I could use some tips/tricks, please. :)

[IceStormSS84]

Sunday at the local Reptile Show, I picked up a baby Veiled and my Mother picked up a Graceful Chameleon. I had planned on getting two Veiled's, but mother liked the Graceful better, so she got it instead.

We get them home, get them introduced to their new homes and leave them be. I've followed care, lighting, size, live plants, humidity etc. as well as I could for both Chameleons.

Well, my baby Veiled is a ham. Runs (in slow motion of course) all over his Reptarium, eats crickets like a champ, and seems to be doing VERY well.

The Graceful...not so much. Visually it looks great, but we can't get it to eat. We've tried Waxworms, Mealworms, Crickets, and Dubia nymphs. It just pretty much ignores them.

So, I guess my question is...do any of you wonderful Chameleon people have any tricks/tips on getting a Graceful to eat? I've not had a whole lot of problems getting reptiles to eat, but I'm new to Chameleons. I was hoping I'd not have any problems, but alas. Here I am. :S

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Creampuff]

You try asking what the previous owner fed it? Or mayb how he/she fed it mayb its just picky.

 

[IceStormSS84]

You try asking what the previous owner fed it? Or mayb how he/she fed it mayb its just picky.

Ugh, that's part of the reason we actually purchased the Graceful instead of another Veiled.

I think the son was manning the parent's booth at the time or something, but he didn't know jack. He said his dad keeps them on live plants in his living room and feeds them once a day. No extra lighting, UVB, misting, nothing.

With that said, maybe that's 'part' of the problem. I could be dealing with a neglected Graceful and she was already on a downhill spiral. :S

-Matt

 

[TylerStewart]

Being a new owner, you probably didn't know at the time, but I guarantee that the graceful was wild caught, which traditionally are trickier than captive bred. On top of that, gracefuls are a tricky species to get settled in with a short relative lifespan (especially when you buy adults). Settling in a wild caught Graceful (or any WC chameleon) is a process in itself, and isn't an easy one for someone new to it all. You'll need to offer it a variety of foods, proper cage setup, and hydration, hydration, hydration. This is all before the parasite removal work, which will be another assumed part of almost any WC chameleon purchase.

Your veiled is being a typical veiled... There's no getting around it, veileds are always going to be an easier species to keep, and WC's are always going to be more difficult. My second chameleon was a graceful, and I learned these lessons quickly.

 

[IceStormSS84]

Being a new owner, you probably didn't know at the time, but I guarantee that the graceful was wild caught, which traditionally are trickier than captive bred. On top of that, gracefuls are a tricky species to get settled in with a short relative lifespan (especially when you buy adults). Settling in a wild caught Graceful (or any WC chameleon) is a process in itself, and isn't an easy one for someone new to it all. You'll need to offer it a variety of foods, proper cage setup, and hydration, hydration, hydration. This is all before the parasite removal work, which will be another assumed part of almost any WC chameleon purchase.

Your veiled is being a typical veiled... There's no getting around it, veileds are always going to be an easier species to keep, and WC's are always going to be more difficult. My second chameleon was a graceful, and I learned these lessons quickly.

Yeah, I had read that the majority of Graceful's were WC. At the time, I 'did not' know that. Had I known, we'd probably not have purchased it.

Oh well, I'll keep trying to get it to eat. I figured there'd not be anything as subtle as I'd hoped to getting them to eat.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Heika]

You might want to try some house flies, they often do the trick for WC chameleons. www.spiderpharm.com sells pupae.