Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everybody,
I have a mediterrenean cha.
I bought it last day but why i bought is because the shop that i bought form had no water, no food, no light and no heat also he was in a very small cage. He was gonna die if i let him to stay there, so i bought him. I also bought a plant to climb on, i put the plant in a aquarium but half of the plant is out of the aquarium and the top of the aquarium is open...
The problem is feeding, i dont think i can find bugs here in Turkey.
I have these stick food for reptiles, it contains; fish, krill, milk powder, caroten, milk, cuttlefish oil, shrimp powder, soya, fish oil it has something else except fish stuff too but dont know the english word... actually this food looks like mostly contains fish stuff. But the problem is he dont eat these. He was so skinny when i first got it also i couldnt find any bugs and what i did was, i opened him mouth gently (he didnt like it very much) and put the food in it, actually because its a little bit hard it was hard to chew but some of them he ate some of them he couldnt and took out.
My question is, is this harmful to charm? i mean if i cant find any bugs i should do that but i can give meat instead of reptile food too, i can also give the meat with vitamins and minarels... What should i do? But this time i want more answers then before, before just reptayls answered me please, i "BOUGHT" the charmeleon just to help him now u help me too...

Take Care
Selim

ok, here goes. if you mean a veiled chameleon, like from yemen, it will also eat veggies and fruit. like kale, strawberries, blueberries, collard greens, things like that. you can also check out my site, i have a complete care sheet for veileds. as for bugs, he really does need these. try catching some outside, if there's no pesticide being used in the area. anything like grasshoppers, crickets, flies, dragonflies, just about anything will do, as long as it's not toxic. let me know if i can help in any other way...........
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

>>if you mean a veiled chameleon, like from yemen,

.... Nope, Selim says it is a Mediterranean chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleo), and they are indiginous to Turkey. I checked the Petr Necas book and ADCHAM to give him husbandry info.

I suggested moths... easy to catch with a light at night (and a net).
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Yes i dont think mine will eat fruits...
As for the insect, this weekend can be the last week that i can collect lots of insect cuz we will go to our summerhouse and there are lots of insects there. I believe i can get about 30 or more but they will finish easily, my chameleon is too big by the way. Can i breed the grashoopers or crikets?
Also my chameleon closes his eyes at night, is this a problem or is he sleeping?
Also one more question, what is the lifespan of a chameleon? Mine looks like an old guy?

Yes, he is sleeping at night. Chameleons are like birds (when sleeping): their brains are triggered by light. With light on they can't sleep. When it's off, they will sleep. They need to sleep about 12 hours a day.
For the crickets, try this
Put them in a tub with screen for the lid (metal screen)
Feed them veggies and look on www.adcham.com for cricket food recipe. If you can't find all that is in it, just use what you can find (bran, fish food, etc). and use wet paper towell for water. Make sure the towel stays wet (change every day or two) and the veggies don't mould (toxic)
Use a small container full of dirt (plain used for plants is best, or dirt used for lizzards from a pet store) and keep the dirt moist. This is important - if the dirt dries the eggs will die
put container in with crickets. They will mate and lay eggs in the dirt.
After a week remove the dirt container, and place it in a separate tub. Keep the soil moist still (spray lightly with water). After a few weeks you will have baby crickets. Feed them the same as the adults. They will grow to medium size in a few more weeks, and you can feed to your cham.
So you need: 2 tubs, food and water for crickets, crickets, dirt. Pretty easy to do, and they lay a lot of eggs (the eggs look like rice) and you will have lots of food for your cham.
good luck!

OK, i will try this. Thanx

You are going to need lots of insects to feed your cham, so here's a suggestion for setting up breeding colonies. Try contacting companies who breed insects for school classes and teachers, biological supply houses, laboratories, or who produce insects for garden plant pollinators or food for lab animals. You may be able to set up colonies of houseflies, crickets, mealworms, waxworms, silkworms, roaches, and moths.