New Chameleon owner (halp!). Concerned about getting her to start eating!

[Giantspleen]

I just got my first Chameleon. I did my research and got my habitat ready (for the most part) and was/am very confident in my abilities to care for a Chameleon.

A Petco about an hour away from my town (I know... but I felt very bad for her) had a female Jackson's that had been there for a while. They "guessed" that she was about 4 months old. Nobody wanted her because the fact that she is a female and was starting to get bigger (she's about 6-7 inches from nose to tip of tail) and not as "cute" (I personally think she's a perfect angel). So I got her and brought her home!

So when I brought her home I put her in her new home and left her alone for a bit then misted her and she drank off the leaves right away! I thought this was such a good sign she seemed very happy. All of the temps were good, everything seemed to be going fine, and I didn't think much of her not wanting to eat as I have had various reptiles before and I know they sometimes take time to get used to their new environment before they get comfortable enough to eat.

But now it is day 6... And I'm starting to panic.

She doesn't seem to drink off of the leaves when/after I mist anymore. I did record her with my phone and caught her drinking out of the dripper so I think she's drinking ok, just not when I'm around.
But she has not eaten a thing. I have tried different sized crickets and meal worms in a little dish near her basking area. I have been leaving her alone for the most part except for misting 2 - 3 times a day depending on how long the humidity drops have been. Her basking area is about 93 (it seems to be the perfect temp for her from trial and error. She doesn't sit there all day and she doesn't avoid it.) I have a few levels in her cage, the top level stays around 85 around the basking area, the one underneath stays around 70 to 75, then the floor level sits at around 65 to 68. She goes to sleep on her own right at 9 o'clock and seemingly sleeps in the same spot, undisturbed, all night. Shes on a 12/12 cycle with timers. I have her located in my bathroom right now, as it has the least traffic (I live alone) and seems to keep temperatures in a more appropriate range.

I am desperately seeking any advice on my enclosure or anything I can do to help her feel more comfortable, and most importantly, start eating! I really don't want her to die as I am super attached to her already. She is the sweetest little thing in the world. Please helppp!!

 

[Giantspleen]

Here are some pictures of her enclosure

 

[Giantspleen]

Here are a couple pictures of her.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Hi there welcome. She is beautiful! Please do me (her) a big favor and remove the meal worms and never give her any again. They hardly have any nutritional value and can, and usually do cause impactions in chameleons. Also, what is that black container with the brick red stuff in it?

 

[Giantspleen]

Hi there welcome. She is beautiful! Please do me (her) a big favor and remove the meal worms and never give her any again. They hardly have any nutritional value and can, and usually do cause impactions in chameleons. Also, what is that black container with the brick red stuff in it?

I was just trying to intice her to eat anything to get her started. I made sure to buy the extra moist "gourmet" ones as their hard outer shells are basically mush. I have read about impaction of course but am willing to try anything to get her going but if it is believed to be a major issue I wouldn't be opposed to removing them.

That bucket is filled with eco Earth substrate and topsoil. I made it quick in desperation to see if she would attempt to dig as I do not know her exact age and have readread Jackson's can lay their first clutch as soon as 5 to 7 months. And that they don't eat when they are ready to lay eggs. I'M TRYING EVERYTHING! haha

 

[Wildwilson]

Hi there welcome. She is beautiful! Please do me (her) a big favor and remove the meal worms and never give her any again. They hardly have any nutritional value and can, and usually do cause impactions in chameleons. Also, what is that black container with the brick red stuff in it?

I think thats the laying bin?

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

The cool thing is that she does not need a lay bin! If she is gravid and she in deed is a Jacksons chameleons (and she looks like she is) she will give live birth! So you can remove the lay bin from her enclosure. Chameleons of both sexes are often kept together at pet stores such as the one you got this chameleon from so she could very likely be gravid. She seems to be a decent size so she might be gravid!

 

[Giantspleen]

The cool thing is that she does not need a lay bin! If she is gravid and she in deed is a Jacksons chameleons (and she looks like she is) she will give live birth! So you can remove the lay bin from her enclosure. Chameleons of both sexes are often kept together at pet stores such as the one you got this chameleon from so she could very likely be gravid. She seems to be a decent size so she might be gravid!

Omg that's actually such a relief! I never read anything that made the distinction between types of Chameleons. Everything I've read seemingly said something along the lines of "if you have a female Chameleon, you'll need a laying bin". Thanks for that! It's a relief that I know she won't become eggbound, but also kind of stressful for me now! Haha. I know she was alone for a while and if she is sexually mature It can't have been for very long... Right? Lol.

Is there any suggestions you, or anyone could give me about the eating issue? Just keep at it with the crickets?

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Try this link: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

The forums here actually has a care sheet for these guys!

 

[Giantspleen]

I have tried everything and the only thing she has eaten were super worms...I've heard so many mixed things about them but at least she's eating right?

 

[Giantspleen]

This is how she's looking today.

 

[Char333p]

Yeah from what I've read super worms are much better and could be used as another type of bug to add to regular diet, along with the usual crickets. Hope she will start eating more of a variety soon!
She is very pretty!

 

[jajeanpierre]

This is how she's looking today.

She looks a lot better than I expected after reading your thread.

I am sure she is a wild caught. This isn't a species people breed and they are now well established in Hawaii.

Your biggest challenge is acclimating a chameleon to captivity. Mealworms are not a good foot and she may have no understanding of how to eat out of a dish. Some won't cup feed. Give her something she wants to eat. Crickets are the easiest food to buy, so get her some. Get a variety of sizes as some will only eat small prey. Flying insects are the most desirable for a chameleon. Green insects are also very interesting for them. I don't know where you are located, but where I am there are a lot of small bright green katydids in the wild that would perfect for her. Don't be afraid of feeding wild insects, just know whether they have grown up eating poisonous plants or are likely full of pesticides. Crickets from PetCo are not a very nutritious food, but will be better than mealworms from PetCo and more appealing.

I think your temperatures are too high. This is an animal from the highlands of Kenya. It does not get into the 90s in the mountains. I don't have and have never had Jacksons but I do breed another montane species. Below is a link that will tell you a lot about your chameleon and where she comes fr om. Always look to scientific papers and publications about their natural history to get a better understanding of what conditions they will thrive in.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172531/0

Most people do not give their animals enough water and humidity. They are not like mammals that will drink their full. They need humidity to be high so they don't dehydrate as they breathe. Most houses are kept in desert like conditions. Living plants will help with humidity. You can buy a big sword fern and just cut up the root ball into smaller sections and plant the pieces in small pots, hang the pots on the branches with zip ties and that will give you lots of living foliage for a cheap price.

 

[Boston Pitty]

As someone who works at petco I can say that the jacksons are captive bred. While we do sell some wild caught reptiles, the jacksons are not

When I got Argo I did verify this because I know wild caught are harder to aclimate

 

[Giantspleen]

She looks a lot better than I expected after reading your thread.

I am sure she is a wild caught. This isn't a species people breed and they are now well established in Hawaii.

Your biggest challenge is acclimating a chameleon to captivity. Mealworms are not a good foot and she may have no understanding of how to eat out of a dish. Some won't cup feed. Give her something she wants to eat. Crickets are the easiest food to buy, so get her some. Get a variety of sizes as some will only eat small prey. Flying insects are the most desirable for a chameleon. Green insects are also very interesting for them. I don't know where you are located, but where I am there are a lot of small bright green katydids in the wild that would perfect for her. Don't be afraid of feeding wild insects, just know whether they have grown up eating poisonous plants or are likely full of pesticides. Crickets from PetCo are not a very nutritious food, but will be better than mealworms from PetCo and more appealing.

I think your temperatures are too high. This is an animal from the highlands of Kenya. It does not get into the 90s in the mountains. I don't have and have never had Jacksons but I do breed another montane species. Below is a link that will tell you a lot about your chameleon and where she comes fr om. Always look to scientific papers and publications about their natural history to get a better understanding of what conditions they will thrive in.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172531/0

Most people do not give their animals enough water and humidity. They are not like mammals that will drink their full. They need humidity to be high so they don't dehydrate as they breathe. Most houses are kept in desert like conditions. Living plants will help with humidity. You can buy a big sword fern and just cut up the root ball into smaller sections and plant the pieces in small pots, hang the pots on the branches with zip ties and that will give you lots of living foliage for a cheap price.

Hey thanks for the info! I don't believe she is wild caught. They told me too that they don't sell wild caught Chameleons which I could believe.

I have given her ample opportunity to eat crickets and she wants nothing to do with them. I actually ran to the store a couple days ago and came back to her on her Vine with a cricket on her head and just sitting there with her eyes squeezed shut haha! (I do remove them at night and try to feed her them again in the morning so they are not bothering her constantly)

She hasn't eaten any meal worms, just the super worms. Like I said, I have read things about super worms but the majority suggest they are fine to be a part of their staple diet.

I live in central Minnesota so the humidity thing has been a struggle but I have gotten it down to a science haha. I mist her about 3 times a day and have a cool mist humidifier rigged up on a timer for 30 minutes every 3 hours. That keeps the humidity at about 40 to 55 at any given time between misting. I also turn it off at night and the humidity hovers around 40. I do have a live plant in her enclosure also.

From everything I've read, my temps seem to be fine. If it's any lower than it is now she sits in the hot spot for most of the day and gets super dark. I think they are quite fine where they are now. I'll attach a picture of her basking when the temps are lower. At these temps she spends healthy time in her basking spot then under her uvb and tends to be much more active in all areas of her enclosure.

 

[Giantspleen]

This is a picture from today after I lowered the temps for a while. She does that weird leaning thing when it seems to cool too.

 

[jajeanpierre]

This is a picture from today after I lowered the temps for a while. She does that weird leaning thing when it seems to cool too.

Leaning on her side? That's just basking.

Misting three times a day doesn't seem enough to me, especially since your cage is primarily fake plants. Did you close in three sides with plastic? Your humidity is far too low if your readings are accurate. I would run the fogger all night if you have good ventilation at the front. Have the fog misting down at a low level all around where she sleeps. Humidity should increase at night. It is when they get most of their hydration in the wild--when the dew falls (or the cloud cover drops) and they breathe it in. Your humidity is about that of a desert. The humidity level of the Mohave Desert at night is around 50%.

It is not good that she isn't eating but I am still confused on whether she ate or not since you mentioned she ate a super worm. Your problem might be hydration and humidity. Get her an automatic mister from MistKing. The cheaper ones (for about half or 2/3 the cost of a MistKing) do not hold up--they self destruct if the reservoir runs dry and reservoirs run dry.