Something wrong with my cham?

perkinschammie

New Member
Hello there! I've had my Cham for roughly a week and a half now- and I've noticed something slightly concerning. Though we're not sure of his precise age, he's around three months old. This morning whenever I turned his lights on and misted his cage, I noticed that his excrament had full mealworms in it, almost as if he hadn't digested them properly. He also hadn't eaten several of the crickets we had given him. On top of this, he seemed somewhat… I don't know what word to use… hesitant? whenever I tried to pick him up. I hold him quite often, usually once a day or so, and he's always very friendly towards me, so I was a bit surprised when he didn't want to be held. I'm fairly experienced with reptiles; I currently have multiple snakes and have had geckos and bearded dragons in the past, and I've also been given advice from the pet store where he was purchased, so I know I'm not harming him or stressing him when I hold him; but today and last night he's seemed sort of uncomfortable. I'm not an expert on chams, so I don't know what could be wrong with him. Any help?
Here is a photo of him-
2801ggj.jpg
 
Hi perkinshammie,
What is the actual temperature at the main place where you chameleon sits most of the time? If it is 85°F is is just slightly low but not too bad. If it is more 75°F this too cold for sure. It is important to use a digital thermometer to measure this, not a gun thermometer (may register on the surface and not the air temperature) or not a 'sticky' thermometer which is not reliable (circular thermometer with a gauge or linear thermometer).
Keep us posted. Hope this helps.
 
What time does he usually eat? I've read that they need about 4-5 hrs to digest each meal or snack so make sure you are providing food earlier rather than later. Also, don't listen to advice from pet stores. They really have no idea what they're talking about...
 
Chams aren't like beardies and don't always like being handled and can get quite stressed. So do tolerate it. Just so you're aware.
Also, does your Cham have spurs on back feet, I can't see any on the pics. Which could mean you have a female.
Only suggestion with the undigested food is to double check your temps.
Kath.
 
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