should i be worrying??

[rango87]

i have a roughly 10 week old baby panther
i got him 3 days ago.the first day he ate 6 lochusts
yesterday he ate 2 lochusts & 2 wax worms
today so far he has eaten 2 lochusts & 1 waxworm
btw i do not plan on giving him anymore waxworms,but as he wasnt eating much i thought it would fill him up more.
i know hes settling in and ive only had him 3 days but should i be worrying about the amount hes eating?
i have been putting the food on a plant leaf but hes not overly interested.
he goes straight for the waxworms no problem but really takes him time with the lochust,well the ones he does eat.

im thinking of getting some crickets today and trying him on them?what do you think?

also at 3pm yesterday afternoon he came down to the middle and settled on a branch of my ficus tree.he stayed there all night and didnt go up to his basking spot till 11.45am this morning?? is this normal

im a new owner of a chameleon and i do worry alot about him.i just want him to be ok.

 

[Psychobunny]

Personaly, I think you worry for no reason, but we all do it!! chams are famous for making us worry, I think they enjoy it.
But, just to be on the safe side, you should fill out a "how to ask for help" form, which can be found up top as a sticky.

You may find that someting is wrong with your husbandry.

 

[rango87]

ok ill try that

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, ambilobe panther chameleon. sex, male. and age of your chameleon.roughly 10 weeks old. How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?i have not handled him yet
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? locusts & wax worms. What amount? he ate 6 locusts the first day.2 locusts & 2 wax worms the 2nd day & 2 locusts & 1 waxworms the 3rd day. What is the schedule? 8am & 3pm How are you gut-loading your feeders? curly green kale greens,savoy cabbage,lettice,dried cranberries,apple,cucumber,sunflower seeds.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? exo terra calcium 6 days and nutrabol 1 day a week
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? manual misting How often and how long to you mist? every 3/4hrs for 6mins Do you see your chameleon drinking?yes everyday
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.i have not seen any droppings yet as his viv is like a jungle and hard to see. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? not that i know of
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.no

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? reptibreeze 2ftx2ftx4ft i have boarded up 3 sides,
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? arcadia t5 12% with canopy & arcadia dome with 60watt spot bulb
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? basking between 27c & 27.8c,ambient between 21.2 & 21.5 Lowest overnight temp? 17.5c How do you measure these temps? digital thermometer by lucky reptile
Humidity - What are your humidity levels?between 40% & 87% How are you creating and maintaining these levels?by misting & using a dripper What do you use to measure humidity? digital exo terra hygrometer
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 1 umbrella plant & 1 weeping fig
Placement - Where is your cage located? in the corner of my living room,Is it near any fans ,no air vents,no or high traffic areas? no At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 6ft high
Location - Where are you geographically located?united kingdom,kent

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. new baby panther not eating much

 

[laurie]

How far above the cage is the Arcadia light located? Those get hot and give off way too much uvb if placed to close to your cham.

 

[rango87]

the uv bulb is about 4/5 inches from the mesh and about 12/14 inches from his nearest branch.

 

[SaintJimmy]

the uv bulb is about 4/5 inches from the mesh and about 12/14 inches from his nearest branch.

Yeah you might want to make his branches closer to the light.

Light helps digestion, and he may not be wanting to eat much because he can't digest his food right without the temperature and lighting and stuff.

Raise the highest branch to about 5 inches away (as a precaution so that he doesn't burn himself) and put your hand under it. If it's warm but not too hot (comfortably hot) then you're good.

 

[rango87]

dont you mean the basking bulb to digest,not the uv????

 

[SaintJimmy]

Both the bulbs should be around the same place.

Just adjust his basking branch so that it is fairly close (5-4 in away) from the light(s)

 

[rango87]

here are some pics of my setup.you can see his basking branch in the back left with the dome above.
in the middle is my uv light inside a canopy.its 12%

i have moved the branches closer.

do they seem close enough?
also he must be digesting his food as today whilst cleaning the bottom i noticed his poop.it was brown with white on the end which means he hydrated too.i do see him drinking everyday its just the food hes not to keen on.maybe hes just taking his time to settle.today he has wondered off around his cage quite a few times so hopefully his apetite will improve with time.

does my setup look ok to you?

 

[Kate]

Could his food be too big? I've been using tiny locusts with my babies. I have tried the small ones which I'm sure they could manage but they just look at them. The feeder should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. Also have you tried cup feeding? It's a big viv for him to find his food. The box you got your waxworms in would be ideal. Place the cup where he can get to and hopefully he will find them. Watch the calcium doesn't wash off when you mist.

 

[rango87]

i have given him a few big ones to be honest.i will make sure i give him the tiny ones.i went and brought some tiny crickets today.he has only eaten 2 locusts today and 1 waxworm.i hope he doesnt get ill.
he does just look at most of them and lets them get away.i guess at least he is eating,i know its not enough but it shows he does have an appetite.

tomorrow i will try cup feeding.
kate can you tell me a little about how popeye acted when you first got him?
did he hide alot? when did you start hand feeding and when did he start warming to you?

i know its early days but im just interested.

also does my setup look ok to you? i.e branch positioning,light positioning?

 

[armyrec1]

I love your set up.....there's so many hiding places
We have ambilobe panthers.....If I was you then maybe give him another branch "a basking branch" thats what we call them anyways. Just alittle closer to the basking light/uv and then he has a choice of sitting there. Our Panthers and our Jackson seem to have their fave branches, right under their light...the Jackson under his UV and the panthers.....right under their basking lamp lol.
Maybe try the crickets instead, maybe thats what he was fed before you had him?? or try some fruit flys possibly? We put a piece of fruit on something small like a bottle cap, them add the flies. They all sit on the fruit then and the Cham can find them easy. Thats what we did when we first got our Panthers.

And time, give him time to work out everything, his got a new home, environment, human and possibly food and a body clock to get used too. I think we all do this when we start out. You will both work out a routine and once he trusts you and his new home then he should settle down Id like to think
Good Luck

 

[rango87]

thanks,yeah he does have alot of places to hide.

 

[Kate]

i have given him a few big ones to be honest.i will make sure i give him the tiny ones.i went and brought some tiny crickets today.he has only eaten 2 locusts today and 1 waxworm.i hope he doesnt get ill.
he does just look at most of them and lets them get away.i guess at least he is eating,i know its not enough but it shows he does have an appetite.

tomorrow i will try cup feeding.
kate can you tell me a little about how popeye acted when you first got him?
did he hide alot? when did you start hand feeding and when did he start warming to you?

i know its early days but im just interested.

also does my setup look ok to you? i.e branch positioning,light positioning?

It is a very anxious time when you get a new Cham. Popeye was around the same age as yours. The breeders advice weas to provide plenty places to hide and to let him be for a couple of weeks to give him time to settle. He was cup fed from the start. The only things I hand feed him are silkworms as I hate handling anything else. I put locusts in his viv loose and he catches them. Crickets I put in a homemade " cup ' made out of a plastic milk bottle. I don't let them loose as they are not easy to remove at night. Roaches I feed from a plastic drinks cup as I definatly don't want them loose. Popeye came straight on to my finger after the couple of weeks settling. Just take things slowly and hopefully he will come to you.

 

[rango87]

do i hold the cup or find a place in the viv and sit it there?

 

[ReptileLove18]

you can attach the cup to the side of the viv by a branch or set it in the branches, its more secure if you attach it to something

 

[rango87]

ok ill try that tomorrow.apart from the food he seems fine.he drinks everyday and even tho weve only had him 3 days today he went exploring instead of always hiding so all seems good.
ill post back tomorrow.

 

[Kate]

do i hold the cup or find a place in the viv and sit it there?

Find a place to put the cup. Perhaps wedge it between two branches. With Dubais I hold the cup and try to get them moving as they don't move much. You will not keep locusts in a cup . They jump out. They won't do any harm to your baby when they are small so you can leave them in there. Don't put in too many as if they are not all eaten in one day they loose their gutload. Trial and error will show you how many to put in.

 

[rango87]

well i put in a see through party cup and placed it inbetween some bamboo & the side of the viv.i put 5 small crickets in at 11am.he has not come up for them yet and has just stayed around the middle of the viv in the ficus tree.hes been there since 5pm last night.he has moved around a little but not far.should he be coming up to bask yet?is it normal for him to stay down there for so long?? he also looks a dark brown colour

 

[rango87]

well todays a better day.
hes eaten 3 crickets this morning.
yesterday he ate nothing.when i put the cup in he kind of backed off but 1 min after it was in he was straight there.he leant right down to the cup and held on whilst his feet held onto his basking branch.was funny to see and im very happy this morning.
hes now on his way down to eat more!
oh btw we couldnt get used to the name chow so weve called him oscar.
hes moving around so much more and im keeping his basking spot at 80-81.
i think its all been down to him settling in.still only been 5 days but hes made so much improvement.