Dumbest lizard I've ever had

[Franquixote]

Maybe lazy, maybe dumb, almost sure it's not health related ...
He hits his target but fails to seal the deal about 3/4 of the time. Then often loses interest if a 2nd attempt also fails.
He is well fed and has been getting proper UV, supplements, and absurd variety of food (in comparison to most keepers, obviously in the wild it's infinitely more varied).
Maybe it is just because he is fat and happy (only saw his full stress/excitement colors once), but he only eats like 1 med large dubia or orange head roach ( or equivalent) a day and poops (normal looking) maybe once a week

Also, I don't handle him, though the last few days I have let him use my hand for a few seconds to regain footing.
He is about 2 and in a custom setup. I must by hand daily.
Check out the pictures of his mouth inside and try to assess his limbs if possible, doesn't appear abnormal to me and he seems to move OK.
All this seem normal to you?

 

[Rontti]

Try feeding him every other day. Maybe he'll get more interested that way.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Amazing looking chameleon you have there! Tongue problems are often caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I also think it is time to feed him every other day. He is on the obese side. It could also be that he has a eye problem. Eye problems can also be caused by vitamin A or other vitamin deficiency. Hope this helps!

 

[Graves923]

What are you gutloading the feeders with?

What is your supplement schedule?

 

[TeamSchmameleon]

Awh he looks like a Godzilla

 

[ChamChamChangeForMe]

He looks stunning. If you are using a compact uvb bulb you need to switch to a linear.

 

[JacksJill]

He is seriously fat (see his casque and tail base). It's no wonder he's not very hungry, he looks like he already ate Tokyo. Definitely back off to every other day feeding and review your supplements to see if he has any imbalance as suggested.

 

[SmithSe]

Ah, yes, I remember you posting last year about how you thought your chameleon's colors were lame. Maybe the issue is not that your chameleon is "lazy" or "dumb", but as @Matt Vanilla Gorilla and @JacksJill pointed out, there may be husbandry issues on your end resulting in hypovitaminosis, or the flip side, hypervitaminosis. How can you be almost sure it's not health related? Have you had him properly assessed at a vet recently? How much vitamin A do you provide to your panther, and do his eyes always look like that? It looks like he has some periorbital edema if you look underneath his eyes, because they definitely look swollen to me. I would maybe expect to see this in an older animal, but not in a 2 year-old chameleon.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Maybe lazy, maybe dumb, almost sure it's not health related ...
He hits his target but fails to seal the deal about 3/4 of the time. Then often loses interest if a 2nd attempt also fails.
He is well fed and has been getting proper UV, supplements, and absurd variety of food (in comparison to most keepers, obviously in the wild it's infinitely more varied).
Maybe it is just because he is fat and happy (only saw his full stress/excitement colors once), but he only eats like 1 med large dubia or orange head roach ( or equivalent) a day and poops (normal looking) maybe once a week

Also, I don't handle him, though the last few days I have let him use my hand for a few seconds to regain footing.
He is about 2 and in a custom setup. I must by hand daily.
Check out the pictures of his mouth inside and try to assess his limbs if possible, doesn't appear abnormal to me and he seems to move OK.
All this seem normal to you?View attachment 222326

You know the routine, please fill out the how to ask for help form...

 

[Franquixote]

He has a fixture from our sponsor "lightyourreptiles" which is a 10% Arcadia in one of the dual bulbs in the fixture as per instructed. Also a Jungle Dawn LED.
He gets vital D 1x per week (Recal version), on a single medium roach, and gets Arcadia Earthpro vitamins dusted on 1-2 med roaches mid-week OR Rep-Cal Herpti bite with beta-carotene on one of the mid week feedings.
So once a week on Sunday he gets D3 and mid week he gets one or 2 insects dusted using one of the formulations mentioned above which have minerals along with other beneficial nutrients.
My feeders are gut loaded as near perfect as I could formulate based on what I have read here and my own research. See my thread on "benebugs" for how I treat my feeders. (Will try and attach the diet of my feeders here too)
The feeders also have also never experienced a die off or any signs of ill health, and at this point they are all 10th+ generation from my own efforts.
He also gets 10th+ generation snails. I DO purchase hornworms weekly (he gets maybe 3 large ones per week), and once a month a few of the largest size crickets (maybe 2-3 crickets per month). Also butter worms, silkworms, wax worms, etc. as a treat once a week... you know how it goes, if I go to a show I will pick up the smallest amount possible and feed them off for a few days

His eyes have always looked like that, I thought it was just a sign of total hydration and full fat reserves.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

How about more plants in his cage? It is so bare!

 

[Franquixote]

He has Madagascar Jasmine and I am trying to get cuttings growing for all of us. There is enough live foliage to keep humidity up and this particular jasmine is not only native, but mimics the color and shape of a sleeping Ambilobe and is nontoxic to feeders- which, by the way NEVER free roam. They get removed at the end of the evening when the timer shuts down the lights. Prevents escapees and harassment while he is sleeping.
He's just really kinda lazy or depressed and I can't take him out a lot because it is 10 below out and we have 2 cats that are a year old and would harass him.
He doesn't show any signs of stress or aggression.
The picture of the enclosure is old, the Jasmine has filled in a bit, that pic was right after a round of cuttings.
Just a big dummy with bad aim I think.

 

[Franquixote]

Derp

 

[salty dog]

The word dumb lizard is relative, chams can not use rational reasoning or have problem solving skills, they are a reptile, so that beiing said the problem is the owner, a reptile or (chameleon) can not fabricate it's environment from which it origionated or provide itself the correct food and lighting, if you can not do that for your (dumb lizard) than maybe you should take up another hobby that doesn't require any intellegance, like putting together puzzles or solitaire

 

[Franquixote]

OK, let me rephrase that...
He is a relatively dumb reptile.
I have been keeping reptiles for 40 years, I have a pretty large date set to draw my conclusions from Spock.
Anyway I am half screwing around/trolling the "my lizard is my child" folks because I can't really think of why the issues above are occurring.
Anyway, I am a very intelluhjent person, and also nice... an "intelligentleman" if you will...
Now excuse me while I find that missing puzzle piece and what those numbers mean on my playing cards.

 

[GoodKarma19]

If you want folks here to try and help, you really ought to take a stab at filling out the "how to ask for help" form. A fresh pair of eyes can do wonders, and is one real perks of being part of a passionate forum full of hobbyists of all levels! We can try, but nothing is ever perfect. The best we can do is keep our minds open to new knowledge and grow with it.

~Amanda.

 

[KamaKamaChameleon!]

He does look very obese and looks to have some eye problems. Fill out the help forum instead of wasting your time snapping back and us calling yours dumb. Thank you.
So he is not really done is just cause of health issues no need call him dumb.

 

[Thehippie]

definitely obese, like @JacksJill mentioned, review supplements and back off the feedings. please fill out the help form so we can help you improve your care, even if people have been keeping exotic animals for a long time, there is always room for improvement! hopefully you find us helpful.

 

[salty dog]

I agree very obese. I don't really beleive calling a cham stupid, the only food it can eat is what you give it, if you feed mealworms and waxworms everyday the cham does not know any different, only it is deprived of the nutrition it needs you are not providing

 

[Franquixote]

Where did you get that I only feed wax and mealworms? He gets like 15 different insects