Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - I have a 4-5 month old (I think) female veiled chameleon. I have had him for about one month now.
Handling - I do not handle her very much, maybe twice a week.
Feeding - I try to feed her pin-head crickets, but she won't eat and seems like she's losing a lot of strength and weight.
Supplements - Reptivite with D3, once a month, however since she hasn't been eating she cannot receive this.
Watering - I mist her cage for about a minute or two, about three or four times a day. I see her drinking on occasion, usually she just wants to get away from the water.
Fecal Description - Black and white-ish yellow, she has not been tested for parasites, at least under my care.
History - I bought a pair of veiled chameleons from LLLReptile about a month ago, the male is doing fantastic, eating a ton and moving around a lot, however the female is not eating at all. When I first got her, she was eating and seemed to be doing okay, however it seemed as if the male was always much more active.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Homemade, wire mesh 4' x 2' x 2'.
Lighting - I use a normal, 100 watt basking bulb and an Exo Terra Reptile UVB 150 Compact Flourescent (I know that compact fluorescents are bad, however I did my research and this model is reported safe by numerous people, I also have it in a reflective fixture, so it's not as direct.) She usually is around 8"-12" under the UVB bulb. It's about 12-14 hours on, 12-10 hours off.
Temperature - Cage floor is probably around mid to low 70's, the top/basking area is usually around 78F. Average nighttime temp is around the mid 60's. I measure the temperature/humidity with a digital thermometer/hygrometer.
Humidity - The humidity is generally around 40%-55%, sometimes as high as 60% after a long misting. I also have a warm-mist humidifier, which is on during the daytime in the room.
Plants - I have a nice 3 foot schefflera in her cage.
Placement - The cage sits on the floor, and is in front of a window, however the window is not drafty at all.
Current Problem (As of a few days ago) - My female veiled chameleon will not eat. I'm concerned she might have eaten some substrate which I have on the bottom of the cage, I'm in the process of replacing it all with rocks. I don't see how she could have eaten any substrate though, because she spends all of her time at the top of the cage. I also cup feed her, but to do that I take her out of the cage. I do see her drink every now and then after I mist. She seems to be losing more and more strength every day and I'm very concerned. I haven't seen her eat in nearly a week now. Her eyes are also just about always closed, and I am very concerned.
Update: I increased her basking temperature in her cage to mid to low 80's. She seemed to be improving after that, until yesterday. In the morning, she looked dead. I immediately got her out of the cage and made her a smaller make-shift cage in a small plastic container with a heating pad under half of it and a UVB bulb and basking light above. She will not eat at all, as of yesterday I have started force feeding her. She is so small, I can only get what seems to be her lip down and squirt a mix of fruit flies, mealworms, crickets, water, and vitamins in her mouth. She barely gets any in to her. I've seen her swallow it a few times. I'm afraid she might not make it through the night and I need all the help I can get. I cannot afford to take her to the vet. Honestly, she doesn't seem "all there." It almost seems as if she has suffered some sort of brain injury.
Pictures of her a few days ago:
Pictures of her now (This is right after she "ate", she seems more green than earlier):
Pictures of her cage (which as of yesterday she no longer lives in until she recovers):
Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!
Your Chameleon - I have a 4-5 month old (I think) female veiled chameleon. I have had him for about one month now.
Handling - I do not handle her very much, maybe twice a week.
Feeding - I try to feed her pin-head crickets, but she won't eat and seems like she's losing a lot of strength and weight.
Supplements - Reptivite with D3, once a month, however since she hasn't been eating she cannot receive this.
Watering - I mist her cage for about a minute or two, about three or four times a day. I see her drinking on occasion, usually she just wants to get away from the water.
Fecal Description - Black and white-ish yellow, she has not been tested for parasites, at least under my care.
History - I bought a pair of veiled chameleons from LLLReptile about a month ago, the male is doing fantastic, eating a ton and moving around a lot, however the female is not eating at all. When I first got her, she was eating and seemed to be doing okay, however it seemed as if the male was always much more active.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Homemade, wire mesh 4' x 2' x 2'.
Lighting - I use a normal, 100 watt basking bulb and an Exo Terra Reptile UVB 150 Compact Flourescent (I know that compact fluorescents are bad, however I did my research and this model is reported safe by numerous people, I also have it in a reflective fixture, so it's not as direct.) She usually is around 8"-12" under the UVB bulb. It's about 12-14 hours on, 12-10 hours off.
Temperature - Cage floor is probably around mid to low 70's, the top/basking area is usually around 78F. Average nighttime temp is around the mid 60's. I measure the temperature/humidity with a digital thermometer/hygrometer.
Humidity - The humidity is generally around 40%-55%, sometimes as high as 60% after a long misting. I also have a warm-mist humidifier, which is on during the daytime in the room.
Plants - I have a nice 3 foot schefflera in her cage.
Placement - The cage sits on the floor, and is in front of a window, however the window is not drafty at all.
Current Problem (As of a few days ago) - My female veiled chameleon will not eat. I'm concerned she might have eaten some substrate which I have on the bottom of the cage, I'm in the process of replacing it all with rocks. I don't see how she could have eaten any substrate though, because she spends all of her time at the top of the cage. I also cup feed her, but to do that I take her out of the cage. I do see her drink every now and then after I mist. She seems to be losing more and more strength every day and I'm very concerned. I haven't seen her eat in nearly a week now. Her eyes are also just about always closed, and I am very concerned.
Update: I increased her basking temperature in her cage to mid to low 80's. She seemed to be improving after that, until yesterday. In the morning, she looked dead. I immediately got her out of the cage and made her a smaller make-shift cage in a small plastic container with a heating pad under half of it and a UVB bulb and basking light above. She will not eat at all, as of yesterday I have started force feeding her. She is so small, I can only get what seems to be her lip down and squirt a mix of fruit flies, mealworms, crickets, water, and vitamins in her mouth. She barely gets any in to her. I've seen her swallow it a few times. I'm afraid she might not make it through the night and I need all the help I can get. I cannot afford to take her to the vet. Honestly, she doesn't seem "all there." It almost seems as if she has suffered some sort of brain injury.
Pictures of her a few days ago:
Pictures of her now (This is right after she "ate", she seems more green than earlier):
Pictures of her cage (which as of yesterday she no longer lives in until she recovers):
Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!