Ozzie isn't eating :(

[Ozzie2011]

He was doing fine yesterday, eating and drinking but today he isn't normal and won't eat anything or drink. I have a bad feeling. I have nurtured him since day one we brought him home so I am unsure what has gone wrong?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? I was told he was anywhere from 3-4 months when I got him and that was on March 28th 2011...But I am quite sure he was younger just by viewing other photos at his presumed age.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Every other day since we have had him because I have to clean him out and move him to another place while I disinfect his habitat.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Silkworms, horn worms, house flies on occasion , I leave his feeders in there until they are gone which he will usually eat them all in a matter of 10 min.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? D3 twice a month and without D3 every day.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist him off 3 times a day and leave a little dripper going and he has drank out of a fake leaf up until today.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? fecal is black and huge and urine is white but today there was urine but no feces. Had his stool checked for parasites just 2 weeks ago and was negative.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Glass exo terra 18x18x18 new one is on the way.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Exo Terra 5.0 bulbs, have new hood and tube lights on the way.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot) 82 degrees? Lowest overnight temp? 67 degreesHow do you measure these temps? I have a temp gauge that tells me temp and humidity.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 52% How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Same as above
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes Scheffalerra and pothos. I am sure I spelt those wrong...sigh
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? No and it is on a stand that is 36" tall
Location - Where are you geographically located? Mississippi

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Staying dark colored and has not eaten today or drank, his skin looked wrinkled and eyes look just a bit sunk in so I misted him more with warm water directly on him and he of course ran to hide in the lowest part of the plant.

I am so worried and don't want to loose him

 

[ataraxia]

pics please?

only things that jump out at me some of which you are taking care of is the temps. whats his basking temp? whats his ambient cage temps? basking bulb (what type and wattage)?

him only doing this one day could be normal or could be a start to something. dark colors, eyes closed and at the bottom of the cage is alarming and should keep a close eye on. anything new in the house (people or animals)? is he near a window? check your temps again.

 

[Thompson]

Also it sounds like you are cleaning way to much. If I'm reading I correctly you disinfect his cage every other day? You should only really have to deep clean maybe once a month. The rest of the time you should just pick up poop and dead leaves etc. Also he needs some roughage in his diet rather than just watery items like silkies and hornworms. IMO the flies aren't doing it, so I'd add crickets, roaches , or superworms.

Give him a 30 minute shower if you're worried about dehydration.

 

[Ozzie2011]

He gets hot really fast because I see his mouth open sometimes when he is basking so I am turning his basking light on and off all the time. It is a 100 watt basking bulb and I have a 40 watt bulb but he does the same thing with it...mouth open. He has always from day one squinted one eye but still ate like a pig. I dunno I am confused since I pamper the crap out of him, maybe I need to just go ahead and invest in a mistking before I get his new setup. I think seriously he was dehydrated and I just made him drink by drenching him in warm water so now his colors have changed lighter green like when he sleeps? No new animals and hes in the same place as he has been from day one.

pics please?

only things that jump out at me some of which you are taking care of is the temps. whats his basking temp? whats his ambient cage temps? basking bulb (what type and wattage)?

him only doing this one day could be normal or could be a start to something. dark colors, eyes closed and at the bottom of the cage is alarming and should keep a close eye on. anything new in the house (people or animals)? is he near a window? check your temps again.

 

[Ozzie2011]

I did not realize there was such a thing as TOO CLEAN? I have to clean him out every other day as his lil dripper will flood out his habitat which is another good reason to go ahead and purchase a mistking...sigh I swear I try to do everything so right and it always go sour....who would have thought I would get so damn attached to a reptile?? I would greave if he dies

Also it sounds like you are cleaning way to much. If I'm reading I correctly you disinfect his cage every other day? You should only really have to deep clean maybe once a month. The rest of the time you should just pick up poop and dead leaves etc. Also he needs some roughage in his diet rather than just watery items like silkies and hornworms. IMO the flies aren't doing it, so I'd add crickets, roaches , or superworms.

Give him a 30 minute shower if you're worried about dehydration.

 

[Ozzie2011]

He will not eat crickets or dubia roaches or superworms ...believe me I have tried and they went to waste and now he isn't eating the new silkworms I just got.

Also it sounds like you are cleaning way to much. If I'm reading I correctly you disinfect his cage every other day? You should only really have to deep clean maybe once a month. The rest of the time you should just pick up poop and dead leaves etc. Also he needs some roughage in his diet rather than just watery items like silkies and hornworms. IMO the flies aren't doing it, so I'd add crickets, roaches , or superworms.

Give him a 30 minute shower if you're worried about dehydration.

 

[ataraxia]

i have to say that a new one on me also. i personally see no harm in cleaning a cage frequently as long as it is cleaned with proper agents. as far as your temps go, how long till your screen cage comes? this is the reason im not for glass keeping. temps are hard to manage.

pics would be great to see his condition and guess a age. if he is older then you suspect. with age his appetite wont be as strong as it was while he is young. also take into consideration this has only been one day.

 

[Ozzie2011]

His new cage coming is an all glass 18x18x36 from Protean glass habitats. I have a picture of Ozzie I will just have to resize it and load it. I am seriously thinking he was dehydrating.

i have to say that a new one on me also. i personally see no harm in cleaning a cage frequently as long as it is cleaned with proper agents. as far as your temps go, how long till your screen cage comes? this is the reason im not for glass keeping. temps are hard to manage.

pics would be great to see his condition and guess a age. if he is older then you suspect. with age his appetite wont be as strong as it was while he is young. also take into consideration this has only been one day.

 

[Ozzie2011]

Here is his photo I just took, doesn't his eyes look sunk in? What are the dark patches? He has never looked like this before?

 

[msgizmo]

What an adorable little guy. Do you have to use glass? We keep some geckos in a glass terrarium but our chamy lives in a screen cage. We've had ours do the same thing but just kept same basic care, switching out feeders, increased watering and such. She's come around after a couple of days and returned to normal. We're no experts either but one thing I've noticed is she reacts differently with too much action around her and turns dark at those times. I handle her about once a week and try to move very slowly around her, especially if I have to open her cage and reach in. Do you try to keep on a regular watering, feeding schedule? They get into fixed routines from what I have seen and are creatures of extreme habit. Ms Gizmo's basking light goes off at 9pm and she will get into her sleeping place and close her eyes 10 to 20 minutes before that EVERY night. Yes, we have really gotten attached to ours as well. LOL Oh, and if you try to take yours outside (in a shady place) even for a few minutes a day you may see an improvement in his behavior. They love the daylight. We have a small palm-like tree in our yard and ours loves to climb up on it and just sit there looking around.

 

[panthercham]

Has he been through a shed recently? Wrinkled looking skin and loss in appetite can be a sign he is about to shed.

Also your temp gauge is it digital or analogue? Your temps could be out and incorrect if its one of those analogue things and its actually hotter in there than you think.

 

[Ozzie2011]

Yes we are going to continue to use glass because we keep our house so cold and we find it would be very hard to keep his habitat the proper temps in a all screen and he has been doing very well in his all glass. We have a digital temp and humidity reader that we got at Lowes.

He just went through a shed last week so he wouldn't be going through another one so fast. He just ate about 4 mealies ( not what I wanted) but at least he ate something. He is so picky and goes through stages on what he wants to eat and what he won't eat.

 

[camimom]

I think his eyes look a bit sunken. Try a shower. It can help stimulate them to drink, and sometimes it can help them feel better.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Personally I know that a temperamental male Veiled not eating for a day or two, especially at the age yours is, is nothing to worry about at all....he will eat again before he starts getting thin I'm sure...
As was already mentioned, he might just be about to have an uncomfortable shed and isn't hungry
As for your routine and setup I would recommend getting a consistent basking temperature of 86-88F, cleaning less often (not because it's too clean, but because you disturb him a little too much and he's growing up now so he needs his space)
I also would agree with the roughage and crickets or locusts would make your feeder variety really impressive.
His eyes do look a little sunken, but not yet worryingly so. the white feces part says he's not dehydrated so again, keep calm and carry on.........

 

[Rune]

Just saying, I think the reason he wont eat crickets is because they might be too big. You really shouldnt feed only worms. What size crickets do you get for him?

 

[camimom]

Worms are not a good staple food. dubias and crickets are.

 

[ataraxia]

he looks fine to me. eyes look normal along with his colors.

 

[Thompson]

I did not realize there was such a thing as TOO CLEAN? I have to clean him out every other day as his lil dripper will flood out his habitat which is another good reason to go ahead and purchase a mistking...sigh I swear I try to do everything so right and it always go sour....who would have thought I would get so damn attached to a reptile?? I would greave if he dies

Don't let his cage get flooded he could end up with a URI if he's subjected to high humidity for long periods of time. It's great you're trying your hardest, I'm sure your guy is super happy with you!

 

[kirsty]

you have the same set up as me exo terra and to prevent so much water on the floor we cathch the drips from the dripper with a bowl and we use kitchen roll on the floor , then when it gets wet we just take the paper out prob once every two days and clean out once a month totally, i know people will suggest nothing on the bottom , but she has no interest in the kitchen roll and has never eaten it , just an idea to prevent the water build up that i know glass is so prone to ., On the picture he looks nice but perhaps his eyes are a little , can you give him a warm shower??

 

[PeriTanz]

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? D3 twice a month and without D3 every day.

Are you using a multivitamin?