something else. I'm assuming morio are the same or are similar to superworms, which is what my guy, Jasper, is hooked on.

I'm currently a week into not offering any superworms and only dubia for now. No takers so far... I'm not sure how much longer I want to hold out, but I'm monitoring his weight closely to make sure it stays in the right range.

hi jcarlsen
thanks for that, difficult to count what he's eating cricket/locust wise, I put his food in a deep dish, can easily see he eats the morios as they cant escape, and of the 10 crickets I put in today, there's 9 left, but that might have jumped out of the dish and with the greenery it's impossible to see the free range insects, but I will persevere. I have him booked for a vet appointment on Thursday and will bring along a poo specimen just in case, and it won't hurt to get him checked anyway. Well, he'll be mightily annoyed but it's good for him

 

[JacksJill]

What jcarlsen said. I would also try different feeders that you already have and see if you can find his second favorite. Just hold back the favorite for now.
A healthy animal will never intentionally starve itself to death. A healthy animal can afford to get picky.
A health check up and a routine fecal are never a bad idea.

 

[nimax67]

What jcarlsen said. I would also try different feeders that you already have and see if you can find his second favorite. Just hold back the favorite for now.
A healthy animal will never intentionally starve itself to death. A healthy animal can afford to get picky.
A health check up and a routine fecal are never a bad idea.

well he's refused the crickets yesterday, but happily ate a fruit beetle larva. I guess he's healthy and just too damned fussy! Vet booked tomorrow afternoon and poo in a bag ready (though hopefully with the larva he'll supply with me a fresh offering overnight)

 

[nimax67]

so the vet says there's no parasites in his poo. that's good, but why has he gone off crickets?

 

[JacksJill]

If my cham had his way he would eat nothing but super worms. Because I know he's hooked on them he only gets them once a week at most.

 

[nimax67]

well i'm going to starve him for a couple of days and give him crickets, see how that works. little bugger

 

[nimax67]

well, so far, day 6 of alternate crickets and locusts and the little bugger still won't eat!

 

[jcarlsen]

My guy's been going over two weeks with me offering him dubia instead of his usual supers. The addiction is strong! Fortunately, his weight hasn't fluctuated and he's drinking plenty... I've ordered some silk worms to at least give him something different.

 

[nimax67]

he's currently out in his cage on the balcony getting a bit of sun, he's still mobile and active and drinking. He did a bit of a stringy poo with urates. I've got some silk worms, but I want him to be hungry enough for him to think yummy crickets. It's a battle of will, man vs. chameleon. I reckon he will win because I hate to see him not eat, however I will persevere a few days mores.