Help my Panther Chameleon Continued....

My chameleon is a male, nosey be 3 1/2 month old chameleon. His body is about 3 inches and from head to end of tail is about 6 to 7 inches



Ok so here is a copy of my invoice with all the supplies I received:



Screen Chameleon Enclosure 24"L x 12"W x 24"H
Fluorescent Hood - 24" Length
ReptiSun 5.0 UVB/UVA
24" Fluorescent Bulb
Repti Basking Spot Lamp
75 wt. -Double reflector UVA bulb
Zoo Med Little Dripper w/Valve
Misting Bottle
Precision Analog Thermometer
Precision Analog Humidity Gauge
HERPTIVITE
Multi-vitamin with Beta Carotene
REP-CAL - WITH D3
Phosphorous-free calcium carbonate
MINER-ALL - 0


The cage is all screen with a pvc non poreous bottom. There is a swing open door as well as a flip open bottom panel.
The lighting that I am using is what came in the package. I usually have the lights on from about 7am to 9pm daily
The temperature in the cage is about 80 degrees with a basking spot of about 90 degrees
The humidity is at about 30% most of the time but I recently bought a humidifier that I place next to the cage and run that for about 6 hours a day. I also spray the cage with the spray bottle and that will bring the humidity up to about 70%. I spray the cage about 8 to 10 times a day.
I have tree branches that travel from one side of the cage to the other, they reach about 3/4 the way up the cage. I also have fake vines covering those branches. I went to home depot and asked for a non toxic plant that I can use in a reptile cage for climbing, she gave me the Bonsai Braided Money Plant Tree. That plant reaches the top of the cage. I do not have any substrate at the bottom of the cage, I have read that it is best to keep the cage as clean as possible.
I am feeding him flightless fruit flies and the smallest crickets I can get they are about 1/4 of an inch... maybe, they are just small, about the size of the lead tip of a sharpened pencil.....if that helps. When I was cup feeding I was putting about 10 crickets at a time in the cup. Starting at about 7am then I would have to refill the cup again around 6pm. Any remaining crickets were returned to the container at bedtime to re-gutload. On average he was eating about 15-20 crickets a day, not including how ever many friut flies
But now that he refuses to eat from the cup I am putting about 20 crickets in the cage in the mid morning... but he wont have anything to do with them.
I am dusting them with the supplement listed above, there are 3 seperate powders that I dust them in. I dust all the crickets that I place in the cage.

I am spraying the cage down for drinking. like I said, I spray it down about 8 to 10 times a day and I see him drinking regularly. He pooped yesterday and today. The poop is about 1/2 inch, half black and half white. The white part is a little wet/softer than the black part.

He is basking and none of the lighting has any plastic or glass coverings... just exposed bulb... out of the cage of course. He spends most of his time in the tree that I have in the cage. That is placed next to the basking lamp.

I have read that the color changing is caused by mood and not surounding. He has been spending a lot of his time very dark and grey.... especially when he is basking. What does that mean?
Thank you so much for all your responses... I appreciate it so much and will take any help or advise that you have to give me!!!!

Hey Leo,
Here is my advise:

leolover said:

My chameleon is a male, nosey be 3 1/2 month old chameleon. His body is about 3 inches and from head to end of tail is about 6 to 7 inches

Screen Chameleon Enclosure 24"L x 12"W x 24"H
Fluorescent Hood - 24" Length
ReptiSun 5.0 UVB/UVA
24" Fluorescent Bulb
Repti Basking Spot Lamp
75 wt. -Double reflector UVA bulb
Zoo Med Little Dripper w/Valve
Misting Bottle
Precision Analog Thermometer
Precision Analog Humidity Gauge
HERPTIVITE
Multi-vitamin with Beta Carotene
REP-CAL - WITH D3
Phosphorous-free calcium carbonate
MINER-ALL - 0

Your supplies are top notch! is the chameleon come from Kammerflage Kreations? Everything you have is great stuff!


The lighting that I am using is what came in the package. I usually have the lights on from about 7am to 9pm daily
The temperature in the cage is about 80 degrees with a basking spot of about 90 degrees
reduce the on schedule to 12 hours only. so make it turn on from 7 am to 7 pm. Ambient temp is good. Basking spot can be a tad bit lower for young chameleon. try not letting it get hotter than 87. You can increase the heat when he gets bigger


The humidity is at about 30% most of the time but I recently bought a humidifier that I place next to the cage and run that for about 6 hours a day. I also spray the cage with the spray bottle and that will bring the humidity up to about 70%. I spray the cage about 8 to 10 times a day.
8 to 10 times a day is a bit excessive. I generally mist 4 times a day 5 minutes per misting. allow dry time in between misting


I have tree branches that travel from one side of the cage to the other, they reach about 3/4 the way up the cage. I also have fake vines covering those branches. I went to home depot and asked for a non toxic plant that I can use in a reptile cage for climbing, she gave me the Bonsai Braided Money Plant Tree. That plant reaches the top of the cage.
I do not recommend braided money plant tree. Can you find hibiscus, ficus benjamina, or schefflera arboricola for the tree?
make sure you prep the plant before putting it in the cage -see my blog for prepping the plant

I do not have any substrate at the bottom of the cage, I have read that it is best to keep the cage as clean as possible.
I am feeding him flightless fruit flies and the smallest crickets I can get they are about 1/4 of an inch... maybe, they are just small, about the size of the lead tip of a sharpened pencil.....if that helps. When I was cup feeding I was putting about 10 crickets at a time in the cup. Starting at about 7am then I would have to refill the cup again around 6pm. Any remaining crickets were returned to the container at bedtime to re-gutload. On average he was eating about 15-20 crickets a day, not including how ever many friut flies
But now that he refuses to eat from the cup I am putting about 20 crickets in the cage in the mid morning... but he wont have anything to do with them.
I am dusting them with the supplement listed above, there are 3 seperate powders that I dust them in. I dust all the crickets that I place in the cage.

So you fed him 2 times a day and you dusted them with all 3 supplements every feeding? Careful on over supplementing!
here is my schedule of dusting:
MTh herptivite
TF Repcal
WSat minerAll 0
Sun no dusting.

Lightly dust them. don't try to turn your crix into little white ghost. 15 to 20 crix/day is good amount. I remember you told us in your old post that you fed him 30 a day? that is excessive

I am spraying the cage down for drinking. like I said, I spray it down about 8 to 10 times a day and I see him drinking regularly. He pooped yesterday and today. The poop is about 1/2 inch, half black and half white. The white part is a little wet/softer than the black part.
Fecal is good


I have read that the color changing is caused by mood and not surounding. He has been spending a lot of his time very dark and grey.... especially when he is basking. What does that mean?
he gets dark to absorb the heat while basking.

Thank you so much for all your responses... I appreciate it so much and will take any help or advise that you have to give me!!!!

Click to expand...

Since you fed him 30 crix a day, you kind of overfeeding your baby.
You don't need to excessively gave him food and supplements.
Moderation is the key.
I have a feeling that your cham is just not eating because he's too full, he's sick of eating crickets, or he's about to shed.

Hope that helps

It sounds like you did your research and it looks like you're applying it well. I'm not sure you have a problem. Panthers that young are usually black and grey, it takes them quite a few sheds to start showing colors. While some start showing colors early, 5 months or so is about normal. It takes a while for them to aclimate to their new surroundings, which is why he may be darker more than you think he should. But at 3 1/2 months, he's not going to be blue like you see in adults.

Chameleons are aboreal. That means the like to spend most of their time in their "trees" high up. If your cham was sitting at the bottom of the cage, that would definitely indicate a problem.

I suppose you are worried because he is not eating like he did when you first got him. But as long as he is pooping, he's eating, you just may not be seeing it. Pay attention to his poops. As you said, there is a brown part, and a white gooshy part. That's good and normal. Chameleons and most reptiles poop and pee at the same time (same as birds) as long as the gooshy part is mostly white (like 75%) it means he is well hydrated. If it's mostly yellow, it's a sign of dehydration. It's just like your pee. Clear if you drink a lot of liquids, more yellow if you don't.

I'm one of the keepers that doesn't do any cup feeding. I let all food roam free in the cage, it makes them hunt for it, kind of like in their natural habitat. Your cage is the right size, so he shouldn't have a problem finding it. Some do cup feeding if they're in a cage larger than needed because they may have a hard time finding food.

I say keep doing what you're doing. Keep an eye on his food and his poops. He should be eating a lot (12-15 crickets a day). His crickets may be too small. A good rule of thumb is food the length of the space between his eyes. 1/4" may be a little small for him, and fruit flies are definitely small.

Keep and eye one his eyes. He should be moving them around constantly when he is awake, even if he isn't moving around. If he spends any time with his eye closed in the daytime, that indicates a problem, too.

Oh, supplementing is important, too. You've got the supplements, make sure you use them. Everyone does it a little different, but I do calcium every other day, and alternate the reptivite and the minerall in between, with one day off.

Here's a photo of an ambilobe panther just about the same age (3 months). He's black and grey too.



Welcome to the forum. Hope this helps!

Aha, dodolah was a faster typer!

just wanted to let you know that Leo is doing much better... I woke up yesterday morning and it was like he had BURST out of his old skin and all his shedding were on the bottom of the cage.. He has still been pooping everyday and it is "normal" I cant tell you what a reliefe you gave to me by your advise! He is back to roaming all around and hunting down his prey. I am still letting all the crickets roam free now that I have closed all the escape holes that they wer finding! Thanks so much for all your help!!!

Just wanted to let you know that Leo shed all his skin that next morning!! Now he is back to hunting and he is still pooping normal. Thanks so much for all your help. It really brought down my stress level!! Do you have any idea hoe often they shed so I can expect it maybe later???

setup

hey leo, i was wondering if you got your setup from kammers? Ihave one on the way, and was wondering how the sutup works? any pictures? thanks and congrats with your new purchase

setup is easy, got everything from there too and basically you build your cage in about ten minutes and everything else is there. got two stands for my light and my dripper to hang off of and had to buy my own plants and vines but if you get a setup from them, everything is there for you along with their advice if you need it. read the directions and go would be the best thing that i can tell you. mess around with the layout of the cage and see what the lil guy likes best after you set it up. most of all, enjoy it.