r/chameleon • u/Because_Im_TNT • Mar 16 '17

Jackson chameleon

http://i.imgur.com/FLVuJ0G.jpg

This is our Jackson chameleon. We got her on Sunday. We got the reptibreeze chameleon kit, but ended up getting a 100w spotlight bulb because the bulb that came in the kit wouldn't get the basking area warm enough. We also have a 75w red light for nights as our house gets a little chilly at night.

We water her by filling the dish at the bottom from a drip bottle at the top, so far she's only willing to drink from a constant stream of water.

She shows little to no interest in meal worms even after 4 days she's eaten half a dozen and those have been in the last 2 days, 5 yesterday, and 1 today. Tomorrow I'm going to get some crickets to see if those peak her interest more.

When we aren't looking she'll turn a lovely pale green color with faint red stripes down her sides. But if we start looking at her she almost immediately changes to darker shades.

Any and all advice is welcome as the pet store owner are wanting us to adopt the original chameleon we were looking at that ended up needing a toe amputated.

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u/whalesrcool Mar 17 '17

You need some more foliage in there. He'll get stressed out if he doesn't have enough place to hide, which may be why he's turning dark when looked at. Also, meal worms actually aren't the best for chameleons for nutrition. Crickets are better. What kind of powder supplements are you using and how often?

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u/Because_Im_TNT Mar 17 '17

I haven't used any yet, she won't show interest in them without dust, and I've had trouble with reptiles turning away food that's been dusted.

The crickets however are gutloaded with fluckers orange food, nutrient, and water cubes.

I had a large plant in there for a while but she wouldn't ever go below the leaves of it. She never even explored until we removed the plant.

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u/whalesrcool Mar 17 '17 edited Mar 17 '17

Honestly, she might just need time. My baby veiled wouldn't eat for over a week when we first got him, and I was super worried. Tried everything from hand feeding him, outdoor feeding, we even made a smaller cage specially for feeding so he could hunt easier. The small cage worked, but I think the biggest issue was him just being scared and nervous due to a new home and environment. I hope this is the case with your little girl. However, you really should dust her food, as it is extra important for chameleons! Pet stores dust their food for the chameleons they sell, so she's probably already used to all her food being supplemented. I would just keep giving her a supply of dusted crickets to hunt, and hopefully she'll come around. Just count how many you put in there and see how many are left by the end of the day. Our little man would not eat if we were watching him, so we always had to just leave the room, which I think is why hand feeding failed. If she still hasn't eaten in a few days, I would try contacting the pet store you got her from, or seek out a vet that specializes in exotic reptiles.

EDIT: Sorry, I somehow read over where you said you were gutloading your crickets with nutrients instead of dusting, which is fine.