werners cham stopped eating...

wonder_chunky · 07-13-02, 03:33 PM

hey,

my werners chameleon hasnt eaten anything for about a week (except for 2 mealworms) she wont touch the crickets in her cage and i've offered her meal worms every day (which she loves) but i've only gotten 2 into her in the past week!....but besides that she seems 100% healthy!.....also...she is super fat...so i have a hunch...about 7 months ago she had 13 babies, is it possible for them to retain sperm?? because if they can i think it's the right amount of time to be having the babies, because she is very fat, and stopped eating (another sign that she'll have babies soon).
so does it sound to anyone else like shes going to have babies? or am i just crazy?

thanks,

Jaylyn · 07-13-02, 07:50 PM

Hi Ryan!

It is possible she has retained sperm - but I'm not sure on the viability of the babies. It is possible they will be passed as slugs. Even among the egg bearers - viability of the eggs is reduced with retained sperm. But, hopefully.....

Werner's are said to have one clutch a year (not much research has been done on them b/c most specimens are wild caught).

I would avoid the mealworms right now as they are harder for her to digest. Keep offering her the crickets - but if she is gravid and won't eat this is normal. Keep her humidity high (especially if you're temps are high - we're going through a heat wave here) - high humidity will help prevent dehydration. But, really water her!! I've found with my veiled her water requirements are higher close to egg laying time. If the female is dehydrated - the eggs or babies may become somewhat 'sticky' and be difficult to pass. Give her water through a dripper several times a day, mist her and I would even throw her in the shower. I use a pump-garden sprayer and water them for half an hour in the tub (on a fiscus tree). I fill it with hot water - so it's warm when it gets to her.

If she's not gravid - that's another story. Most hunger strikes are due to husbandry conditions. I have a rescued veiled who was on a hunger strike from April - the end of June (so I've been there!). Re-check everything: humidity, heat, lighting, any source of stress you can think of, offer different feeders (catch some moths, flies or grasshopers from a safe place), check her hydration (they will often stop eating if their water requirements are not met), does she have lots of cover so she feels secure ... and on and on.

If she's not gravid - a vet visit is in order. Tongue problems (from under/over supplementation or injury/infection), parasites, respirtory infection, etc. Note her fecals (catch a sample in a plastic zipper bag with a damp paper towel and get it to the vet ASAP) - and the frequency.

I've got lots of tips for a seemingly healthy cham to eat - if you need them. Sorry for rambling - just trying to think of anything in this head of mine!

I'll try to do some more digging on the retained sperm thing. But, I hope it's babies!! Get those fruit fly cultures and pinheads ready!! And let us know what happens!

Jaylyn

Jaylyn · 07-13-02, 08:22 PM

Ryan,

One thing that's fairly easy to do (if you don't have a handy supply of green grasshoppers) - is dust a cricket with spirulina powder (bright green, available at the health food store). It's pricey - but called for in the Adcham gutload recipe - so you can use it afterwards. Sometimes that bright, green colour will entice a picky eater.

Also, try removing the crickets for awhile before offering them again. If you leave them in for too long - they may be biting her at night (I always take them out at night just in case) causing her stress and then refusing to eat. A superworm bit my male once and he was terrified of them for a couple months.

Make sure you're not oversupplementing as well. A build-up of vitamins can cause anorexia. This was one factor in my male's hunger strike. If your bugs are getting a good gutload - calcium & vitamin D3 twice a week for a gravid female and growing chams and once a week for others. Once a month with the multivitamin. If you're using the Walk About gutload and supplements - follow their directions.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious - just rambling again!

Jaylyn

Jaylyn · 07-14-02, 09:10 AM

Did a little digging on the livebearers retaining sperm - all I could find out is that they have the ability to retain sperm, but there are no reported cases of them actually retaining enough to produce a second viable clutch.

Jaylyn

wonder_chunky · 07-14-02, 09:32 AM

thanks so much!....you really went out of your way for this post..lol

well she has lots of space, she can hide if she wants to (although she eats from my hand sometimes, so i doubt she wants to hide, i spray her quite alot and i've seen her drink, she doesnt look dehydrated at all, her cage has very good ventalation so i dont think thered be any respitory diseases, umm...i'll try offering some grasshoppers (if i find some) and i'll give her some flies and moths too...it would be nice if she had some babies though! i doubt she has tounge problems because she ate a mealworm yesterday (or was it the day before???) and her tounge looked/worked fine to me...and other than the not eating thing....she seems perfectly healthy! so i hope it's babies...even if the babies are just "slugs" that would mean that she's ok...because she was my very first chameleon that got me into herps!

thanks so much for your help...i'll tell you what happens...

Jaylyn · 07-14-02, 02:07 PM

No problem! These guys can really tug at your strings!! My male, Zeus, did the hunger strike thing (we did months of fine tuning husbandry and tried almost every feeder we could think of - not to mention the vet bills!) - it can get stressful at times!! You know they have you hooked when you find yourself making bug juice!! I really hope she's gravid, too! That would be neat!

Take Care,
Jaylyn