Veiled Chameleon Won't Eat. Please Help.

[robsterr]

Hey everyone! I'm totally new to this forum thing and totally new to owning a chameleon! I read a bunch of stuff on taking care of them before I purchased one. My little guys name is Thor. He is a veiled chameleon and I'm not sure how old he is but he's pretty tiny so I'd say only a few months or so. I purchased him about a week ago at Petco. They told me that he was eating little crickets currently so when I bought him I bought a few crickets to feed him too. I read somewhere that chameleons take a few days before they eat because they have to get used to their new surroundings. But it's almost been a week and I haven't seen him eat any crickets. I give him about 4 or 5 when I get up and most of the times they're still there when I get home from class. However tonight when I came home there weren't any in the container. I don't know if Thor ate them, or if they just get out. I have them in a small container that way Thor knows where they are and doesn't have to hunt for him in his cage. Also, two days ago I fed him waxworms and he ate 3 of them. I tried feeding him some tonight and he just wants nothing to do with them. So I don't understand why he won't eat them now. Please let me know if this is just how most chameleons act when they get a new home or if there is something I'm doing wrong. Thank you.

 

[Lathis]

Don't worry just yet. This happens to every new keeper. Is he drinking and keeping hydrated? At a few days, and if he ate a few waxworms not too long ago, it's not panic time yet. Give him a little bit longer to calm down. Also, he may not be used to eating from a cup. Some chameleons learn faster than others - have you tried letting just a few crickets roam free? That might be what he needs to jump start his eating again.

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Welcome to the wonderful world of chameleons! These little guys are just so special. Welcome to the forums, too. There are lots of great people here and an amazing amount of information