Why isnt my chameleon eating?

KalaiDaCham

Member
So today i went to go feed my female jackson’s chameleon but she didnt want to eat?? I really don’t know why... Anyone got any ideas on why she isnt eating, any ideas would help!
 
Can you please post a few pictures of her and her enclosure, as well as filling out the form below?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
 
Can you please post a few pictures of her and her enclosure, as well as filling out the form below?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Female Jacksons Chameleon:Age (Unknown)
  • Handling - 1 time every other day
  • Feeding -
  • What are you feeding your cham? Black Soldier Fly Larvae, mealworms, roaches, hornworms.
  • What amount? 3-5 each day
  • What is the schedule? Morning & Afternoon
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoo Med & Aqua Culture, one with D3 and one without D3. D3 supplement given once a month.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Dripper, waterfall, and misting with spray bottle.
  • How often and how long to you mist? 1-2 times a day for about 10 minutes.
  • Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes, everytime i mist.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No its wild caught. Its fecal is normal.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you? Nope

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) Mesh screened cage.
  • What are the dimensions? 18x18x36 is the dimensions.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? Zoo med 75 watts
  • What is your daily lighting schedule?During the afternoon.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? I cant really tell the temperatures.
  • Lowest overnight temp? 70 degrees.
  • How do you measure these temps?i dont...
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? I have no clue... but i used the cheapy humidifier for now because my other one hasn’t come in...
  • How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Always filling the water up.
  • What do you use to measure humidity? Na10
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes... i dont really lnow the names...
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Outside near a forest like area.
  • Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No
  • At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Not in my room.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? I guess Hawaii:Molokai

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about: Not eating anything
 
Can you please post a few pictures of her and her enclosure, as well as filling out the form below?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Just press the click to expand button
 
Do not worry too much if she does not eat one day, sometimes they can skip a day without eating. She could also stop eating suddenly a type of food, change the feed source and see!
 
Do not worry too much if she does not eat one day, sometimes they can skip a day without eating. She could also stop eating suddenly a type of food, change the feed source and see!
I always give variety is the thing. Like roaches isopods locusts crickets black soldier fly larvae earth worms and sometimes mealworms and she stopped eating even today which means she didnt eat for a couple of days already...
 
Okay now I see it, thank you. I know that Jacksons need a lot of H2O in there environment, and misting his her cage twice a day isn't enough, not even for a less demanding species like a veiled. You should probably purchase an automatic mister to go throughout the day for you.

Also, it seems you don't know its cage temp?? You should have a thermometer and a heat gradient, meaning the top should be hottest and the farther you go down in the cage, the cooler it gets.

You should rid your cham of the mealworms, they are notorious for causing digestive problems such as impaction.

You should definitely know the names of the live plants in your enclosure, because otherwise you have no idea to tell if it is toxic to chameleons or not. That is a big one.

Also, by 'lighting', we want to know what UVB bulb you are using, its intensity, and the basking bulb and its wattage. We need more specifics.

Also, by 'room floor' it just wants to know how high up it is, not whether it's in your room or not, because that wouldn't really matter. Please fill in the gaps in the care form.
 
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Even with 2 adults with varying schedules, we had to quickly decide and purchase an automatic mister for our Jackson. It is imperative to their health to have a higher humidity level....I think even the larger Chams require a higher humidity level than you expect.

In saying same, live plants made a ridiculously significant impact in ease of care, ability to lengthen mistings to the reccomended time frames without creating a swampy bacteria pool in the bottom of his cage, and have made him much happier thru more coverage/shade areas and more hunting ground for feeders as we free feed.

The one thing I was uninformed on initially was keeping humidity at a constant level v allowing the cage to dry between mistings. I believe even tho they are a bit more specific care, this is across the board for all the sub-species, they need a dry out before the next misting where cage is allowed to dry totally to avoid breeding bacteria soup.
 
You need to get a hygrometer to measure humidity. Jacksons need a very specific humidity range in their enclosures. A mist king system will help with this and any hydration issues.

You also really need something to measure the temperatures in the cage. You can get a cheap laser temp gun from any hardware store for under $20. They are point and shoot and you get accurate readings.
 
The only reason that i didnt get one would be because i catch my jacksons from right outside my house so i would expect it to be the same i guess.
 
How is your Cham doing now?
Shes still not eating so i have to force feed her. But the thin is that I have never seen her eat. One day i put a cup of black soldier fly larvae in her cage and she didnt eat them when i was there, but when i came to check on her there was nothing left in the cup, maybe she only eats when im not around???
 
Yes this is absolutely possible!
Try again as soon as you can this is a very long time without eating if she really does not!
 
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