She's not eating anymore :/

[vamperus]

My Chameleon Roger has stopped eating, she's about a year old now, it started last week, she went from 8-9 crickets to 5 then to 3. I was thinking she was tiered of crickets so I give her wax worms too. she loves them but won't eat them anymore. On the 28th she didn't eat, I tried again on the 29th and she wouldn't eat anything, then yesterday, 30th, she ate 2 wax worms, tonight she won't eat. I'm worried, I need to know if she needs a vet. Her temps are at a constant 80 degrees, we live in Dallas Texas, her humidity never gets below 40 and is usually around 60 I mist her when I wake up and at around 6 at night, I use a dial to measure both. I've tried giving her fruit, and veggies, she has tasted them, but won't eat them after tasting them once. Her crickets are feed Cricket Crack, and oranges, as well as water gel. I just don't know what to do, it doesn't look like she's lost weight, but I'm getting worried.

This is her tonight.

Her Terrarium, It's all glass.

This is her while she still ate.

 

[vamperus]

Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, I got her from pet store, They couldn't tell me how old she was I've had her for about 8 months now.

Handling - She is anti-social, and hisses when I try to hold her, she let me hold her once and I washed my hands before and after, she likes my older sister though, she has let her hold her a few times and I make her wash her hands before.

Feeding - I feed her once a day, used to be 8-9 crickets, sometimes 3-6 wax worms and 3-4 crickets.

Supplements - I use calcium powder every feeding, and Multivitamin every month on the 15th.

Watering - I've seen her lick water from leaves, and I do mist her twice a day, if not more depending on the humidity level. She mostly just gets dark and tries to look like a leaf when I mist her.

Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites, usually a little wet, and it's brown/black with white/yellow at the end it depends on what she eats.

History - I got her from PetSmart, she was small, here is a pic of when I first got her.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Glass two doors that open, 18"L x 18"W x 24"H (45 cm x 45 cm x 60 cm) I know it's small, I'm saving to get a bigger one since she's grown.

Lighting - Repti-sun 5.0 tube, and a 50 watt heat bulb, 12 hours on 12 hours off. she has a night heat lamp for winter.

Temperature - 70-80, lost temp at night is high 60s during winter, dial.

Humidity - 40-60, distilled water spary bottle, every morning at 9:30 and again at 6- 6:30 at night, dial.

Plants - No live plants, but she does have a pot of dirt, organic soil.

Placement - Corner of my room, curtain blocks vent, and my light so I don't bother her with my room light at night.

Location - Dallas, Texas

 

[stalincat]

Get a laying bin and Mazel tov!

 

[carol5208]

she most likely has eggs to lay. She looks plump. They may not eat when they are gravid. Do you know how to set up a laying bin?

 

[vamperus]

she most likely has eggs to lay. She looks plump. They may not eat when they are gravid. Do you know how to set up a laying bin?

Right now I have an 8 inch filled pot with organic soil, it's filled 2 inches from the top, but it has these little sticks in it and I don't want her getting hurt, she doesn't like going in it and she does spend time at the bottom of the viv, but she can't lay there. What do you suggest I get? How long does it take? When should I be worried about her not laying?

 

[lojack13]

Sorry to hear your little girl is not eating much. But from what you are describing I would say you have nothing to worry about at the moment. The most recent pics of her look really healthy. She is colorful, active, and her eyes look great. It is not unusual for them to taper off their eating, especially when they reach 1 year of age. My Panther female went from eating 9-10 a day down to 3-4 when she started reaching one year of age. I now only feed her 3 crickets every other day. Just offer her a cricket tomorrow, if she seems completely disinterested, do not feed her on Monday at all, and then attempt a cricket on Tuesday again. Most Chameleons will drastically cut their food intake down when they reach adulthood. And we Cham owners tend to freak out because we are so sued to them eating like pigs everyday. But once they do not need all that fuel for growth anymore, they simply taper off the food. Chameleons can literally go weeks without eating. Make sure you mist her plenty and she has access to water. Water is obviously very important, far more than food. She may just be going through a small hunger strike and will come out of it. My Chams have done this before, its definitely nothing unusual.
I do not want to rule out the fact that this may be a pregnancy issue though. As a few others have mentioned, you should provide her a lay bin just in case she is carrying eggs. In my female's cage, I have a small plastic bucket that is about 10X10 an about 12 inches deep. Fill it with play sand. Make sure the bag of sand you are buying say "PLAY SAND" fill your bin to the top and wet the sand down. Make sure not to overwater the sand, you want the sand to be at a consistency that you can dig it with your hand and it keeps it shape - not too dry but not too wet.
Sorry that was reallllly long! Just trying to help out though.

 

[vamperus]

Sorry to hear your little girl is not eating much. But from what you are describing I would say you have nothing to worry about at the moment. The most recent pics of her look really healthy. She is colorful, active, and her eyes look great. It is not unusual for them to taper off their eating, especially when they reach 1 year of age. My Panther female went from eating 9-10 a day down to 3-4 when she started reaching one year of age. I now only feed her 3 crickets every other day. Just offer her a cricket tomorrow, if she seems completely disinterested, do not feed her on Monday at all, and then attempt a cricket on Tuesday again. Most Chameleons will drastically cut their food intake down when they reach adulthood. And we Cham owners tend to freak out because we are so sued to them eating like pigs everyday. But once they do not need all that fuel for growth anymore, they simply taper off the food. Chameleons can literally go weeks without eating. Make sure you mist her plenty and she has access to water. Water is obviously very important, far more than food. She may just be going through a small hunger strike and will come out of it. My Chams have done this before, its definitely nothing unusual.
I do not want to rule out the fact that this may be a pregnancy issue though. As a few others have mentioned, you should provide her a lay bin just in case she is carrying eggs. In my female's cage, I have a small plastic bucket that is about 10X10 an about 12 inches deep. Fill it with play sand. Make sure the bag of sand you are buying say "PLAY SAND" fill your bin to the top and wet the sand down. Make sure not to overwater the sand, you want the sand to be at a consistency that you can dig it with your hand and it keeps it shape - not too dry but not too wet.
Sorry that was reallllly long! Just trying to help out though.

Thank you, I can definitely find play sand, and I will try feeding her every other day. I've only ever had Bearded Dragons before and they eat like pigs, so I'm just trying not to freak out too much and run to the vet for nothing, but I will if I need to, I just wanted to know what you guys thought first since I have little experience with this being my first and all.

 

[lojack13]

Thank you, I can definitely find play sand, and I will try feeding her every other day. I've only ever had Bearded Dragons before and they eat like pigs, so I'm just trying not to freak out too much and run to the vet for nothing, but I will if I need to, I just wanted to know what you guys thought first since I have little experience with this being my first and all.

No problem! Again, I am sure she's absolutely fine. Definitely go to every other day feedings and get her a lay bin as soon as you can. Honestly she may not be pregnant, but better safe than sorry. She does look a tad big in the tummy, but my female is a chunk too and she has yet to actually be pregnant.