Zoomie, 4.5 month old male veiled eating poorly

Zoomiediaz

Member
Hi everyone. We have a 4 and a half month old male veiled chameleon. We began in a small enclosure that was given to us and then we bumped it to a mesh enclosure for the time being while we waited for our 24 x 18 x 36 exoterra terrarium to come in the mail. He has always been a finicky water but it is progressively getting worse. He used to eat ok. Like 10-14 small medium crickets a day. Then he started going down in quantity but I took it as that he was growing up and lowering the quantity. Then he started hating crickets so I tried mealworms. He loved those. So I gave him a bit of both. Half and half. Then he kind of bore those too so I got superworms, discoids(please someone enlighten me as to if these are the same as dubia roaches) and hornworms. At first he loved the discoids. Ate 2-3 at the same time and then in 4 days are 2 more. The next time I bought he ate one and that was it. Hornworms he ate one medium size one every other day and I had 4. Next time I bought he looked at it as if I were offering him poison. Superworms, he would eat 2-3 a day. Now, maybe one and one mealworm which in my opinion what a joke. My goodness they're small. I offer him crickets, nope. Won't even try them. I've thrown them in the enclosure, Ziploc fed him like before, where I sprinkled the calcium onto the crickets and then open the Ziploc and he eats them as they come crawling out. Now he won't. If I even try to dust anything with the calcium he won't even look at it. So now we are at sometimes not eating one day and then the next day he will eat one superworm and if we are lucky a few mealworms. I've tried tweezer feeding, cup feeding. Placing a small bowl on the floor. He'll walk on it. Ok now the details. Like I mentioned before, he's now in the 24,18,36 terrarium. His humidity is normally at 70-72. I try to mist alot so bump it sometimes. Some natural ecoearth for reptiles to have the plants because my crazy little guy likes to eat normal dirt and soil and he likes to bites rocks so I went with the safer route. I have 2 rather scrawny umbrella plants in there and lots of sticks which I baked beforehand for safety. I used to use the domes for his lights but now I use the exoterra hood with 2 uvb bulbs one for the plants specifically also, and one 60 watt heat bulb with uva. All exoterra brand. I mist him multiple times a day so he can drink and I mist the walls and the plants. I soak him sometimes so im sure. His urates have been white. Very rarely are they yellow. He poops 2 small nuggets a day. He also gets outside time in his screen cage with natural sunlight whenever possible but mostly its everyday for about an hour. It's too hot in Miami, Florida and I don't want to dehydrate him. He walks around his tank enclosure sometimes like he's looking for something but I don't know what. He's pretty tame and climbs onto our hands and heads and basks on my hand outside. So the trust is there. What am I doing wrong? I don't want to lose my little man. I love him.
IMG_20190725_124334.jpg
IMG_20190725_124401.jpg
IMG_20190725_124444.jpg
IMG_20190725_124508.jpg
15640737691831063481489.jpg
1564073857926641009939.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 1564073004137958081630.jpg
    1564073004137958081630.jpg
    67.9 KB · Views: 78
  • 15640730316351422747860.jpg
    15640730316351422747860.jpg
    57.4 KB · Views: 77
  • 15640730628961669987865.jpg
    15640730628961669987865.jpg
    52.4 KB · Views: 78
  • IMG_20190725_124334.jpg
    IMG_20190725_124334.jpg
    67.9 KB · Views: 101
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.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Hi there and welcom.. So your going to want to fill this out in total detail. My biggest concern is your lighting and the humidity level along with size of cage... But for us to help we need detailed info from this help form to see the whole picture of his husbandry.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

--------------

Please Note:

  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
For future reference, if you go to the health clinic part of the forums it's under the "how to ask for help" thread :) you could probably also search that thread name in the search bar
 
Hi there and welcom.. So your going to want to fill this out in total detail. My biggest concern is your lighting and the humidity level along with size of cage... But for us to help we need detailed info from this help form to see the whole picture of his husbandry.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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.

--------------

Please Note:

  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
Beat ya to it!
 
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Male, veiled chameleon. Age- got him on April 15,2019 as a 6 week old. Been in my care for 3 months.
  • Handling - we handle him everyday
  • Feeding - Crickets (10 a day when he used to eat them) mealworms(8 a day), superworms(2-3 a day), hornworms(1 every other day or every 2 days), discoids(2-3 every 2-3 days). Schedule is I turn on his lights at 8 am. Try and feed usually 11-12 midday. If he doesnt, I try again at 5 pm. I gutload the superworms and crickets with kale, zucchini, carrots,apple, romaine lettuce,cricket food for the crickets and the orange liquid to give the crickets water. The mealworms go in the fridge and are dormant so they're not fed.
  • Supplements - calcium without d3 daily, try to. Without d3 twice a month and multi vitamin twice a month. The brand is zoomed repticalcium and the multivitamin is exoterra multivitamin.
  • Watering - I use a mister. The kind you pump and mist. I do that around 3 times a day and for around 1 minute each time. Gets pretty wet in there. Walls, his body, the dirt,plants. When I mist, yes I see him licking and drinking. Do I see him licking the walls like I used to when he was in the little tank,no.
  • Fecal Description - color of poop, brownish,somedays darker than others. Daily poop and pee. Solid, not runny unless he had a hornworm. He's never been tested for parasites.
  • History - We got him at a reptile shop that breeds them there. He was together in an enclosure with his sisters and he was scrawny and scared looking and looked as if he hadn't eaten in a while.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Cage is glass, screen roof, exoterra natural terrarium, medium x-tall, 24 x 18 x 36.
  • Lighting - Brand exoterra, model I'm not sure, types of lighting uvb 10.0 and 5.0 natural Lighting. Mini bulbs because that's what the hood stands. Heatbulb is a 60 watt. Even though the hood says only a 25 watt I think that's too little heat. Lighting schedule is 8 am to 8-9 pm.
  • Temperature - The heat at the moment is 80 on top and 70 on the bottom. Temperature at night with no lights is 70 on top which is where he sleeps anyways. I measure them with 2 thermometers, one on top and one on the bottom. Exoterra brand
  • Humidity - Humidity usually maintains itself at around 70. When I mist it's usually 75-80 but drops pretty quickly. It's strange because the humidity is lower now with more dirt and plants than without. I use an exoterra hygrometer.
  • Plants - Yes I use 2 small umbrella plants and a small pothos vine that's growing. I also use small fake vines with suction cups. And a fake vine that wraps around.
  • Placement - The cage is located in the living room on a TV table next to a wall several inches away from an always closed window but he gets some light from it just no air or wind. There is a ceiling fan but it's almost never on. No air vents. Wall unit ac is several feet away but no direct air is near him. The house is usually 72. High traffic,no. It's just me, my daughter and my mom 99% of the time. From the floor to the bottom of the cage is 20 inches. To the top of the tank is 55 inches.
  • Location - I live in Miami, Florida

Current Problem - The current problem is he's not eating the way he should be. Everywhere I read it says juveniles should be eating like crazy and all the time. He's not.
1564079304937729891365.jpg
15640793630381454230593.jpg
1564079409203164892134.jpg
15640794521031110374691.jpg
156407951022254069353.jpg
15640795481492056993955.jpg
15640795941291005181594.jpg
1564079766489649251346.jpg
 
Besides the obvious and ask the vet how else could I know how old he is exactly. Or is it just by appearance?Does it make a difference in his eating habits?
I will double check your thread when I get home later and add my feedback to your help form. Sorry I have to get a fecal to my vet and get some stuff for my daughter but I will go through it later. :)
 
This is a picture of the day we got him on April 15. They said he was 6 weeks old .
IMG_20190415_145632.jpg

Here he is on may 9 which is almost a month later so he should be what they claim 10 weeks or 2 or so months.
IMG_20190509_113858.jpg


And today July 25.
IMG_20190725_105537.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom