Chameleon not eating

[CasparChameleon]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Caspar is a male veiled chameleon. He is about 7 months old. I have had him for a little longer than two months.
• Handling - I have only handled him once at the pet store for maybe 10 minutes. I haven't handled him since because he won't let me take him out and he doesn't appreciate my hand being close to him anyways.
• Feeding - I am feeding Caspar crickets and superworms along with some cham-safe wild caught bugs. Before he turned seven months he would happily eat 8-10 crickets and a superworm once or twice a week.
• Watering - I hand mist every 3-4 hours for 2-3 minutes. I see him drink at every misting.
• Fecal Description - I haven't tested him for any parasites and haven't seen him poop in a while, probably because he isn't eating much. The last I saw was healthy though.
• History - We got Caspar when he was roughly 5 months old from petsmart, and he was in good shape.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen Zoo Med 18x18x36.
• Lighting - Zoo Med light holder with a forty watt house bulb and a Zoo Med UVB. I turn his lights of before I go to bed and turn them back on in the morning, so he gets 11-12 hours with his lights off.
• Temperature - Near the base of the cage it is the lower 70s and up by the basking area it is in the higher 80s and lowers 90s.
• Humidity - I'm not sure what the humidity levels are, but Caspar's cage is in a fish room, so it's pretty humid in there to begin with.
• Plants - There is a smaller live plant at the base of the cage. (Dracaena) and the rest are plastic plants.
• Placement - The cage is located in the fish room that my dad has. The only disturbances that Caspar gets are water changes, but other than that he is in a quiet area with no traffic nearby. Occasionally we will take his whole cage outside and put his cage in the sun (with shade available) under close supervision.
• Location - Virginia, USA

Current Problem - Caspar has not eaten anything in a week, and the week before that he barely ate anything. (Maybe 6-8 crickets in the whole week) He normally goes for the superworms a couple minutes after they are put in, but doesn't even look at them when they have been put in recently.

 

[Valcakey]

He's still young, but he is getting to be around the age where appetite lowers. It could be just a hunger strike or it could be a digestive issue. I recently went through this with my chameleon and I just took her to the vet this morning. The vet couldn't find any reason for her not wanting to eat, so she prescribed to me powder mixes that have to be force fed to her through a syringe.

 

[CasparChameleon]

He's still young, but he is getting to be around the age where appetite lowers. It could be just a hunger strike or it could be a digestive issue. I recently went through this with my chameleon and I just took her to the vet this morning. The vet couldn't find any reason for her not wanting to eat, so she prescribed to me powder mixes that have to be force fed to her through a syringe.

How long do you think I should wait before going to a vet? Or should I go to the vet at all?

 

[Valcakey]

It's hard to tell. Every case is different. I made the call when Chamomile's ribs started to show. I'd say just keep an eye out for any odd or uncharacteristic behavior. I waited it out 2 weeks and that was definitely way too long. Some things I noticed with Chamomile that you should definitely keep your eyes peeled for are:

Sunken-in eyes
Lethargy (little to no movement with a noticeable lack of energy)
Sleeping/closing eyes during the day
Rapidly dropping weight
Abnormal coloration (Chamomile became brown when she slept instead of her normal pale green color)
Changes in personality
Long period of time without a bowel movement; also take notice of the urates

Any combination of these could indicate a problem and ultimately the decision to take him to the vet is your call. If anything, try to make an appointment soon and if things improve or you change your mind, you can always cancel. As an approximation for you, my vet bill was $423, but that included x-rays and an ultrasound to make sure my female wasn't egg bound, so you won't need those. Together, those procedures cost $260. Your vet may want to do an x-ray ($165 for me) to check bone density, but you can refuse it if you'd like. The other $163 was the visit fee and the 4 prescriptions.

I'm attaching a photo of Chamomile when I decided the situation wasn't getting better and needed professional interference

 

[kinyonga]

First a couple of comments on your husbandry...veiled chameleons nibble at greenery wo I would replace the plastic plants with real well washed non toxic ones to be safe.
I would also add a dripper.
What supplements do you use specifically and how often for each? What do you feed/gutload the insects with?

They do slow down on the number of insects they eat as they reach full growth and only need to be fed every second day like you've been doing...but if he's eating nothing at all then there could be something else going on.

Please post some recent t photos of him.

 

[CasparChameleon]

First a couple of comments on your husbandry...veiled chameleons nibble at greenery wo I would replace the plastic plants with real well washed non toxic ones to be safe.
I would also add a dripper.
What supplements do you use specifically and how often for each? What do you feed/gutload the insects with?

They do slow down on the number of insects they eat as they reach full growth and only need to be fed every second day like you've been doing...but if he's eating nothing at all then there could be something else going on.

Please post some recent t photos of him.

I'll definitely look into getting a dripper soon, and real plants too. For supplements, I use Zoomed repti-calcium without D3 at every feeding, and Zoomed reptivite twice a month. (Which I believe has D3) I gutload his crickets with fluker's orange cubes (only because the petsmart employee told us to buy them and we need to use them up) as well as vegetables such as carrots and greens, and apple.
I'll snap some photos when I have a chance.

The photo attached is a picture of him before the problem started. (Was taken on May 5th)

 

[CasparChameleon]

@kinyonga here are some from yesterday

 

[jamest0o0]

Plastic plants are not good for veileds(or any imo) as mentioned. Superworms should be a limited treat. If you got him at pet smart there is a strong chance he was not healthy when you got him. If he's drinking at every misting there's a good chance he's not getting enough water. The more Chams tend to drink in front of you, the more desperate for water they tend to be. Not always, but take it into consideration.

 

[CasparChameleon]

@jamest0o0 I have replaced the plastic plants with a real plant (pothos) and added a dripper to his setup! He looked fairly healthy when we got him, just a bit dehydrated.

 

[kinyonga]

His eye is sunken in and he's sitting with his head up. Was he drinking just before these photos were taken? Does he sit with his mouth open at all? Is he pooping? I think he's in trouble.

 

[Valcakey]

His eye is sunken in and he's sitting with his head up. Was he drinking just before these photos were taken? Does he sit with his mouth open at all? Is he pooping? I think he's in trouble.

What does a cham sitting with its head tilted up typically mean? My Chamomile is doing this while sleeping and we already know she's not in the best of health.

 

[kinyonga]

If her mouth is open it usually signals that she's having difficulty getting enough air or sometimes organ damage.

 

[Valcakey]

If her mouth is open it usually signals that she's having difficulty getting enough air or sometimes organ damage.

That's worrisome, but she hasn't had her mouth open that I've observed. Just the head upward and trying to get vertical. However, I took her outside today for some natural sun and when we came back in, she was acting her normal self, but now her head is tilted upwards again

 

[kinyonga]

Casperchameleon...how's your chameleon doing! If it's not improving I would take it to the vet.