Realy need help with veiled chameleon

[Tina23]

My Veiled chameleon stop eating. He refuses to eat about 3 weeks ago but after it he was begun a few days of eating and then again stop... Now about 1 week he didn't touch the food... We tried various food crickets,all worms...silkworms etc ..Very worried because it seems to begin with dehydration. So we started doing every day shower and we talk a guy with which to buy our chameleon (we buy him 5 month ago). He said help him get calcium through the pipette with water, it would have started and it. But we are still very worry. Maybe someone has an idea or similar experience?Before that, he had perfect appetite.
I put picture how his look now..Today I put in his mouth worms I thought maybe it will help...But he did not even try to swallow

 

[carol5208]

Tina, hello and welcome the forums. Sorry you are having issues with your chameleon. He looks very healthy and handsome from the pics you posted. Chameleons are known to go on hunger strikes. They can get bored with food, but there can be other reasons too. You are not alone with this happening. If you would take the time to fill out this form we can better assist https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/. Let's make sure there is nothing in your set up that could be causing him to have lack of appetite.

 

[Tina23]

Thank you very much for your answer, although strange that so long without food can be so active but he is very active. We are happy though it. I hope soon to return appetite

 

[Tina23]

And I cant open this form

 

[slinko9]

Yes Tina,,,he looks like a mighty fine specimen of a Cham!!!
Somebody just posted about a similar situation and all it took to get their cham back into an eating machine was a flying insect!!! Find a moth or a big fly or let a worm turn into a moth,,,makesure its not a worm that turns into a beetle!!!
But ya,,,it seems to me that chams get excited by moving prey,,,so,,,thats one suggestion!!
However,,,a pic of your enclosure and the help form filled out will help others help you too!!!
Good Luck!!
CHEERZ!

 

[camimom]

How often are you trying to feed him?

adults dont need food everyday, so he may simply not be hungry.

 

[FrankTheTank]

If that's a recent picture, then he definitely doesn't look starved. Maybe you were feeding him too much at one time and he stays full longer. How much are you feeding him when you do?

 

[Kate]

And I cant open this form

Go on to health clinic page and click on fourth one down.

 

[mcbdz]

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.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types 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?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

This is the questionnaire. We need as much detail on answers as possible

 

[Tina23]

Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, male, 6-7 month . We have him about 5 month.
Handling - as we have to buy chameleon, he was a very aggressive and salesman said to take it as often as possible to allow for acclimatization and there would be such aggression so we take him every day.
Feeding - crickets,worms and locust. His eating every morning and every evening. If we give him crickets we give him 4 at one time and in evening the same. If its locust then 2 in day becouse locust is much bigger.If worms we give to him from cup and his take how much his won't.
Supplements- NUTROBAL - a calcium balancer and multivitamins. And now we extra buy KOMODO PREMIUM- complete and balanced holistic diet.
Watering- He s have dripper we use 2 times in day and have waterwall its always on and we spray about 4 times in day.
Fecal Description - fecal looks like sometime dark brown sometime like white. And no his never tested for parasites.
Cage Info:

Cage Type - Exo terra, glass, 40/60/60
Lighting- heating bulb exo tera 60w yellow colour and day light is - exo terra Repti Glo 5.0 Tropical Terrarium Lamp 15w. The light 14 hours on per day.Start 7am and of 9pm.
Temperature - In the cold side is 25C in hot side 32-35C. At night its 25C we use heating pad.
Humidity- from 70% to 90%. We spray on the plant.
Plants- We use and live plants and plastics.But I m not remember plants names.
Placement- Its 80cm from the floor.We not use additional fans.
Location - Ireland/Dublin.
Current Problem - Hi s open mouth lately quite often.

 

[Tina23]

Our terrarium

 

[carol5208]

Tina you never mentioned in your original post that your chameleon was holding his mouth open often. That could be a sign of a respiratory infection. Do you ever see him with his nose up in the air, hear a wheezing or popping noise, see any mucous or saliva that is excessive? You are keeping him in glass that does tend to hold the humidity Does your level ever drop below 75% It could be that is it too high which cause damp conditions which breed bacteria which in turn can lead to respiratory problems. I don't know what your temps are. I need to learn to convert celsius for farenheit. Respiratory infections can lead to loss of appetite.

 

[mcbdz]

I'm still quiet new so hopefully the more experienced keepers will correct me if I'm wrong. Their can be several reasons they will keep their mouth open. My first thoughts would be He's too hot or RI. How are you measuring you temps and where. You need a temp in basking spot, mid cage and at the bottom. I don't know C, only F and not anywhere to convert right now but high in basking spot9should be around 8inches below light) should be 88-90 degrees. then should cool down the farther you move way from the light. The humidity looks high for a veild, also. If your temp are good for sure and you know he's doing it even when not hot then you should have him checked by your vet for Respiratory infection. You will need a prescription for this.

 

[Tina23]

Before his never holding his mouth open often. And his open just in terrarium if I take him on my hands or in shower everything fine. But I never thing about respiratory infection. But can be.We still have visit to the vet in next week I think .Becouse all of whom show it he looks healthy but we see that something is wrong.

 

[carol5208]

They really don't look physically sick with a Respiratory infection. They just show the symptoms I describe. If he is only doing it inthe enclosure then it is probably too hot for him. Did you recently switch bulbs or are you running heat in your house that your house temps has increased which would inturn increase the cage temp?

 

[Tina23]

Finally, after a long time he eats 4 worms But I need much efforts to interesting him for food. There is not much but better than nothing. Yes we start heated in house so Its can be reason . We have another problem he s sees himself in terrarium glass and I now its not good .But this problem we fix quickly.

 

[Kate]

32-35 is far too hot for him IMO. I would not let basking area go above 30. You need to remove your waterfall as it is a breeding ground for bacteria. Also I would only use Nutrabol once or twice a week and plain calcium without d3 daily. I use locustsv( hoppers ) most days and Popeye will eat about 6. . I wouldn't use wingers as they bite. Do you need a heat mat? They can take temps as low as 12-13 at night. He will very soon need a big boy cage as the sizes you give are very small.imo.

 

[slinko9]

Im thinkin you should try to feed him before evening time also,,,i try to get all my feedings done by at least 3ish so that my guy gets a good 3 to 4 hours of light to digest his food before beddy byes!!!!
And ya,,,25-28 celsius max is way more than enough heat!!!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

There is nothing wrong with 35C (95F) for basking for an adult male veiled.

A waterfall in a glass cage like that is going to cause very high humidity, and the waterfall itself is very unsanitary since it doesn't have a filter, and thus can cause problems with mold and bacterial growth very quickly. These things can definitely lead to respiratory problems. I'm a little surprised that you would be able to get a gradient from 25-35 degrees in a glass cage like that. He could be holding his mouth open because he is too warm. Now 35 for basking is fine, but only if there is an actual gradient that he can use to cool back down. Glass cages retain heat well so if he can't actually move into a cooler zone then he could be overheating because he can't cool down. Holding the mouth could be a sign of respiratory infection however, which will require veterinary treatment. A 60x60x120 is actually the recommended size for an adult veiled.

 

[nickl123]

the same thing happened to my 4 month old veiled, he didnt eat insects for 3 weeks, but he was eating greens (mustard green, collard greens and kale).

then in the same dish with the greens i started putting wax worms (only for a couple days to help gain some weight back)

then i phased out the waxed worms with crickets by putting crickets waxed worms and the greens in the same feeding container and reducing the number of waxed worms every day.

his eating has improved

btw dust the greens with calcium if you intend to try this method and check for parasites