DiVinci isn't eating

[KimberK]

my son has two veiled chameleons, van Gogh and da Vinci. when we got them they were young enough to house together, but within a couple of months they had to be separated. Van Gogh is doing very well, thriving in his environment, as was da Vinci for a while, but within the last couple of weeks da Vinci has stopped eating (mostly). We give them crickets that are powered with calcium. We also give them kale and romaine. we have a drop system set up, heat lamps, mist them several times daily, and provide the red lamps at night. their cages are separated, so they do not interact at all. I do want to note that his colors are good. it's this just a phase, advice is much welcome.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

First thing is chameleons do not need light at night. They need complete darkness to sleep. If you are using them to provide heat, chameleons need a drop of temperature at night and can withstand temperatures into the 50's. Try removing the night light and see if that helps.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

and I am sorry I did not welcome you to the forums. There are some great people and lots of information. Hopefully we can get your little guy eating asap

 

[Psychobunny]

Hello, and welcome to the forum,

As already said, chams need nice, jungle dark to sleep.
They can see the color red, just like us.

Double check your basking temp.
It's best to use a digital thermometer with probe, and monitor the temp at
the place where he goes to bask.

A young veiled should not have over 85F at the hottest spot.
You also need to provide places in the cage where he can go that are cooler,
so you need to have a temp gradient.

Please post a pic of the cage he is in.
If it does not have enough foliage, with leaves, branches, vines, he will not
feel secure, and stress alone can make him stop eating (and drinking).

Also, chams do not like change! so if you moved him to another cage, it will
take time for him to adjust to it.
During that time, it's best to leave him completely alone, no handling, until
he starts to feel safe.
Chams can go for several days w/o food, but they can not go w/o water, so
make sure he is properly hydrated.

In some cases, it may be a good thing to cover his cage, as you would a bird,
at night.

As my vet says; "chameleons are little stress monsters", meaning, that everything unfamiliar will stress them.

 

[KimberK]

thanks everyone. he was eating fine after being moved, and it's unusually social. this has only been going on for a couple of days, but they have had their red lights since they were in the reptile store. I will try leaving his light off at night. it doesn't seem to bother van Gogh, so I will leave him be. I tried to posta pic before but I am working with my phone and it wasn't cooperating. I will try again.

 

[KimberK]

their pics are in my profile. my profile pic it's van Gogh and da Vinci's pic it's in my profile, along with both habitats.

 

[Jordyt]

UVB lighting

Hi,

I was just looking at the set ups in your profile pics and could help notice it doesn't look like you have a UVB light, unless your heat lamp also has UVB. Chameleons require UVB.

Please have a look at the veild care sheet if you haven't already in the care resources link at the top left of the screen.

 

[Kath44]

It might seem it doesn't bother him having light on at night, but more than likely will. Listen to advice given on here by experienced members. Stores don't give out correct advice as they treat chams like other reptiles and they're not the same.
He may also be bored if you're just feeding crickets, they like variety. If you check the care sheets on here you'll find lots of good info etc.
welcome to the forums. Kath.

 

[Psychobunny]

Right you are Kath, and the sales people are told to push supplies, which
actually account for most of their revenue.
They try to sell everyone the same things, lights, hoods, suppliments, water bowls, substrate, expensive Exoterra glass terrariums, you need this, you need
that, etc.

Customers walk out of the store with a $75.00 veiled cham, and $300.00 of junk they probably shouldn't use

 

[Kenny C]

Right you are Kath, and the sales people are told to push supplies, which
actually account for most of their revenue.
They try to sell everyone the same things, lights, hoods, suppliments, water bowls, substrate, expensive Exoterra glass terrariums, you need this, you need
that, etc.

Customers walk out of the store with a $75.00 veiled cham, and $300.00 of junk they probably shouldn't use

This could not be more true I was in Petco the other day and this lady was buying a veiled it was terrible!. First the guy feed the baby cham a large cric then he sold the lady no uv lights but a few heat stones and 2 different subs! and a HUGE glass enclosure!