HELP what to do?

help my 4inch male veiled only eats 2mealworms a day. and he's skinny. he's been under my care for 4days now. he started eating 2days ago. he's in a temporary plastic bin cage 15x18x10 (LxWxH). im using reptisun uvb 5.0 for his light 12hours a day. i mist 3 or 4 times a day. i dust the feeders with repashy all in one calcium plus. i tried small crickets but he would ignore them. i am planning to build him a new screen cage (12inch x 12inch x 24inch) since plastic bin is not appropriate for him. my concern is maybe he'll get stressed of moving into a cage. I would want to cup feed him but he's very shy and gets tense every time he sees me. if i move him into a bigger cage, he might have problems finding the food? and why is he not eating 12 to 15 bugs a day? :(
 
He needs a basking bulb as well. You need to get him out of the bin as soon as you can. I imagine it is stressing him out being in there. They need fresh air. He can be moved to a large cage at any time. You can cup feed to make sure he can find his food. Do you have a tree you could set him on instead? It would be better for him.
He really needs a basking bulb(regular white house bulb) for heat. They use the heat for digesting food, and regulating their appetite.
 
i would go bigger on the cage maybe 18x18x24 or 36. they grow very fast. the plastic bin is no way to keep him for long. if they get to stressed they dont eat. once you get him settled into his new home he will eat better. just make sure to give him lots of hidding places, like you say he gets very tense when he sees you. the more places for him to hide he will feel more secure and therefore less stressed. if the temps arent right he wont eat as much either. all this causes him stress.
 
ok i'll get an 18x18x36 cage and provide lots of foliage for him to hide. my concern is it takes time for him to get used to his new home right? and his very skinny im affraid if he won't eat, i'd lose him :( anyway how do i cup feed if he's so shy? thanks for the advice guys
 
how old is your chameleon? What are the temps in Farenehit? Be careful with the basking bulb in a a bin. You may cook him. Put it to one side so the there is a place to cool down. How big is the bin? Is he drinking? how are you providing water for him? when you cup feed you put a cup or container, not too deep, and attach in the cage somewhere, put your feeders in that and let him eat out of the cup.
 
Thats like 82F and 85F. I would really like to see pictures of the bin.
Those are lower end basking temps. The animal needs to be able to cool off, and bask to get warm, at its choosing.
 
Thats like 82F and 85F. I would really like to see pictures of the bin.
Those are lower end basking temps. The animal needs to be able to cool off, and bask to get warm, at its choosing.

if that is the ambient, then I would not put a basking bulb in there. It will be too hot. If you read JannB's blog, about babies she does not even have a basking bulb for the first 3 or 4 months or so.
 
http://postimage.org/image/oow134s5f/ here's the picture of the baby veiled (3inches from nose to the base of the tail) in his cage with the UVB on top. that's a temporary cage. im gonna move him into a screen cage asap. so it's okay to move him into a 18x18x36 cage? i'll just hang a cup with feeders in it right? another question is that, if he ignores the MW or crickets, should i remove them and reintroduce them again? for how long should i wait til i can reintroduce the feeders again?thanks
 
if that is the ambient, then I would not put a basking bulb in there. It will be too hot. If you read JannB's blog, about babies she does not even have a basking bulb for the first 3 or 4 months or so.

yes, i have read jannB's blog that's why i didn't put basking light for the baby veiled. anyway thanks for the help guys. i'll wait for your replies and suggestions :)
 
hes probably not eating alot because you dont have enough foliage in there to make him feel comfortable.
also, as an adult hes going to need a 24x24x48 inch cage.

If you want to build something, build that. dont waste money on buying one cage, then having to upgrade it again.
 
oh my goodness, he is tiny! What is that bowl in the corner for, water? They do not drink like that. Are you misting? Put some more foilage in there for him to hide.
 
he is so tiny!! that's why im so worried he's so fragile :( anyway yeah that's a water bowl and i do mist him 4 times a day :) is it okay to put him into a big cage? i'll start building the cage tomorrow, meanwhile i'll put more foliage for him to hide in. thanks guys!
 
remove the water bowl, they dont drink standing water.
yes you can put him in a big adult cage, just dont put as much foliage, cup feed him, or you can sectin off a part of the cage for him until he grows more.
 
he would ignore the crickets :( so i tried mealworms and he ate it. i'll try crickets this morning :) thanks! what to do if he ignores the food? should i remove it and reintroduce it later? or just leave it there? thanks
 
he would ignore the crickets :( so i tried mealworms and he ate it. i'll try crickets this morning :) thanks! what to do if he ignores the food? should i remove it and reintroduce it later? or just leave it there? thanks

remove it and offer it later.

you dont want hm to go on a food strike.

dont offer ANY mealworms until he eats his crickets. just like a kid. :eek:
 
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