5 month old Panther Ambilobe not looking well IMO, possible RI?

WombatwarriorHU

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Male, 5 months old, he has been with me for a week.
  • Handling - I try once per day to get him on my hands but now I reduced interaction to minimum
  • Feeding - Crickets, gutloaded with carrot and cucumber, he ate around 5 crickets per day. I have lots of feeders but he wont eat anything now, besides a cricket or two.
  • Supplements - Zoomed Repticalcium without D3 dusting every time, and I used the Reptivite vitamin with D3 once so far but I plan to use it every two weeks.
  • Watering -Misting by hand, twice a day for around a minute, i've only seen him drink water off a leaf once.
  • Fecal Description - Todays poop was healthy but the urate was all yellow which means he is dehydrated.
  • History - He has only been with me for a week but he was active, eating from my hand, and a little bit scared of me the first time.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Glass cage with mesh top, and ventilation mesh at bottom (Typical EU style), dimension is 70cmx60cmx90cm which would be around 28x24x35 inches.
  • Lighting - 7 am to 7 pm, Arcadia UVB Pro T5HO kit, 5.0, 57 cm long. Basking light is a 60w E27 heat bulb
  • Temperature - basking spot is 30C, around 90F, Cage floor is around 70F , Overnight temps are my room temperature which would be 68 F.
  • Humidity - 50-70% usually, I have to measure it more correctly and frequently.
  • Plants - Only live plants in a bioactive terrarium, Ficus benjamina, Pothos aka Epipremnum aureum (a lot of it)
  • Placement - On a cabinet, up high. The top of the cage is around 2 meters from the ground which is around 7 feet.
  • Location - Hungary, Mid EU

Current Problem - I am worried about a respiratory infection as whenever the cute little guy exhales air, I hear a little popping sound, it is so silent that not even a video picks it up. He also stopped eating for the past 2-3 days, only ate like 2 crickets. I can also see him take heavy breaths sometimes.
He is also close to shedding I think, I started seeing white spots on him and his armpits are all white now. He is mostly darker colors due to stress I think. His eyes seem sunked in a little too, maybe I am just imagining things...

The last picture was taken 5 days ago where everything seemed normal and he was eating out of my hands. The rest was taken today.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_1.png
    Screenshot_1.png
    1.9 MB · Views: 101
  • Screenshot_3.png
    Screenshot_3.png
    1.1 MB · Views: 99
  • Screenshot_4.png
    Screenshot_4.png
    1.3 MB · Views: 102
  • Screenshot_5.png
    Screenshot_5.png
    1.6 MB · Views: 98
  • Screenshot_6.png
    Screenshot_6.png
    1.3 MB · Views: 94
  • Screenshot_7.png
    Screenshot_7.png
    1.7 MB · Views: 101
Hi and welcome! :) Beautiful chameleon!
Looking over your husbandry, it doesn’t seem bad...at least I don’t see anything that could cause a high risk for a respiratory infection. I would definitely advise you to take him to a vet for evaluation and treatment as soon as able. Letting it go for too long untreated will make it harder to treat and harder for him to recover.
Regarding your husbandry, attaching feeder and gutloading sheets. Cucumber has little nutrient value...is mostly just water.
I’m a little thrown off by your temps, or rather conversion. 30c is ok (around 86f). 90f would be around 32c, which is a bit too hot.
How are you measuring your humidity? Digital gauges are more accurate than analog. Is there anything that may be blocking the ventilation of the enclosure’s lower vents?
As you’ve only had him for 5 days, it is possible that you received him with a respiratory just starting.

5F89A5E2-00C7-4877-B51D-E76D7537D10B.jpeg
6B470AC6-2771-49BF-822C-5109F2C2E807.jpeg
 
Hi and welcome! :) Beautiful chameleon!
Looking over your husbandry, it doesn’t seem bad...at least I don’t see anything that could cause a high risk for a respiratory infection. I would definitely advise you to take him to a vet for evaluation and treatment as soon as able. Letting it go for too long untreated will make it harder to treat and harder for him to recover.
Regarding your husbandry, attaching feeder and gutloading sheets. Cucumber has little nutrient value...is mostly just water.
I’m a little thrown off by your temps, or rather conversion. 30c is ok (around 86f). 90f would be around 32c, which is a bit too hot.
How are you measuring your humidity? Digital gauges are more accurate than analog. Is there anything that may be blocking the ventilation of the enclosure’s lower vents?
As you’ve only had him for 5 days, it is possible that you received him with a respiratory just starting.

View attachment 292523View attachment 292524
Thank you for your reply.
Yes I have increased the basking temps to 30 degrees from around 28 degrees celsius, as my breeder has advised. He is one of the most reputable breeder in this country with nearly 100% satisfaction from his customers.
I have measured humidity with a digital humidity gague or whatever you call it.
I will try to gutload my bugs with better stuff, but as of right now, the fella is not eating at all no matter what i offer him.
I actually got him just a week ago, on the 6th of February.
Could it still be stress from moving in to the new place? Also I think he should have shed by now but it is not happening. I see the white spots appearing and his armpits and tail becoming white and murky but nothing yet.
 
Thank you for your reply.
Yes I have increased the basking temps to 30 degrees from around 28 degrees celsius, as my breeder has advised. He is one of the most reputable breeder in this country with nearly 100% satisfaction from his customers.
I have measured humidity with a digital humidity gague or whatever you call it.
I will try to gutload my bugs with better stuff, but as of right now, the fella is not eating at all no matter what i offer him.
I actually got him just a week ago, on the 6th of February.
Could it still be stress from moving in to the new place? Also I think he should have shed by now but it is not happening. I see the white spots appearing and his armpits and tail becoming white and murky but nothing yet.
Well, the stress and shedding can cause him to lose some appetite, but the popping noises and labored breathing are symptoms of a respiratory infection. If he was fighting one off when you got him, the stress of a new home could have allowed an infection to better take over.
 
Thank you for your reply.
Yes I have increased the basking temps to 30 degrees from around 28 degrees celsius, as my breeder has advised. He is one of the most reputable breeder in this country with nearly 100% satisfaction from his customers.
I have measured humidity with a digital humidity gague or whatever you call it.
I will try to gutload my bugs with better stuff, but as of right now, the fella is not eating at all no matter what i offer him.
I actually got him just a week ago, on the 6th of February.
Could it still be stress from moving in to the new place? Also I think he should have shed by now but it is not happening. I see the white spots appearing and his armpits and tail becoming white and murky but nothing yet.
If he is a new cham he's probably stressed and not willing to eat in front of you. Do you have a feeder for him ? When I first got mine he would not eat in front of me at all. I used a feeder and showed him the bugs as I was putting them in there and next thing you know he was in that direction eating. Maybe try putting some in a feeder and walking away?

The noise could be him being defensive. Are you sure it's popping? Or does it sound like a loud breath or a hiss? My cham did this to me everytime I walked up to him for the longest. They take a while to adjust to everything. And they process things slow. When I got mine he was happy to be out of the bag and once putting him in the enclosure he ate really well the first day, then the first week just became stressed and shy. He could just be adjusting. If you bought him from a reputable person I dont think its likely an RI. Give him some time to adjust.
 
Last edited:
With all that being said if you are worried, there's no harm in a visit to the vet to calm your nerves. I did the same thing and it put me at ease. 😉
 
Well, the stress and shedding can cause him to lose some appetite, but the popping noises and labored breathing are symptoms of a respiratory infection. If he was fighting one off when you got him, the stress of a new home could have allowed an infection to better take over.
Like from the first time i got him whenever he was on my hands out of the terrarium for a minute, he was like trying to rush back into his enclosure and sounded like he was "exhausted" and sounded like loud exhaling noises, I wouldnt call them wheezing, but just like sniffing-ish sound.
 
If he is a new cham he's probably stressed and not willing to eat in front of you. Do you have a feeder for him ? When I first got mine he would not eat in front of me at all. I used a feeder and showed him the bugs as I was putting them in there and next thing you know he was in that direction eating. Maybe try putting some in a feeder and walking away?

The noise could be him being defensive. Are you sure it's popping? Or does it sound like a loud breath or a hiss? My cham did this to me everytime I walked up to him for the longest. They take a while to adjust to everything. And they process things slow. When I got mine he was happy to be out of the bag and once putting him in the enclosure he ate really well the first day, then the first week just became stressed and shy. He could just be adjusting. If you bought him from a reputable person I dont think its likely an RI. Give him some time to adjust.
As I mentioned, he ate from my hand the minute we placed him into his new house. I am sure its a popping sound sadly :(
I hope that it does not get worse. If it does my next stop is at the vet..
 
As I mentioned, he ate from my hand the minute we placed him into his new house. I am sure its a popping sound sadly :(
I hope that it does not get worse. If it does my next stop is at the vet..
Just to ease your mind some, mine was the exact same way. The first day was awesome and eating from my hand. Then he got worse by the week. And ran away from me and wanted to hide in his enclosure. Breathing loud while trying to run away.

He warmed up after like 3-4 weeks when he got use to his routine. He still doesn't come out on my hand but he's not as shy anymore. Just takes some time. But like I said nothing wrong w a vet appointment to clear your doubts.

 
Just to ease your mind some, mine was the exact same way. The first day was awesome and eating from my hand. Then he got worse by the week. And ran away from me and wanted to hide in his enclosure. Breathing loud while trying to run away.

He warmed up after like 3-4 weeks when he got use to his routine. He still doesn't come out on my hand but he's not as shy anymore. Just takes some time. But like I said nothing wrong w a vet appointment to clear your doubts.


Thank you so much for making me a bit less concerned. :)
 
Back
Top Bottom