veiled not eating!HELP!!!

[peddro]

my 16 month old veiled cham has not been eating for 3 days now. he is in a 44 gallon glass tank(which i realize is not good, i have built him a bigger screen one that he will be moving into soon). i have a 75watt tight beam sun glo for basking, a 75watt infrared for ambient air heat and a 5.0 UV bulb. humidity is at 50ish%

please tell what could be wrong

thanks

 

[dodolah]

glass tank and the infra red needs to go.
No need for the night heat unless your room goes below 60F
answer these Qs to help us better see what's going on:

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
* Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
* Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.


Pictures are definitely the best! if you have pics of your cham and the cage, post them here.

 

[peddro]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type -44 gallon glass tank
* Lighting - 5.0 UV, 75 watt tight beam Sun Glo, 75 watt infrared for extra heat-not at night though-i shut everything off at night? from 7am-9:30pm
* Temperature - from 35 celsius-20 celsius. basking-38 celsius. goes down to 18 celsius.
* Humidity - 55%-with misting 65%. for 55%-thats just what it is without any help. for 65% i mist the cage for 5 minutes
* Plants -yes, hibiscus
* Location - in my room in the basement. i'm the only one who goes in there-mostly to sleep, get stuff. not too much traffic


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - male veiled, 16 months old
* Feeding - crickets,butterworms,wax worms, jumbo meal worms. about 10 a day. feed before i go to school, in the morning. crickets-orange cubes, fresh fruits and veggies, worms-fruits and veggies.
* Supplements - rep-cal multivitamin and calcium with vitamin D3 per day, i just shake a bit onto the bugs.
* Watering - i mist his cage and pour warm water-not too hot- onto his lips and body, he drinks everyday.
* Fecal Description - look good. not loose. not too hard. brown and white.
* History - got him from a girl in red deer, she had him in a 15 gallon because she thought he looked more comfortable-probably because she only had two sticks in the 44 gallon. the soil was soaked and she didn't have time for him. he was doing great until about a month ago, he stopped eating because he was too cold, we changed his diet and fixed the heat, he started eating again
* Current Problem - he has stopped eating.
i can't post pics because the only digital camera we have is being used for my mom's work. srry

 

[mika]

Hunger Strike?

Yes you really have to get rid of the tank. It's too small for a 16 month old veiled.

Some good reading here:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[dodolah]

i think for a 16 months old veiled, he can already be fed on every other day basis.
i fed mine 10 adult crix (or other insects equivalent to that amount) every other day. They won't die from not eating a day.

Try moving him into a large screen cage. He might be happier and start eating again.
also be careful on that D3 supplement. are you saying that he got supplemented with D3 every day? I gave mine once a week.

 

[peddro]

thanks guys. i'm hoping it's just a hunger strike i will be moving him into a 5.5'X2.5'X2 screen cage soon. i believe it is made of spruce wood. do i HAVE to put any paint or sealer or whatever on it? also will the 5.0 UV light be able to pass through fiberglass mesh? the holes are really small so i was thinking of putting some aluminum mesh with much bigger holes, also so that the basking bulb is not melting the top. sound good? i will be putting him on a supplement schedule i found on this site:
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/veiled-and-panther-chameleon-care-101d.html

 

[dodolah]

thanks guys. i'm hoping it's just a hunger strike i will be moving him into a 5.5'X2.5'X2 screen cage soon. i believe it is made of spruce wood. do i HAVE to put any paint or sealer or whatever on it? also will the 5.0 UV light be able to pass through fiberglass mesh? the holes are really small so i was thinking of putting some aluminum mesh with much bigger holes, also so that the basking bulb is not melting the top. sound good? i will be putting him on a supplement schedule i found on this site:
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/veiled-and-panther-chameleon-care-101d.html

yes, sounds good.
a sealer sounds good since you need to mist the cage and water can warp unprotected wood (plus mold and bacterias can grow well in damp wood).
But, as far as what sealant, I believe other members will chime in. (i am not a good builder. I bought my cham's cage online)
Also remember that adult chameleon is fed every other day.
with that the schedule becomes:
M------- Multivitamin with Beta Carotene (I use Herptivite)
W------- Calcium without D3 (I use Miner-All 0)
F---------- Calcium with D3 (I use Repcal with D3)
Sun--------- No dusting required

he will not be fed on T, Th, and Sat

 

[peddro]

yup. thanks alot.

 

[mika]

Great site dodolah. I like the interview!

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."basking-38 celsius"...I suggest keeping the temperature of the basking area in the mid to high 80's for adult veileds.

I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder. It helps to make up for the poor ratio in most feeder insects.

I only dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder...and don't dust with it if the chameleon is outside.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Preformed can build up in the system and prevent the D3 from doing its job...however, its possible that they can not convert beta carotene so some people give a LITTLE preformed once in a while.

Most of my veiled females live to be 6 or 7 years old. (Just lost one female who was 7+ last week. Also lost a 5+ year old...surprised since she just keeled over dead with no warning and I expected her to live for quite a while longer.) My males usually live to be even older than 7.

I have kept many chameleons in glass or partially glass cages with no problems. Your basking temperature is too high IMHO and that might be why your chameleon is not eating. (Might be the reason, might not...but if you lower it you should find out.)

 

[peddro]

all righty. get some poly, finish cage, move him in with different bulb and tons of plants. hope he starts eating again. thanks!!

 

[royden]

My 18 month veiled only eats about once a week, peddro. I used to fret more, but now I just figure he'll eat when he's hungry. His appetite will never be what it was when he was young and growing more.

 

[jannb]

I only feed my 14 month old Veiled every other day. He gets bored with the food if I feed him everyday now. If I skip a day then he's more interested. Try not feeding him anything at all today and make sure that no food is in his cage. Then tomorrow offer him a small amount to see if he eats that.