chameleon not eating!!! and burn on his head!!

Raphael1047

Raphael1047

Established Member
hi, I have a panther chameleon and he is about 7 months old. i'm really worried about him because he has not eaten for about 5 days. I changed a plant in his cage 3 days ago and his temp. and humidity is good. i have him in a screen cage and have been trying to feed him several different types of food like dubias, wax worms,superworms, and crickets but he will not eat.also he has this burn on his head that he had ever since i had him. it is like a bubble on his head . i tried removing it and i put antibiotic on it but i don't know what else i should do.I hope some one can help me with these problems. i would certainly appreciate it.
 
Raphael1047 said:
hi, I have a panther chameleon and he is about 7 months old. i'm really worried about him because he has not eaten for about 5 days. I changed a plant in his cage 3 days ago and his temp. and humidity is good. i have him in a screen cage and have been trying to feed him several different types of food like dubias, wax worms,superworms, and crickets but he will not eat.also he has this burn on his head that he had ever since i had him. it is like a bubble on his head . i tried removing it and i put antibiotic on it but i don't know what else i should do.I hope some one can help me with these problems. i would certainly appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I can really help you with this. My concern is you trying to remove the bubble on his head. He could have possibly gotten an infection. It may have been better left alone, considering it's been there his entire life. I'm not exactly sure how this turn of events came about though. Could you maybe give us a timeline? I don't have the link, I'm sure someone else will, but could you fill out the "how to ask for help" form? Pictures help us get an idea of what's going on too. Does he seem dehydrated at all?
 
Hi!
It's not uncommon for chameleons of that age to slow down on eating and, weird as it sounds, 5 days is not that long. While I do think you are right to be concerned, and filling out the form ataraxia linked is the right thing to do, I also don't want you to think that your chameleon is about to starve to death. He's not. I agree with living the blister alone for the moment. Maybe someone with experience here can give you some tips on what to do about it.

I think you should be finding a vet in your area with chameleon experience. Even if you don't think you need one now, you probably will at some point and it's better to have the name and phone number before there is something dramatically wrong.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - panther chameleon,male, 3 months in my care.
Handling - i only handle him when i need to put antibiotics.
Feeding - dubias ,cickets, superworms. what ever he will eat.mostly around 5-6 o'clock. i gut load them with repashy gut load.
Supplements - i use zoo med repticalcium everother day and rep-cal multivitamin and once a week.
Watering -a misting system and spray bottle.i mist 2-3 times a day and until the cage is all misted.yes i see my chameleon drinking.
Fecal Description -the recent dropings is brown with yellow or white. not that i know of.
History -i got him from the serpentarium in lodi CA

Cage Info:
Cage Type - it is an all screen cage. it is a 18x18x36 cage
Lighting - i am using an exo terra basking bulb, a zillia uvb fixture and zoomed 5.0 uvb bulb and a night light. 9am-8pm.
Temperature - the baskingspot is 83 and the bottom is 74.72 is the lowest it goes. i measure by an analog and digital termometer.
Humidity - usually 40-65%. a fogger and misting. a analog hydrometer
Plants -an umbrella tree.
Placement -no it is not place near any thing. it is 3ft off the ground
Location - bay area
 
yeah it was a bubble but i tried removing it which now i realize was not a good idea. i am putting antibiotics on it 2 times a day.yesterday it was twice the size.
 
Is his colors supposed to be this dull at 7 months and he is shedding right now but his colors are usually like that.he has some color but little dots.
 
Sorry to hear about your delema- Are you sure it is male? It almost looks gravid, maybe some better pictures of "bubble" and profile of the chameleon.
 
here are some more pictures. he always had a cut tail , they said it was a birth defect.thanks for all the quick replies.
 
Its possible the black bubble is an infection...I would recommend that you have a vet look at it.

The coloration looks like a female to me too...if it is and she's gravid and you don't have a place for her to dig in the cage she could become eggbound and die.

Either of the above could cause a lack of appetite.

Does your calcium have phos. or D3 in it?
 
Just in case, you should put a laying bin in the cage. Ideally, this will be a 12x12x12 container filled with clean play sand (available at WalMart or Home Depot) or a mix of play sand and organic soil (no fertilizers!).

You can tweak the measurements a bit to make it work for your situation. Keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel drilled with your finger. In fact, I recommend you drill a hole with your finger and leave it there for her to use if she wants. Make it an inch across at least and as deep as you can go with your finger.
 
if he is really a she and she is gravid how can that happen without a mate or do panthers just lay infertile eggs. i don't think he is a she although it does make more sense why "she" is not eating.because she does not want to eat do i buy some liquid calcium or something? i dont know why but i am still shocked that he can be a she. i will read more on the forum about what else i can do. if anyone has anymore comments, questions, or just some tips i will be happy to hear them.
 
yes they can lay infertile eggs and she is at the perfect age. If you can post some more pics of the tail and vent area we can tell you for sure. I agree I think it is a female by the coloration and the one pic of the tail that I can see. she will die without a place to lay eggs. Has she been traveling down to the bottom of the cage?.
 
she has been traveling to the bottom the cage and now I am almost certain she is a girl. also i am getting the organic soil today.Now I have a female to breed if i ever want to do that in the future. hopefully when i am more experienced with chameleons. oh yeah the black "bubble" is doing good with antibiotics. i will hopefully post a update on my chameleon in the next week. If you have any more questions, comments, or tips feel free to message me.
 
Egglaying containers are normally recommended to be opaque and at least 12" deep x 12" x 8" and are usually recommended to be full of washed playsand that is moist enough to hold a tunnel. Don't wait too long to put one in or she could end up eggbound....and don't let her see you watching her once she starts digging.
 
deffinatly looks to be female probable gravid. forsure get her to a vet for the black bump and put a laying bin in esspecially if she has been cruising the bottom of the cage.
 
Elizadolots said:
Just in case, you should put a laying bin in the cage. Ideally, this will be a 12x12x12 container filled with clean play sand (available at WalMart or Home Depot) or a mix of play sand and organic soil (no fertilizers!).

You can tweak the measurements a bit to make it work for your situation. Keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel drilled with your finger. In fact, I recommend you drill a hole with your finger and leave it there for her to use if she wants. Make it an inch across at least and as deep as you can go with your finger.
Click to expand...

follow this and you should be fine as far as egg laying cover cage good privacy is important they will be infertile but one of the down falls of fenale chams they lay eggs without a mate but you can lower her temps and her food intake and keep her to a minimum amount of eggs and clutches
 
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