hi, i have recently purchased a juvenile male jacksons chameleon and he isnt eating as much as he should. i purchased him about 2 weeks ago. and i haven't really seen him eat much. he seems healthy other then that. good color, active in the day, sleeps at night, drinks normally, everything seems fine except the eating problem. he doesn't eat when i hold a cricket near him. im not sure if this is normal or not. but i could really use some help. thanks
If you could fill this form out, it would help us answer your questions/help you more accurately. 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. Try putting him in a seperate container, (sterilite/rubbermaid etc) and offer a few crickets, and see if he eats any. If he does, continue feeding more, for most reptiles you let them eat as much as they will for 15 minutes, then put him back into his enclosure. Chameleons are very stress-sensitive, so try to minimize handling as much as possible. (Not saying you are, just a heads up). Let us know if he makes any progess!
cage type- its a 16 by 16 by 30 full screen cage lighting- a 50 wat heat bulb for basking and a 5.0 uvb bulb temperature-mid to high 80s, higher 80s in the basking spot, night temps are usually low 80s to high 70s humidity- im guessing around 70% or higher. my hygrometers never work right, so im tryin to fix that plants- yes im using a live ficus location- back corner of my room, not near fans, or vents, just near a anti social tailless whip scorpion my chameleon- jacksons, male, and roughly 3 to 4 months maybe 5 feeding-crickets and mealworms, but since im not sure if he eats them i cant really create a schedule, and gut loading them with greens, and commercial cricket drink that offers gut loading supplements- reptical with d3 watering- mist the cage ever couple hours completely, also using a drip system, i did see him drink before but now he is avoiding it. so i have yet another problem fecal- uuuuhm not sure, if my memory serves me right then it was brown or black which ever is normal with the white spot on it history- uhm i bought him from a reputable online dealer so im not sure. i will try the container idea. that seems like something that will work. and idea on the drinking part?
i tried the container idea and it didnt work he was to fixated on getting out then going for crickets
It is quite possible he is just stressed from the move, loss of appetite is probably the most common reaction to stress. I would keep an eye on him for a few more days, and if he still refuses to eat, force feeding may have to be an option, but avoid this at all costs. It is very stressful to both the keeper and animal. The drinking may happen when you're not around, most reptiles lick water droplets from leaves and such. As for a hygrometer, I use this thermo/hygro, accurate 100% of the time. http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?groupid=3145&id=PT-2470
Stress from a move can last multiple weeks, and I'd imagine that's especially true for chameleons, which have a reputation for being very sensitive little drama queens. Everything about your setup sounds great except for your night time temperatures. Chameleons actually need a significant night time drop of about 10-15*F in order for their metabolism to function properly. Try dropping his cage closer to 70F at night and see if that does anything for him. Just don't go below 65F. Other than that, just keep doing what you are doing. Keep him in his quiet area and offer food every day. Hopefully he will come around soon. Keep us posted on how he's doing and let us know if we can be of any help! Welcome to the boards! =D
ive had chams for quite some time now. hopefully everything is going good by now, but if your still having problems with feeding. try hornworm. it works 90% of the time when my chams go on hunger strikes. if the chams have been feed the same food over and over, they get bored with it. sometimes going on hunger strikes. the very bright green hornworm usually gets them going again
