The Petshop instructs me to feed the chameleon by force

[Yak]

hey wait a minute!
chameleons live wild in saudi arabia!! just put him outside in a screen cage
throw some fruit near the cage or a bit of meat and plenty of insects will come
don't use any artificial lights use the SUN, the best light there is!!! just give your little cham plenty of water and a big screen cage wiith lots of live plants and branches and he ll be fine outside ALL YEAR ROUND!!! the light you have in the cage could actually kill your chameleon by burning him ( he looks a bit burnt on his head already!!! )
dont freeze the insects and try to not feed him dead insects just put the bugs in the fridge for a few minutes before offering them to your cham! he should only eat LIVE insects and small vertebrates!

P.s have you got somebody who can take care of your cham while you're away??

There you have it, excellent advice. We are so "Americanized" we forget people in other countries don't have access to a lot of these commodities.
Great advice italian

 

[Yak]

Fruit flies are to small for a chameleon that size to gain any nutrition from a feeder as small as a fruit fly. A piece of old meat such as fish would attract flies, but those will not be clean flies. Honestly he is in a predicament being where he is located because no pet stores carry insect feeders like they should nor know the proper husbandry.

I'm sorry, but fruit flies in SA are a lot bigger than the one you see here. Totally different species dear fellow. And yes you are right about the flesh flies, they carry bacteria.

 

[djfishygillz]

hey wait a minute!
chameleons live wild in saudi arabia!! just put him outside in a screen cage
throw some fruit near the cage or a bit of meat and plenty of insects will come
don't use any artificial lights use the SUN, the best light there is!!! just give your little cham plenty of water and a big screen cage wiith lots of live plants and branches and he ll be fine outside ALL YEAR ROUND!!! the light you have in the cage could actually kill your chameleon by burning him ( he looks a bit burnt on his head already!!! )
dont freeze the insects and try to not feed him dead insects just put the bugs in the fridge for a few minutes before offering them to your cham! he should only eat LIVE insects and small vertebrates!

P.s have you got somebody who can take care of your cham while you're away??

The live in the coast of Saudi Arabia, not in the inland. So it depends on where he lives.

 

[djfishygillz]

I'm sorry, but fruit flies in SA are a lot bigger than the one you see here. Totally different species dear fellow. And yes you are right about the flesh flies, they carry bacteria.

I don't want to see the flies out there then :-0

 

[djfishygillz]

No whats silly is roasting a chameleon in 105 degree weather.

the fact that the cham turned bright yellow and hid in the pot means he was too hot outside.

so lights inside is better than roasting a chameleon.

I second this one.

 

[Yak]

I don't want to see the flies out there then :-0

Ha ha, the flies there bite!

 

[Perla Adams]

One month ago, when I get the chameleon, I tried to put some “Fly Traps” outside and some fresh fruit (mango, bananas) in the cage and leave the windows open. Believe it or not, here is so hot and dry that any meat, fruit, etc, complete dehydrated ( I am not exaggerating) before any fly go to live there. It is the desert!

So, not fruit flies, at least not in this time of the year. There are some big flies (my husband call then horse flies) but are rare, and when we see one, we run to hunt it.

My best alternatives so far are the small roaches. When the summer is over, probably we will get more insects.

Today, I bought a nice outdoor bush. Tomorro,w I will go to our equivalent “Home depot” and get something to build a temporary outdoor cage. Also I bought the moonlight lamp.

Again, thank you for all your recommendation,

Bye for now

 

[Juancito]

One month ago, when I get the chameleon, I tried to put some “Fly Traps” outside and some fresh fruit (mango, bananas) in the cage and leave the windows open. Believe it or not, here is so hot and dry that any meat, fruit, etc, complete dehydrated ( I am not exaggerating) before any fly go to live there. It is the desert!

So, not fruit flies, at least not in this time of the year. There are some big flies (my husband call then horse flies) but are rare, and when we see one, we run to hunt it.

My best alternatives so far are the small roaches. When the summer is over, probably we will get more insects.

Today, I bought a nice outdoor bush. Tomorro,w I will go to our equivalent “Home depot” and get something to build a temporary outdoor cage. Also I bought the moonlight lamp.

Again, thank you for all your recommendation,

Bye for now

idk what type of plants you can get over there but vieleds eat plants for hydration. Get a ficus, pothos, dracena, yucca, or umbrella plant (non toxic plants). There is a list of non toxic plants on the forum. Can somebody link it for her to see

 

[Dgood]

Here is the safe plant link, these are some of the most popular plants among chameleon owners

https://www.chameleonforums.com/plants/

 

[Yak]

I was looking at the poor fellow, and seems as if he has bruises in his rib area. If he is in pain he wont want to eat much. Try to capture as many roaches, locust, snails... be careful with wild flies, they carry a lot of diseases...
good luck

 

[Perla Adams]

Hello:

I found a Jasmine; it is in the list of safe plants for chameleons according to the next link http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp#j but in other sites it said its berries can be toxic, just to be safe, I will not let it produce berries.

I hope, I did not hurt him too much when I tried to force feeding him last time. I am very sad for his condition. Today, I will try to give him roaches,Yesterday he did not take them. Still, I did not see him drinking from the dropper but I keep spraying the cage and plants. This morning I placed him in the outdoor plant until it was too hot, I will try again this afternoon. I hope that cheer him up.

Here are two videos, the first is when he drinks the first time (a couple of days after we got him, we were very happy when he drank the first time. the first two days he was not drinking or eating We tried to place fresh fruit in his cage to attract flies, but it did not work).The second videos was when we got a fly (we placed him inside a closed tank to eat, so the flies do not scape). The chameleon has 5 weeks with us. We will do anything we can to keep him alive and in good conditions. I hope he survive our first mistakes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXy7hw5O_7s&list=PLM2UxLlzZ65FZ8zXvHLlEWgosfK-Ig5Dw

Also, Yesterday, I went to the vet (is from the same company of the Pet Shop, It is a large Pet Shop by the way, with many stores in several cities). He also told me about the force feeding, I told him, “No, that is wrong”. Basically, I am in my own. They should not sell chameleons; I hope they are not taking them from the wild, which will be even worse.

Bye for now

 

[Kate]

He doesn't look too bad. Limbs a bit skinny. Can you get the dirt out of the tank and line it with paper towel. When he aimed for that fly he could easy have caught some of the dirt and that could cause impaction. You are doing great in changing everything. Keep asking questions.

 

[Perla Adams]

Hello:

It is not dirt; it is a kind of carpet make with coconut and other natural fibers. The packet has several large pieces; they are thick and soft, it supposes they are special for reptiles.

Thank you for ask,

Bye for now

 

[Oliviabryant]

Regardless they hold a lot of moisture and breed bacteria, you have to ensure it will never stay damp and that you can clean it. Which is more trouble than anything. It's best to put down paper towels, these people have been dealing with chameleons for a long time and know a thing or two.

 

[Perla Adams]

Hello:

Olivia, you are right. In addition to what you mentioned, it is costly, because the mats are disposable and I need to change them regularly. Perhaps, this is just another bad recommendation by my PetShop. There is a new PetShop in town; I will try to visit it soon.

Here are two pictures of my new setting. I think that I incorporate all the suggestion:

-Large and tall cage.
-I have an thermometer/hygrometer outside the cage to monitor the conditions.
-50W infrared lamp outside the cage (not risk of burn). I also have a “moon light” 50W bulb for nigh time.
-The dropper is working fine but I keep spraying.
-The plant has a lot of branches, so the chameleon can go up and down as he pleases.

Still, I have one concert respect the plant. In the supermarket they didn’t know the name, so I took the risk and bring it home. I hope it does not turn toxic before I confirm its name, I can replace it if necessary.

My chameleon likes to be up in the branches, so I am not sure if I need increase the bulb for 100W. The pet shop also has Full Spectrum Light, but I don’t know if I need it since I am arranging an outdoor cage where the chameleon can live most of the year. Right now, I take him for outdoor short session due to the hot weather.

Yesterday, the chameleon was drinking, and today he eats a roaches (cup feeding). I think is is better but still recovering; I will keep watching his behavior.

Again, thank you for all recommendation,
Bye got now

PS, I am attaching a picture of Champs (that is his name) Yesterday while he was outdoor, it was windy so he closes his eyes, but he seem enjoy his time, his color were nice and bright.

 

[Kate]

Champs is looking good. I think your plant is a Ficus which is safe. Perhaps someone will confirm. Can I ask why you need the moon bulb? How low do your themps drop at night?

 

[Perla Adams]

Thank you Kate:

I keep the house at 74F all the time, sometimes a little warmer, but never below that. I bought the “moon light” because I read somewhere that those
good for chameleons, perhaps I do not need it.

You are correct, it is a ficus!, I check for picture online, the leaves are the same, good that it is safe.

Thanks

 

[Kate]

Can I suggest you don't need night bulb as Champs can cope with temp drop to 55f overnight. It's good for them to drop their temps overnight to slow down their metabolism in order for them to sleep. A bit like ourselves.

 

[Perla Adams]

You are correct; I just read the same thing here in the forum.

Today, I will return the black bulb and get a UVB light instead. That pet shop gave me so much bad information. Good that I found this forum.

Bye for now

 

[Dgood]

Good job on the remake of the cage that looks way better, turned a bird house into a Cham house that still shouldn't be permanent but it's a very good start to getting your Cham into better shape. And yes he needs to have heat lamp and the UVB on for 12 hours a day, than off for 12 hours so he can get some good sleep