Help! My chameleon isn't eating for 3 weeks.

[Myrthe&Lucifer]

Hi first of all sorry for my bad english. So i wanted to talk about my 10-11 month old male panther chameleon. He hasn't been eating for 3weeks or so it seems. He doesn't eat the superworms he normally likes. Sometimes a dubia dissapears but i don't know if he eats them sometimes or if they just escape i usually find them under the plants. Anyway he looks normal and does normal chameleon things he doesn't sleep during the day other days he is in his basking spot the others he just hides in the plants. His food are dubias, grasshoppers and superworms. Sometimes crickets and as treat waxworms. His humidity is 50-70% sometimes 40 when i spray a little late and sometimes 80 if spray a little too much i spray 2 to three times sometimes four if it's warmer. He has a glass terrarium (i've got a screen enclosure i only need to set it up) Its around the 28-30C°. He has now a Reptech Mecury vapor 80Watt as uvb and heat. (its a mixed bulb). His enclosure is a little on the small size right now. The last time i let him test on parasites was about 4 months ago. His insects are gut loaded with carrots, apple, and a dandelion salad. Sometimes cucumber and mango. He usually poops once a week or one and a half. now he hasn't in 2 weeks. I think he drinks because he doesn't have sunken eyes. Does anyone know if it can be something serious? I can go to the vet but they are not so good with chameleons they don't really look at them if they act normal. I looked it up and a month is way too long for not to eat even tho he didn't lose weight (he was kinda overweight tho) He weigthed 123g last time i checked (he is 15 cm without tail) that was about 3-4 months ago. Now he should be 120g. can someone give me some tips or tell me if i do anything wrong?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Welcome to the forum,

Please copy/paste this questionnaire into this thread, fill in the information, and include pics of your enclosure from lights on down to substrate & drainage. This will aid folks in being able to help you.

Thanks.

 

[Myrthe&Lucifer]

I have no idea how i edit my thread.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon: Panther chameleon Male 10-11 months been in my care for 9 i believe
• Handling: Depends sometimes 3 times a week others 5 times
• Feeding : Grasshoppers, Superworms, Dubia roaches. 2-3x a week but because he isnt eating i'm leaving it. The gutload is carrots, apple, and a dandelion salad
• Supplements : i use calcium without d3 every feeding. Mutli-vitamins normally every once a week. Both are from zoo meds
• Watering: There is a dripper in the cage. I spray 3 times a day sometimes 4 between a 1-4 minutes. he is a really shy drinker i only saw him once but he doesnt have sunken eyes so i guess he still drinking.
• Fecal Description: brown and the other part creamy color he hasnt pooped inthe last 2 week because of his lack of eating he usally does it once a week or one week and a half. He have been tested twice on parasites last year last time was 3-4 months ago
• History : comes from a reptile shop he bought them from a breeder.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type: glass but its little on the small size its around 90 cm in height and 49 cm in depth (idk how its written) Side note i'm changing to a better cage reptibreeze x-Large next week. the one i have now was made by the reptile shop owner he put it together.
• Lighting : on the right i use the reptech mecury vapor bulb 80watt (uvb and heat together) and on the left is a uv lamp for the plants. (im also changing lamps im stepping over to uvb 5.0 reptisun or 6% arcadia. And heat bulb from 100watt
• Temperature : i dont really know the temp on the bottom but i guess around 23-25 C° And the basking is now 28-30C° Its cold out here so temp is a little lower. I have a meter in my cage. At night its 17-19. the lights are on 12 hours a day.
• Humidity : it range from 40-80% i usually keep it around the 50 to 70 but somtimes it drops to 40 or if i spray too much it hangs around the 80. I keep this up with a spray bottle.
• Plants: my plants are real i got 2 big ones in it. i dont know their exact name but i know they are not poison. One is from the reptile shop. and the other from flower shop that doesn't use pesticides
• Placement: it's in my study room its around 50 cm of the ground.
• Location - : Belgium

Current Problem hasn't been eating for 3 weeks.

 

[Pine Nut]

I have no idea how i edit my thread.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon: Panther chameleon Male 10-11 months been in my care for 9 i believe
• Handling: Depends sometimes 3 times a week others 5 times
• Feeding : Grasshoppers, Superworms, Dubia roaches. 2-3x a week but because he isnt eating i'm leaving it. The gutload is carrots, apple, and a dandelion salad
• Supplements : i use calcium without d3 every feeding. Mutli-vitamins normally every once a week. Both are from zoo meds
• Watering: There is a dripper in the cage. I spray 3 times a day sometimes 4 between a 1-4 minutes. he is a really shy drinker i only saw him once but he doesnt have sunken eyes so i guess he still drinking.
• Fecal Description: brown and the other part creamy color he hasnt pooped inthe last 2 week because of his lack of eating he usally does it once a week or one week and a half. He have been tested twice on parasites last year last time was 3-4 months ago
• History : comes from a reptile shop he bought them from a breeder.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type: glass but its little on the small size its around 90 cm in height and 49 cm in depth (idk how its written) Side note i'm changing to a better cage reptibreeze x-Large next week. the one i have now was made by the reptile shop owner he put it together.
• Lighting : on the right i use the reptech mecury vapor bulb 80watt (uvb and heat together) and on the left is a uv lamp for the plants. (im also changing lamps im stepping over to uvb 5.0 reptisun or 6% arcadia. And heat bulb from 100watt
• Temperature : i dont really know the temp on the bottom but i guess around 23-25 C° And the basking is now 28-30C° Its cold out here so temp is a little lower. I have a meter in my cage. At night its 17-19. the lights are on 12 hours a day.
• Humidity : it range from 40-80% i usually keep it around the 50 to 70 but somtimes it drops to 40 or if i spray too much it hangs around the 80. I keep this up with a spray bottle.
• Plants: my plants are real i got 2 big ones in it. i dont know their exact name but i know they are not poison. One is from the reptile shop. and the other from flower shop that doesn't use pesticides
• Placement: it's in my study room its around 50 cm of the ground.
• Location - : Belgium

Current Problem hasn't been eating for 3 weeks.


View attachment 292841

Shouldn’t be in a glass cage for starters.

 

[kinyonga]

@Pine Nut ...the person lives in Belgium and it's perfectly fine to use a glass cage there for a chameleon....and the OP said the cage is going to be changed anyway.

 

[Pine Nut]

Do chameleons need less air and ventilation in Belgium ? Pretty sure they need the same amount of air anywhere in earth.

 

[Pine Nut]

* ON * lol

 

[Thatcher]

Do chameleons need less air and ventilation in Belgium ? Pretty sure they need the same amount of air anywhere in earth.

So the humidity or temp could be different so different cage types could be optimal

 

[MissSkittles]

Do chameleons need less air and ventilation in Belgium ? Pretty sure they need the same amount of air anywhere in earth.

Most glass enclosures have air vents at the lower area, which creates a chimney effect for ventilation. It’s perfectly acceptable for these enclosures to be used and the type of enclosure used should be based on the climate where one lives.

 

[Pine Nut]

Ahhhhh !!! Ty that’s good. Phew !

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Shouldn’t be in a glass cage for starters.

You might need to do some reading before you try to give advice….. I made that mistake when I was new chameleon academy and Neptune the chameleon are great learning sources

I’ve made that mistake to many times and I’m trying to do better bout only giving info bout the things I know for sure

 

[Thatcher]

You might need to do some reading before you try to give advice….. I made that mistake when I was new chameleon academy and Neptune the chameleon are great learning sources

Correct

 

[BryanP]

Shouldn’t be in a glass cage for starters

I really wish this hobby would move on from this ideology.

I will say that there does not appear to be a screen top but a small vent (it appears) so the ventilation may be less than ideal.

Moot point since you're getting a screen cage but my initial comment still stands.

 

[kinyonga]

I really wish this hobby would move on from this ideology.

I will say that there does not appear to be a screen top but a small vent (it appears) so the ventilation may be less than ideal.

Moot point since you're getting a screen cage but my initial comment still stands.

I wondered about the screen too...but then thought it won't matter since the cage is going to be changed...as you noted too.

 

[ElliotG]

Do you notice any weird behaviors, like holding head up high and popping noises/gapping? I know in some circumstances it’s okay to keep chameleons in glass as long as it is adequate ventilation. I’m just wondering maybe a respiratory infection? My one cham had one and stopped trying to hunt as it developed more and more, he lost complete appetite until he was a week and a half into his medication, then he started to attempt to hunt again. Just maybe watch him and check into those behaviors.

It could also be a food strike, as I call them. Sometimes reptiles will refuse to eat for awhile, whether it be they don’t like the type of food or they’re just not as active/hungry as they usually are.

My big male veiled just went through one because he doesn’t like dubias, so he’d rather starve than eat them. I ordered silk worms and tried those, he gobbled them up immediately. Maybe try hornworms/silkworms And see if he’ll take those. My big boy is just a soft worm type of lizard, or has expensive taste .

I will note superworms arent a staple feeder, they’re more of a treat. I just don’t feed mine any supers, I see no benefit in them. But they’re great treats if you want to continue feeding them!

The point of concern I would reach with these guys is when you notice lethargic behaviors. Then that’s when you take them to the vet and get them checked out. That or starvation/loosing copious amount of weight within a short period. I would not try and force feed him unless a vet has directed you too as well. Very traumatic experience for the little guys, I’ve only done it on two of my Chams. My blind on because he couldn’t hunt and was under weight and my big male, just because he already had nutrient issues and I wanted to make sure he was getting the stuff he needed. Besides that, I don’t force feed them anymore as they’re finally eating healthy.

Hopefully you can figure it out for your little guy.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

A word on ventilation...

If an enclosure has an intake at the bottom, an outlet at the top, and a temperature gradient within, a chimney (stack) effect will be generated. Size of the "vents" is sometimes secondary; small vents can actually generate more air changes/movement than wide open vents in some cases, but maximum airflow may not be what we're going for—just reasonable air changes.

The equations in the above link—and in air changes per hour—can be used to approximate airflow.

 

[Myrthe&Lucifer]

Do you notice any weird behaviors, like holding head up high and popping noises/gapping? I know in some circumstances it’s okay to keep chameleons in glass as long as it is adequate ventilation. I’m just wondering maybe a respiratory infection? My one cham had one and stopped trying to hunt as it developed more and more, he lost complete appetite until he was a week and a half into his medication, then he started to attempt to hunt again. Just maybe watch him and check into those behaviors.

It could also be a food strike, as I call them. Sometimes reptiles will refuse to eat for awhile, whether it be they don’t like the type of food or they’re just not as active/hungry as they usually are.

My big male veiled just went through one because he doesn’t like dubias, so he’d rather starve than eat them. I ordered silk worms and tried those, he gobbled them up immediately. Maybe try hornworms/silkworms And see if he’ll take those. My big boy is just a soft worm type of lizard, or has expensive taste .

I will note superworms arent a staple feeder, they’re more of a treat. I just don’t feed mine any supers, I see no benefit in them. But they’re great treats if you want to continue feeding them!

The point of concern I would reach with these guys is when you notice lethargic behaviors. Then that’s when you take them to the vet and get them checked out. That or starvation/loosing copious amount of weight within a short period. I would not try and force feed him unless a vet has directed you too as well. Very traumatic experience for the little guys, I’ve only done it on two of my Chams. My blind on because he couldn’t hunt and was under weight and my big male, just because he already had nutrient issues and I wanted to make sure he was getting the stuff he needed. Besides that, I don’t force feed them anymore as they’re finally eating healthy.

Hopefully you can figure it out for your little guy.

I missed alot here lmao. And he is eating again for a while now. he just a picky eater and doesn't like dubia roaches.

 

[Myrthe&Lucifer]

Ahhhhh !!! Ty that’s good. Phew !

Don't worry he had a new one since march a x large repti breeze ). Here in Belgium we use mostly glass cus of the weather. But personally I was stressed out alot because it was a problem in warm weather's. :')

 

[ElliotG]

I missed alot here lmao. And he is eating again for a while now. he just a picky eater and doesn't like dubia roaches.

I didn’t even notice how long ago the thread was lol!! I have a Cham Thats exactly the same. He won’t touch dubias, what weirdos.

 

[Pine Nut]

I didn’t even notice how long ago the thread was lol!! I have a Cham Thats exactly the same. He won’t touch dubias, what weirdos.

Mine won’t eat them either. I’ve tried alllll sizes. Still, nothing