Veiled Chameleon will barely eat and drink

[ausbork]

Hey everyone,
I have a veiled chameleon that is around 8-9 months old. For the past week and a half, he has been barely eating, and ever since I put him in his new cage, he has barely drank anything either. I have tried a ton of different feeders and he will only eat hornworms and wax worms. He wont eat crickets, super worms, Dubia roaches, or fly larvae. I originally thought he was just bored of eating crickets and super worms but he will only eat hornworms and waxworms. As for water, I mist ~3 times a day and I have a dripper going all day, dripping on multiple leaves before reaching the bottom of the cage. Any ideas?

 

[PascalTheChamelon123]

How often do you feed him hornworms and wax worms

 

[Beman]

Hey everyone,
I have a veiled chameleon that is around 8-9 months old. For the past week and a half, he has been barely eating, and ever since I put him in his new cage, he has barely drank anything either. I have tried a ton of different feeders and he will only eat hornworms and wax worms. He wont eat crickets, super worms, Dubia roaches, or fly larvae. I originally thought he was just bored of eating crickets and super worms but he will only eat hornworms and waxworms. As for water, I mist ~3 times a day and I have a dripper going all day, dripping on multiple leaves before reaching the bottom of the cage. Any ideas?

Hi there. The cage is very bare. Need to add more foliage. You are also using the incorrect UVB for him. He needs a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 UVB bulb. With basking sitting 10 inches below the new UVB fixture. Both of these will effect appetite. Being moved into a new cage will as well. If he has never been tested for parasites this can effect appetite as well.

https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/

 

[kinyonga]

What's the basking temperature? The temperature in the rest of the cage?

 

[ausbork]

How often do you feed him hornworms and wax worms

I only just started feeding him them two days ago because he wouldn’t eat anything else. So I’ve fed him them for 2 days

 

[ausbork]

What's the basking temperature? The temperature in the rest of the cage?

Basking temp is ~88 and ambient is ~72

 

[ausbork]

Hi there. The cage is very bare. Need to add more foliage. You are also using the incorrect UVB for him. He needs a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 UVB bulb. With basking sitting 10 inches below the new UVB fixture. Both of these will effect appetite. Being moved into a new cage will as well. If he has never been tested for parasites this can effect appetite as well.

https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/

I have the t5 linear bulb, I Just need the hood before I can use it. I am working on more foliage, I just don’t know what plants to get that are big enough. If you have any suggestions for plants, that would be great.

 

[Beman]

I have the t5 linear bulb, I Just need the hood before I can use it. I am working on more foliage, I just don’t know what plants to get that are big enough. If you have any suggestions for plants, that would be great.

The compact bulbs will cause health issues such as MBD. I would get the hood as soon as possible and make sure the bulb you got is a 5.0 and nothing stronger for a single fixture.

The link I gave you has how to set up the cage and has info on plants that can be used with Veileds.

 

[ausbork]

The compact bulbs will cause health issues such as MBD. I would get the hood as soon as possible and make sure the bulb you got is a 5.0 and nothing stronger for a single fixture.

The link I gave you has how to set up the cage and has info on plants that can be used with Veileds.

I am working on getting a hood. And yes it is 5.0. I’ll check out the link

 

[ausbork]

The compact bulbs will cause health issues such as MBD. I would get the hood as soon as possible and make sure the bulb you got is a 5.0 and nothing stronger for a single fixture.

The link I gave you has how to set up the cage and has info on plants that can be used with Veileds.

I didn’t realize there were different sizes when I bought my t5 5.0 linear bulb, so the one I have is about 35 inches. I can’t find any hoods that are big enough for that. Do you have a hood you could recommend?

 

[Beman]

I didn’t realize there were different sizes when I bought my t5 5.0 linear bulb, so the one I have is about 35 inches. I can’t find any hoods that are big enough for that. Do you have a hood you could recommend?

So the T5Ho bulbs come 2 inches shorter then the fixture length. Yours should say the length it is on the package. Then you want to search for a fixture that is a T5HO fixture and is 2 inches longer then your bulb.

Looks like your cage is a 2 foot wide though correct? If so you really want a 24 inch fixture and a 22 inch bulb.

 

[ausbork]

So the T5Ho bulbs come 2 inches shorter then the fixture length. Yours should say the length it is on the package. Then you want to search for a fixture that is a T5HO fixture and is 2 inches longer then your bulb.

Looks like your cage is a 2 foot wide though correct? If so you really want a 24 inch fixture and a 22 inch bulb.

Okay thanks. I went out and bought a big golden pathos plant and put it in the cage. Is it still too barren?

 

[dakota18]

yeah its better but i would say in my opinion definitely more branches and add some horizontal ones near the bottom and middle, i would add more yeah

 

[ausbork]

yeah its better but i would say in my opinion definitely more branches and add some horizontal ones near the bottom and middle, i would add more yeah

Okay Ill add more horizontal branches

 

[Vert340]

Does he look dehydrated? If he doesn't than not seeing him drink isn't an issue. Most of the time they'll sneakily drink when you aren't watching. I've only seen my chameleon drink water like 4 times. Also since you said he is eating hornworms chances are they are keeping him hydrated. Hornworms are great for hydration! If he doesn't look dehydrated then you shouldn't worry about it.

As for the not eating issue thats a hard one since each chameleon is different. Have you tried not feeding your little dude hornworms and wax worms for a few days and seeing if he eats other feeders?

 

[ausbork]

Does he look dehydrated? If he doesn't than not seeing him drink isn't an issue. Most of the time they'll sneakily drink when you aren't watching. I've only seen my chameleon drink water like 4 times. Also since you said he is eating hornworms chances are they are keeping him hydrated. Hornworms are great for hydration! If he doesn't look dehydrated then you shouldn't worry about it.

As for the not eating issue thats a hard one since each chameleon is different. Have you tried not feeding your little dude hornworms and wax worms for a few days and seeing if he eats other feeders?

His eyes are a little sunken in, I don’t think its too bad. It’s gotten better since he started eating hornworms (that’s why I got them), so good thing he actually eats them.
If I only leave him with the other feeders, he will MAYBE eat one a day. So i’m thinking maybe he’s bored of them? But that wouldn’t make very much sense because he wont eat any of the new feeders I got either :/

 

[Beman]

Okay thanks. I went out and bought a big golden pathos plant and put it in the cage. Is it still too barren?

Your getting there... Take a look at this link. I really think everything on it will really assist you in setting it up to the best it can be. https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/

I highly recommend Dragon strand ledges as well. It will allow you to hook in branches higher.
https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/