montymontgomery
New Member
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - Montgomery (my cham) was brought into my home yesterday morning. He was transferred from a small pet store box enclosure to my cage & is clearly very stressed out. Like I said, an employee would handle him daily. They told me he eats from their hands, but I wanted him to at least eat from a small cup I had fastened to the wall of his enclosure (to minimize interaction for right now.) I'll include pictures. Yesterday I placed 5 crickets in his cup, he didn't even notice them. I have the cup fastened under a branch (not sure if its yet his favorite) he did not go near the cup. He is quite inactive. I'm sure thats because he's stressed, but its concerning. He moves like once every 10 minutes & certainly hasn't been all over the enclosure yet. His eyes didn't close until last night when he went to sleep, so he doesn't appear to be sick. Today, I managed to feed him 2 crickets by hand. He would not eat more. The process was as follows: he freaked out when he saw me (AKA he moved! away from me slowly) but then saw the food and looked at it with interest. I moved my tweezers, his eyes moved with them. It took a minute before he shot his tongue out. The second cricket I dropped in front of him. He took longer, 2 mins, to shoot his tongue out. I tried for a 3rd, he just looked at the cricket and did nothing for over 5 mins. I dropped it in the cage for him to hunt, he watched it crawl away & did nothing. I mean, if he wont eat the food right in front of him, how is he to rely on a feeding cup? 2 crickets in 2 days, I'm a little scared. Is this a matter of stress, size of the crickets, (they're small crickets) or is my care flawed? Humidity too low? Too hot, too cold? I feel as if I'm doing things right but this little man is super inactive.
- Your Chameleon - Jackson's Chameleon, M, unsure of age (juvenile, 5-6 inches). I got him yesterday.
- Handling - So far, just to put him in his enclosure. Don't want to stress him out.
- Feeding - Crickets. I put 5 in his enclosure this morning. So far, 7 every other day is my plan. Gut-loading with carrots, collared greens, kale, mustard greens, papaya.
- Supplements - Zoo med calcium without d3
- Watering - Misting with water bottle 6-7 times per day. Mist until leaves are dripping. I saw my cham open his mouth one time after I misted, but unfortunately, I have yet to see him actually drink. Then again, I'm giving him his space.
- Fecal Description - I haven't seen him defecate yet. I'm keeping my eye out for it.
- History - The pet store in which I obtained him from had an ignorant employee who told me it was OK to handle him daily (no!) as she was doing so (ah!)
- Additional Info - He seems to have been shedding right before I purchased him, may be affecting his moods
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - 36" Tall, 16" diameter (circle enclosure)
- Lighting - Enclosure is outside, receiving healthy amounts of sun throughout the day but always has shaded spots
- Temperature - Temperatures range from 90-70 morning-night.
- Humidity - Humidity is not impressive, measured at 50-60 after every misting session and rapidly declines after the leaves dry due to the fact that his enclosure is outside. Measured with a hydrometer. Currently reads 60. The humidity in Tallahassee FL currently reads 90
- Plants - Mix of live and fake. One fake branch & vine. One Philodendron Cordatum & stick from outside.
- Placement - Cage is on a table & is on my balcony. I have some cabbage palms in front of my balcony, im on the third story, & as it is blooming right now there are bumblebees surrounding the trees probably about 5-6 feet away from his enclosure. They don't seem to bother him one bit.
- Location - Tallahassee, Fl.
Current Problem - Montgomery (my cham) was brought into my home yesterday morning. He was transferred from a small pet store box enclosure to my cage & is clearly very stressed out. Like I said, an employee would handle him daily. They told me he eats from their hands, but I wanted him to at least eat from a small cup I had fastened to the wall of his enclosure (to minimize interaction for right now.) I'll include pictures. Yesterday I placed 5 crickets in his cup, he didn't even notice them. I have the cup fastened under a branch (not sure if its yet his favorite) he did not go near the cup. He is quite inactive. I'm sure thats because he's stressed, but its concerning. He moves like once every 10 minutes & certainly hasn't been all over the enclosure yet. His eyes didn't close until last night when he went to sleep, so he doesn't appear to be sick. Today, I managed to feed him 2 crickets by hand. He would not eat more. The process was as follows: he freaked out when he saw me (AKA he moved! away from me slowly) but then saw the food and looked at it with interest. I moved my tweezers, his eyes moved with them. It took a minute before he shot his tongue out. The second cricket I dropped in front of him. He took longer, 2 mins, to shoot his tongue out. I tried for a 3rd, he just looked at the cricket and did nothing for over 5 mins. I dropped it in the cage for him to hunt, he watched it crawl away & did nothing. I mean, if he wont eat the food right in front of him, how is he to rely on a feeding cup? 2 crickets in 2 days, I'm a little scared. Is this a matter of stress, size of the crickets, (they're small crickets) or is my care flawed? Humidity too low? Too hot, too cold? I feel as if I'm doing things right but this little man is super inactive.
