6 week old panther cham very dark and licking EVERYTHING!

CarlyMK

New Member
Hello, I was hoping someone could give me their opinion on what my cham is up to..

I have a 6 week (approx) old male panther cham, I got him about 3 weeks ago. I have noticed lately that when he is in his basking spot he is very, VERY dark. I noticed this a couple times when I first got him but now he's almost always a very dark brown. I understand that he might just be trying to absorb the heat, the temp in my house is about 70. I moved the highest basking point to about 6.5 inches from the top of the cage where the dome sits.

In addition to that he is very active, he travels around his cage quite a few times a day, he's not stressing and trying to get out because he's doing it very slowly. He will walk all over the top vines and perches I have set up for him, and sometimes even travel down to the bottom (maybe to get away from the light?). While he's travelling he's also licking EVERYTHING! Fake vines, fake leaves, live plants, screen cage, and more often then not my finger when I hold him. His urates are completely normal, very white so I know he's getting hydrated well.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've had a cham before but she mostly sat in the basking spot, this little guy can't seem to sit still! Thank you!:)
 
Hi,
He is licking to check the surranding. What is his basking spot temperature?
I wouldn't take him out for now. He is very young and probably stressed out.
 
I didn't have a panther at that young age, but I believe that's too much. Most people don't use basking bulbs at all at that age.
 
Hi! Congratz to your little guy, they are a joy to take care of :)

Panthers can handle the higher temp pretty good, but imo 87 it's a bit to high for panther that young, I would try to lower it.

What kind of panther is your baby? :) Chameleons that young dosen't show much of colours, again it kinda depends on what kind of panther you're taking care of. The dark colours could also be, as stated, some stress. Is he located in a very traficed area?

The licking stuff I have no idea about lol. I've seen Sheldon done this too, but tbh I would't worry that much. Aslong as you don't hear this sound from when he's breathing, then it could be a RI. Does he lick all the time or just now and then?
 
Hi There, thank you for the reply!

I will change the bulb out to a 40W as suggested by the other member, I don't want to cook him!

He is either an Ambilobe or an Ambanja, I want it to be a surprise! He's already showing some orange barring in his face and on his neck, I'm excited to see what he's going to look like! At the moment yes, he is in a high trafficed area, I just put a towel over the cage so he has some privacy. It's difficult not to sit and watch them, I could do it for hours!

I'm glad you're saying not to worry, I don't hear any bad breathing noises, I have checked. He does make a "puff" noise sometimes when im in the cage putting his food in and taking it out, I've been told that noise could be a warning for "back off!". By my standards I'd say he licks a lot, usually when he's stalking around the cage, he likes to explore a lot.

What do you think? As terrible as it is I'm hoping it's stress, I can fix that easily by giving him privacy until he gets a bit older.
 
I think he is just stressed out, it's perfectly normal when they change surrandings. Just try not to disturb him too much. And again, licking is just checking the surranding, my chams do it when they are in a new place, and sometimes (not often) in their cages.
 
Oh sounds great, they are both awesome and very cool looking :) Thinking about getting an Ambanja myself lol.

It could be that he's in a trafficed area. Hard to tell since it also could be the temp, changing colours to attract heat and vice versa.
I know it's hard to not watch them, I figure it's okay aslong as you don't push your face against the cage lol. But for the long run I would try to give him some privacy by putting him in less trafficed area :)

I get the "pff" sound from time to time too, I normaly reply "Hey, cool down!" lol.

I guess it's okay that he licks his cage, haha. I don't know why they do it, but he's atleast not one of a kind.

Hi There, thank you for the reply!

I will change the bulb out to a 40W as suggested by the other member, I don't want to cook him!

He is either an Ambilobe or an Ambanja, I want it to be a surprise! He's already showing some orange barring in his face and on his neck, I'm excited to see what he's going to look like! At the moment yes, he is in a high trafficed area, I just put a towel over the cage so he has some privacy. It's difficult not to sit and watch them, I could do it for hours!

I'm glad you're saying not to worry, I don't hear any bad breathing noises, I have checked. He does make a "puff" noise sometimes when im in the cage putting his food in and taking it out, I've been told that noise could be a warning for "back off!". By my standards I'd say he licks a lot, usually when he's stalking around the cage, he likes to explore a lot.

What do you think? As terrible as it is I'm hoping it's stress, I can fix that easily by giving him privacy until he gets a bit older.
 
Licking is normal for Panthers. They do it to "taste" their surroundings. Just wait until he tastes you! It's WEIRD! But totally normal :D
 
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