I got my chameleon about 3 weeks ago. He is about 4 months old. He is currently being treated for an upper respiratory infection. He takes his medicine by mouth every night. We have to do this for 7 days (we are on day 3) and he hates it. It takes us a long time to get it in his mouth and it is very stressful for him. He has stopped eating even if I just leave him alone. on the first day he ante fine and he ate one cricket yesterday but none today. Is there anyway I can get him to eat?
My chameleon won’t eat enough food
- Thread starter Nova14
- Start date
janjan20
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi there, unfortunately you got a double whammy with a new young cham and RI. The lack of appetite is more than likely from stress. Stress from being new to you, the meds, and from the RI.
It’s hard to medicate when they are younger, I usually give meds with food but if he’s not eating that may be more difficult for you. If he was eating good before and a healthy weight he may be ok without food for 2-3 days. I would keep up with hydration because some meds can be hard on their kidneys. Is there anyway you can get horn or silkworms? He might find them more appealing.
Edit: I saw you had another thread about the RI and treatment so I didn’t include the help form on this one.
It’s hard to medicate when they are younger, I usually give meds with food but if he’s not eating that may be more difficult for you. If he was eating good before and a healthy weight he may be ok without food for 2-3 days. I would keep up with hydration because some meds can be hard on their kidneys. Is there anyway you can get horn or silkworms? He might find them more appealing.
Edit: I saw you had another thread about the RI and treatment so I didn’t include the help form on this one.
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Yes we can buy some of those. He was a healthy weight and hasn’t lost any noticeable weight. He is sill active and I’ve seen him drinking water multiple times. Is there anyway I less stressful way to give him the meds?
I have already got all his husbandry stuff fixed up and it was mostly right from the beginning. I’m pretty sure he had an upper respiratory infection when we got him but we took him to the vet and they said he was fine. He stopped showing symptoms but they started back up so we took him to the vet again and they gave us some medicine. His X-ray didn’t show any fluid in the lungs but they gave us the medication because he was showing symptoms.
janjan20
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would like to say yes but in my experience only time has made it easier because they get use to you. I had to treat one of mine for coccidia when he was around 3 months old. It was very challenging and I basically had to get his mouth open and give the meds that way. He was very scared of me and would not hand feed at that time.
Now I can hand feed and give them a silk worm and put the med in their mouths while they chew. That’s been the easiest way for me.
What’s the basking temperature in the cage? Still 80ish? Does the chameleon drink while you’re watching? How do you provide the water?
Here’s a bug juice recipe that you can use, if it gets to the point where there is no other choice but to force feed it….but that should be an absolute last resort IMHO…
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html
Here’s a bug juice recipe that you can use, if it gets to the point where there is no other choice but to force feed it….but that should be an absolute last resort IMHO…
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html
The basking temp is around 80-85. I have seen him drinking water a few times. We have a homemade dripper at the top of his tank and it gets sprayed in the morning and night.
While he’s drinking see if you can put a cricket, head first into his mouth between his teeth. You want him to bite down on the cricket. Make sure the cricket is on the smaller side as well. He might eat that way.
Also, while it’s recommended to have the temperature a bit higher when they are sick…80 to 90 is too high IMHO to have it at normally. It might be playing a part in this.
Also, while it’s recommended to have the temperature a bit higher when they are sick…80 to 90 is too high IMHO to have it at normally. It might be playing a part in this.
Ok I’ll try that next time I see him drinking
