I have a new baby veiled cham and got his cage set up properly yesterday. Iv had him a few days and he is eating but only a couple crickets a day and a worm or fruit fly here and there. He just spends all his time at the heat source and won't climb down where the crickets in the dish are.. Help! i need some strategies! i don't want to let the crickets loose in the cage like i did the first day.
New Baby Cham Wont eat!
- Thread starter Snert
- Start date
reptoman
Avid Member
If you are feeding appropriately sized crickets, why not let them free range in the cage? He might not have caught on to the feeder cup method yet. Most young ones like to hunt. Just don't leave a bunch of uneaten crickets in the cage before the lights go out and it should be fine. You might think about moving the cricket cup closer to the basking area as well.
Awesome. I did realize that the crickets the store gave me (even though i asked for mini ones for a baby cham) are medium sized. Im going to get smaller ones however today i held him in one hand and the bowl in the other and he ate till i could tell he was full. 3 crickets and 2 meal worms. the reason for not leaving crickets roam free is because they always collect in an area and just sit there. its usually always an area hard to reach. ill try moving the bowl closer.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new veiled. I just raised some baby veileds and they were very aggressive eaters. Your little one should be eating 12 to 15 appropriate size, well gut loaded feeders a day. What size is he and how big is his cage? How are you gut loading the feeders? Please fill out the attached form and post some pictures of him and the enclosure.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
My blog for how I have successfully raised babies over the years.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
My blog for how I have successfully raised babies over the years.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Thanks for the reply. so I'm going to have to get new crickets. iv determined they are to big.. However.. he has eaten 3 today and i won't feed him any that size from here on out BUT do you think since he ate them that he will be ok? its been a few hours and he's just hanging out by his heat source.. the worry is him choking on them I'm assuming? but they are successfuly in his gut. what are your thoughts on this? but like i said small ones from now on till he is bigger. he is 2 months old.
In the tummy, they are yummy. He is fine eating bigger crickets, he chews before he swallows…no worry.
Fill out the form that Jann asked you to fill out.
CHEERS!
Nick
Fill out the form that Jann asked you to fill out.
CHEERS!
Nick
reptoman
Avid Member
Yes that will work
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled Male about 2 months old. iv had for 5days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a day for 5 minutes tops
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? crickets and super worms and i have grated carrots and apple pieces in the cricket dish. not on a schedule yet(maybe needs time to know his environment)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Exo Terra Clacium + D3. iv dusted the worms and crickets once so far a few days ago.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Spray bottle 4 times a day and yes right after spraying he goes for a drink.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? 3/4 of an inch long. half White then dark brownish
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?screen 3 sides and wood back. 1.5x1.5x2 tall
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?one regular lamp 60Watt spotlight bulb giving max 35 degrees basking area. and uvb bulb in a exo terra lamp( inside glows blue after use) and off at 10pm on at 10am
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?35 degrees Celsius max at basking and 22 bottom and my house every night stays at around 23 all night.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? no measure. just frequent misting.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? fake plants
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? no vents or fans or high traffic (besides me in my room) hight at top of cage is my hight almost exactly(5.9)
Location - Where are you geographically located? Vancouver BC
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. He wasn't eating but realized the crickets were to big. He ate 3 bigger crickets and 2 worms yesterday and today ill get the smaller crickets. I had to hold him in one hand and dish in the other.. (maybe put dish closer to heat source(i wanted him to use the full cage but maybe keeping it all closer to heat is better)
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled Male about 2 months old. iv had for 5days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Once a day for 5 minutes tops
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? crickets and super worms and i have grated carrots and apple pieces in the cricket dish. not on a schedule yet(maybe needs time to know his environment)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Exo Terra Clacium + D3. iv dusted the worms and crickets once so far a few days ago.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Spray bottle 4 times a day and yes right after spraying he goes for a drink.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? 3/4 of an inch long. half White then dark brownish
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?screen 3 sides and wood back. 1.5x1.5x2 tall
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?one regular lamp 60Watt spotlight bulb giving max 35 degrees basking area. and uvb bulb in a exo terra lamp( inside glows blue after use) and off at 10pm on at 10am
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?35 degrees Celsius max at basking and 22 bottom and my house every night stays at around 23 all night.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? no measure. just frequent misting.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? fake plants
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? no vents or fans or high traffic (besides me in my room) hight at top of cage is my hight almost exactly(5.9)
Location - Where are you geographically located? Vancouver BC
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. He wasn't eating but realized the crickets were to big. He ate 3 bigger crickets and 2 worms yesterday and today ill get the smaller crickets. I had to hold him in one hand and dish in the other.. (maybe put dish closer to heat source(i wanted him to use the full cage but maybe keeping it all closer to heat is better)
Lovereps
Avid Member
Hi and welcome to the forum!
Much of what you're doing for your new cham is good but there are a few things that need to be changed before they harm him.
The first is that his temperatures are too high.
A baby cham can't handle the temperatures that an adult cham can,.
Lowering the basking temperature to 29 Celsius maximum would benefit him.
Too high temps can easily dehydrate young chameleons, which is why it needs to be lowered.
The next thing you can do for his health is to change his supplements.
He needs 3 different kinds.
1)A calcium powder that doesn't have any D3 in it.
This powder can be used on all or most feedings.
2)Calcium with D3 is used only 2x a month because too much D3 is known to harm chameleons
3)A multivitamin powder used 2x a month will help to ensure that he doesn't suffer from any nutrient deficiencies
Feeding the feeders vegetable scraps, instead of expensive and not very nutritious commercial gutloads or cricket diets will do even more to ensure that he stays healthy.
A simple, inexpensive "feeder gutload" is here https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/835-simple-gutload-bug-food.html
Feeding a variety of feeders is also very good for his health.
Plenty of good ideas here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/
You can read even more about Veiled cham's needs here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
I don't know exactly what UVB light you are using but people sometimes are told to buy the 10.0 bulbs and then they find that their chameleon doesn't want to eat and develops eye troubles.
If you take a few minutes to read the linked pages , you will learn a great deal about the best ways to keep your chameleon healthy.
Much of what you're doing for your new cham is good but there are a few things that need to be changed before they harm him.
The first is that his temperatures are too high.
A baby cham can't handle the temperatures that an adult cham can,.
Lowering the basking temperature to 29 Celsius maximum would benefit him.
Too high temps can easily dehydrate young chameleons, which is why it needs to be lowered.
The next thing you can do for his health is to change his supplements.
He needs 3 different kinds.
1)A calcium powder that doesn't have any D3 in it.
This powder can be used on all or most feedings.
2)Calcium with D3 is used only 2x a month because too much D3 is known to harm chameleons
3)A multivitamin powder used 2x a month will help to ensure that he doesn't suffer from any nutrient deficiencies
Feeding the feeders vegetable scraps, instead of expensive and not very nutritious commercial gutloads or cricket diets will do even more to ensure that he stays healthy.
A simple, inexpensive "feeder gutload" is here https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/835-simple-gutload-bug-food.html
Feeding a variety of feeders is also very good for his health.
Plenty of good ideas here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/
You can read even more about Veiled cham's needs here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
I don't know exactly what UVB light you are using but people sometimes are told to buy the 10.0 bulbs and then they find that their chameleon doesn't want to eat and develops eye troubles.
If you take a few minutes to read the linked pages , you will learn a great deal about the best ways to keep your chameleon healthy.
I was told this is a good temp because if the cham gets to hot he will move himself to a cooler location thats right for him... also i was told the calcium D3 was Crucial and that the calcium and multivitamin were useless.. iv heard this from a few people and it makes this whole experience very annoying that everyone has different information. I will move the lamp further away and get calcium.
ShaneXD45
Member
I can understand your frustration but the source of the information given is really important. I would trust anyone on here over anyone at a petstore with correct information because a good bit of them have been raising chams for many years. I have seen conflicting information among different sources but there are some things you will have to try and come up with an answer on your own. For dusting I've read countless times on here Calcium without D3 regularly. Then calcium with D3 and multivitamins one a month.
Lovereps
Avid Member
You're far from alone in having been given misinformation, which is why this forum is a great resource for people who want to do their best to ensure that their chams have long, healthy lives.
When I went into a local pet shop seeking calcium without D3, I was asked, "Why?" because they had no idea that too much D3 is bad for chameleons.
They just didn't know any better.
It is beyond me to understand why anyone with any real world knowledge of reptiles would say that multivitamins are useless.
In the wild chams eat a variety of insects who are themselves eating a variety of foods.
At home, we offer very little variety, by comparison, and so those feeders should be fed a variety of foods to make them nutritious, rather than just a source of calories.
Dusting the feeders lightly with a multivitamin 2x a month will also help to prevent vitamin deficiencies.
You will boost your cham's health by doing this and by following the caresheet.
As for the UVB bulb, there are 2 very different All Living Things UVB bulbs sold by petsmart.
The one for tropical lizards should be ok. The one for desert animals is too strong for chameleons' eyes.
Yes, a chameleon will move to a cooler spot in the wild but in a cage, a too hot basking spot creates a dilemma for him.
He has to choose between too little UVB and lower temperatures OR too hot a temperature with the right amount of UVB.
Either way, he can't win.
That's why it's better to offer a basking spot with the right basking temperature.
Sounds good. thanks for the reply guys. I lowered his basking temp to around 28-30 celcius and he seems a lot better already. he drank lots of water already today and ate a cricket first thing when he woke up. i couldn't capture all the crickets from the cage last night and they got out of my cup right away(they were very jumpy) but there were only 6 in his cage and didn't mess with him . Im going to try different methods of the stick in the middle of the cup trick(stick was to long) i got a humidity gauge and it fluctuates from 50%-60% ( maybe need another fake plant or 2).
I will get him his calcium in the next day or 2 and keep him on that.
Also his UVB bulb is the Tropical one (that one was obvious when i bought it)
Now that he's settled lets just see if he eats more!Especially after yesterdays SKIN shed! Thanks for your guys help!
I will get him his calcium in the next day or 2 and keep him on that.
Also his UVB bulb is the Tropical one (that one was obvious when i bought it)
Now that he's settled lets just see if he eats more!Especially after yesterdays SKIN shed! Thanks for your guys help!
