Chameleon Won't Eat

[lainezor]

Hello everyone, I just got a male panther chameleon on Friday. He is about 6 inches long (from his head to his tail) not sure how old he is but I will assume under a year. After lots of changing around the cage I finally got him in the right setup. He was in a glass cage and now he is in a x-large reptibreeze cage. He has vines and fake leaves to climb on as well as a live hibiscus plant which I got from a pesticide free greenhouse and repotted and washed really well. Yesterday when he was in the wrong cage he ate 7 crickets from a bowl I set in the cage. Today it is more challenging to feed him as he is up high and theres no where to set the bowl. I tried holding the bowl of crickets near him but he just stared at them for a few minutes and ignored them. He turned a dark greenish khaki color with black stripes. Now after removing the cup he is back to his normal color. He is shedding everywhere. Did he lose his appetite from the shedding? Is he afraid of me holding the bowl by him? How do I get him to eat? I dusted the crickets with calcium so they are in a bowl separately.

 

[Simon1986]

There's a couple of factors. 1) he's probably a little stressed as he's moved to a new environment so I'd give him some settling in time. 2) chameleons tend to loose their appitites when they are shedding. So I'd give him time to get over shedding and settle in.

You could try setting up a cup feeder but I'd give him time first. Hope this helps

 

[lainezor]

Yes it does help. I feel horrible moving him around so much. He did bite me when I moved him yesterday and he's just looking grumpy today. He does seem to like the vines and I just saw him licking some water off them. Should I try again tomorrow?

 

[carol5208]

you can just set the crickets loose in the cage if you want also and let him hunt them down. Remove all uneaten ones before bedtime. Often times when chameleon's are subject to a change of environment they will not eat right away. I can vouch for this, as I got a chameleon from another member and it took me 11 days to get him to eat. Granted, he was a full grown adult and they can go quite awhile without eating. I would not panic yet. I am sure he will settle in for you in a few days. Give him some time.

 

[lainezor]

His cage is massive(24"x24"x48"), setting crickets lose would be really hard for him to find.

 

[carol5208]

yeah that is a big cage for a little chameleon. Just try hanging a cup in there from a branch with the feeders in it. Also if you search around there is a way to make a feeder out of a milk jug. You cut the front of it out, line the back of it with screen and put the crickets in that. It is like an open feeder. I think you have to remove the crickets legs so they don't jump out. They should not be able to crawl out cause the plastic is too slippery.

 

[lainezor]

He climbed down to the plant and I set held the bowl there for him and he ate 6 circkets I left to run some errands and he appears to be sleeping. It doesnt look like he is breathing but when I poked at him he took deep breaths and barely moved. I am going to assume he is sleeping but is it normal for him to be sleeping so early with so much light and sound around him? He is sleeping really low at the bottom of the cage which cant be very warm down there probably barely 70. EDIT: seems everytime I post he seems to listen lol, he's moved back up to the top.

 

[Klink]

I've had that problem before, and i did the same thing with crickets. I thought maybe that he was a shy eater, and wouldn't eat if I was watching. So I would put 4 to 6 crickets in a cup, hang it from various perches, and get out of site, and come back to check on him in a couple hours. it appeared that he was eating the crickets, but what actually happened is that the crickets were jumping out of the cups when I wasn't watching. it ended up being that he wouldn't eat from a cup. He would only take free range prey, and one at a time in his cage. More than 1 cricket at a time seemed to overwhelm him, kind of tedious, but I had to try various things to see what worked.