Chameleon not eating and has low energy

[Devedations]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, not sure how old but very young, I've had him for 6 days
• Handling - To change the stuff in the cage
• Feeding - I put crickets in that were to big at first but now he has 7 small crickets in his feeder and won't touch them still
• Supplements - Reptivite
• Watering - Dripper made from a cup and 2-3 sprays a day, I've seen him drink a lot
• Fecal Description - There is little feces, and most of it is urate that is really white.
• History - He hasn't eaten sense i got him and the vet i went to said he is way underweight and the tip of his tail broken but other than that should be healthy.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Reptibreeze screen cage from the Petco chameleon kit.
• Lighting - I have is light's on from 7am - 10 pm (vet recommended 15 hours of light), been switching bulbs to try and find one that gets the temp up more, but just different house lights.
• Temperature - I have one thermometer with no humility gauge right now but i order a better one, the top of is cage stays about, the temp is like 80 at the top most of the day and hits 85 at like 2 because my room heats up, night temp is like 71, I don't want to stress him out so i try not to move the thermometer to much.
• Humidity - Again spray 2-3 times a day but worried because i live in Arizona, don't have a humidity gauge yet.
• Plants - A hanging pothos plant
• Placement - The cage is on a desk, sadly we have a crawl space under my house so any movement in the hallway or my room shakes his cage just a tiny bit
• Location - North of Phoenix, Arizona

Current Problem - Won't eat or move around a lot, stay's up at the top and seems to be trying to get as much heat as possible, but looks like he is sleeping all the time. Not sure how to make him eat or what lighting would be best to make him more comfortable.

Here are some pictures
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[Peachypink]

Is he sleeping during the day or a few hours before lights out?

It does take some time for them to get comfortable and adjust once you bring them home. And I would suggest free ranging some crickets for him. If he's from petco most likely they just threw crickets in there and he might not recognize the cup.

Also, the pet stores usually leave a heat lamp on at night which is not ok. Are you making sure he has complete darkness to sleep? They need a good day/night schedule to regulate their hormones and a temp drop to make sure their metabolism is good. I would have to say that 15 hours is a bit much. We are trying to simulate nature with our lighting schedules. 12 hours at the most. It's also winter so the days are shorter right now too. Mine go on at 7:30 and off at 7 right now. My guys will always go to their sleeping spots and get comfy for the night about an hour before lights out.

Being in Arizona I would invest in a misting system. My system goes off 5 times a day. Twice for 5 minutes and the other three at 2 minutes. Dehydration can cause appetite loss a too. Longer sessions stimulate them to drink and clean out their eyes.

Also, you need to adjust your suppliments.
Dust with...
Plain Calcium with NO D3 daily
Calcium with D3 twice a month
Multivitamin twice a month.

If your multivitamin had D3 just use that twice a month and then you don't need the extra Calcium with D3.

They need the plain Calcium daily and then a very little bit of D3 along with the daily hours of UVB lights to absorb and use the plain Calcium.

 

[kinyonga]

Regarding your husbandry...
Your chameleon needs a proper UVB light so it can produce the D3 it needs to use the calcium units system. The most often recommended one is the Repti-sun 5.0 long linear tube light. Your chameleon also needs the basking light so it can warm up so that it can digest it's food properly. A regular household incandescent bulb in a hood is fine for this. I have the lights on for 12 hours a day and I've been keeping chameleons for many years. What is the light you have on the cage now?

It's recommended that you dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder because most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous.

It's also recommended that you dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium\D3 powder twice a month. This provides the chameleon with some D3 without overdosing the chameleon and letting it produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to MBD.

It's also recommended to dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Vitamin A from prOformed sources cannot build up in the system. PrEformed sources like retinol, etc can build up in the system and lead to health issues so by using this type of vitamin powder with beta carotene you don't have to worry about that and if you think your chameleon needs it you can give it a little prEformed vitamin A.

It's important to feed/gutload your insects properly too. I feed/gutload them with a wide assortment of greens and veggies such as dandelion greens, kale, collards, escarole, endive, carrots, sweet red peppers, sweet potato, zucchini, squash, etc and a bit of fruit such as apples, pears, melon, berries, etc.

It would be better if your cage didn't shake IMHO.

You said your chameleon hasn't been eating since you got it...that's too bad because it's an indication that it was not likely healthy when you bought it. It should not be sleeping during the dsy. The vet didn't do a fecal or any other tests?

I'm not a vet and can't tell you for sure why it's not well...maybe whatever caused the tail damage has lead to an infection...or maybe the temperatures have been too low...or a multitude of other things. It sounds like you need a better vet.

 

[Devedations]

Thank you for your replies, i released a few crickets and left the rest in the cup, i dusted my crickets with the multivitamin with d3 and have a calcium without for the rest of the time, but if he isn't eating the dusting won't really matter yet. I have a compact UVB repti-sun 5.0 from the chameleon kit, should i get a bigger one? Also i gut-loaded my crickets with kale

 

[kinyonga]

I prefer the long linear tube light Repti-sun 5.0. Some lights have been shown to cause them to shut their eyes...but it was supposed to be corrected.

 

[Devedations]

He still is not eating and just sleeps, sometimes he moves without opening his eyes, I don't know what to do because i think he is going to die and I did everything the vet said to do but he didn't respond to the changes in his cage. Is there a way to force them to eat or get them to not sleep as much? If it is the compacted bulb that makes him not want to open his eyes is it safe to just turn it off tell i can get another one? And if he was dehydrated wouldn't his poop be orange? and it is really white, but not a lot off it because he doesn't eat.

 

[Peachypink]

He still is not eating and just sleeps, sometimes he moves without opening his eyes, I don't know what to do because i think he is going to die and I did everything the vet said to do but he didn't respond to the changes in his cage. Is there a way to force them to eat or get them to not sleep as much? If it is the compacted bulb that makes him not want to open his eyes is it safe to just turn it off tell i can get another one? And if he was dehydrated wouldn't his poop be orange? and it is really white, but not a lot off it because he doesn't eat.

At this point I would contact the people you got him from, they sold you an unhealthy chameleon. This sounds like something that would have started well before you got him but he is now declining fast.

 

[Devedations]

At this point I would contact the people you got him from, they sold you an unhealthy chameleon. This sounds like something that would have started well before you got him but he is now declining fast.

all they told me was that i could return him and get my money back or keep him, try to get him back to health and if he still dies then i can get my money back. It's petco all they care about is money and all i care about is this chameleon not dieing.

 

[kinyonga]

Was he alert at the store and had his eyes open?

 

[Devedations]

Was he alert at the store and had his eyes open?

yes he moved around a little at the store and in my cage when i first got him
he hasn't been eating this whole time, but the sleeping has just been the last few days

 

[kinyonga]

If his eyes were open in the store I would try using a different light for a couple of days...aregular household incandescent bulb or fluorescent would do.. Just make sure hismcage stays warm enough.

Is he drinking at all? If not try dripping water at the rate of a drop every second to see if he will drink. If he does, while he's drinking you can stick a cricket between his teeth ton see if he will eat it.

 

[Devedations]

If his eyes were open in the store I would try using a different light for a couple of days...aregular household incandescent bulb or fluorescent would do.. Just make sure hismcage stays warm enough.

Is he drinking at all? If not try dripping water at the rate of a drop every second to see if he will drink. If he does, while he's drinking you can stick a cricket between his teeth ton see if he will eat it.

he was drinking but now i don't know, he has fallen out of the leaves twice now and set him lower so he won't hurt himself

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO...you don't have much time to save him.