Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I JUST received my baby veiled chameleon. Hes about 5 wks old. But how do i get him to eat? I have a cup at the bottom for crickets but he doesnt go near it. Should i take him out of the cage and feed him somewhere else? Please help

Thanx

how long has the cup been there? they usually find it eventually. you can also just put a bug on a vine close to him.

-jonathan

What size cage do you have him in? Chameleons usually don't go to the bottom of the cage. So you could try suspending the cup higher up in the cage. Somewhere along his normal routes where he'll see it and hopefully investigate. Or go without the cup and release the food items in his cage and let him hunt.

exactly what i was thinking you really need the cup mid height in the tank cos they rarely go to the bottom of the vivs also if u have a young cham u'll need a smallish cage so he can find the food easier.
-----
4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther

____

Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

Ya i had him in a pretty big cage, i didnt know he would be THIS small. So i took him out of that one and put him into a 10 gallon tank with a screen top. Hes just been put in there so hes kind of stressed but hell probably warm up to his new home (since its going to be his home for awhile)

Thanks for the advice.

Ask the seller what they fed him. Selling a cham at 5 weeks is not good practice! He's TINY and probably needs fruit flies to feed on for quite a while as well as pinhead crix. Some babies prefer one or the other. Be really careful with the tank...it is easy to overheat them in tanks, and use a very fine mister when spraying. Babies that young can drown trying to deal with larger water droplets that cover their heads and snouts. There are some good articles on baby care at http://www.chameleonnews.com you should read.