eating less and less

[TylerMcCoy]

my cham is about 5 months old, starting a few days ago he has been eating less now to the point where he eats nothing, idk if hes just not hungry becuz hes growing can i get some help please

 

[ChrisnLisa]

Fill this out with as much detail as possible please.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[TylerMcCoy]

he is a blue bar ambilobe male, 5 months old, his cage is a 24x24x48 screen enclosure, his temp is about 80 degrees during the day and about 70 during the night. he gets fed (until recently) 5-10 gut loaded calcium herpitive blend misted small crickets a day. his humidity is at about 60-80 percent. he gets misted about 5 times a day for about three minutes each time. his light is a combination of reptisun 5.0 linear fluorescent and a natural sunshine light with a 60 watt bulb for basking. ive had him for about two and a half months. his feces is normal. i handle him often and he enjoys handling. in fact he comes to my hand whenever its in the cage. the cage is in my bedroom in the corner on my desk. and i live in central florida

 

[Jonas]

Stop handling, he does NOT enjoy handling, it is stressful and basically harmful for the animal.

Pictures of the animal and the cage would help.

What lighting do you have?

 

[ChrisnLisa]

he is a blue bar ambilobe male, 5 months old, his cage is a 24x24x48 screen enclosure, his temp is about 80 degrees during the day and about 70 during the night. he gets fed (until recently) 5-10 gut loaded calcium herpitive blend misted small crickets a day. his humidity is at about 60-80 percent. he gets misted about 5 times a day for about three minutes each time. his light is a combination of reptisun 5.0 linear fluorescent and a natural sunshine light with a 60 watt bulb for basking. ive had him for about two and a half months. his feces is normal. i handle him often and he enjoys handling. in fact he comes to my hand whenever its in the cage. the cage is in my bedroom in the corner on my desk. and i live in central florida

You still left out quite a bit of info Tyler.

Is 80 his basking temp or ambient?
What type of plants do you use?
What do his droppings look like?
Can you post a pic of him from today?
What makes you think he enjoys handling? How often do you do this?
What are the names of all the supplements you use? What is the schedule for each?
What are you gutloading with?
Any idea on his weight/and svl?
Has he been tested for parasites?
Did he stop eating all at once or was it gradual?

 

[TylerMcCoy]

80 is his cage temp, not sure of his basking temp. i have one fake plant (not sure what it is) and one large pothos plant hanging i gut load the crickets using flukers gut loader, dust them with zoo med herpitive, and calcium supplements with a schedule his breeder gave me, his droppings are brown at the top with about a quarter of it white at the end, he is alert and very active, he just stopped eating so much at feeding time yesterday, he hasnt been tested for parasites or anything but he acts perfectly normal except for not eating ( im guessing from an article i just read that this is a hunger strike since his diet does not consist of too much variety which im going to get some super worms and silkworms today along with the usual crickets.)

 

[ChrisnLisa]

It is imperative that you get a digital thermometer or temp gun to find out his basking temp. How are you reading what the ambient temp is? That gutload is garbage.
Sandra does a really good job with gutloading info, here is a link for you to check out:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/57-gutloading-links.html

You still did not answer me about the supplement schedule, what is it?

Can you get a pic of your cham and enclosure from today?

One day of not eating isn't cause for concern yet. Being so young, I doubt this is a hunger strike. The topics I am mentioning do need to be addressed though, as husbandry issues can lead to major problems,including not eating.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Variety is most likely the issue. If he's only ever been fed crickets, a new insect food item will either catch his attention and appetite, or scare him til he realizies it's new food item.

 

[TylerMcCoy]

okay so i am going to change his food variety up a little bit. sorry i cannot get a pic today (broken cam.) but i will try to change his gutload also and im using a digital thermometer/ humidity gauge. and my profile picture is actually a recent photo i think from fri. or thurs.


Monday- Herptivite
Tuesday- Calcium with D3
Wednesday- Calcium no D3
Thursday- Herptivite
Friday- Calcium with D3
Saturday- Calcium no D3
Sunday- No dusting

 

[jheitz]

Back down on the calcium with D3. IMO, twice a month is more than enough. How is his overall appearance? Are his eyes open and alert? Boddy round and firm? If there are no obvious physical signs of dehydration or illness, I would look at alternate feeders. Roaches, pheonix worms, and silk worms are great. Mealworms only once and awhile, same with waxworms. If he looks like he may be emaciated, you can give him a couple of waxworms to stimulate his appetite, but not as a staple feeder. Hope this helps.

Jason

 

[beeze]

D3 twice a months as said above. Herptivite only once a month and calcium without D3 at just about every feeding except when you dust with the other supplememts.

 

[TylerMcCoy]

okay so how does this look
Monday- Calcium
Tuesday- Calcium
Wednesday- Calcium (with D3 2nd and 4th week of every month only)
Thursday- Calcium
Friday- Calcium
Saturday- Calcium
Sunday- Nothing (Herptivite 1st week of every month only)