NOT EATING (Please help)

NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby neill » Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:58 am

Hi

My veil haven't eaten in two weeks now he is 9 months old, and sits at the bottem of the cage every day in the sun. Basking area is between 29 & 32 deg, uv light is a 5.0 and is about 3 months old, i installed a waterfall and a fogging system that all works off a timer. He use to love crickets a lot and loved to be hand fed but now if you open the cage he runs away or will sit and look at you and his face and horn turn dark black, for the past two weeks he is been sh*tting because the floor has got dropping on, i must say that if he is not sitting on the floor he cruises around in the cage :smt017 :smt017
Hope that he is not sick :smt009 :smt009
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby Cornelius » Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:49 pm

Neill contact David, maybe you can take it to him for a once over.
There is something that is much more scarce, something finer by far , something rarer than ability.
It is the Ability to recognise Ability

http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Rand-Herpetological-Association/125756994130804?v=photos#!/pages/West-Rand-Herpetological-Association/125756994130804
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby Chameleons » Tue Sep 08, 2009 2:19 pm

Any chance of posting a picture or sending one by e-mail? The waterfall and fogging system are 'nice to haves' but depending on how they are setup are not ideal for providing water.

Eyes sunken? Legs bent? Ankles swollen?

Try silkworms or waxworms, they often excite chameleons. Also try medium sized praying mantis, silkmoths, grasshoppers, anything new to his diet. What did he eat before he went off his food? Just crickets or was he eating mealworms?

Is this your only chameleon?

Have you changed anything in his cage? Position, content? When did the waterfall go in?

Might sound like a silly question but ....Is it definitely a male?

How long have you had him? No obvious signs of injuries, burns etc?

Lots of questions but maybe something will emerge that will give someone a clue on how to help.
etc etc
David
http://www.sa-chameleons.com
See photos of Malaysian insects on my Facebook page: Exotic Insects
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Exotic Chameleons in South Africa, care and breeding by David Haggett also available from Amazon
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby QtCreaCha » Wed Sep 09, 2009 1:06 am

Dave, will you supply the medium sized praying mantisis's??? for us?? HAHA! I'd like to see that!

Sorry to hear neill, check for any hidden bats...No, I'm only kidding things like that only happen in my home! Good luck, hope all turns out ok, they sure know how to stress us out completely!
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby neill » Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:59 am

Hi David

Ok to me the eyes,ankle and legs look fine. I had him on the bed last night and he was checking everything out in the room with those big eyes and then started running to the side of the bed i never new that a chameleon can run that fast, as far as food yes he was on cricket and one day i gave him two mealworms witch he ate that i hand fed him but you could see that no i dont like that.This is my only chameleon, i have moved the cage to the other side of the room but he was already not eating before i moved him and yes when i got him at 4months old he already had a burned patch on his back just behind his neck and then i saw the photos of QTCREACHA chameleon and read everything and found that my basking light was to close to the branch and i arranged the hole setup and he was fine with that, accualy very happy, yes David he is a male and i have had him for 5months now and in this time he shedded twice with no problems, just dont spray him with water then he is highly the moer in with you for a wile but then he calms down,the funny part is i have never seen him on the floor but recently he is more on the floor than in the trees and branches
I personely think that it is the waterfall that i installed because i sat last night and worked back to the time when i installed the waterfall that is when he stared behaving strangely.i fed him three extra large crickets last night with a moer of a gesukkel but yes when the cricket is in his mouth and he chews on it you can acctualy see that this bugger is hungry .

Thanks for the help so far
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby Chameleons » Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:09 pm

Did he shoot and eat the 3 crickets on his own or did you 'assist' him? Are you spraying him as well as using the waterfall? I wouldn't think that a burn 4 months ago would affect him now. I have seen healthy males that seem to want to sit on the floor rather than climb but it is not enitrely normal! Does he have much grip in his feet?

A week or so without any food at all is not necessarily a problem, so long as there is ample water. It sounds like he has eaten during this period but just not very much.

Could you post a photo of the chameleon and one of the cage?

Definitely try different food. And ...... I might supply medium size mantis if there is a call for them! So far I only breed enough for my chameleons but it would not be a major issue to breed more. However, (that is a with a large H), as they would take several weeks to become medium sized and need to be kept individually, the price might not be attractive. Better to breed your own - see the web site for how. I could be persuaded to sell pairs - some ootheca will produce a few hundred nymphs. But that is off the subject of Neil's Veiled.....

Try silkworms - much easier to get hold of!

Hope all goes well.
David
www-sa-chameleons.com
See photos of Malaysian insects on my Facebook page: Exotic Insects
Breeding Insects as feeder food by David Haggett now available from Amazon
Exotic Chameleons in South Africa, care and breeding by David Haggett also available from Amazon
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby neill » Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:54 am

Hi David

Thanks for all the help so far no from the first day that i got him i had to help him eat as he would go and sit at the feeding bole and battle to shoot the crickets and even when i hand fed him he will shoot and miss but after a wile i started to get the hang of it and moved my hand and when the tong came out i would just stick the cricket on it for him and he would eat, like i said he use to run to the door and wait for me to open and feed him. Yes i do mist the cage completely in the morning and in the late afternoon so that the hummidity rise to about 80 and in the afternoon i see that the hummidity is about 40 to 50, yes he has a lot of grip is his feet as my arm is full of pinch mark from the other night when he cruised on my arm and head. where can i get some silkworms
David please check you pm
Thanks
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby Chameleons » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:02 am

Neil
It is good that the humidity is high but is there water dripping from the leaves; on the other hand if the cage doesn't have good ventilation, humidity is not so good and could lead to mouth rot and respiratory issues. I am not suggesting that these are the cause of the problems here - in itself humidity may not be a good indicator of hydration, although you spray twice daily. The situation is complicated by the fact that your male has always had feeding issues, which might indicate a tongue problem. It may be that you will need to refer to a vet.

I'll discuss this further with you via pm and ordinary e-mail after I have seen the photos.
See photos of Malaysian insects on my Facebook page: Exotic Insects
Breeding Insects as feeder food by David Haggett now available from Amazon
Exotic Chameleons in South Africa, care and breeding by David Haggett also available from Amazon
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby neill » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:08 am

Thanks David

Will forward you the photo asap
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Re: NOT EATING (Please help)

Postby QtCreaCha » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:21 am

:-)
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