Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased my chameleon at a pet store (i know now) on Nov 12th
since then she has only eaten once....2 superworms. her cage is set up with a 100 watt day bulb(its stays between 85-100)an 8.0 bulb for 12 hours,i mist her 3 times a day,and see that she's drinking,humidity is 50-80%,she has a hiding place , basking place, and feedng place.... i researched and believe im doing good.she has no appitite for crickets yet. and she walks like an old lady,not just slow,but shakey. is this because she may be weak? she will also grab onto her legs thinking its another branch to climb onto,and loses her balance...i am worried

What is the size of the cage? Is it screen or glass? Do you have a dripper for water? Sometimes just misting isn't enough. But when you do mist, how long? The water should come out warmish. Not eating for that long isn't a good sign. But it might just be stressing about new cage. Make sure you have an all screen one, plenty of plants and vines for it to climb on. They rarely go down to the ground, like to be up in the trees. All lights should be off at night for a nice temp drop. Sorry if you've already done all this, just going over the basics. If you've done all that, it sounds like it might be early stages of mbd. But it might not be. Best way to know is to take it to an experenced chameleon vet. For the eating problem, might try getting some silkworms. It most likely was not receiving proper care in the pet store (as I'm sure you've learned now hehe). Hopefully you can get it back to full health and it will live a nice life with you.

thankyou for responding.... she doesn't have a dripper,and i use warm water when i mist(for about2min)i see that she is drinking.
I will try the silk worms... what is mbd? Do you know of a web site i can visit? And is it normal for them to grab onto their own tail our leg and think its a branch??

MBD is metabolic bone disease. This can happen if the cham does not have a source of UVB lighting. Early signs of it are instability while climbing and sometimes grabbing legs instead of vines. If the cham does the leg grabbing a few times a month or year, it's usually nothing to worry about. But if it's doing it everyday, multiple times, it can be a sign of nurilogical damage or mbd (from what I've read).

I'd suggest getting a dripper. Unless you're misting for 15-20 min. 3-4 times a day, the cham might not be getting enough water. I know mine never liked to drink from the leaves much. Prefered the dripping water. You can make one yourself. I used a throughly cleaned and rinsed old 2 liter bottle with a pin hole in the bottom (before I got one from the store, used the bottle for about 3 months) Set it on top of the cage and it will drip thru the screen.

I found this link that has a lot of good info. From looking at it, it seems to have everything correct. /care_sheets/lizards/veiled_chameleon.htm] Click here for the site!

Make sure you have everything set up right. If things don't improve, look for a vet. Right now, to me, it sounds like stress. That could be caused from change, wrong set up, or other pets bothering it (even if they aren't on the cage, even in the same room can stess it).

Most important thing to worry about now is set up and feeding.

Okay, it didn't like how I posted the site for some reason. Here it is
http://[bleep]/care_sheets/lizards/veiled_chameleon.htm

Where the beep is, put in [bleep]

Why in the world they would bleep out the site reptile forums . com is beyond me. Try going a google search for "Veild Chameleon Care"

Thanks, I will research mbd.... I will probably take her back to the store to be checked out by their vet.....but she is 9 months old and should be coordinated enough to go from branch to branch without losing her balance. I have stable branches in her cage, so thats not the problem... i am just worried.I will take her to the vet tonite... thanks for the advice