My Yemen wont eat

[gottacham]

Hi everyone, i have a female chameleon of approx 9 months old which i have had for 3 months,her enclosure is a glass fronted unit 36"h x 24" square with a 70 watt heat lamp set to 84 deg and a uv sun tube.
she stopped eating and i was told to take all food out of the viv for 2 days and that would cure her, tried this and when i then offered her locusts she ate 4 and then stopped eating again. I have tried offering different foods meal worm and crickets but no joy. I have installed a drip watering system and have seen her drinking occassionally but she just wont eat.
Any suggestions.

 

[joopasaur]

What humidity do u have your cage at? How often to you feed her?

 

[gottacham]

The humidity ranges between 50 and 70 %.I was feeding her 2 times a day before and she would eat 3-4 crickets each feed. I also wondered what age she may become gravid?
Thanks.

 

[pssh]

She probably needs to lay eggs. Get a laying bin that is ten inches deep and has room for her plus a few inches on each side of her. Fill is with clean play sand or organic fertilizer free soil. Make sure it's damp enough to hold a tunnel, but not muddy. They can begin to lay as early as 4 months. Once sh begins laying do not disturb her or let her see you. If she sees you she may abandon the hole and become eggbound. Egg binding can kill her.

 

[joopasaur]

What kind of chameleon do you have? You're probably feeding her to much. My Jacksons is almost 10 months and i feed him 5-7 crickets every other day.

 

[gottacham]

What are the signs of a gravid female and would this make her go off her food?

 

[pssh]

Yes, a classic sign of needing to lay eggs is to go off food. They also sometimes roam more and hang out at the bottom. They also look large and like bags of marbles. Of course not all chams show all symptoms or even any at all. You should only feed about three crickets a day or 6 three days a week to prevent her from laying eggs in the future. She should have a laying bin at all times though, just in case.

 

[kinyonga]

How long has it been since she stopped eating? Is she sitting low in the cage? Active? Eyes open during the day?

If she has been needing to lay eggs and has had no where to lay them she could be eggbound or heading towards it and will eventually die. IMHO you need to provide her with a suitable place to dig and if she doesn't dig and shows any signs of going down hill, she needs to go to the vet right away.