Concerned.

[allllllen]

Chameleon Info:
Ambilobe x Ambanja Panther chameleon, Male, 9 months old. i've had him in my care for 6 months.
Handling - Once every week or two.
Feeding - Crickets / superworms and at times hornworms. I gutload them with leafy greens, carrots, squash, orange and apple along with cricket crack.
Supplements - Multivitamin every week along with Vitamin w/d3 , once or twice a week.
Watering - I have a mistking that goes off roughly for about 5-6 minutes each 3 hours, 3 times during the day.
Fecal Description - Brown/black with white urate.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cage Info:
Cage Type - All Screen mesh, 2'x2'x4'.
Lighting - Ive got a 75 watt basking bulb at the top left of the cage with a 24" reptisun bulb and a plant growth light bulb.
Temperature - His basking spot is usually anywhere from 85 to 92. His day time ambient temps hang around 70 - 75 and his lowest night ambient temps are 65. i usually dnt let them get lower then 67.
Humidity - Ive got a digital hydrometer. The humidity in the cage usually doesnt drop bellow 55%, reaching a high of 88 or 87% after mistings.
Plants - Ive got 2 large ficus trees in his cage, reaching pretty high up into his cage.
Placement - Cage is in my bedroom in a corner, away from my windows, door shaft.
Location - I am located in California, La.

Current Problem -For about a month or two now, he hasn't been eating or being as active as he was before. I know when a cham hits 6months old , they start eating a little less but my chameleon usually doesnt want any crickets. If i offer him 2 or 3 superworms, he'll eat them up, any day, any time but he'll only eat 2 or 3 crickets every 3 or 4 days.
Also, he doesnt seem as active as before. He'll usually just chill near his uvb light and occasionally move to bask a bit.
I took him to the vet a month ago to get him checked out and the vet suggested that he did not need any blood work or xrays because he seemed pretty healthy and alert, Which he is, my only concern is why he isn't eating so much.
Could it be because its winter and during this time, they tend to eat less? does that also explain why he isnt so explorive and active?

 

[hallenhe]

It sounds like it's probably a combination of getting older, shorter day lengths and maybe deciding that if he refuses crickets he might get offered a tastier superworm. I don't know what your temperatures are there, but if you can take him out now and then for some real sunshine (should be able to down into the fifties), that might perk him up a bit. But they do become less active both in the winter and with age, and they do cut back on their eating. (And many, including mine, aren't quite so excited about crickets once they discover supers.)

 

[SSimsswiSS]

How many hours of light does your cham receive each day? Is lighting on a timer?

 

[carol5208]

Ditto on the Supers! Mine loves them best and once he started to get a taste of those it was all over for the crickets! I notice my chameleon when he is in his cage to be not as active also as the winter months have arrived(even though we are in Florida, we have gotten some cold spells) but as soon as I get him out of the cage and into the sun he is like a different chameleon. Mine also basks in his cage alot too. Doesn't sound like anything too serious to me.

 

[allllllen]

I guess I should really test taking him outside.
His lights are on a timer, yes. They go on at 6:30 am and turn off at 6:30 pm.
Isn't it bad to feed a cham too many supers because of their hard shells?
How many do you guys feed yours daily/ weekly?

 

[carol5208]

They are not bad to feed. They are alot fatty than crickets that is for sure. They do have some meat to them though unlike mealworms which are basically just all hardshell. I feed my cham every other day and he eats supers mixed with hornworms, silkworms, occaisonal waxworms and phoenix worms. All those worms are soft bodied so I figure the supers gives some balance of fiber so to speak. I wish he would eat crickets but I must have tried introducing them 10 times over the past 5 months or so but he just refuses.

 

[hallenhe]

Supers can b a staple, though variety is always best. My guy eats 1-3 superworms in a day when he's stuck on supers, and doesn't eat every day. He'll sometimes take a roach, and will accept all the other worms. Silkies and butters give some variety. Once in a great while he'll take a cricket, but not that often.