Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been hand feeding my young veiled for a month or so when he sudenly refuced eating and got scared every time I tried to approach feeding him with a cricket in hand.He used to focus on the prey item when I offered one and every moving object within a range of 6in really got him excited and curious.Now when he sees my hand he runs hiding.Is it anything known for chameleons loosing appetide for a period or so and then return back to normal?He really doesn't look skinny though but gets me really worried

Have you tried letting your chameleon catch its food on its own without handfeeding it? It might be all it takes to get it eating again. It may just be that its scared of you.

As chameleons reach maturity, their appetite should decrease somewhat...especially for the males. Seasonal changes can cause fluctuations in appetite too. Illness is another cause for appetite loss....but lets just hope that the reason is that its scared of you. Don't panic yet!

Unfortunally I can't let loose crickets in my enclosure as my front mesh is too wide and they could escape,I can't find out what method most keepers use,just let loose a bunch of crickets in the appropiate 'meshed' terrarium and check them every once in a while or even let them overnight?I would appriciate if you gave me some details on this aspect,
thanks

Place a small plastic cup or tub-a-ware container in the bottom of the cage to put the crickets in instead of hand feeding, or throwing them free in The cage. Watch and see if he takes them from there. I do this while also placing a few in the cage freely to give him somthing to hunt, sitting in a cage all day cant be to exciting.

Try silkworms for a change. They can't run away on you and they are really healthy.

Mine don't even swallow before shooting a second one.

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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

How old is he? Sometimes as their hormones start coming on line they get moody and a bit nerous. He knows he's not an adult yet, so he may start feeling intimidated by things that didn't bother him as a baby. You can put feeders in a plastic box or bin in the cage so he can come shoot from the rim of the box, but the insects can't escape the cage.