Kthompson
New Member
◦ Your Chameleon - female panther chameleon (specifics unknown) possibly 6-8 months old???? How long has it been in your care? 1 month.
◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Rarely. Maybe once a week to every other week.
◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? I have been offering crickets, Dubai roaches, superworms, silk worms, wax worms and mealworms. She only eats mealworms and an occasional super worm. Refuses all else and will only take it from my fingers, no dish or tweezers. When I first brought her home I bought crickets, but they sent home mealworms for free stating she was picky. She refused all food the first day and refused crickets for 2 more days before I tried the mealworms. She ate about 10 in a row eagerly and I continued to try crickets in between. I then started offering a wide variety of bugs in different feeding styles and she would move away or simply just refuse. I fed her mealworms for a couple more days to make sure she had sustenance and then only offered the other bugs. She would go days without eating anything except one superworm before turning away. A few hours later I could maybe get her to eat another. She then refused all superworms and I went back to giving her a couple mealworms while trying to trick her into eating something else. I just tried a 5 day stretch of offering anything but mealworms and she refused to eat a single thing. I was hoping she would become hungry enough to eat anything else besides a mealworm. Needless to say, she was getting very weak and angry/stressed. That was my last effort to force her into eating other bugs without physically force feeding her. How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed them all a wide variety of vegetable ends and fresh “scraps”, Yams, sweet potatoes, apples, Flukers orange cubes, and I offer the same diet as I feed my very healthy 10 and 15 year old Russian tortoises.
◦ Supplements - repticalcium without D3. Alternating feedings with and without dusting since she isn’t eating well.
◦ Watering - I have a drip system that is on a constant drip; one drop every 5 seconds, that I open up twice daily for a constant drip for about 10 minutes. I used to list 3 times a day but that stressed her out. I just purchased a Fogger a couple days ago that I run on low nonstop since the humidity was in the 40’s if I didn’t mist 3 times daily. The soil in the plats and nesting box is always moist. I was trying to minimize stress with the Fogger, but it seems to stress her out anyway. She drinks periodically from the leaves under the drip or directly from the drip line when I open it up. What kind of watering technique do you use?
◦ Fecal Description - dark to lighter brown, well formed fecal matter, white to slightly cream colored urates. I have not run a fecal on her yet.
◦ History - I’m a licensed veterinary technician finishing up courses for acceptance into vet school. I’ve never owned a chameleon before. I have a lot of experience with other reptiles, exotics, wildlife rehab, cats, dogs and other critters. My chameleon was not a planned addition to the family at all! And I never, ever get any from local petstores...except this one I guess. Ran in for some dog food and after a weak moment and pressure from my kids and the guy who knows I have some critters, we walked out with a “screaming deal” on a difficult chameleon. I’ve handled difficult critters, but my Sleesta is way out of my league.
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - 16x 16 x 30 tall metal screen cage
◦ Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB compact, reptisun 60 watt day heat bulb. These are on an automatic timer for 12 hr day and night cycles. The setup came with the compact uvb bulb. I always switch to a strip, but was wondering if this coil might be ok due to her basking distance????
◦ Temperature - basking spot is 88, lower vines are around 80 bottom of enclosure is 75. Overnight temp is 68 to 70. I have various thermometers placed throughout enclosure and move as needed.
◦ Humidity - Ranges from 40 to 80% throughout the day depending on when I mist, fully open the drip and I’m still playing around with the new Fogger. I have thermo/hygrometers placed throughout the enclosure.
◦ Plants - yes, I have 4 live plants. I have one pothos, something similar to a pothos and 2 ground cover/climbing vines. I considered taking the unknowns out but she has not shown any interest in eating them at all. I also have a 16 inch deep planter filled with organic potting soil to serve as a nesting bin that I keep moist but not wet.
◦ Placement - when we first brought her home, she was in my bedroom with more “traffic” and a ceiling fan for 3 days. I then moved her to the “office” where I keep the tortoises in their enclosure across the room and keep the door closed at all times. The kids and other animals are not allowed in and I’m the only one who goes in to feed/water her. I closed the ac vents and turned the ceiling fan off. Her enclosure is on a 3 foot high table and I placed a beach wrap around the back and part of two sides. I have not been doing any studies in there to try to let her relax and adjust.
◦ Location - Where are you geographically located? We just recently moved to Greeley, Colorado. I’m not yet used to adjusting to the conditions here with my tortoises and other pets.
Current Problem - My Sleesta is very unhappy and stressed. She is not interested in any other food besides mealworms, no matter what I seem to try. She was much more outgoing when I first brought her home. Rarely ever flashed black or ran away. Now dark and black seem to be her color. She tolerates me fairly well, but I try not to handle her. Since I’ve starved her in an attempt to coax her into eating anything besides mealworms, she is weak and very stressed. After me feeding her mealworms again the past couple days, she has regained her strength but is still continually black in color. The fog machine seems to be stressing her out as well. She is just finishing up shedding. This is the first time she’s shed since I’ve had her, but I’ve only had her a month. It seemed to be uneventful and quick. I’m not familiar with chameleons at all so any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. I want my girl to be happy and thrive with us!!! Thank you in advance!!
◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Rarely. Maybe once a week to every other week.
◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? I have been offering crickets, Dubai roaches, superworms, silk worms, wax worms and mealworms. She only eats mealworms and an occasional super worm. Refuses all else and will only take it from my fingers, no dish or tweezers. When I first brought her home I bought crickets, but they sent home mealworms for free stating she was picky. She refused all food the first day and refused crickets for 2 more days before I tried the mealworms. She ate about 10 in a row eagerly and I continued to try crickets in between. I then started offering a wide variety of bugs in different feeding styles and she would move away or simply just refuse. I fed her mealworms for a couple more days to make sure she had sustenance and then only offered the other bugs. She would go days without eating anything except one superworm before turning away. A few hours later I could maybe get her to eat another. She then refused all superworms and I went back to giving her a couple mealworms while trying to trick her into eating something else. I just tried a 5 day stretch of offering anything but mealworms and she refused to eat a single thing. I was hoping she would become hungry enough to eat anything else besides a mealworm. Needless to say, she was getting very weak and angry/stressed. That was my last effort to force her into eating other bugs without physically force feeding her. How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed them all a wide variety of vegetable ends and fresh “scraps”, Yams, sweet potatoes, apples, Flukers orange cubes, and I offer the same diet as I feed my very healthy 10 and 15 year old Russian tortoises.
◦ Supplements - repticalcium without D3. Alternating feedings with and without dusting since she isn’t eating well.
◦ Watering - I have a drip system that is on a constant drip; one drop every 5 seconds, that I open up twice daily for a constant drip for about 10 minutes. I used to list 3 times a day but that stressed her out. I just purchased a Fogger a couple days ago that I run on low nonstop since the humidity was in the 40’s if I didn’t mist 3 times daily. The soil in the plats and nesting box is always moist. I was trying to minimize stress with the Fogger, but it seems to stress her out anyway. She drinks periodically from the leaves under the drip or directly from the drip line when I open it up. What kind of watering technique do you use?
◦ Fecal Description - dark to lighter brown, well formed fecal matter, white to slightly cream colored urates. I have not run a fecal on her yet.
◦ History - I’m a licensed veterinary technician finishing up courses for acceptance into vet school. I’ve never owned a chameleon before. I have a lot of experience with other reptiles, exotics, wildlife rehab, cats, dogs and other critters. My chameleon was not a planned addition to the family at all! And I never, ever get any from local petstores...except this one I guess. Ran in for some dog food and after a weak moment and pressure from my kids and the guy who knows I have some critters, we walked out with a “screaming deal” on a difficult chameleon. I’ve handled difficult critters, but my Sleesta is way out of my league.
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - 16x 16 x 30 tall metal screen cage
◦ Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB compact, reptisun 60 watt day heat bulb. These are on an automatic timer for 12 hr day and night cycles. The setup came with the compact uvb bulb. I always switch to a strip, but was wondering if this coil might be ok due to her basking distance????
◦ Temperature - basking spot is 88, lower vines are around 80 bottom of enclosure is 75. Overnight temp is 68 to 70. I have various thermometers placed throughout enclosure and move as needed.
◦ Humidity - Ranges from 40 to 80% throughout the day depending on when I mist, fully open the drip and I’m still playing around with the new Fogger. I have thermo/hygrometers placed throughout the enclosure.
◦ Plants - yes, I have 4 live plants. I have one pothos, something similar to a pothos and 2 ground cover/climbing vines. I considered taking the unknowns out but she has not shown any interest in eating them at all. I also have a 16 inch deep planter filled with organic potting soil to serve as a nesting bin that I keep moist but not wet.
◦ Placement - when we first brought her home, she was in my bedroom with more “traffic” and a ceiling fan for 3 days. I then moved her to the “office” where I keep the tortoises in their enclosure across the room and keep the door closed at all times. The kids and other animals are not allowed in and I’m the only one who goes in to feed/water her. I closed the ac vents and turned the ceiling fan off. Her enclosure is on a 3 foot high table and I placed a beach wrap around the back and part of two sides. I have not been doing any studies in there to try to let her relax and adjust.
◦ Location - Where are you geographically located? We just recently moved to Greeley, Colorado. I’m not yet used to adjusting to the conditions here with my tortoises and other pets.
Current Problem - My Sleesta is very unhappy and stressed. She is not interested in any other food besides mealworms, no matter what I seem to try. She was much more outgoing when I first brought her home. Rarely ever flashed black or ran away. Now dark and black seem to be her color. She tolerates me fairly well, but I try not to handle her. Since I’ve starved her in an attempt to coax her into eating anything besides mealworms, she is weak and very stressed. After me feeding her mealworms again the past couple days, she has regained her strength but is still continually black in color. The fog machine seems to be stressing her out as well. She is just finishing up shedding. This is the first time she’s shed since I’ve had her, but I’ve only had her a month. It seemed to be uneventful and quick. I’m not familiar with chameleons at all so any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. I want my girl to be happy and thrive with us!!! Thank you in advance!!
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