please hurry up, need help, he is not eating or drinking

[mohamed]

hello

Yesterday I bought a chameleon ( male ) ,he is 11 centimeters i don't know how old is he but he is small.

And from yesterday I sprayed the cage 4 times but he is not licking up the water from the plant, and I put for him 3 small worms and they are still not eaten , why he is not eating or drinking anything ........

 

[budcham]

reply to eating and drinking

From what I was told, do not feed them worms.
Their digestive system is different from other reptiles and animals they can not break down the worm quickly enough.
I was feeding my chameleons wax worms and then someone told me horror stories of how they seen a wax worm slowly eat out the side of a chameleon. Now I am kinda scared thinking that it will happen to mine.
feed crickets, and flys, small grasshoppers, box elder bugs etc.

Also, he might just be adapting to his new environment, do u have a little dripper or something of the sort in the cage?

 

[mohamed]

thank you budcham

but the man who sell me the cham said that he can eat worms, but if you say no i will agree with you.

Yes, I have little dripper and i put it today and i filled it 2 times until now and he is still not drinking.

what to do, and from where can i buy or find crickets,flys,small grasshoppers and bugs ????

 

[SaiyanFury]

I agree with budcham. It sounds like he's adapting to his new enclosure. It can be a few days before a chameleon will adapt to his new environment. If you're not seeing any drinking or eating action after 3 days or so, I would be more concerned. Just something to look out for.

 

[Julirs]

It really depends on what kind of worms we are talking about here. Silkworms are an excellent feeder. A 4" cham certainly could not eat Superworms. Wax worms and mealworms are not a good staple-so don't rule out all worms.
Mohamed-keep spraying and give him a few days to adjust. Can you tell us about your caging and lighting?

 

[mohamed]

Hi

First he is vield cham. his size 11 cm , cage size 24'' * 24'' * 24'' , 2 fluorescent tube in a single fixture it is just for awhile because I ordered 5.0 UVB and I'm waiting for it to arrive to me after 4 days so i will replace 1 fluorescent tube with the UVB tube so it will be like this 1 fluorescent tube and 1 UVB tube n a single fixture, 1 incandescent bulb ( 40 watt ) , 1 big plant , many of branches and a sort of brown sand.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Sounds good.
They certainly can eat worms!
superworms, waxworms, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, to name a few.
(Although I guess none of those are technically a worm.)
No superworm (or wax worm HA!) has ever eaten it's way out of a chameleon's stomach.
That is an old wives tale that I cannot believe people are still telling.
I have a 2 year old veiled that eats superworms almost exclusively.
Be sure you are gut loading your feeders.
Good Luck

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[Countryside Chams]

from what i have heard on these forums you should get rid of the sand and replace it with papertowels. also what kind of plant do you have in there, as many of them are toxic to chams.

 

[mohamed]

it is ficus plant.

 

[bucky]

lol,mohamed...chill every cham does this im pretty sure when they just get into a new enclosure. And just cause you dont see him drink doesnt mean hes not. And theres no need for the heavy font

 

[shannond81391]

ficus is good. he is not eating or drinking because he is getting used to his new cage, just try and leave him alone for today. so he isnt stressed and gets comfortable wiht his new environment. try feeding tomorrow an hour after the lights go on. do you have any pictures?

 

[mohamed]

thanks bucky but he is really really not drinking a drip the cage is near the living room and I'm watching him 24 hours. and this some pics. ((((see the worms))))

The funny cham.
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/PZp08424.jpg

The cage
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/KyA07604.jpg

The cage
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/Ksf07699.jpg

The cage
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/GeC08181.jpg

The cage
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/2fR08358.jpg

The worms
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/iUf08237.jpg

The worms
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/0el08285.jpg

The cham.
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/GIX07823.jpg

The cham.
http://up.arabseyes.com/upfiles/Dwp08056.jpg

 

[shannond81391]

are the lights inside of the cage? or ontop? if inside... GET THEM OUT OF THERE! he is so close to the light he WILL get burnt. and the substrate isnt necessary, but if you choose to make sure it is not fertilized or has any other chemicals in it. give him a day. and dont watch him. he feels your a predator so along wiht the stress of a new cage he feels he has to watch you, which is just making him more stressed. leave him be til tomorrow and he'll be fine.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

He does not look like a healthy animal to me.
Very dehydrated.
You need to mist him directly for long periods several times a day to stimulate him to start drinking.
Do you have a qualified vet nearby?

-Brad

 

[mohamed]

now he is in his new cage for one day , I'm takinghim out and put the worms near of him but he is not eating them he sees them and let them away.

I can't take out the light because if I put it ontop of it it will burn the screen (((it's not made from aluminum ))) and there is 5 inches away from him.

 

[mohamed]

I don't have qualified vet nearby.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I agree that you do need to figure out a way to mount your lights outside of the enclosure.

-Brad

 

[mohamed]

OK I have done it i put it outside

 

[mohamed]

He still not drinking

 

[Chase]

When you first start misting him he won't drink. Spraying him directly will simulate him to start drinking. Since I'm guessing he hasn't had any water, he doesn't know what it is. Also, I wouldn't feed him mealworms. I would use Superworms instead. Umm, I would suggest instead of the usual 2 times a day for 5 mintues to 3 times a day for 7-8 minutes. This will get a lot more moisture in his cage and he should start drinking. Plus, they might not drink right in front of you all the time.