Male Panther Chameleon Not Eating

[JERR1]

Your Chameleon - Male Panther Chameleon
Handling - Very social and friendly
Feeding - Crickets, super worms, butter worms, silk worms, meal worms, horn worms
Supplements - Multim Vitamin, Calcium + Vitamin D3.
Watering - Timed misters 1/hr
Fecal Description - White, bit of light orange
History - Adopted him at 1 year old (that's what pet store told me), have had him for 18 months (so he is 2.5yrs now).


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Exoterra Terrarium, 3ft high x 2 feet wide x 18 inch deep
Lighting - UVB bulb and Heat bulb
Temperature - basking is correct
Humidity - has been low lately
Plants - Fake plants
Placement - Indoor terrarium, my apartment faces west so we get afternoon sun (terrarium gets indirect light).
Location - Toronto, Canada

Current Problem - My panther chameleon has not been eating, I thought he had a few worms over the last few weeks, but when I cleaned his cage I found them buried in the dirt. He has visibly lost weight, and become quite slow and naps frequently. His eyes are also quite sunken. I change out his food daily, but he is not interested! I have seen him drink water, and he is still defecating, but I am very worried. He has not been himself at all!

I have been doing research and will try to feed him a bug+water+calcium mix by syringe tomorrow. Also read that a warm indirect shower could help him, will also attempt that.

ANY other tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated!!

Also, not sure if it matters but his colouring was bright bright green and turquoise when I adopted him, but he has slowly become very orange, with red and yellow (could this just be age?)

 

[ChameleonUES]

I'm sorry to hear that. This could very well be a hunger strike.
The only way to "solve" this is by:
-don't feed him for a couple of days. As in he shouldn't even have food in his sight.
-change up his feeders. Try hornworms of butter worms. Usually they attract chameleons.

If you think this could be a health problem try this
(Natural chemistry deflea mite spray) it has helped my chams a few times when minor health issues occur. But I wouldn't depend on it.

Also, this has nothing to do your issues. But I recommend adding a live plant (pothos).
It might just be me, but I think it makes the chams feel more 'natural'

Oh! And make sure your UVB bulb is no older than 6 months. And the heat bulb is producing adequate heat.

Hope this help!

 

[Virgil1972]

Could you post some pictures of your cham?

 

[Kboz1991]

I had a problem with my male doing this I started giving reptiaid for a week 1 time a day and changer to a few different feeders. After this he started eating again and has gained a bunch of weight back I weigh my chameleons atleast once a week helps with monitoring their health

 

[jcarlsen]

If he's sleeping during the day, it's time for a vet visit as it could be sign of some internal illness that he was hiding well before. See if you can get a fecal test done as well.

 

[JERR1]

Thanks for your replies!
*I will first look into reptiaid (not sure where I can find this around me, but I will check the pet store today).
*I did replace his UVB bulb last month as a precaution.
*I usually buy him a horn worms every few weeks, and normally he would light right up as soon as he saw it (even if it wasn't in the terrarium yet!) but the last two times offered them he literally let it crawl overtop of him!!
*Live plants - I had some in the past, but they weren't doing well. I will try again. Do they assist with humidity? I am have problems keeping it normal lately.

 

[JERR1]

Also if this is a hunger strike, and he is already thin and weak I am very scared to remove his food!

 

[WAMBO]

What is the brand and frequency that you feed of the "Supplements - Multim Vitamin, Calcium + Vitamin D3"?

 

[Andee]

It's not a hunger strike if he is sleeping. Your dusting schedule is off which could be causing similair signs of mbd. He should be getting plain calcium every feeding and calcium with d3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice month. But I agree you need to post some pictures and it's probably time for a vet visit. Sleeping usually means they are sick.

 

[Carlton]

Dehydrated chams don't eat much if any. You mentioned that the humidity level had been lower lately. Is he drinking? A lot every time you water him? Dehydration can affect everything including how well his tongue functions. What's the humidity level been?

 

[JERR1]

I was dusting once a week, however he has not had much apetite for some time. Gradually he ate less, but now it's been a few weeks that he has stopped eating all together.

 

[WAMBO]

He looks pretty dehydrated. His eyes are sunken in.
Btw, Andee posted the accepted dusting schedule above, [the 'plain calcium' is calcium without D3]

 

[Andee]

I agree he looks rather dehydrated... I would definitely give him a shower, but make sure all the lights are on and very visible to him otherwise with how he is right now he is very likely to fall asleep during the shower.

 

[JERR1]

Thanks I just gave him a shower. He breathed deeply and eventually opened up his mouth little bit at a time, and then drank, and you could tell he was really enjoying it. I have automatic sprinkler (mister) in the terrarium, but my humidity gauge reads low and the ground soil is soaked as I tried to adjust controls to increase the humidity. Should I be hand spraying as well in summer months? Would my air conditioner be affecting apartment humidity? (his enclosure does have a screen top) I had no problems last summer

 

[KapitalJ]

your a/c will have an impact on humidity for sure...

 

[WAMBO]

Thanks I just gave him a shower. He breathed deeply and eventually opened up his mouth little bit at a time, and then drank, and you could tell he was really enjoying it. I have automatic sprinkler (mister) in the terrarium, but my humidity gauge reads low and the ground soil is soaked as I tried to adjust controls to increase the humidity. Should I be hand spraying as well in summer months? Would my air conditioner be affecting apartment humidity? (his enclosure does have a screen top) I had no problems last summer

You're AC will definitely decrease the humidity. The longer it runs, the more humidity is decreased. I had to cover two sides of my screen cage [the back and one side actually] to keep in the humidity.

 

[JERR1]

Thank everyone for your feedback! I am hoping it's humidity. I will put live plants back in, and also invest in a humidifier. I have lots of plants in my apartment, and have never had issues in the past (even last summer a/c ran) so other than seasonal change I'm not sure what else could be an affecting factor!

 

[MissLissa]

Ti would likely be a good idea to get a fecal test done just in case. A heavy parasite load can also cause dehydration, anemia, etc. Honestly, I get my lizards checked every 6-12 months as a precaution.

 

[WAMBO]

Thank everyone for your feedback! I am hoping it's humidity. I will put live plants back in, and also invest in a humidifier. I have lots of plants in my apartment, and have never had issues in the past (even last summer a/c ran) so other than seasonal change I'm not sure what else could be an affecting factor!

Make sure that your live plants are safe for your chameleon. I just saw a flyer for ALDI supermarket for 6 inch pot plants for $3.99 and one was an umbrella plant.

 

[WAMBO]

Don't forget that you can rotate the plants to keep them healthy too [if they need more attention than what they get inside the cage]. But it sounds as if you know what you're doing about plants.