Bunch of questions.

[zlew]

Your Chameleon - About 3 month old baby ambanja chameleon, male.
Handling - Very little. he doesnt like it so much.
Feeding - Small crickets mostly, yesterday i got him to eat his first superworm. He only eats about 5 crickets per day. crickets being fed flukers orange cubes. (cup feeding him)
Supplements - Rep-Cal calcium powder every day on the crickets.
Watering - Mist twice a day as much as it takes to soak the viv, nno specific time.
Fecal Description - Brown with a little white thingy. every day. never been to vet or tested for anything.,
History - In the beginnig the temperature was too low so he wasnt eating but now he is fine.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? National geographic reptile sanctuary, vertical, 16x16x24 with glass screen combo.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Exo-terra 13w uvb bulb, 75w basking reptispot lamp, infrared red buld that stays on for 24 hrs.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Around the lamps, it gets up to 85-90, at the bottom, down to 75. ambient about 80. At night drops to 73, I leave the infrared bulb on because my house is 66 degrees. it does give off soft red light.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 60%-90%, based on how long ago i misted. i use a pump mister, mist'r lizard.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? none
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? Next to my bedroom door, on top of a nightstand. maybe 5 feet from the ground. no vents or anything.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Scarsdale, NY

So, Im wondering if 5 crickets is enough for him to be eating perday?
he hasnt grown visibly, nor has he shed in the time i've had him (about three/four weeks) wondering about that.
Ive noticed that soemtimes his colors become more vivid, like blacks becoming blacker tans turning white. what does this indicate? it is not all the time, nor necessarily when i am watching him, he turns a normal color when i handle him.
should i cupfeed or free roam feed him? He does not handfeed.

 

[kevbek]

Your Chameleon - About 3 month old baby ambanja chameleon, male.
Handling - Very little. he doesnt like it so much.
Feeding - Small crickets mostly, yesterday i got him to eat his first superworm. He only eats about 5 crickets per day. crickets being fed flukers orange cubes. (cup feeding him)
Supplements - Rep-Cal calcium powder every day on the crickets.
What kind of calcium. You must also provide Calvcium with D3 and multivitamins twice a month. See in panther caresheet.
Watering - Mist twice a day as much as it takes to soak the viv, nno specific time.
You should up the mistings to at least three a day. You should also provide a steady source of drip throughout the day.
Fecal Description - Brown with a little white thingy. every day. never been to vet or tested for anything.,
The white thingy is his urates..just FYI
History - In the beginnig the temperature was too low so he wasnt eating but now he is fine.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? National geographic reptile sanctuary, vertical, 16x16x24 with glass screen combo.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Exo-terra 13w uvb bulb, 75w basking reptispot lamp, infrared red buld that stays on for 24 hrs.
get rid of that infrared light. Chameleons like it to be completely dark at night, with a temperature drop as well.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Around the lamps, it gets up to 85-90, at the bottom, down to 75. ambient about 80. At night drops to 73, I leave the infrared bulb on because my house is 66 degrees. it does give off soft red light.
66 degrees is just fine for a cham at night. Get rid of that infrared light.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 60%-90%, based on how long ago i misted. i use a pump mister, mist'r lizard.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? none
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? Next to my bedroom door, on top of a nightstand. maybe 5 feet from the ground. no vents or anything.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Scarsdale, NY

So, Im wondering if 5 crickets is enough for him to be eating perday?
he hasnt grown visibly, nor has he shed in the time i've had him (about three/four weeks) wondering about that.
Ive noticed that soemtimes his colors become more vivid, like blacks becoming blacker tans turning white. what does this indicate? it is not all the time, nor necessarily when i am watching him, he turns a normal color when i handle him.
should i cupfeed or free roam feed him? He does not handfeed.

5 crickets is way too little at 3 months of age. They should be eating more as youngsters trying to grow up. Around 15 would be more like it. as for the colors you mentioned, generally as chams get darker and develop more black in there stripes it means they are stressing out. perhaps if you post a picture we could give a clearer answer on that.

 

[zlew]

what do you suggest i do about the food?

 

[kplatvoet]

Get rid of the light at night - they need a drop in temps at night to digest properly - check the panther care sheet - I think getting rid of the night light should help a great deal - the white in the urate is good (poop 101 is a great reference to make sure he's nice and hydrated) - good gut loading is also important -
I think you should be fine once you get rid of the light and heat at night. My guys (and gals) wake up hungry and active when they're temps get down in the low 60's at night - adding fresh vegetables to my gut load and going with a higher quality one worked wonders for my Jackson.
Check your supplements too much D isn't good - with panthers you want plain calcium for your daily dusting - too much D is really bad for Jackson's- Panther's tolerate it better but that can cause problems too. It's best to follow the care sheets here
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

 

[zlew]

Last thing--I cant get the temp up to 80 during the day without the infrared bulb. should i switch it to one of the ceramic lightless heaters?

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

You only need a higher temp in the basking spot. You can achieve this with a regular incandescent house bulb, prob 40-60 watts. I like the white bulbs over the clear. You should have a basking temp of 80-85 degrees, with the bottom of the cage being 70 degrees. No ceramic heater needed.

 

[zlew]

You only need a higher temp in the basking spot. You can achieve this with a regular incandescent house bulb, prob 40-60 watts. I like the white bulbs over the clear. You should have a basking temp of 80-85 degrees, with the bottom of the cage being 70 degrees. No ceramic heater needed.

I thought the ambient temperatture was supposed to be 82 for a baby panther.

 

[kplatvoet]

Temperature:
Baby/juvenile (<9 months): ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 82F (28C)
Adult males: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 85-90F (29-32C)
Adult females: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 80-85F (26-29C)

The caresheets here are actually written by people who have been keeping chameleons for a while - I trust them -

 

[jannb]

I thought the ambient temperatture was supposed to be 82 for a baby panther.

Welcome to the forums. This is a great place to learn about chameleons and meet other keepers. I keep the basking spot in the low 80's (82-83) for a three month old. The middle of the cage should be in the mid to high 70's and the bottom of the cage in the low to mid 70's. I'm attaching my blog for how I have had success raising babies.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[kinyonga]

The crickets should be small/appropriate sized at that age and he should eat more like 15 or 20 a day...maybe even more. I usually say let them eat as many as they can in about five minutes at that age.

 

[zlew]

should i cup feed him or let the crickets roam?

 

[kplatvoet]

I do both - I like cup feeding when they are new - to make sure they're eating but I have one who will not eat out of a cup and one who would only eat from a cup when I first got them.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

80 ambient, way too high, 70-73 at highest