baby chameleon feeding

[jonjones14]

I bought a chameleon at an expo yesterday and its smaller than i expected, and i mean very small, like i can fit the whole thing on my fingertip, although it isnt a pygmy just a very young veiled. but my question is, if i put his crickets in his habitat will he be able to find and hunt them on his own? because i havent seen him eat or find one yet, or even moved since he found his basking spot, so i was thinking that maybe his crickets need to be brought to him maybe?

 

[Lancecham]

How big is the cage? What is the basking temperature? If the cage is a small one, he will be able to find his food.
Chans may not eat normally for a few days after going to a new home.

 

[camimom]

are you sure the bugs are tiny enough for him?

if they arem and you let them loose in the cage, he will find them.

also, you can try getting a big tupperware container, thats shorter than it is wide, and put them in there, underneath where he is, so he can see them, but then you can monitor him.

 

[justjumpit621]

Unless your house is very cold, a little baby like that should only really need a UVB light for a while and not a basking light. They can over heat so easily, and a temperature of about 80 is good until he gets older. Here is a good blog for caring for a baby veiled.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/325-info-new-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

it also sounds like he is very young, maybe only a few days old. Most breeders won't sell you a baby that young because anything can go wrong. You can try flightless fruit flies and see if he will eat those? and pin head crickets. The food can't be any wider than the space between his eyes.