how to force feed a veiled chameleon

[danni]

hi,

i have a male veled chameleon, he has not eatern for over a week now, he was in the vets hospital for 2 days last week, & they said i just need to crush meal worms & feed him once a day, he is too weka to feed hm self & i think he needs more feeds than once a day - can any one help as i am really worried about him.
thanks danni x

 

[beeze]

Try baby food. Mixed vegetable or vegetables and chicken. Make sure the animal is well hydrated. Give it a 50/50 mix of Pedialyte. When I force feed I use a syringe.....no needle and gentle put into my animals mouth and injet just a small amount at the time. Hope this helps.

 

[Julirs]

OK-more info needed. Why was he at the Vets? A week is not a long time to go without eating esp. in the winter. Can you fill this out so we can help?
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.

Pictures are helpful

 

[danni]

hi,

i took him to the vets, as he kept sleeping in the day, being very un active, looked skinny & his colour had changed from a nice green, to a very dark green - almost black. the vet said he had a leasion on his tail, which cpuld have coursed the problem & gave him an anti biotic injection, aafter a few days there was no change, so i took him back & thats when the vet kept him in to try & get food n to him, this sunday will be 2 weeks with out food. he is very thin & you an now see all his ribs - but, since returning from the vets, he is now back to his nice green & is looking round, but still not eating.

his cadge is a exa terra glass kind, vents at the font & a mesh top panel 18x18x18x24"
i am using a exa terra 2x5.0 uvb lights (these came with the set up) & i was informed this was all i needed, after seeing the vet he also aid i needed a basking light, which i have now bought, but after reading a few other posts on this web site, i believe i need a different kind - i have a red 60w nighyt light (whihc is turned off at night) the uvb lights are on for 10 hours per day & the basking light on for 12 hours.

the temp under the basking lamp is 95-100 & 80-90 in the rest of the tank - this droPs to around 70 at night, Humidity ranges between 50-60% - I mist 2 - 3 times a day, but he doesnt seem happy with this as he puffs up & changes colour.

at the moment i am using plastic - which again, was advised at the pet shop, but again, after reding a few other post i now know need live plates & have been looking on web site at what is best & will be buying as soon as the christmas period is over.

rocky is quite high off the floor, his tank is on a dresser, which is suitated behind my desk in a coring of the room, where there is no through traffic, only me passing to get to my desk.

rocky is a male veiled chameleon, he is around 7 months & i have had him about 6 weeks, he was handly daily, which he didnt seem to bothered about, he climed onto me when changing & clening his tank, he is handle more now, due to me giving him water & trying to feed him - but this doesnt bother him eother
i use a water fall for his drinking water & have seen him drink from this before he became ill.

yet again i was given the wrong information regarding Supplements when i bought rocky & was givien him arkvites on his locast - which i now know was too high in vits, so i now use 100% pure calcium (wich i mix into crushed meal worms to feed him)

his droppings have changed, but that is due to the not eating, they were tested at the vets & they found no parasites

the problem is as above, i think that rocky is too weak to feed him self, he is now back to his nice bright green & is more aleart, but i am still concerened that he hasnt eatern for nearly 2 weeks & he looks to skinny.

i'm really sorry, but cant add pictures at the moment, my computer is rejecting my camera for some strange reason - but i hope the infromation i had added will help
thank you
danni x

 

[Julirs]

OK-this is another case of petstores giving out bad advice so please don't take offense. Your cage is way too small for a 7 month old Veiled. I do realize that glass is commonly used over there, but what happens when a glass cage is too small is that you are creating an oven, and this leads to URI and all kinds of problems. I would get your temps down to no higher than 90F in the basking spot. This can be accomplished using a clamp lamp and regular household bulb, red bulbs are no good, and as long as your house temps are higher than 60 you do not need any night heat and NEVER any night light. Chams need their sleep. Are your UVB bulbs the coiled compact kind? This may have caused eye issues that casued your cham to stop eating in the first place. If they are the long tube kind 2 5.0's are certainly overkill in a tank that small. Mimimize your handling, get some live plants, keep misting, and tweak your supplements. You will be using a phosphorous free calcium without D3 6X weekly, a calcium with D3 2X monthly, and a multivite/mineral supp. 1 x monthly. Could the lesion have been a burn? What food items are you offering? A tasty Super or Silkworm may peak his interest.

 

[danni]

no offence taken - all information is greatly apperacited!!!!!

yes, the uvb lights are the coiled type - the vet tested them & said that they were fine & that i should just use 1, rather than the 2. - wouold you recommend that i reduce how long i have it on for? (at the moment its on for 10 hours)

so just a normal house hold light bulb - what kind of wattage would you recommend? & is the 12 hours ok for him?
i am using a clamp system for his basking light, so i may just have to get it higher to get a lower temp, or a lower wattage of bulb - maybe a 40w?

when he was eating he was eating locast & mealworms daily - local reptile pet shops are very limited as to live food - but i have spent the last few days looking into buing on line, but none of thm are sending goods now untill the 5th jan.

i'm not too sure how he got the leasion on his tail - the vet thought he could have done it on a plant he said they were very delicate, so it could of happened easliery without me nowing - but that seems better now.

would you recommend his tank to be higher or wider? the tank i have you can remove the mesh top & add a mesh panal to make it double the hight

would you also recommend that i keep feeding him with a syringe? (at the moment is mashed mealworms

i'll be going to my local pet shop in the morning to try & get some other live food, which may incurage him to start eating again.

thank you so much for your help & advice

danni x

 

[Julirs]

I would ditch the coiled light altogether and get a long tube style UVB-Zoomed Reptisum 5.0 most recommended. 40W or 60w for a basking spot-whatever gets his temps to low 90. I keep my veileds in screen cages 24X24X48".

 

[danni]

THANK YOU!!!!! i will get his home changed tomorrow

x

 

[tryme]

Yo danni I know the feeling about this bad advice. I'm from the U.K as well (london) and I recently nursed my uncles panter cham back to health as he recieved bad information etc on how to care for his animal! This forum helped me out alot though

 

[danni]

hay!!!

how did you do it???

i just had some good advice on lighting, heat & plants - so any other info would be great appericated

danni x

 

[jannb]

Hello and welcome to the forums. Here's a great site to get info on raising a veiled chameleon. Jann
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[danni]

many thanks - i will look now
x

 

[tryme]

I basically had to get him a whole new setup. I gave him a good shower and some misting with reptoboost. After a while he became more lively, I tried my best to leave him to it but at the same time do what I needed. He couldn't fire his tongue or sit on his branch or anything without falling off, he was so weak.

 

[danni]

hmmm,, sounds how rocky is.
so you showered him with reptoboost? i have been putting that in his drinking water.

how long before your cam got better?

 

[tryme]

It's quite frustrating when there in this state you feel a bit useless. No I gave him a normal shower and I misted him with the reptoboost. He's still recovering now, I think alot of it was stress related rather than just the environment he was housed in.

 

[danni]

sorry - whats the difference between misting & showering?
sorry to be thick!

 

[BocaJan]

Misting is with some sort of sprayer to cause humidity in his room and water to drink. Showering is when you actually put them in the shower on a plant and letting the water go against the wall, giving them lots of moisture.

 

[danni]

thank you - thats what i've been doing - he doesnt like the water on him, so i've been spraying the rest of the tank - i'm off to try & buy some live plants today - so i'm hoping that will help too!

 

[tryme]

They don't like it if it's too cold for them. They like it room temp or a bit hotter. I find it's also 100X better to mist them shortly after their lights turn on in the morning as it simulates how it is in the wild. Mine never used to like being misted either but he's got used to it and likes it now.

 

[Sang]

the only time i directly mist my cham, is when he is gettin ready to shed, or shedding.


other wise he might get a light mist here and there, along with the morning drip, he comes up and drinks right from the hand held pump mister nozzle, gets his fill and walks away.


he will eventually get used to the misting and water, i notice my cham will go sit under the auto mister,misting head and just have it spray his entire body and he will lick his lips as he gets wet.

force feeding, i found it easiest to show him a mirror, when he is on a stick and you have a free hand, after he puffs up and gapes at you, take an appropriate sized cricket and pop the head into some of his mouth, let him chomp down, he will either take it in or spit it out. easiest method..

there are a few others that i don't care for as i find them to be very rough. but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.