New owner, need advice!

C

ChameleonFan1989

New Member
Hi

I joined Chameleon forums about 5 mins ago and I'm a new Cham owner but need some advice. I brought my baby Cham home Thursday (23/6/2011) along with her set up and food etc, I set up her tank and she had already been fed before I purchased her as I got her in the evening but a few small crickets in the at night incase she was still hungry but only ate one so I knew she was eating and drinks fine from her dripper and from misting also.

But yesterday and today I put about 4-5 crickets in (amount told by breeder) along with her calcium and let them free roam and has plenty of logs, twigs and plastic plants to climb and the crickets sit there. But for 2 days when they've touched her or walked past her, she hasn't shown interest in them and walked off. I've seen her drink but never seen her eat besides the one cricket when I brought her home.

Should I be worried that she hasn't eaten for 2 days and is it possible she eats when everyone in the house has gone to bed? Its not a busy house hold, just me and my parents and 2 dogs which don't have access to her vivarium ayway. Top of the tank is dead on 90F and middle to bottom of the tank is 80F and gets turned down around 7PM in the evening and gets a mist then and in the morning and her dripper is always available. There is hardly any to no handling unless I really need to.

I've tried cup feeding and she just stares at them for a minute are two and then walks away again. :(
 
Congratulations on your chameleon, and welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of us here more than willing to help. Lots of members are very knowledgeable.
A lot of chameleons take some time to settle in, so him not eating for a couple of days isn't too surprising. How old & what kind of chameleon do you have?



chameleoman said:
if you hav a glass tank and substrate get rid of both and get a screen cage if you dont already have one
Click to expand...

I am guessing he is not in the US, a lot of the rest of the world keep chameleons much differently that we do. I doubt he has substrate and his viv is completely. You have to know where the person is before assuming they need to do what people here do. Also there are a lot of us in the US who use glass terrariums for chameleons. I have used them and had no problems.
 
you need to fill out the ask for help form. We need to know, lighting, temps humidity etc in order to help you. Often times they will not eat for a few days when you first get them but lets make sure you have your set up right. Pics of cham and set up would be helpful also.
 
I did have substrate but it got on my nerves and removed it in the end, I have a veiled Chameleon.

Could someone posted the ask for help form please?

BTW Laurie, I'm female ;) LOL!
 
Cheers ;)

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, age not sure, is about 2-3 inches so guessing a few weeks and is female and had her 2 days.

Handling - Rarely, only handle if alot of movement needs to be done i.e cleaning in tighter spaces and objects need to be moved and health inspection.

Feeding - small-medium brown crickets (free roam) every afternoon and is fed 4-5 crickets and there is a slice of carrot with the crickets.

Supplements - Its a UK brand and its called Calici Dust by Vetark and is added to the crickets lightly daily.

Watering - Has a dripper and gets misted twice daily, 3 times if needed.

Fecal Description - Firm and dark brown and has not been tested for parasites.

History -No history

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Wooden back and sides with glass screen opening at the front that slide. The size is about 54 milometers by 3 ft 2 inches.

Lighting - No brand, vivarium hand made by breeder, basking lamp and lamp go on at 9-10am and get turned down at 7PM.

Temperature - Day temp is 90F at top and 80F middle to bottom of the cage. At night its 81F at the top and stays 80F middle to the bottom and is measured by exo terra heat and humidity gauge.

Humidity - 50% and this is kept with misting.

Plants - No live plants are used.

Placement - In the lounge and only 3 people live in the house and at work most of the time besides me.

Location - United Kingdom

Current Problem - Won't hunt or cup feed
 
sounds a lil hot in there..ied say lower the temps.. get just the basking point to be 85, and the rest of the cage in the mid 70's..
 
Mine did the same thing, Just takes a little time to get use to her new living space i think a couple of mine took a week to start eating (just the females though the male pigged out from day one) you said youve seen her drink so she is hydrating which is great, Do bring the temps done, about 80 for basking for a lil girl or guy like that and cooler towards the bottom, the young ones sometimes dont know enough to move if its to hot so if shes gaping alot lower the basking temp a little more. Keep offering the food she'll eat when she gets hungry, as for cup feeding just keep offering the cup on a regular basis. I just had 2 of mine start cup feeding (it took a couple weeks to have happen) only one more to go and i can do away with crickets LOL (i prefer roaches) Lots of Great info out there Try these to start https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

and welcome to the wonderfull world of Chams...
 
chameleoman said:
if you hav a glass tank and substrate get rid of both and get a screen cage if you dont already have one
Click to expand...

Why do people keep on insisting that glass viv's are a bad idea? I think that people that don't live in a sunny climate should for once try and do a little research and educate their narrow minds to understand that some reptile keepers know what they are doing, and the reptiles that they are keeping will be kept in the best possible conditions,(regardless of the type of miterial they are kept in!!!!!) We are not all privilaged to live in a sunny climate, therefor certain measure are warrented to keep the reptiles we want!!!
 
Hi, and welcome to this site, you were right to get rid of your substrate, it causes impaction, which isn't very good for you chameleon, and also harbours germs inside the substrate. I bought a panther chameleon about two weeks ago and he didn't eat for about four days, so I started on this site which is very friendly and they know their stuff on here. I think the reason why he isn't eating is because it's a new vivarium so he's worried and stressed, he should settle down ok as soon as he calms down a bit and gets used to his new home and make sure your temps are ok. Hope this helps but their is a lot more people who is a lot more knowledge than me on here. I hope this helps.
 
keep the crickets in a feeding dish so they wont get out, and leave them in there. Don't worry about her eating at inappropriate times, for now, worry about her eating at all.
also some plantlife or lettuce would be good for her to eat aswell.
 
Thanks for the help, really helpful. Turned the temp down and she's just shot under the basking light LOL glad I found this forum, as a new owner, panic like mad LOL

Also what alternative substrate would you recommend?
 
ChameleonFan1989 said:
Thanks for the help, really helpful. Turned the temp down and she's just shot under the basking light LOL glad I found this forum, as a new owner, panic like mad LOL

Also what alternative substrate would you recommend?
Click to expand...

None!!! Hey I was wondering as far as the the lighting, what you meant by homemade? Are you 100% sure you have a UVB light in there. It is critical to their health to have one! Also the other member recommended you feed lettuce. Dark leafy greens are much more nutritional than head lettuce. that is of course if your chameleon will eat greens.
 
Just a update, its her forth day and still hasn't eaten :( getting worried and close to tears. I phoned the breeder today and told me to leave her for 2 days and offer food again, is the right thing to do. Also today she did a poo and it was very light orange with a little white in it, is that a normal color?

She's moving around more so dunno if she's hasn't full settled in.

Anymore suggestions? :(
 
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