New female possibly gravid t. Sternfeldi not feeding nor drinking....

[Alb123]

I've recently purchased an adult female t. Sternfeldi. She looks gravid, although I have no idea how far along she is in her "pregnancy". She's constantly basking under the spot light only wanders off occasionally to cool off. She's not feeding, at least not the crickets I give her. She's not drinking, just 2 droplets in the past 3 days. She's not stressed out in her own screen enclosure, which I got it for her and her possible neonates purposes. Anyone has any idea on her bizarre behavior?
I've had gravid sternfeldis before and that female fed and drank all the way to the moment she gave birth, so I'm just a bit curious.

 

[Alb123]

Anyone would like to chime in?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Bueller?
Bue....

 

[Trace]

I have not worked with the true Trioceros sternfeldi in any great capacity (some) but have with very closely related species to them (bitaeniatus, hanangensis, ellioti, goetzei etc.)

What you are describing can mean a few different things. The Trioceros sternfeldi breed many times over the year so the chances of her being gravid are pretty good. Gestation averages 5-6 months. In my experience the females take on a decidedly “heavy” look soon after breeding even though they don’t necessarily give birth right away. As you say they do eat and get very active before birthing.

The thing that concerns me about your limited description both of this thread and others is your very recent purchase of her. Apart from a few people that breed them, most sternfeldi are wild caught. If it’s the latter then that poses some other problems and could explain the inappetence. Water and getting fresh wild caught hydrated is of utmost importance. If she is captive bred, then the lack of eating might be chalked up to simply being stressed in a new environment.

Some photos of her would be beneficial at this point just to see if she looks healthy. Perhaps a little bit more by way of husbandry would help too.

 

[Alb123]

I have not worked with the true Trioceros sternfeldi in any great capacity (some) but have with very closely related species to them (bitaeniatus, hanangensis, ellioti, goetzei etc.)

What you are describing can mean a few different things. The Trioceros sternfeldi breed many times over the year so the chances of her being gravid are pretty good. Gestation averages 5-6 months. In my experience the females take on a decidedly “heavy” look soon after breeding even though they don’t necessarily give birth right away. As you say they do eat and get very active before birthing.

The thing that concerns me about your limited description both of this thread and others is your very recent purchase of her. Apart from a few people that breed them, most sternfeldi are wild caught. If it’s the latter then that poses some other problems and could explain the inappetence. Water and getting fresh wild caught hydrated is of utmost importance. If she is captive bred, then the lack of eating might be chalked up to simply being stressed in a new environment.

Some photos of her would be beneficial at this point just to see if she looks healthy. Perhaps a little bit more by way of husbandry would help too.

Thank you for the reply. She seems like a wild caught. As are the two males I already have. I believe she's gravid from her being extremely non receptive behavior from the male's advances. I've figured her out finally. She seems to be a finicky eater. She's not showing any interest in crickets, but seems to quickly go for moths (seed moths from my bird seeds) and beetles (adult mealworms).
I will try to mix up her diet more this week by getting other type of feeder insects, probably small hornworms (for treats). As far as her not drinking, she seems to be picky as well as far as how the water from misting is presented to her. She simply will not drink unless she sees flowing water down the plant for a minute or so. Seeing water droplets and puddles on the leaves will not do it for her (the males have no such problem, the drink without hesitation).

Hopefully I can find some more interesting and nutritious feeder insects online ASAP.

I will try to post some pics of her when I get a better camera phone later on tonight.

 

[Trace]

Is she in the same cage as the males? Even if not, since you only got her a few days ago, I strongly suggest not introducing her to your males right away. Let her settle in a bit more (again could explain the lack of appetite) more so she could be carrying diseases that could decimate an established collection.

I find a lot of wild caught do prefer flying bugs over crickets. Houseflies are great for picky eaters.

I have not found the sternfeldi to be picky eaters, particularly the girls, so something is up. On top of that, chameleons have a poor sense of taste so I always find the term “picky eater” to be a bit of a fallacy. I have written a few blogs about wild caught chameleons and breeding in bitaeniatus complex chameleons. Perhaps you will find something in these articles helpful.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/entry/random-musings-on-seasonal-cycling.780/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/entry/dealing-with-a-wild-caught-chameleon.776/

When you have a minute, I’d like to see photos of her and her cage.

 

[Alb123]

She's alone in her own cage. I've only introduced her to the male to see if she's receptive. She reacted very negatively. She does seem to gravitate toward flying insects such as moths that I've thrown in and the mealworm beetles - which didn't try to fly at all. She ate 4 of the beetles that I've put in at one sitting.
None of the crickets I've put in she's shown any interest. So I think I've solved her food issue. Now the drinking part... She's just not drinking as much as the boys. Her cages humidity is holding well with the live plants because I'll still find water puddles on the leaves from when I sprayed her / them in the morning before I go to work. If I solved her non - drinking problem, then everything should be peachy.

I will have to wait a little later for the camera to get home. :/

 

[Alb123]

**update**
She's drinking now. She's just not drinking when I like her to drink, she's doing it on her own time when I'm not looking. That's better than not drinking at all.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I know absolutely nothing about them other than: "nice looking chameleons!" Sorry!