Young veiled Cham not eating much anymore.

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

I just took my baby veiled to the vet for a check up and was told the stool sample was negative for parasites and waiting in X-ray results now. When I first brought my Cham home, I had no trouble with hand feeding crickets and horn worms. Now I offer two crickets in a bowl and my Cham has no interest. I got different food options on the way. Some fly larvae and also small Dubia roaches. I’m at a loss and new at this. I’m worried something is wrong.

 

[BostonKeith]

Maybe suck of crickets? Have you tried hornworms? I would suggest to fill out a husbandry form. It can be found in health section of forums under "How to ask for help". This will give us a better idea of whats going on husbandry wise. Never hurts to get another opinion! If you need help getting form just pm.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

@kinyonga my Cham was eating horn worms but then a couple weeks ago I tried and my Cham (still don’t know if it’s male or female) wouldn’t touch it. Although, my Cham just literally ate a house fly that got into the cage minutes ago…

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, I’m not sure if it’s male or female, been in my care since 6/27/22 and I believe it’s about 6 months. Still pretty small.
• Handling - Not often at all. Only a few times since I’ve had it.
• Feeding - When I first brought Rexy home, I gave mealworms and crickets dusted with calcium. I read young chameleons can eat 8-10 crickets a day so I gave half in the morning and half in the evening. I gave hornworms as treats. I then read that mealworms weren’t very nutritious and started gut loading crickets by placing slices of potatoes, apple and oranges in the cricket keeper. I was dusting once a month with the vitamins as well.
• Supplements - Reptical and a multivitamin
• Watering - I have a dripper and I mist for two minutes with a fogger in the morning thirty minutes before I turn lights on and then again at night 30 minutes after I shut lights off. I also lightly mist once in the afternoon.
• Fecal Description - Solid with white urades. A couple weeks ago I did see a couple that had more orange in it but I saw a recent one in there today that looked more white but the poop looked runny.
• History -

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 24 X 48 screen enclosure from Repti-Breeze.
• Lighting - High output UVB light bar and heat bulb I got from a starter Repti-breeze kit. My Cham gets 12 hours of light a day.
• Temperature - I have a thermometer in the basking spot and it ranges between 80-85. I have a Hygrometer lower in the enclosure and that temp is around 75, humidity is between 65-70 during the day and 72-75 at night.
• Humidity - 65-70 during the day and 72-75 at night. Misting, live plants and a fogger
• Plants - all live plants, pathos
• Placement - cage is located in the living room and top of cage is 48 inches from the floor. There’s one ceiling fan but not directly over the cage it’s off to the left.
• Location - I’m in Edwards, California

Current Problem - Not eating much lately. Not showing much interest in the crickets. My Cham did eat a house fly that found its way in the enclosure

 

[kinyonga]

Male veileds have tarsal Spurs...females don't ...
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

Supplements should be phos free calcium at all feedings but 2 a month. On those 2 days dust with a vitamin powder that has a prEformed vitamin A and D3. A all dustings should be done lightly.
For feeding/gutloading insects, I'd use a wide assortment of greens such as dandelions, kale, collards, mustard greens, etc and veggies such as sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, squash, carrots, etc. and a small amount of fruit such as apples, pears, berries.
Possibly the evening feeding of the insects is slowing it's digestion down and making it less hungry.

If it's a female, it's important to control its diet and basking temperature so it will be less likely to produce huge clutches and have reproductive issues....and you'll need a lay bin in the cage ASAP.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

@kinyonga i tried to ask the vet but she said they are very hard to tell the sec at such a young age. I thought I saw tarsal spurs but now I'm not so sure. I do have a lay bin at the bottom of the enclosure just in case. Could you share pictures of the supplements you use?

 

[kinyonga]

I need to be able to see the back of the back foot more clearly to tell the sex. You can sex the veileds the day they're born as a rule.

I don't use the supplements most people use (I'm very old school) so I'll ask @Beman or @MissSkittles to post photos ...or anyone else who wants to.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi! While I can’t be certain without a clear pic of the back of the back feet, I think you may have a little girl. Pic below of the tarsal spur and pattern of my guy when he was about 4 months old.
I do notice a few things to be improved upon in your husbandry. Adding more variety of feeders and what you feed them is one. Attaching graphics. You should decrease your temps a bit. For young chameleons and girls it’s best to keep basking temp no higher than 80. I would suggest raising your basking light off the screen by at least a couple of inches since young chams like to walk along the top screen and can easily get burned.
Then your humidity needs to come down. Ideal during the day is between 30-50%. Use of a fogger/humidifier should only ever be at night and then only if your night time temps drop well below 68-70. High heat + high humidity increase risks for respiratory infection.
For supplements, I do it in a way which is easiest for me. At every feeding I lightly dust with Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3. One feeding every other week I dust with Zoo Med ReptiVite with D3.
Your enclosure looks great! I do have to ask if you washed and rinsed off the plant leaves well. I’d raise it off the floor. Height = safety for chams. I hope I’ve been of some help.

 

[BostonKeith]

Surprised noone has mentioned lighting yet . Your going to need a 24inch t5 ho with a 6% or 12% bulb. I would also recommend removing that daylightbulb that came with the kit. A incandescent bulb works great for basking.

 

[MissSkittles]

Surprised noone has mentioned lighting yet . Your going to need a 24inch t5 ho with a 6% or 12% bulb. I would also recommend removing that daylightbulb that came with the kit. A incandescent bulb works great for basking.

If you look closely at the pic, you can see what appears to be a T5 going diagonally. Good catch though!

 

[Beman]

Lighting - High output UVB light bar and heat bulb I got from a starter Repti-breeze kit.

Please tell me specifics on this. Is it a T5HO and what bulb strength? Also what is the distance from the bottom of the fixture to the highest branches below it?

• Feeding - When I first brought Rexy home, I gave mealworms and crickets dusted with calcium. I read young chameleons can eat 8-10 crickets a day so I gave half in the morning and half in the evening. I gave hornworms as treats. I then read that mealworms weren’t very nutritious and started gut loading crickets by placing slices of potatoes, apple and oranges in the cricket keeper. I was dusting once a month with the vitamins as well.
• Supplements - Reptical and a multivitamin

So you want to feed in the morning. This gives them the entire day to digest. Feeders should be very lightly dusted and not look like powdered donuts. Can you tell me what supplements your using now and how often you give those?

Placement - cage is located in the living room and top of cage is 48 inches from the floor. There’s one ceiling fan but not directly over the cage it’s off to the left.

So with this you want to raise the cage up off the ground onto a table. Chams do not like being low to a floor. It is not natural for them and can cause stress.

 

[BostonKeith]

It looks wierd for a t5 with some venting in the corner. Almost makes me think led light bar. Its also still small and not spanning the length of cage. Im interested to know what it is though!

 

[BostonKeith]

Had to figure it out and im pretty sure its the reptisun ho led uvb setup in 14 inch.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

Hi! While I can’t be certain without a clear pic of the back of the back feet, I think you may have a little girl. Pic below of the tarsal spur and pattern of my guy when he was about 4 months old.
I do notice a few things to be improved upon in your husbandry. Adding more variety of feeders and what you feed them is one. Attaching graphics. You should decrease your temps a bit. For young chameleons and girls it’s best to keep basking temp no higher than 80. I would suggest raising your basking light off the screen by at least a couple of inches since young chams like to walk along the top screen and can easily get burned.
Then your humidity needs to come down. Ideal during the day is between 30-50%. Use of a fogger/humidifier should only ever be at night and then only if your night time temps drop well below 68-70. High heat + high humidity increase risks for respiratory infection.
For supplements, I do it in a way which is easiest for me. At every feeding I lightly dust with Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3. One feeding every other week I dust with Zoo Med ReptiVite with D3.
Your enclosure looks great! I do have to ask if you washed and rinsed off the plant leaves well. I’d raise it off the floor. Height = safety for chams. I hope I’ve been of some help.
View attachment 327962
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View attachment 327965

Hi! While I can’t be certain without a clear pic of the back of the back feet, I think you may have a little girl. Pic below of the tarsal spur and pattern of my guy when he was about 4 months old.
I do notice a few things to be improved upon in your husbandry. Adding more variety of feeders and what you feed them is one. Attaching graphics. You should decrease your temps a bit. For young chameleons and girls it’s best to keep basking temp no higher than 80. I would suggest raising your basking light off the screen by at least a couple of inches since young chams like to walk along the top screen and can easily get burned.
Then your humidity needs to come down. Ideal during the day is between 30-50%. Use of a fogger/humidifier should only ever be at night and then only if your night time temps drop well below 68-70. High heat + high humidity increase risks for respiratory infection.
For supplements, I do it in a way which is easiest for me. At every feeding I lightly dust with Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3. One feeding every other week I dust with Zoo Med ReptiVite with D3.
Your enclosure looks great! I do have to ask if you washed and rinsed off the plant leaves well. I’d raise it off the floor. Height = safety for chams. I hope I’ve been of some help.
View attachment 327962
View attachment 327963View attachment 327964
View attachment 327965

@MissSkittles very helpful, thank you!! Here are some clear pictures of the back foot.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

Had to figure it out and im pretty sure its the reptisun ho led uvb setup in 14 inch.

@BostonKeith it is a high output UVB light. Although I probably need a longer one since I just got a bigger enclosure.

 

[MissSkittles]

@MissSkittles very helpful, thank you!! Here are some clear pictures of the back foot.

The pics are clear, but gender is not (at least to me). In a couple of pics it does look to be a tarsal spur, but in the others there is none. Do you ever see patterns of vertical bars like in the pic of my guy?

 

[MzLaurie11]

I believe your guy is a girl. Orange urate usually means dehydration with crystalized urine. Also eyes look sunken in which is also dehydration. Try cleaning out the waterbottle and the fogger. I. Use a special disinfectant i got from my vet but a good soak in a sink of wTer with 3% bleach will kill off the bacteria. then use destilled after that. Now i have never owned a girl so members with that experience need to advise. Possible lay bin may be needed but the xrays do not show eggs. It may also be molting time. At 6 months the process changes. The hornworms should help with the dehtdration but if she isnt eating them there is an issue. Also it may be that she wants to hunt on her own with no hand feeding. Mine quit taking food from me at 5 months. When in doubt, i always start with a good cleaning of everything. I wish i could be of more help. My boy had a dehydration issue so i started giving him water with a syringe. But this takes a lot if patience and you can easily get water in the airway if u dont know what u r doing so i dont recommend it. after two months he finally sticks his tongue out and gets the drips of water. Also change the lights right away. rePtisun 24" with 22" bulb t5 ho works good.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

I believe your guy is a girl. Orange urate usually means dehydration with crystalized urine. Also eyes look sunken in which is also dehydration. Try cleaning out the waterbottle and the fogger. I. Use a special disinfectant i got from my vet but a good soak in a sink of wTer with 3% bleach will kill off the bacteria. then use destilled after that. Now i have never owned a girl so members with that experience need to advise. Possible lay bin may be needed but the xrays do not show eggs. It may also be molting time. At 6 months the process changes. The hornworms should help with the dehtdration but if she isnt eating them there is an issue. Also it may be that she wants to hunt on her own with no hand feeding. Mine quit taking food from me at 5 months. When in doubt, i always start with a good cleaning of everything. I wish i could be of more help. My boy had a dehydration issue so i started giving him water with a syringe. But this takes a lot if patience and you can easily get water in the airway if u dont know what u r doing so i dont recommend it. after two months he finally sticks his tongue out and gets the drips of water. Also change the lights right away. rePtisun 24" with 22" bulb t5 ho works good.

I just bought the larger T5 HO and I ways use distilled in the dripper and for mistings. I saw my Cham drinking water today off of a leaf and the vet actually said the eyes looked nice and clear and good. Said inside of the mouth looked good too. Never mentioned any dehydration.

 

[KeepNupwithJoneseys]

The pics are clear, but gender is not (at least to me). In a couple of pics it does look to be a tarsal spur, but in the others there is none. Do you ever see patterns of vertical bars like in the pic of my guy?

I don't think I've noticed bright yellow on my Cham. I've seen vibrant green, and then light green with dark green striping

 

[MzLaurie11]

I just bought the larger T5 HO and I ways use distilled in the dripper and for mistings. I saw my Cham drinking water today off of a leaf and the vet actually said the eyes looked nice and clear and good. Said inside of the mouth looked good too. Never mentioned any dehydration.

It must be the pic then. Orange irates usually get better once the crystalized stuff is flushed and not detrimental to health. well u r doing the right things. Maybe shes being a trying teen! Best of luck to you.