Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everybody!
Ok i bought my first Chameleon about 3 months ago. His name is Toka and he is a sunburst veiled. I bought him when he was about 4 months old, or so im told. At first he would eat alot right out of my hand. but over the last few weeks he has refused to eat out of my hand and i have only seen him eat a couple of times out of his feeder. He appears to be in good health, maby a little skinny, but i dont really have anything to compare him too so i cant tell if he really is skinny or if its just me. He is in a 24x24x48" screen cage with alot of fake plants and branches. The humidity is about 70% most of the time and i have a Mercury Vapor bulb called "capture the sun" from Big Apple Herp about 8inches above his cage. Whenever i open the cage he litterally runs out to my hand and crawls ontop of my head. My question is what would cause a Cham that had no problem eating out of my hand to stop eating nearly altogeather, or so it seems? Should i take a fecal to the vet? Could it be a supplement thing? Also his crest seems to be develoing unevenly like there are waves in it. Does anyone know what is happening there? The cage is a good 2 feet off the ground so i dont think it is a security issue. I just need to figure out how to get him eating more. Thanks for your help
~Bryan~

He is probably maturing now. Veileds usualy mature and their attitude changes around 6 months. Is he getting agressive or his behavior chaging around you?

Do you give a varity of foods? try some wax worms, meal worms, super worms, silkworms, veggies, or roaches. Do not feed any of these except for silkworms as a regular food though. They are great treats and keep a chameleons appitite big. they get bord of the same foods all the time.

I really dont know what to tell you about his casque. could just be how it developes, I've seen some ugly casques. but I'm bias to my beautiful cham so it could be just me. Maybe if you could post a pic of it someone could tell you if its normal.
-----
From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Sounds like your guy is hitting puberty- thats just what Chams do. We have a 8 month od veild who does the same thing. Was all docile and now wont eat from out hand, freaks if we put our hand in the cage even. I'm replying because of your casque (sp?) question. Our veilds is doing the same thing. I think that this is normal for some. Ours is healthy and happy (as far as chameleons can be happy) So I dont think you have anything to worry about. You should try putting up a pic of your guy to see what the "experts" here say. They'll help you out if you need.

I'm putting a pic of our Sanchoz's casque so you can see how un even it is.

Christa

1.0 Veild chameleon (Sanchoz)
1.0 Rottweiler (Raum)
1.0 cat (Roach)
0.1.1 Budgies (Bird'O and "nameless"

So puberty sounds like the cause? What a relief! Toka's casque is different looking than the one in the pic. I'll try to post a pic tonight. Toka has not become agressive or anything, he acts completely the way he did when i first got him except he wont eat out of my hand. Im going to take him to the vet for a check up anyway. thanks again and ill post the pic tonight. if anyone else has any ideas please let me know.
~Bryan~

He may also be getting bored with the food. Offer him something to hunt down (moths, houseflies, loose crix), put the feeder dish in different spots, make sure he's exercising his tongue, and cut back how much you feed him per day.