HELP! My veiled chameleon stopped eating!

[Heather_Katherine]

Hi, I have a veiled chameleon, Ludwig von Chameleon (Lou). He is a little over a year old. He's recently stopped eating. I thought because the weather has changed that he was too cold so we blocked off 2 sides of his enclosure. It's now between 80-90º with 40% humidity. I've also noticed that he tends to get black spots on occasion, typically when agitated. He's very friendly & spent about a year at pet smart before I saw & adopted him, so he likes to come out of his enclosure. He gets 5 fat meal worms in the morning, treated with calcium powder & I've added collard greens.
Any help in getting Lou to eat again would be greatly appreciated. (Outside of a vet, I'm in the process of tracking a good exotics vet down.)
Thank you so much!
Heather

 

[Katacara]

Please fill out the "how to ask for help" form. People here can take a look and see if there are things that need improvement or tweaking. Please use as much detail as you can! The more information we have the better we can help you and your cham! Pictures are always helpful also.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[Heather_Katherine]

• Chameleon- make, veiled cham. A bout 1 1/2 yrs old. & I've had him for 4 months.
• Handling - whenever he wants to come out. A few times a week for 10-15 minutes
• Feeding - 4-5 giant meal worms every morning. Just added collard greens as well.
• Supplements - repticalcium. I sprinkle it on every container of new worms.
• Watering - water spray bottle. A few times a day. Yes, he drinks from the plastic plant leaves.
• Fecal Description - white & black, like bird poop, but chunky, not runny. Idk if he's been tested.
• History - got him at pet smart at just over 1 yr old. He's been handled quite a bit & no body wanted to adopt him because of his age, so I did.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen. 24"x 36"
• Lighting - zoo med heat lamp. & zoo med uva/uvb lamp. Lot from 0500-2100
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 80-90º Lowest overnight temp? 50-60º How do you measure these temps? Digital thermometer & a great choice brand thermometer & humidity gauge
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 35-50%. Varies. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Spraying water. What do you use to measure humidity?great choice brand thermometer & humidity gauge
• Plants - Are you using live plants? No
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Dresser next to axolotyl tank. Window behind it with black out curtains & screens closest to window blocked by a cut yoga mat. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? Window. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 5'
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh.

Current Problem - he won't eat anymore.

 

[Katacara]

I will go over some other things with you in a moment, but first: How sure are you that he is a "he"?

Could we see some clear photos of the back feet please?

 

[Heather_Katherine]

I will go over some other things with you in a moment, but first: How sure are you that he is a "he"?

Could we see some clear photos of the back feet please?

He has tarcel spurs. I checked that because I was wondering if he was a she & possibly needing to lay eggs. I didn't want to pester anyone unless I had too. Thank you for your help. I can get those pictures shortly. I'll need my other half to hold him while I take the pic.

 

[Katacara]

If you are 100% sure than there are no need for the pictures, so don't worry about it. It's just kind of a standard question I ask because the pet store rarely knows.

 

[Heather_Katherine]

He wasn't interested in coming out, he let's lets us know, but I was able to get this pic of one of his back feet

 

[Crashbandit05]

I'd recommend reading more about veiled chameleon husbandry here on the forums. Mealworms are not a great choice to feed, try crickets, roaches, bsfl, hornworms, etc. How are you providing water? Do you have a automatic mister or hand spray? He looks pretty good IMO.

 

[Heather_Katherine]

Hand spray. He didn't eat crickets when I tried them at first so I switched to the meal worms per pet smart (thwy said he preferred them while he was there) and he used to gobble them up. Maybe I need to switch it up.
Also, hand spray. And I'll read the husbandry forums. Thank you!
I'm jusy afraid he'll for. Dogs are my area of expertise, so I really appreciate any advice.

 

[Katacara]

Yep 100% male Great now that we have eliminated a whole host of problems, lets move on. My comments will be in red.

• Chameleon- make, veiled cham. A bout 1 1/2 yrs old. & I've had him for 4 months.
• Handling - whenever he wants to come out. A few times a week for 10-15 minutes
• Feeding - 4-5 giant meal worms every morning. Just added collard greens as well. He needs way more of a verity than just superworms! Silkworms, hornworms, crickets, BSFL... etc
• Supplements - repticalcium. I sprinkle it on every container of new worms. You should be using calcium w/o D3 6 days a week, then the 7th day (whatever works for you) you should alternate between calcium with D3 and a multivitamin. There is also a all-in-one supplement that you can use everyday, but I can not remember what it is because I am not currently using it.
• Watering - water spray bottle. A few times a day. Yes, he drinks from the plastic plant leaves. Babies get dehydrated VERY quickly! and that can led to kidney problems for life or worse. So if you are hand misting you should be doing so at least 4X a day for about 5-6 minuets each time. Some people may disagree, but I personally believe that if you don't find a need for a drainage system, you are not misting enough. If you can afford a mistking I highly recommend one! They are worth every penny IMO.
• Fecal Description - white & black, like bird poop, but chunky, not runny. Idk if he's been tested. If you have not found a cham vet yet you should start looking now. I would 100% get him tested. Pet store feeders are known for having parasites. Then you should plan on having him tested at least 2X a year minimum to be on the safe side.
• History - got him at pet smart at just over 1 yr old. He's been handled quite a bit & no body wanted to adopt him because of his age, so I did.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen. 24"x 36" When he is older you will need to upgrade the size of his enclosure, so be ready for that
• Lighting - zoo med heat lamp. & zoo med uva/uvb lamp. Lot from 0500-2100 What strainght is your UVB? 5.0, 10.0, something else?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 80-90º Lowest overnight temp? 50-60º How do you measure these temps? Digital thermometer & a great choice brand thermometer & humidity gauge What brand are you using? Where did you see that it is a "great choice brand"? For a cham so young the basking temp should be between 80-85, but not above that.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 35-50%. Varies. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Spraying water. What do you use to measure humidity?great choice brand thermometer & humidity gauge Again my question about what brand. He needs higher humidity, the increased misting will help, but also see below about live plants
• Plants - Are you using live plants? No He needs live plants! Veiled's like to eat plants, and if he gets a chunk of a fake plant it can cause impaction possabily leading to death! Live plants will also help a lot in keeping the humidity up! Here is a link to a list of safe plants:
  https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/safe-plant-list-by-captive-creations.627/
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Dresser next to axolotyl tank. Window behind it with black out curtains & screens closest to window blocked by a cut yoga mat. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? Window. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 5'
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Pittsburgh.

Those are my thought's right now, I may have missed something but if I did someone will pick it out for you (I hope). There are great keepers here who are willing to help. The most important thing is to keep an open mind, and be willing to make changes, everyone wants what is best for your cham (and you)! We are here to help!!

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I sprinkle it on every container of new worms"....you're supposed to sprinkles phosphorous-free calcium powder on the insects that you are going to be feeding the chameleon at each meal (except 4 a month)...not when you get the container...not way ahead of time because is will fall off. Mealworms are not a good feeder...as was already said.
Twice a month it's recommended that you dust with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder and twice a month with a vitamin powder.

It's important to feed/gutload the insects with a wide assortment of greens and veggies and a bit of fruit. I use dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, collards, carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, berries, melon, apples, pears, etc.


What color light is the heat light producing?

I would set up a dripper. It can be a tall deli cup with a tiny hole punched in the bottom of it so that it drips at the rate of o e or two drips per second.

Now that you have fixed the temperature has he started eating again?

 

[Chromatic Chameleons]

My veiled has always been a picky eater so with him I use bugs that are very active like grasshoppers, male Dubia Roaches and silk worms.