Cham not eating and acting strange.

[drshaw6]

The history of this veiled is unknown. I found him in the wild In San Diego where a breeding colony escaped near by where I found him. The Colony escaped about 10 years ago so im assumming my cham was born in the wild because he only seems a couple of years old. I have him in a screened enclosure in my garage,with a UVB 5.0 and 2 basking lights. ( one is for the colder nights). There is no bark on the floor and im giving calcium daily and w/ D3 twice a month. Since day 1 I havnt seen him drink much but I mist twice a day and the drip system comes on twice a day also for 3 min.

Ive had him for about 2 months now and he has been doing great untill about a week ago. He quit eating and is acting strange. He kinda hides under the pothos in a dark color most of the time and when he comes out he is scratching at the ceiling as if he wanted out. Hes not the friendliest cham ever, He likes to hiss and sprint away when he sees my hand enter the cage. When I do handle him he turns very bright and relaxes alittle. When he sleeps, its a deep sleep where you can pick him up with out waking him. He apears to be in good health, but Im a newbie. His eyes arnt sunken in but his urinate does appear a little yellowish at the tip and kinda stringgy like a worm kinda ( not watery). Since he hasnt eaten in afew days I cant post any pics. I dont know if hes stressed because he is used to being free or maybe the start of dehydration. Ive also thought about the suplements maybe causing somthing. Hes probibly never had them so they might be causing him to feel bad. Any advice helps! I dont want to wait till its to late to ask for help. Pics below are from tonight.
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[chameleoman]

can you fill this out from what you have right now not the past one you posted in the, past

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.

 

[Elizadolots]

How did you learn about that escaped colony? That's news to me...

My advice would be to stop any attempts to handle him. Just let him be. It's not unusual for adult veileds to go without food for a week or more so don't fret overly.

You might offer other feeders or just wait him out.

This is a chameleon who's making the adjustment from "wild" to "captive"...that means he's going to pout. Let him.

 

[drshaw6]

Cham- Veiled, Male
Handling- 3-5 times aweek
Suplements-Calcium daily, w/D3 twice a month
Feeding-4-6 large crickets a day
Watering-misting twice, dripper twice 3 min.
Fecal-dark greyish brown w/ non watery urinate (some yellow)
History- N/A
Cage- 18x18x36
Lighting- UVB floresent 5.0, white basking 12 hrs day. Red light on cold nights
Temps- N/A Dont KNow
Humidity-N/A Dont Know
Plants- 1 Ficus, 1 Pothos, Branches, Fake vines
Placement- Gargage, When door opens gets lot of sunlight
Location- San Diego, Ca. Lakeside to be exact.

 

[drshaw6]

I pasted this from my other thread. I also posted a pic of the area.

"Not Sure if everybody has been following my other thread 'FOUND Chameleon in San Diego" but I Just got back from the area where I found a Cham and talked to another neighbor who confirmed the wild chams. She is a retired science teacher and a biologist who has seen the chams over the years. She said that two people withen a 1/4 mile used to raise Veileds and sell them to pet shops. Ironiclly both colonys escaped around the same time and have been wild ever since. She said that the colonies have been out in the wild for AT LEAST 10 YEARS! She herself has caught one and another neighbor has caught 2 in the past. She said that she hasnt seen any in a few years but she was still shocked to hear that they are still around even through the freezing winters they get. The Summer time there gets to be in the 100s at times but the winters get to the low 30s at times also. Pretty amazing that I could have a 4th or 5th generation Veiled that has been in the wild!"

 

[chameleoman]

get rid of the red lights ,get a ceramic one
mist 2-3 times a day for 5min each time
feed 5-6 large crickets every other day
get rep-cal multivitamins and dust twice a month
put huge stones over the dirt and change the soil to organic soil



hes problaly also going on a hunger strike so get some new food items like silkworms, horworms, pheonix worms, or butterworms


and GET A thermometer and hydrometer its very important to know those thing

 

[DavidBuchan]

Just to add, he should be getting all grown up now, he looks the right age and size to hit his 'teenage' phase so he'll be a bit more moody for a while. He has a lot of fat stored in his bulging casque, so you really don't need to worry about him not eating for a while, it's about time to cut back on food now anyway
Here's a great caresheet with all the basics on veileds, part 2 has the feeder and gutloading stuff - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[lindawaz]

get rid of the red lights ,get a ceramic one

Very good chance he is just being a cham Like David said and that link is a very good one.

The reason you want to replace this is they need darkness to really sleep. I know you said he sleeps deep enough to pick up but that may just be recently from lack of sleep.

I also know it seems strange to cover the dirt since your cham is wc and was running around in dirt. but they sometimes get the dirt in their mouths and eventually this can lead to impaction if it continues to happen.

Just a thought, Being wc he just might have parasites that are now catching up with him. Might want to bring a sample poo to the vet and have that checked out. Get a fresh one, zip lock bag it, put in fridge, deliver it to vet within 24 hours

Hope everything works out

 

[drshaw6]

Thanks! All this makes me feel better. I have nothing on the ground , just the white removable board. As far as the light, I removed it a couple of weeks ago and used just the white light. Since the nights have been pretty cold here i also put the red light on the side of the cage and that spot became his new favorite sleeping spot so I assumed he liked it..

 

[laurie]

Even if he likes the red light I would replace it if he were mine. Feeding, i agree with David he has plenty of fat in his fat pads so he can miss a meal or several without a problem.

Now I don't know about your garage, but I know ours, (hubby's mess ). Chameleons are very sensitive to smells. if you paint you try to remove them far from the smell, all those sorts of things. I can't tell you what they all are but at different time our garages smells - well like a garage. Just a thought. My other thought would be the air quality and air circulation. Both are necessary for a healthy cham. I have no idea if either or these are am issue for you but they are something to consider.

 

[drshaw6]

I thought the garage would be alright because its usaully pretty warm and humid in there. I didnt think about the odors. I actually saw him drinking tonight so that was kinda cool. I think eventually I will build a outdoor enclosure. I need to do some more research on it though. The spot I have picked out doesnt get direct sunlight so I was curious about that.

 

[drshaw6]

12 days and still no eating or poopies!

 

[Elizadolots]

Would it make you feel better to know we've seen stories of chameleons not eating for weeks? Probably not.

Could you maybe post a new picture so the experts can judge his weight?

Also, what else is going on? Is he climbing around, is he awake during the day? Are his eyes looking good?

Another thought, have you checked the plants? It's possible he's been eating those. Both of the chameleons I have now ate their plants exclusively for a while after being moved into their new enclosures.

It's possible you're just not seeing the poop. It doesn't always go to the bottom and it doesn't always land on a leaf that's easy to see.

 

[melric]

12 days and still no eating or poopies!

Have you tried other feeders yet? Silkworms, moths, mantids, other bugs?

 

[drshaw6]

He just kinda kicks it in the sun light for a couple of hours in the mid morning and then moves around a little. He is spending more time hidden these days then before when he liked to be as high up in the cage as possible. I cant see any signs of him eating the plants, and I have not tried any other feeders (of course I just bought 500 crickets and this donkey decides to quit eating!) I have noticed in the "health clinic" section about half of the threads are about "Chameleon not eating" so Im starting to see a pattern here.
So far Ive gathered that this chameleon doesnt like to be held, is picky eater, cost a butt load of money, Only drinks filtered water, and needs special supplements with his diet, ...What do I have the Kim Kardashian of Chameleons?!
Why couldnt I have found a kitten? they at least cover their own poop.

 

[melric]

He does look chunky. Maybe since he is WC he is used to storing fat for the cold temps San Diego gets. Alls I can say is try some of the suggestions that were posted. After you do that let us know what happens. He has got to be used to a variety of food.

 

[Elizadolots]

"Kardashian" would be a good chameleon name because, that's what they are....attention hogs who hate you for paying attention to them but can't survive if you don't, cost you an armload to care for them and still hate you.

Welcome to our world!!!

Are you keeping him outside? It's been freaking cold lately...so, it's likely he's going into a sort of hibernation mode in which he is less active.

 

[drshaw6]

Hes in the garage but my garage is warm and humid and all walls including the garage door are insulated. Ill post another pic tonight so everyone can check him out and make sure hes lookin good still. ill also get some different feeders on my way home to see if that works.

 

[drshaw6]

Here is is tonight. I got some meal worms that he ate, so im thinking he was just getting bored with the crickets. Let me know how he looks to you guys, and gals.
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[ataraxia]

This could very well be the case. Being wild caught he may want that variety he is use to. Dont let him get hooked on worms though.