Baby Panther not Thriving

[JNTC126]

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?

Our Ambilobe chameleon was purchased 1/31/16 from Chameleons and More at the Orlando Repticon; he has been with us for six days. Breeder said he was approximately 4 moths old. Although they could not guarantee he is male, she said she believed he was.

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?

My girlfriend held him the first day then I told her to leave him along so he could get used to his cage. She might have handled him a few times since then, not sure. She did coax him out today to try to make sure he was ok and he hung out for a minute on her hand before he started trying to get back to his cage (walked up her and and shoulder towards his enclosure). Put him back at that point to avoid stressing him.

• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?

We're not really on a set schedule. We try to feed in the morning and around lunchtime, but he does not always seem interested. We have a crate full of crickets purchased at repticon. They have carrots, kale, water cubes, and some other veggies in there from the list the breeder provided. We also have some wax worms and hornworms as treats.

• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?

We lightly dust with Zoo Med calcium w/o D3 at every feeding (crickets only). We also purchased Repashy Calcium Plus (was planning on using this once a week in place of reg calcium, but not sure, the supplements are still confusing.) Thinking of getting ReptiVite, but not sure if he needs it on top of the others or how often.

• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

We mist for about 20 seconds 3-4 times a day. I have the MistKing, but haven't started using it. Want to get the lights off the top of the cage first (I have other pets in the house and worry about fires).

• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?

Seen two poops so far. They looked like typical outdoor lizard poo with the white tips. Does not look runny or anything. We have not take him to the vet yet. Our cat/dog vet does not deal with reptiles, but I will get a referral and take him in to get checked out soon.

• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

There was an incident the third day he was home. Walked in the room to check on him and he didn't seem to be in a normal position. Upon closer inspection, we discovered a small stringy piece of the ficus lodged in his mouth. The stringy piece was still firmly attached to the tree and he seemed to be trying to pull away (he looked like a fish on a line). We gently tried to pull it out (not the best idea in retrospect). He didn't seem to like it and a few second later he broke loose. Not sure if he ingested any of the twig.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?

We have him in a 2x2x4 DIY brand cage that we ordered online.

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?

He has a 75w reptile heating bulb and an 18" T8 10.0 reptisun UVB (read online that a 10.0 might be better suited for a baby in such a large enclosure, but wondering if 5.0 might be better).

• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?

Under basking light is about 85, not too sure about the rest of the cage as the laser thermometer we have seems to be a bit off. Daytime temps in the house are between 69-72. At night the temperature in the house ranges from 65-69 degrees; my girlfriend is always hot.

• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?

There is a humidity gauge that reads 60-75% humidity depending on the time of day and misting. We have a Mistking, but I'm not running it yet because I'm still a little paranoid about the fire hazard. I want to get the heat lamp off the screen top before I start running it. I ordered a stand that arrived yesterday, but I have to modify it since it is still too short.

• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

There are two Pothos: one hanging from the left back corner of cage and one from the right back corner of the cage. There is also a variegated ficus which takes up most of the cage. We also have several branches (oak, baked in the oven @250 degrees) and pieces of bamboo sticks (purchased from Lowes) for him to climb on.

• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

The cage is near a window in our spare room. Only traffic in and out is to water, feed, or check on chameleon. Cage is about 2 feet off the ground and cage is 4 feet tall. There is a vent and a fan, but fan is never on.

• Location - Where are you geographically located?

We are located in Orlando FL.

Current Issue:

I may just be paranoid, but I feel like he's not thriving the way he should. Mind you, I'm not the primary caregiver. I purchased this little guy for my girlfriend for our 11th anniversary. She and her son had a veiled before we met and she has always talked about getting another chameleon. They did not necessarily take as good care of it as they should have, but I figured some education and proper supplies would make all the difference. I'm all about doing things right or not at all, so we spent a month researching and preparing, but I was never 100% comfortable with the idea just because of how delicate they are. My girlfriend has adult ADHD, so she has an issue with patience and gets easily frustrated which also concerned me. She swears he hates her, but I think we're just not providing for his needs in some way. I've also told her many times that these are not the kind of pet that like to be handled, but apparently her veiled was unusually friendly which gives her the opposite impression no matter how many times she hears/reads otherwise.

In any case, according to her, he ate 5 crickets on the first day along with a wax worm and a hornworm. Tuesday he ate 10-15 crickets and a few worms, then the incident with the "twig" occurred. We fed him a wax worm an hour later to make sure his mouth was not injured and he ate it fine. When she tried to feed him on Wednesday, he refused. He may have eaten 2-3 worms that day if I recall, but not a single cricket. On Thursday she noted he was shedding which may have explained the lack of appetite. We misted with warm water 5 times a day to help with the shedding and he seems to have shed okay, but he has not touched a cricket since. She has tried hand feeding, holding the feeder cup close to him, and setting the feeder up on top of the Pothos plant where he usually licks his water from. The only thing he ate today was a hornworm (the worms he takes from her hand). Is this a hunger strike? Due to shedding? Bad cage setup? An unhealthy cham? I'm starting to feel like we're doing something terribly wrong and the last thing I want is for this little guy to die. Our house is colder than most, we both like the temp below 72 degrees at all times of day and around 68 at night, sometimes a little colder depending on weather outside. He moves around the top half of the cage and spends a lot of time around the basking area or the center rear of cage.

Are my concerns warranted? Does he look healthy? Is he just going through an acclamation phase? Could the behavior just be due to shedding? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pictures. I'll try to get better ones of him when he moves into a clearing.

Cage:





His first day home:



Today:

 

[JNTC126]

UPDATE:

He ate only two crickets yesterday, refused all other food and hid most of the day. We are using the "small" crickets sold by Georgia Crickets, dusted and gutloaded. I'm making him a feeder cup based on one I found here on the forums. Also, we are having weird weather here in Florida; wet and cold.

We are in East Orlando, down the street from UCF. According to Google, there's three veterinary clinics in my area that offer services to exotic pets: Kirkman Road Veterinary Clinic, Winter Park Veterinary Hospital and Lake Howell Animal Clinic. I want to take him in for a checkup and fecal. Anyone have experience with any of these vets or know of a good reptile vet within 100 miles of my location?