New Veiled Not eating??

turk81

New Member
I brought home my first chameleon yesterday. A 6-8 month old veiled, about the length of my hand. I didn't feed him last night. I put 5 crickets in a sour cream container and hung it from the inside of the cage under his basking perch. They have been there for 4 hours now and he hasn't hit on them. He has climbed the perch and put his hands on the brim of the container (I'm sure he's looked in) but he hasn't eaten any. Should I be concerned. The pet store I bought him from says he eats like 3 a day everyday. T
 
First, give him some time to settle in to his new home. You don't have to be too concerned for the time being. However, check if the container is very deep and he isn't even trying to shoot his tongue because of the distance (highly unlikely).

What is the meaning of your "turk81" name?
 
He won't starve to death will he. I mean he knows that there is crickets in the cup, he's not so dumb that he'll die before he eats them will he??. I let two loose in the cage and haven't seen him eat them but I can't find them either. I've been keeping a pretty good eye on him. He hasn't eaten yet, it's been 10+ hours. T
 
100 watt tight beam basking light. He sits perched about 6 - 8 inches from it. He roams the cage and doesn't just hang out there.
 
how often does he roam the cage if it is constant something is stressing him out, do you have a uvb bulb?
 
He basks for awhile then goes down about a foot or so then climbs another basking spot. He doesn't move a whole lot but he is active. Yes I have a UVB bulb. It's almost lights out time for him and he hasn't eaten today, . . . I don't think. I can't find two crickets I let loose but like i said I've been keeping a sharp eye on him. T
 
he is active. He isin' all over the place but he basks for a while then goes down lower for a while then back up to bask. I do have A UVB bulb. Maybe I should go with a 150 wat basking bulb?? It's almost lights out and he hasn't eaten yet. . . I think. I let two crickets loose and can't find them but I've been keeping a sharp eye on him and haven't seen him eat. A whole day. T
 
Do you have a thermometer where you can accurately identify the temperature on the branch where you say he basks for a little bit?

My concern is that it could be too hot, maybe that's why he's basking small amounts. If you don't have a thermometer, for the time being you can position your hand approximately where the chameleon would bask. If your hand is uncomfortably hot after one minute, it is too hot. Thermometer is a must to accurately know his basking temperature. For reference, adult veileds require around 87F - 98F as baking temperatures. An adult can be considered as 1 year old in terms of veileds. In you case I'd recommend not exceeding 90F.

Best of luck, please keep us updated tomorrow.

Hope this was useful.
 
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