Veiled chameleon not growing

[Decadancin]

So, it could be parasites, but am I the only one wondering why you are feeding such small feeders to this animal? Flightless fruit flies and 1/8th inch crickets seems too small to me. I would think that a mid sized cricket could easily be handled by her. She may not be getting enough food and this could be leading to slow growth. At that age I would be offering as many as can be eaten a few times a day.

 

[Zevil]

The fruit flies are just for him to hunt down. I didn't want to free range crickets/red runners because they always hide on the substrate under the dense foliage and my cham never goes down there. I put in a lot of fruit flies though, probably 80 or more at one time. He really love the flies. The crickets are actually a mixed size of 1/8 to 1/4 but more of the 1/8" ones, though I think he prefers the smaller ones. I always put in quite a number of crickets/red runners in his feeder cup, at least 30 of them.

Every time I have free time to watch him, he usually takes 14-18 in the first sitting. And he would walk away, chill for a few hours or so and then went again for his feeder cup for another feeding session, this time taking lesser feeders. Is that amount of food enough for him?

 

[Decadancin]

Could be, if that is a normal feeding then I would want to test for parasites. You should try Blue Bottle Flies or Black Soldier Flies to stimulate hunting. Many chameleons can't resist.

 

[Zevil]

Could be, if that is a normal feeding then I would want to test for parasites. You should try Blue Bottle Flies or Black Soldier Flies to stimulate hunting. Many chameleons can't resist.

Nobody sells blue bottle flies here but I could buy some bsfl and let them pupate. I put a few bsfl in his enclosure once and they mature into bsf. He appears to be confused about them, I took the bsf out after like an hour. Maybe I should leave them inside the enclosure for a longer period of time.

Btw he is going to visit a vet in a week.

 

[Decadancin]

The Black Soldier Flies do not move around too much and will land on a leaf and sit for a while. It may take some time for your chameleon to try his luck, but no harm leaving them in there for a while.

 

[Beman]

I have blue bottle flies (look for Spikes) and Black soldier flies (BSFL). Beman loves them. I use the gum container method. Once they pupate I toss them in to the container and then they hatch out and fly out for him to hunt. I hot glued a magnet to it so I could attach it with another magnet on the outside. I put a few tiny sticks in there so that they can crawl up them when they first hatch out. Then you just leave the little opening up so they fly out.

 

[JoXie411]

I agree with @Decadancin

I have blue bottle flies (look for Spikes) and Black soldier flies (BSFL). Beman loves them. I use the gum container method. Once they pupate I toss them in to the container and then they hatch out and fly out for him to hunt. I hot glued a magnet to it so I could attach it with another magnet on the outside. I put a few tiny sticks in there so that they can crawl up them when they first hatch out. Then you just leave the little opening up so they fly out.

View attachment 234405

is that from a gum container?

 

[JoXie411]

Hey did you ever get your chameleon to the vet? How’s he doing?

 

[Beman]

I agree with @Decadancin

is that from a gum container?

Yes!!! @JacksJill posted this and I am so thankful she did because it works great and then I don’t have to touch them to get them into the cage lol

 

[JoXie411]

Yes!!! @JacksJill posted this and I am so thankful she did because it works great and then I don’t have to touch them to get them into the cage lol

I need to give that a try. Got some smart cookies on here. Thanks @JacksJill

 

[JacksJill]

Yes!!! @JacksJill posted this and I am so thankful she did because it works great and then I don’t have to touch them to get them into the cage lol

I like the upgrade you put on it with the magnet I may have to do that with mine now.

 

[Beman]

I like the upgrade you put on it with the magnet I may have to do that with mine now.

I have a magnet hot glued to the lid and then I have one on the outside of the cage. It works great!

 

[Zevil]

Hey did you ever get your chameleon to the vet? How’s he doing?

It is on Saturday, another two more days. But I haven't seen his poop yet, I did see his white urates but no brownish part of his poop. Must have been washed off into the dense foliage. =/

I made a few changes to his husbandry. Ordered a zoo med T5 24" hood and reptisun T5 5.0 24" from someone in my area but he sent me the wrong bulb, a T8 18". Waiting for someone to come and collect it and give me the correct one. I also ordered bee pollen granules online. Lastly, I am getting bsfl and small superworms today.

 

[Thehippie]

It is on Saturday, another two more days. But I haven't seen his poop yet, I did see his white urates but no brownish part of his poop. Must have been washed off into the dense foliage. =/

I made a few changes to his husbandry. Ordered a zoo med T5 24" hood and reptisun T5 5.0 24" from someone in my area but he sent me the wrong bulb, a T8 18". Waiting for someone to come and collect it and give me the correct one. I also ordered bee pollen granules online. Lastly, I am getting bsfl and small superworms today.

good luck finding a fresh poo lol!!!

 

[JoXie411]

It is on Saturday, another two more days. But I haven't seen his poop yet, I did see his white urates but no brownish part of his poop. Must have been washed off into the dense foliage. =/

I made a few changes to his husbandry. Ordered a zoo med T5 24" hood and reptisun T5 5.0 24" from someone in my area but he sent me the wrong bulb, a T8 18". Waiting for someone to come and collect it and give me the correct one. I also ordered bee pollen granules online. Lastly, I am getting bsfl and small superworms today.

Thank and I’ll will check back in two days

 

[Zevil]

Update:

So I got the bsfl and small super worms. The super worms turn out to be slightly larger than
the standard mealworms. So anyway I threw 20 bsfl and 10 super worms. I also threw like a dozen crickets to attract his attention to the feeder cup. And I went to work, I will see the results at night when I get home.

The bee pollen will arrive today.

Unfortunately, I can't get the T5 5.0. It's out of stock. I went to another local site and ordered and out of stock too. Waiting for refund. Now I have a question, will the Arcadia D3 T5 6% UVB fit into the zoo med T5 hood?

 

[JoXie411]

Now I have a question, will the Arcadia D3 T5 6% UVB fit into the zoo med T5 hood

Yes it should just make sure the bulb is 2” shorter then the hood.

 

[maxK]

yeah i got mmine from pet mountain its the cheapest place i could find it!

 

[Zevil]

yeah i got mmine from pet mountain its the cheapest place i could find it!

I saw the description for the Arcadia bulb, it says 550m, which is almost 22 inch. My hood is 24 inch. Are they compatible?

 

[JoXie411]

Yes