Need help and advice!

[tinfoilspider]

Hi guys. really need some help from you. I rehomed my female Yemen last year and she's been doing really well. I managed to get her off wax worms (which was the only thing her previous owner would feed her) onto hoppers and she's had 2 successful sheds since then. However, she stopped eating at the end of January and I've been trying to get her to eat again. I am aware, as I also have a snake and have been interested and researching reptiles since I was young, that in the colder part of the year they so slow down. However today when I got home from work I found her stuck behind her sand bucket. She was very cold and lethargic when I got her out and I warmed her under her heat lamp for about half an hour. she was moving again after this. I am now REALLY WORRIED about her tho. Should I move her flexarium into our bathroom which is always really warm? and what can I do to get her to eat again? Help!! really worried she may not survive the night...

 

[newtochams]

What are the temps in your tank some pics would also help

 

[tinfoilspider]

Temps are as warm as I can keep them but it's still really cold where we live. there mid to low 20s. I know this is not as good as it could be but our house is either cold or hot. She's not her usual colours and is quite dark green with some browns in there.

 

[Kate]

Hi welcome to the forum. It might be a good idea to fill in the ask for help form, that way we can see how she is being looked after. Just copy ,paste and fill in the form, link below.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[carol5208]

do you think she is gravid?

 

[tinfoilspider]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - as far as I know, she's a yemen. I rehomed her last May and was told she was 3.5/4 yrs old
Handling - About 2/3 times a week
Feeding - When rehomed was only on wax worms. Got her onto hoppers about 3 weeks later. Hoppers are gut fed with carrot
Supplements - Calcium dust on most feeds. Cal with Vit D once a month
Watering - Sprayed twice daily with warm water. drip feeder available. she drinks fine
Fecal Description - droppings seem fine. no change in them apart from a lack of them. no idea about parasite testing
History - was kept in a caravan by previous owner. minimal handling and diet was lacking.

Cage Info:
Cage Type -Flexarium that came with her. 4ft x 2.5ft
Lighting - Uv tube, daylight tube and heat lamp. Tubes are exo terra
Temperature - Low to mid 20's. have thermo strip at top of box and dial temps at bottom.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Ficus.
Placement -She lives in my spare room. She has natural daylight from the window but is not in direct sunlight. The room has a radiator. there are no drafts as the door is kept shut (to keep other pets out) and she is rarely disturbed.
Location - South Wales valleys, on the side of a hill, about 750ft above sea level

 

[tinfoilspider]

do you think she is gravid?

dont think shes gravid. apparently she's quite small for her age so is unlikely to get like that?

 

[Kate]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - as far as I know, she's a yemen. I rehomed her last May and was told she was 3.5/4 yrs old
Handling - About 2/3 times a week
Feeding - When rehomed was only on wax worms. Got her onto hoppers about 3 weeks later. Hoppers are gut fed with carrot
Supplements - Calcium dust on most feeds. Cal with Vit D once a month
Watering - Sprayed twice daily with warm water. drip feeder available. she drinks fine
Fecal Description - droppings seem fine. no change in them apart from a lack of them. no idea about parasite testing
History - was kept in a caravan by previous owner. minimal handling and diet was lacking.

Cage Info:
Cage Type -Flexarium that came with her. 4ft x 2.5ft
Lighting - Uv tube, daylight tube and heat lamp. Tubes are exo terra
Temperature - Low to mid 20's. have thermo strip at top of box and dial temps at bottom.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Ficus.
Placement -She lives in my spare room. She has natural daylight from the window but is not in direct sunlight. The room has a radiator. there are no drafts as the door is kept shut (to keep other pets out) and she is rarely disturbed.
Location - South Wales valleys, on the side of a hill, about 750ft above sea level

It is still possible she could be Gravid. Does she have a good sized laying bin full of sand and soil?
Your calcium with d3 and a multivitamin should be every 1-2 weeks depending on the brand. I use nutrabol. How old is your uv? They should be changed every 6 months? Her basking temp is too low, she is cold. Some of us use an ordinary white household bulb for basking. Could you increase the wattage without the risk of her burning herself. The thermometer you are using may not be recording the temp correctly. A digital is more accurate..

Basking should be around 29c

 

[Julija]

Hey there!

If the temps are really as you wrote then you really need to get here temperatures up ASAP!! As Kate wrote - 29 degrees is what you should be aiming at for a basking spot for a female. Since chameleons are cold-blooded animals they need to get external energy to be able to function normally and digest their food. She is not eating because she is too cold and does not have enough energy even to maintain herself.

Could you post pictures of your setup and the chameleon itself?

Mature grown up females can and will get gravid and lay eggs even if they have never seen or been with a male, their eggs will be infertile in that case. How long has the previous owner had her? Has she ever laid eggs while in his possession?

Finally, it might be her age. How long a chameleon lives in captivity, depends primarily and mainly on the conditions it is kept in. And from your words it seems like the previous owner wasn't doing an outstanding job..

Julija