Chameleon not growing?

[WildTosa]

I have a veiled chameleon who is around 5 months old. We got him at Pensacola Repticon in June or July I believe, and they said he was around 3 weeks at the time.

He is about 2-3 inches including his tail. I'm wondering what he is suppose to be at 5 months and what he is suppose to look like, if anyone has pictures of veiled chameleons at this age. I Don't have any pictures of him recently that I can use.

I looked at an older topic with a picture of a 3 month veiled that looks like him but he/she looks longer than mine..I worry a lot but so far on google images my chameleon isn't anything like those when they are said to be 5 months old

 

[qdude46]

Go to a vet because parasites may be the cause. Could you please fill out the husbandry form and post some pictures of him?

 

[WildTosa]

I'll try to get him a vet appointment, I can't get any pictures of him since its 10pm and I'm not sure if its good to wake him up and stress him out, I'll get some in the morning.

 

[WildTosa]

So I was going off measurements from awhile ago, he is 2 inches from snout to vent (I'm terrible at noticing when my reptiles are grown bigger)

Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, male, 4-5 months
Handling - Not much, once every few days
Feeding - We can only get him to eat 4-6 crickets daily
Supplements - Rep-Cal Calcium w/o D3, Herptivite and Rep-cal calcium with D3 if I don't give him herptivite
Watering - Monsoon and a mister, I rarely see him drinking it
Fecal Description - Brown with white urate, has not been tested for parasites/worms

Cage Type: Reptibreeze 16x16x20
Lighting: I don't know the brands anymore but basking light is 50watt and night light 40-45 watt
Temperature: 80-84 degrees at basking spot..70? degrees bottom floor, Not sure about overnight temperature. Using zoo-med digital thermometer
Humidity: I use a monsoon from Exo-terra, not sure about the %
Plants: Arboricola Trinette is the only real plant
Placement: He is 36 inches off the ground, not too close to a air vent, however he is in a somewhat high traffic area though he still eats and wonders around without having stress marks
Location: Florida
I got some pictures of him

 

[fluxlizard]

You are right - at 5 months that is really small. Mine are adults by then.

Have you thought about keeping him outdoors much of the year there in florida? Real sunlight can have some powerful effects on them sometimes.

Other than that, I don't really have a lot of tips for you based on your info. Nothing jumps out at me. Only suggestions I might offer is raise the basking temp a bit possibly for now to see if it stimulates his appetite and don't handle unless necessary until he gets growing.

Also on lighting- you didn't mention full spectrum lighting. Important and can stimulate appetite if you aren't using- you probably are and just left it off. And in Florida I doubt you should ever need a night heat. I keep adults down to 40 and babies down to 50 without problems- most of the winter they are down around 50 here for me. It is better to let them cool down at night some- at least into the low 70s if not into the 60s somewhere.

 

[fluxlizard]

raise the basking temp a bit

And by this I mean about 10 degrees. I'm a bit of an old timer and some habits die hard, but the warmest parts in my enclosures are probably 15 degrees warmer than yours. I do provide true gradients though- not simple hot spots which can cause burns (too lazy to describe and explain, but some of my past posts explain the difference and I did one on it not too far back if you search). I think if you warm things up a bit you will find a better appetite.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I think those low temps for basking that you are using are used for females primarily to try and turn off their reproductive clock and lengthen their lifespans. I don't think it is as important with males maybe. In either case, the lizard will select what it's instinct tells it needs if you provide something a little warmer and a way to escape the heat. If I was in Florida though, I'd have mine outside most of the year in real sunlight.

 

[fluxlizard]

One other thing I thought of is how large are the crickets you are feeding?
One time I saw a veterinarian at a university doing a feeding study of bearded dragons and she was using full grown crickets for small dragons. The result was not a lot of crickets getting eaten and poor growth rate. Kind of made the results of growth on the artificial diet she was checking for acompany look amazing by comparison. LOL.

A few years back I took a large group of bearded dragons and fed them large numbers of smaller than normal items more often and got a really big difference in growth rate over the course of 3 months vs those fed standard size insects for the size of the lizard. But it was waay too many insects to feed like that normally (huge numbers needed the larger the lizards grew).

So, point is- small guy like that maybe feed 1/4" 10 1/2" crickets if you aren't already. At the 1/4" range you may find he eats more- especially if you offer a couple times a day because they will digest faster and pack into his stomach better.

If you aren't already trying something like that.

Those are my thoughts anyway.

Maybe someone else has better advice and will come along.

 

[WildTosa]

Sorry, I do have a UVB tropical tube light for him, I'll start letting him outside I've been wanting to let him outside to bask but I was scared he was going to get really stressed out about it..


I am giving him somewhat big crickets, not full-grown or 1/2, but they do seem quite big for him, ill try and get smaller ones and see if he eats more of them

I have the night light on him since he is downstairs while the rest of my reptiles and me are upstairs, the upstairs stays around 75 while downstairs can get to 68-70 at night and I was worried it was too cold for him

 

[camimom]

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AT NIGHT!

Chams can handle temps down to 50, so that could be part of the issue.

But there is no way thats a 5 months old baby.

Either he has parasites, hes a runt, or you were told the wrong age when you bought him.

 

[fluxlizard]

well, she said she bought him in june or july.
I agree about light at night for sure. And about parasite possibility. But he doesn't look super thin or wasted on the other hand either.

 

[WildTosa]

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AT NIGHT!

Chams can handle temps down to 50, so that could be part of the issue.

But there is no way thats a 5 months old baby.

Either he has parasites, hes a runt, or you were told the wrong age when you bought him.

Alright I'll get rid of the night light

We got him at the last Pensacola repticon, which I believe was at the end of June they said he was either 3 days (which I highly doubt) or 3 weeks. I haven't took him to the vet yet so he could possibly have parasites. I will hopefully get an appointment for him very soon

 

[camimom]

Do you have photos of him from when you first got him?

he looks barely a month old.
two if hes on the smaller side.

he should also be eating a whole lote more food.

 

[WildTosa]

I've been trying since 12 pm to get him to eat crickets but right now he is refusing them? He just runs away

I have a really bad picture of him since I didn't want to open his cage, not sure if you can see how big he is

 

[camimom]

I've been trying since 12 pm to get him to eat crickets but right now he is refusing them? He just runs away

I have a really bad picture of him since I didn't want to open his cage, not sure if you can see how big he is

are you hand feeding him? or do you stand and watch him eat?

Do you cup feed or let them roam?

 

[Iluvheidi]

I would have to agree with camimom. I dont belive this cutie is 4-5 months. If it is a groth issue woulnt there be more abnormal size limbs and eyes? or look sickly if he had parasites... I dunno. Although these creatures amaze me with something new everyday

 

[WildTosa]

are you hand feeding him? or do you stand and watch him eat?

Do you cup feed or let them roam?

I use tongs to feed him, but I keep the cricket and tongs 2 inches away, right now I've had a cup full of crickets near him to see if he goes for any of them but so far he hasn't gone for them and 3 minutes ago I just let 5 of them run around to see if he goes after them

 

[camimom]

Ok thts part of your issue.

Hes too young to tong feed.

Simply put the cup of small crickets near him, preferable so the lip of the cup is just below where he is perched, and walk away.

 

[WildTosa]

Ok thts part of your issue.

Hes too young to tong feed.

Simply put the cup of small crickets near him, preferable so the lip of the cup is just below where he is perched, and walk away.

Ok thanks!

 

[houseofchameleons]

I also have a slow grower. I have 4 from the same clutch that range from 9,11,32 and 46 grams. All have been tested for parasites ( we do it at home)
They all have unlimited food source but the little one doesn't eat a lot and they all go outside daily otherwise he seems fine at 5 mos old...bizarre

 

[WildTosa]

I just wanted to ask what can I feed my chameleon since he is so small, I've been giving him crickets and flightless fruit flies, and started giving him phoenix worms a couple days ago, and just tried a very small meal worm. He instantly went for the worms when i placed them on a leaf near him but he is ignoring the crickets so I'm wondering if he is tired of crickets.. I don't want to do meal worms a lot since they can be hard to digest