Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was given a senegal about 5 months ago and he/she was eating really well. In the last couple of weeks, he has not been eating much. However he drinks all the time and tilts his head way up right after. I have a sneaking suspicion that he is really a she. I don't feel any eggs, but I never really felt them in my beardie either. Any ideas as to what may be going on? Temps are fine, but the cage could be a little larger maybe.

Has there been a change in room temp or length of daylight visible from a window? Even though chams have their own day cycles in the cage they do respond to seasonal variation in daylight that they detect through windows. Many species slow down their eating habits in our winter. How old is your UV light? If it's been used for 6 months it is time to replace it. You may only be able to detect an egg clutch early on by weighing the cham every week. Fairly fast weight gain could mean an infertile clutch. I think most species only cut back on eating when they are REALLY gravid and you would probably see that. Maybe getting bored with the food? Any changes in activity around the cage or new views of stressors? Drinking more than usual? Dehydrated chams don't eat as much. Just ideas. Also, chams can easily go a week without eating much at all.

In case it is a she, I would put a container of sand in the
cage with it in case it is carrying eggs. Not providing an egg-
laying female with a place to lay her eggs can cause eggbinding.
Having a container of sand in the cage with a male (should it
not turn out to be a female) won't be a problem. In the interest
of not taking up your whole cage, the container only needs to be
slightly bigger than the chameleon would fit into if the
container was empty. If it really is a female and she starts to
dig, you can put her into a bigger container then.

If you post a picture so that the base of the tail is clear,
I might be able to tell you if its a male or female.

The season might be causing it to not eat as much.

You said...it "tilts his head way up right after"...has
it always done this or is it something new?

You said that the temps are fine...what temperature do you have
the cage at? Do you have a basking area? Do you have a UV light?

My temps are about 90 in basking and 82-85 ambient. I have a basking and a uv light. The uv is about 5 months old, I just ordered new ones. The head tilting is a new behavior. I am moving him into a bigger enclosure in a room with less traffic. I also got him some appetite stimulant. I'm afraid he may have something in his throat. I called every stupid "exotic" vet in the phonebook and none of them will see chameleons. I have tried to get him to open his mouth, but he won't. He won't even try to bite me. Any ideas how to get him to open his mouth? I don't want to stress him too much, especially since he has not eaten in a couple weeks.

Some chameleons will hold their head up high after they have
been drinking and it can be perfectly normal. It seems to help
them deal with the water. However, if they get too much water
all at once or if some of the water has gone into the
lungs it will hold its head up too.

Why do you think he may have something in his throat?
Do you have a substrate in the cage? Do you have a live plant in
the cage? Could it have ingested anything that it shouldn't have?
If you have a live or fake plant in the cage, did you wash it
well before you put it in?

Did you put a container of sand in the cage in case it is a
female?

You said that it won't even try to bite you, would it try this
when you first got it? It must open its mouth when its
drinking...you could try slipping something in
between its teeth while its mouth is open then. Be careful
though...you don't want to hurt its teeth or mouth. I have
heard of people using one of those flexible
(kitchen) spatulas....but don't use it for food after if you do!

Be careful that you don't stress it out too much. Some senegals
just can't take a lot of "attention".

Hope all turns out to be "nothing"!