Baby Ambanja Eating Help

[Jamire]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Ambanja ambilobe cross from chameleonsgalore in calgary, male, 3-4 months old. Been in my care for 4 days.
Handling - Never
Feeding - 2 week crickets, the first day I got him he ate like a champ. out of my hand, from a cup, out of the cricket trap (2 litre 7-up bottle). HE ate 10-15 crickets on day one. He also ate one mealworm. Not interested in my small butterworms. The second day he ate about 4-5 crickets only and he was not as enthused about hunting them. No mealworms. The third day he ate only two crickets from my hand. Today was better as he ate a few from my hand and a few from a cup. but only about 4 total. I gutload with whole plain oats and a mixed dry gutload called "cricket care" as well as apples, oranges, carrots, leafy greens, etc.
Supplements - Repashy superCal NoD on everything. Repashy calcium plus loD on the first day.
Watering - Dripper, mistking, manual misting, humidifier. I see him lick leaves and things as he walks all the time, but I don't normally see him taking long drinking sessions.
Fecal Description - Good poops from day one, brown and plump, white urates.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen, (1/4" galv.) 18x18x30
Lighting - Arcadia 6.0 uvb 24" tube, and a 80 watt heat lamp (Don't worry, dimmer switch is set to almost nothing, raised above screen 6 inches)
Temperature - 80-85 at top, 70-75 at bottom/in plants. Digital therm/hygrometer.
Humidity - Usually ambient is around 30-40, with spikes of 50-60. I have a pretty humid room, but the hygrometer doesn't seem to read it. I have a 4 gal humidifier running during daytime. Misting at regular intervals throughout the day.
Plants - Pothos and Baby tears, lots of foliage. doing great.
Placement - Located on a coffee table. The top of the cage is at my chest. By at window, shaded at night, opened for sunny days. My room is small, so conditions are uniform.
Location - Winnipeg Manitoba, boy. The driest coldest winters, and the hottest most humid summers.

Current Problem - Im concerned by boy has lost his appetite, he ate 10+ crickets on the first day. And now only eats 2-4 a day.

 

[carol5208]

well nothing jumps out at me that is wrong with your set up to cause him the decrease in appetite. I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet. He might have been very hungry when you first got him and now he is just settling in and maybe a little nervous in his environment. Many do not eat at all at first. Some eat like crazy. They are all different. Don't fret too much over it. I am sure his eating will pick up again. When my panther was small he never at the 15-20 crickets a day like some eat. He just was never a huge eater.

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

Give him a solid week and guarantee he will he you out of the house hes just acclimating as carol said hungry from a long stressful ride nows he is exploring and trying to figure out whats going on lol

 

[Balizar]

I agree with the other 2 that it is probably acclamation. Would love to see a picture of him! That is an interesting mix.

 

[symphonica]

He should be eating about 10 a day at that age, although they can go a few days without eating. Any chance he's shedding or about to shed? They tend to lose their appetite then. Have you taken him to the vet yet? I'd get a fecal exam done to rule out parasites. Is he behaving fine otherwise? No wheezing, opening his mouth, etc?

 

[Jamire]

There is a chance he is about to shed, but I cant say for sure. He had no shed on him when I got him, so he could shed any day, or in a few weeks I guess.

No wheezing or gaping, except for the occasional yawn. I figured I will let him get used to the enclosure for a bit, before I go through the stress of transport to a vet. Im weary about vets as I have read stories of some being incompetent. I will look into getting a microscope and setting up to do my own fecal float tests.

Do you think its a good idea to take him to a vet to get tests done soon? Like I said he has only been with me 4 days. He has no routine yet.

 

[symphonica]

Missed the part about him being a new cham. I'd say give him a week, undisturbed, and see how he does. Just go into his sight to mist him, put in crickets, etc - the bare minimum. Don't even watch him - he'll sense you. Leave him completely be for about a week to let him investigate on his own and to allow him to relax a bit. If he's otherwise healthy, not eating for a few days shouldn't kill him.

 

[Jamire]

Well I may have broken a rule, He was pacing up and down the side of the cage. So I draped a rope from his enclosure to my scheff. He took to the outside adventure and his colours were great. Very Colourful, His eyes were peach. Red tips and dots. Maroon bars on a white/beige base. Very bright for my little baby!

He went up on the top of the plant and basked. Just chilled for a while. I put a cup of crickets next to him and he ate 2. He also ate one out of my hand. He seemed very happy, I know I shouldn't have done this. Because how do I get him back in right? Well I didn't want to pick him up, but I had to "coax" him back onto the rope and into the cage. It was a little stressful as his normal beige with black bar look came back as he scurried into the enclosure.

I got some pictures, as I probably shouldn't have done either. His reds fade as I get close with the camera, but you can make some maroons out a little. You can also see his cool "Y" shaped bar. The first pic is about a month ago with the breeder.

 

[Jamire]

Here are pictures of his sire.


And fired up..



WC Ambanja

 

[Jamire]

The mother. CB Ambilobe. Love her blues around the eyes. I really can see the attraction to females. She is a doll. My guy takes after her with the "Y" bar.

 

[Jamire]

He seems to be getting more comfortable in the set up. He ate early this morning out of a cup, two crickets. HE generally wont eat till late afternoon. But he ate two right away, did some walking around and came back and ate another two. Hopefully he eats some more soon, Id like to see him eat 10 a day.

Im gonna order some phoenix worms. Got silkworm eggs coming too. Ill keep him on crickets until then. He wont respond to mealworms or butterworms. I don't think the breeder ever gave him anything like that. Just crickets and fruit flies.

I hope he can transition to worms, he seemed pretty confused when he ate the mealworm on the first day. Wasn't too big though, he gulped it down no problem. Chews good too.

 

[Zephalia]

Speaking from the fact that I've seen your set up and know that it's well done, it doesn't sound like anything is wrong at all.

You worry about your little baby which is totally normal but he sounds to be in great health to me!

When I got my little guy, he would eat 8-10 crix some days and then only one or two the next. One day I counted 15 which was a lot for him. It really varies from day to day and I don't think you have anything to worry about.

If you notice he doesn't eat for days on end at all or his urates are orange then I would be concerned.

Also, don't be afraid to handle him a little. That's half the fun of having them! I bother my guys a couple times a week - usually on the weekends to let them free range. If you handle him 1-2 times a week for short periods, he will get used to it. Pete tries to get out of the cage when I open the door now and will climb on me or anything in reach but when I got him at your guy's age...he didn't want anything to do with me. Just coax him out or help him along, feed him a bit while he's out and he'll trust you before you know it. (gotta take my own advice on getting these Jackson's ok with handling - they let me but he doesn't care for it at all, poor guy was WC so he hates me!)

Best of luck Brian!

 

[Jamire]

Hey thanks Angela! Hope your Jackson pair are settling in nicely Thanks for the info. He seems to be eating a bit better everyday. Im really happy with him, I think it just needed a few days. He showed some blues for the first time today. Just beautiful

 

[Zephalia]

He showed some blues for the first time today. Just beautiful

His colours coming in will be THE most exciting part of watching him grow up. After every shed you will see more and more. I'm thrilled to hear your guy is doing well! What did you name him?

My Jackson's are settling in. He's doing great but she is showing stress colours so we are working on altering this and that but so far no changes. She's eating/drinking/sleeping well, however, so that's good. I move to the city from Niverville this weekend so once I'm in the new place I sort of have to start all over again with monitoring temperatures/humidity so hopefully we'll find what she likes. She really liked being out in the free range to bask in the sunlight from the window though so it is possible to please her! haha

Keep us all updated on here with pictures as your little guy grows. Such a fun process!

 

[KittyVoodoo]

Do you have a female Panther by chance email me if you do or wana talk [email protected]