feeding help

pantherkid2

pantherkid2

Established Member
Well i got my baby male ambilobe today and he has not eaten... I offered him pinhead cricket and he wont take them? Is this normal for a baby to not eat on the first day in his new cage?


If someone can help me i will greatly appreciate it...
 
pantherkid2 said:
So hes going to be alright?
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Well, it is normal for a cham in a brand new environment to not eat the first day. But, depending on his age and size you may have been offering food that was too small to be of interest to him. If he is VERY young, then it is risky for him to go without food.

How old is he?
 
pantherkid2 said:
he is about 2 months old.. i got him from reptile depot..
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I would think pinheads would be too small for him. He should probably be into 1/4 size cricks by now. Most pet stores do sell smaller crickets. You may wish to get a few for him and see if he shows more interest. Two month old chams are usually pretty good eaters. If he's not eating tomorrow I would run out and get him some crickets larger than the pinheads. But you should not feed him anything that is longer than the space between his eyes. That is sort of the standard rule, for youngsters, anyway.

Can you tell us about your set up?
 
you said that you offered the pinhead? are you talking about hand feeding?if so then he could be afraid of you, just put them in the cup and leave him be.
 
i have been trying to get this info out of this kid already today. Dont start another thread about care if you already have a new thread concerning your chams needs. fill this out and we will go from there.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type 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?
Location - 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?

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.
 
Cage Type: 38 gallon reptarium

Lights: its a uvb 5.0 and a 75 watt reptile light

Temps: not really sure i havent checked.

humidity: around 80%

plants: there all fake plants.

cage location: its in my room but i keep a towel around the cage for right now so i wont stress him out.


my chameleon: its a ambilobe panther, male, and he is about 2 or 3 months old.. he has been in my care for 2 days now..

handling: i just picked him up once i tried to see if he would eat them from my hand..

feeding: im feeding him small crickets.. i put 5 in a cup to see if he would eat them but he dont even show no sign of wanting to eat them.. well i put some in yesterday he wouldnt eat them and im trying again today a still he wont eat them.. i feed them crickets different kinds of fruit..

supplements: im using reptivit..

fecal: he hvent did any yet

my current prblem: HE WONT EAT
 
Thank you for the additional info. You really do need to know the temps. A 75W bulb over that size cage, with a towel wrapped around the cage, is probably too hot for him. Panther chams, especially young ones, need a fairly moderate temperature- with the ambient cage temp about 75 and the basking temp about 85. Thermometers are so cheap, please pick one up as soon as you can. Overheating could kill the little guy.

ALso, with that many plants in there, he can find his privacy, I don't think the towel is necessary. The deal with new arrivals is time- they need time to settle in. Even with complete provacy, he would still need a few days to get comfortable. For acclimation, time is probably the major factor with this breed, not necessarily complete privacy. Some chams are more comfortable if they can peek out and see what is going on outside.

And, if you can pick up a nice inexpensive ficus plant or schefflera at a home depot or walmart that would be great, too.
 
Ok thanks i will try to pick up that today... But about him not eating... In his cage i put a cup in there and placed about 5 crickets in there and he wont eat any of them... Do you think i should take him out a put him something smaller to see if he will eat? Because i got him yesterday and he wouldnt eat so im getting kind of worried
 
pantherkid2 said:
Ok thanks i will try to pick up that today... But about him not eating... In his cage i put a cup in there and placed about 5 crickets in there and he wont eat any of them... Do you think i should take him out a put him something smaller to see if he will eat? Because i got him yesterday and he wouldnt eat so im getting kind of worried
Click to expand...

try free ranging. The movements of crickets might help his appetite.
 
pantherkid2 said:
Temps: not really sure i havent checked.
Click to expand...

Go to petco and get the a temp and humidity gauge, they are like $8.

handling: i just picked him up once i tried to see if he would eat them from my hand..
Click to expand...

He most likely wont eat from your hand for awhile, he is a little small for that and your hand probably scares him.

feeding: im feeding him small crickets.. i put 5 in a cup to see if he would eat them but he dont even show no sign of wanting to eat them.. well i put some in yesterday he wouldnt eat them and im trying again today a still he wont eat them.. i feed them crickets different kinds of fruit..
Click to expand...

How big is your feeder cup? If it is actually the size of a regular cup that may be to small and he doesnt know what it is.Try making one out of a 2 liter pop bottle or 1/2 gallon milk jug. And you need to locate it somewhere he can have access to it at multiple positions. Here is a vid on how to.

 
I could have sworn I posted here last night and my posts are gone!

If you have him eating pinheads, he may just not be interested in the food. Pinheads are TINY and as gesang said, 2 month olds should be pretty good eaters. In my post yesterday that mysteriously disappeared, I said that he could and should be eating 1/8" to 1/4" crickets.

I would also get that towel off of his cage. He needs all the ventilation that the screen cage provides. Just try to limit your contact with him and he will get used to his surroundings. The towel could make him seriously stressed.
Also, as gesang suggested, you should get him some live plants, like a ficus or an umbrella tree, that will help keep the humidity up in his cage, and I know my panther likes to munch on his leaves (which I guess is rare for a panther, but does happen) and you wouldn't want him munching on plastic, just in case.

I wouldn't worry terribly about his not wanting to eat right away. Some animals have a desire to eat immediately upon arriving in their new home, and others take a little longer. I would try putting some crickets in a cup in his cage and letting him go at them himself without you there, watching his every move. You could be making him nervous if you are standing there watching him. Count the crickets in the cup and then you will know whether he is eating or not. If he isn't eating by tomorrow, get some bigger prey items, as those pinheads are probably too small as it is.
 
Kat77 my posts seem to be mysteriously dissapearing too lately, it must be some government conspiracy.:D

And if you get a live plant with larger leaves you will be able to tell if he is really hungry and eating at all because there will be little bites taken out of the leaves.
 
do you have pics of the inside of his cage?

to post pics into the thread just copy the "IMG CODE" ,under the pic on photobucket, and paste into your post and submit.
 
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