Senegal Wont eat...3 weeks now

H

Herpgirl88

New Member
Hi everyone,
So I am concerned about my little girl Cam. I offer her food in her cage but she doesn't eat it. There are super tiny hornworms crawling around in there and some super worms. She has a "little Dripper" set up that drips about every 30 seconds. She seems to be getting skinnier everyday. I will post the information I first posted again.

I Have, I believe to be, a female Senegal chameleon. The temp of the basking area is around 85-90 degrees, The cool side is between 70-75 degrees. She has a uvb light. And she is in a tall screen caged. I mist her 4 times a day and she also has a dripping system so she can get water. I'm not quite sure how old she is but she is about 6" long... maybe 5.5inches long. The humidity is usually 60-75%. She has a lot of fake plants in there and a little food bowl that sits right that the top of the vine.

I Have fed her in the past super worms, mealworms, and waxworms. Is there something that I am missing? I got her from a pet shop... But she has eaten for me before and I've had her for about 8 months now. Thanks for your feedback.

Heres two pictures of Cam and her Tank set up(labeled):

http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/z...C6-4B96-8285-6C6F58CCAA65.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/zephmore/media/ScreenShot2014-09-30at53431AM.png.html?sort=3&o=1
-Amanda

Ps:
When I got her from the petshop she was in the same enclosure as a jackson's Chameleon. She was also very skinny when I got her. And I remember her being on the bottom of the tank where the substrate was clawing at the tank sides she was in. Is she just really stressed? But shouldn't she be over that now since it's been a while since I got her?

I also just bought her small crickets, hoping that she will eat those dusted and gut loaded. Thanks Again!
 
Sorry your cham is having problems.
The reason it is better to cut and paste the questions from here https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ and then add your answers is so that we have all the information needed to give you informed, intelligent replies, rather than guessing at what might be wrong.

Looking at your pictures, I see 2 things that I would change but that does not mean either has caused the not eating problem.

The first is the wood chips on the bottom of her cage. It is extremely easy for a cham to accidentally eat one and end up with a blockage in her digestion.
What can happen is, a cham aims and shoots her tongue at a bug that's on the chips and the bug moves at the last moment, so the chip is grabbed instead or the cham gets the bug but the bug is still clinging onto a wood chip.
This is one reason why a substrate--although nice looking--is not recommended.
The other equally important reason is that it is far too easy for substrates to grow mold and/or bacteria which can make your cham ill.

The second thing I would change is to be sure that you block her view of other creatures.
I have no idea what is living in the enclosure next to her but that may be causing her constant low level stress and making her not want to eat.

Another possible issue that comes to mind, which would not be answered with the help Qs is that she may be full of infertile eggs that she needs to lay but having nowhere to lay them, it's adversely affecting her.
Here is good info about laying bins https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/


Finally, providing the answers to all the Help Qs will tell us if there are other things which need to be changed and may get her back to eating and feeling better.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Senegal Chameleon, I believe to be Female, 8 months in my care.
Handling - Not too long or often. About 2 times a week for 5 minutes.
Feeding - Feeders are gut loaded with kale, carrots and collard green stems. I feed her Superworms, crickets, and small cockroaches. 3 super worms, 5-10 crickets, and 2 small cockroaches
Supplements - repti calcium with D3 and multivitamin
Watering - I used a little dripper and also spray her 4 times a day. Yes I see her drinking.
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites, but does poop white and brown.
History - I got her at a petshop that mistreated her so I thought that I should buy her. She was housed with a Jackson's Chameleon when I got her. She was also the same size she is now... she hasn't really grown.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 24" L X 24" W X 48" H
Lighting - Zoomed double light dome. exoterra uvb 100 bulb and zoomed day light The lights go off at night and are replaced with a light bulb that produces heat but no light.
Temperature - The temp of the basking area is around 85-90 degrees, The cool side is between 70-75 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is exactly 69 degrees. I use one of those gauges from petco to measure my temperature. I have 2 in different spots of the enclosure.
Humidity - 60-70% humidity, it goes back and forth. And I also use one of those gauges from petco to measure humidity.
Plants - They are all fake.
Placement - I'm now moving the cage to the side of my bed as another forum member recommended. She was next to a bearded dragon and 2 turtles... So I am moving her next to my bed where there is just only me.
Location - I live in Connecticut- middle of it. USA.

Current Problem - She's not eating...

I would also like people to know that I am now changing the substrate to Paper towels.
 
I just put my Cham on the side of my bed where there is no contact with other scary creatures That I have as pets in my room. I also changed the substrate to paper towels :D I hope this help my little Cham get to eating again :D
 
I'm glad you've removed the substrate and have moved her so she isn't next to the others.
You can also just use something to completely block a cham's view of other creatures, instead of moving an entire setup.
I hope you didn't miss what I said earlier about a laying bin.

I do see a couple of things in your care that should be changed in order to help your cham.
You said you supplement with "repti calcium with D3 and multivitamin"
These supplements are necessary but should each be used only 1x a month for Senegals.
What should be used most frequently, either daily or at most feedings is calcium without D3.
Too much D3 is a very bad idea, as it is known to cause health problems.
I would stop the D3 for the next month and use calcium at most feedings, instead.


As far as night heat goes, your cham would benefit from a nighttime drop in temperature.
Senegals can easily handle temps down into the 50s at night.

This may also be of interest to you https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/senegal/

You may find your cham's appetite improves after you make these changes and it can help to try new feeders like Phoenixworms and Blue Bottle Flies
Rebecca at mantisplace usually has some interesting feeders in smaller quantities.

If not, she may need a vet very soon.
 
Thanks all for your help. After changing her location and substrate she ate 3 super worms. :3 I dusted them with the calcium plus D3 and they were gone when I went to go check. Thanks so much. I didn't think my bearded dragon could stress my little cham out. But she did I guess. Thank you all so much for all your responses back to me. It means so much to me.
 
So glad that she has resumed eating.

I hope you will consider making the switch to calcium without D3 for most feedings and add a multivitamin and only use the one with D3 sparingly.

Most petstores will look at you like you're crazy for seeking calcium without D3 because they do not have much experience with chameleons.
Amazon, LLLReptile, Josh's Frogs and others all carry calcium without D3.
 
I echo the comments about supplements- you're gut loading feeders on leafy greens (great!) so use supplements sparingly- no more than once a week for calcium, once a month for D3. Also removing substrate is good.

My concern is watering- Senegals are from a tropical savannah climate with strong wet and dry seasons- some dry areas of west Africa receive no rain for 6 months or longer- basically a semi-desert. You said you are misting 4 times a day plus have a dripper running, with RH at 75%. It's my opinion that is way too much water/humidity. Combined with the substrate the moisture would contribute to mold and bacterial growth in the enclosure. I recommend misting no more than twice a day, and run the dripper every other day for 2-3 hours. Let the enclosure dry out and humidity drop to ambient levels between waterings. Take her out of her enclosure and do a deep soak/shower once a week if you want, but don't saturate her enclosure. Chameleons will also receive moisture from feeder insects, and you're doing good gut loads-just my 2 cents...
 
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