Cham won't eat

[Leroux2008]

Sean were u able to get ahold of smaller crickets yet?

 

[seanUTD]

Yea 1000 1/4" came in from reptilefood.com today... About 100 dead though /:

 

[DavidBuchan]

With him being so little I am just qorrying too much.... Nobody will be home after 3 tomorrow so after I feed them he will be on his own all day to roam... I'm certain you guys are right I just need to continue to let him acclimate

Lol, know the feeling. I'm not certain I'm right tho.....was he eating crickets at the store? He'll eat them at yours (probably). He ate the roaches so get more. I would say small mealworms for variey. Only the very smallest supers would be any use to you. Get a box of little mealworms and you can gutload them proper style.

 

[seanUTD]

He came from another member (my stores carry nothing) and he ate crickets there it's not a problem of what it's having to do I guess with availabilty of the food to him... The dubias were slow and didn't move much so he could
Catch them... The crickets would just move too quick and would
Hide at the top of his cage... And he's not used to cup feeding so he doesn't get that the food is there... I'm positive he'll eat anything because he's been seen snatching a fruit fly that made it into his cage I just need to let him discover the bowl... He's been moving around the cage he's just still a wee bit scared I guess

 

[Leroux2008]

Ya Id just try to keep an eye on him make sure he isnt loosing too much weight. =[ I wish you luck.... he could be just like everyone else had said he might just need a little time.

 

[DavidBuchan]

The crickets would just move too quick

Are you using the faster brown crickets or the slower black ones? Either way, if he's warm enough and the viv is small enough, without much cover for crickets then they won't be too fast for him. He's an efficient little monster when he gets going so fingers crossed he puts your mind at ease soon......

 

[pssh]

too fast? Babies should be hunting down the fast moving stuff. Is there something wrong with him?

 

[seanUTD]

too fast? Babies should be hunting down the fast moving stuff. Is there something wrong with him?

By too fast I mean he doesn't want to leave the tree and once the crickets makes it far enough away from e tree he won't chase them

 

[panthercham]

Its quite simple.....he needs time to adjust to his new surroundings. Yes he is a baby but quit fussing and leave him alone. You have only had him for 2 or 3 days.

Put an old towel over 2 or 3 sides of his cage that get the most visual traffic and give him time to adjust and some privacy....he is a baby and leave him alone so that it will make him feel more secure if he has somewhere to to hide and cant see what is going on in the outside world.

The fact that he bit your fiance and leapt to the carpet states that he is frightened and is threatened by both of you. Mine took a good fortnight to adjust before they settled in to an eating routine.

Just cup feed if that is what you prefer in an opaque cup. He is smart and will find it....he knows what is going on. He will eat crickets or dubias if he is hungry so just offer what you have got. He is just waiting for things to settle down and to feel safe.

Sorry, its hard to be a new chameleon keeper.....I had the same experience that you are going through where I just wanted the best for them but sometimes the best thing to do is just to let them be.

 

[pssh]

non-opaque? A clear tub could cause him to attempt to shoot through the sides and damage his tongue.

 

[panthercham]

non-opaque? A clear tub could cause him to attempt to shoot through the sides and damage his tongue.

True...sorry thought non-opaque was the same as non-transparent. You definitely don't want a clear tub.

 

[seanUTD]

So I just thought I would update on the very young ambilobe now in my possession... I left for an hour this morning so the house was completely desolate and when I came back there were crickets missing from his bowl!! He FINALLY found it and has eaten... I feel so relieved... It was so stressing to worry about such a small little guy not eating but I think from here on we should be okay... Thanks for all ya'lls help with this issue!!!

 

[panther67]

SO glad to hear he ate. My male Ambilobe went almost three weeks without eating once, no matter what I offered. He was 8 months old, but still I know the worry.

 

[seanUTD]

SO glad to hear he ate. My male Ambilobe went almost three weeks without eating once, no matter what I offered. He was 8 months old, but still I know the worry.

3 weeks?!?!! I would have passed out from stress... I love these guys too much I would have hooked his ass to an IV lol

 

[pssh]

3 weeks is not that bad for a healthy chameleon. They (the healthy lizards) can go more than a month without eating (and still be okay.)