Kekepania
Member
Hello, I’m starting to worry about my guy lately! Well, I’m always worrying about him! But this morning he didn’t want to eat anything! Not even a super worm! Then I come home from work and notice this white area on his arm?! Normally I would think he is about to shed (he usually doesn’t eat right before he sheds but he just shed on December 28th...isnt it a little early for him to shed again?
So what else could it be? And other then that, does he look healthy? I have provided a pic of his arm & what he looks like right before bed (he usually goes to his sleeping spot 2 hours before lights out...I have “never” caught him sleeping while lights on but he seems to like his sleeping spot a lot). I do put a black curtain (can not see through it) up at night since he is in the dining room (that room’s lights are always off at night for him but since our living room is close by, I just add the curtain so it’s as dark as possible. I even put the curtain up in full darkness so it doesn’t scare him as I’m putting it up. Also I have provided a pic of his enclosure & of him in full color. He doesn’t seem to use his bright colors often though...usually he is just a greenish brown. Is that normal? He does seem like a very calm guy. I don’t handle him often (actually just 3 times total!) but I will put 2 fingers close to his hands, in hopes he will climb onto my hand one day...it’s a very slow process. I do this maybe once a week for maybe 30 seconds. I have provided all other husbandry info below. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated on him & how I can improve & what you think the white on his arm is?! Thank you ahead of time!
Husbandry info:
He is almost 7 months old & is a Nosy Faly Panther Chameleon. I got him when he was 3 months old & he came from Florida (Roberson Reptiles). I live a few blocks from the beach in NJ. I feed him daily, usually he eats 1-2 large crickets, several BSFL, 3-4 large silk worms & 1 “small” super worm (in that order
). I usually gutload with bee pollen, carrots, mangos, collard greens & apples. I dust with calcium w/o D3 everyday but around once every 2 or 3 weeks I’ll do calcium with d3. Then I dust with a multivitamin every 2 weeks. I have a 30” T5 HO fixture & his basking area is usually around 85-87. I have automatic timers that turn lights on at 7am & off at 7pm. I have a MistKing that runs 3 minutes at 7:30am & 4pm. I also run several 30 second misting sessions too, in between those times (I do this because I notice he usually drinks as he walks...just licks the branch as he walks so I like to keep the branches wet for him. Usually everything is dry by lights out. I also have a little dripper & I run a fogger for 30 minutes every hour at night. His urate is usually an off white color. Not really beige but in between white & beige. His poop is moist & normal looking but I will add 2 days ago he took the biggest poop I have ever seen! Another thing I noticed in his droppings is sperm plugs! The first time I noticed these were about 1.5 months ago! I thought that was really young For him to start doing that, no?! Next, he has a fully bioactive enclosure, with isopods & springtails. I do have a carpet-type “real moss” on the ground to help against impaction, since the substrate underneath can range from chips to charcoal (Luckily I have never seen him walk down there & I hand feed him mainly (I do have a feeder down at the bottom but he doesn’t really use it much). All the plants in his enclosure are real (except for 2 long string of pink flowers for color, which I clean biweekly). As far as real plants, I have a Pothos, spider plant, ficus, Fittonia nerve plant, orchid, Monstera vine, bromeliad, ivy, ponytail palm & a small pitcher plant inside. I converted an old hutch so my measurements are a little off from the norm...it measures: 42” high / 30” wide / 20.5” deep. I do plan to add an addition to the top of his enclosure to make it 1.5 feet taller.
So what else could it be? And other then that, does he look healthy? I have provided a pic of his arm & what he looks like right before bed (he usually goes to his sleeping spot 2 hours before lights out...I have “never” caught him sleeping while lights on but he seems to like his sleeping spot a lot). I do put a black curtain (can not see through it) up at night since he is in the dining room (that room’s lights are always off at night for him but since our living room is close by, I just add the curtain so it’s as dark as possible. I even put the curtain up in full darkness so it doesn’t scare him as I’m putting it up. Also I have provided a pic of his enclosure & of him in full color. He doesn’t seem to use his bright colors often though...usually he is just a greenish brown. Is that normal? He does seem like a very calm guy. I don’t handle him often (actually just 3 times total!) but I will put 2 fingers close to his hands, in hopes he will climb onto my hand one day...it’s a very slow process. I do this maybe once a week for maybe 30 seconds. I have provided all other husbandry info below. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated on him & how I can improve & what you think the white on his arm is?! Thank you ahead of time!Husbandry info:
He is almost 7 months old & is a Nosy Faly Panther Chameleon. I got him when he was 3 months old & he came from Florida (Roberson Reptiles). I live a few blocks from the beach in NJ. I feed him daily, usually he eats 1-2 large crickets, several BSFL, 3-4 large silk worms & 1 “small” super worm (in that order
). I usually gutload with bee pollen, carrots, mangos, collard greens & apples. I dust with calcium w/o D3 everyday but around once every 2 or 3 weeks I’ll do calcium with d3. Then I dust with a multivitamin every 2 weeks. I have a 30” T5 HO fixture & his basking area is usually around 85-87. I have automatic timers that turn lights on at 7am & off at 7pm. I have a MistKing that runs 3 minutes at 7:30am & 4pm. I also run several 30 second misting sessions too, in between those times (I do this because I notice he usually drinks as he walks...just licks the branch as he walks so I like to keep the branches wet for him. Usually everything is dry by lights out. I also have a little dripper & I run a fogger for 30 minutes every hour at night. His urate is usually an off white color. Not really beige but in between white & beige. His poop is moist & normal looking but I will add 2 days ago he took the biggest poop I have ever seen! Another thing I noticed in his droppings is sperm plugs! The first time I noticed these were about 1.5 months ago! I thought that was really young For him to start doing that, no?! Next, he has a fully bioactive enclosure, with isopods & springtails. I do have a carpet-type “real moss” on the ground to help against impaction, since the substrate underneath can range from chips to charcoal (Luckily I have never seen him walk down there & I hand feed him mainly (I do have a feeder down at the bottom but he doesn’t really use it much). All the plants in his enclosure are real (except for 2 long string of pink flowers for color, which I clean biweekly). As far as real plants, I have a Pothos, spider plant, ficus, Fittonia nerve plant, orchid, Monstera vine, bromeliad, ivy, ponytail palm & a small pitcher plant inside. I converted an old hutch so my measurements are a little off from the norm...it measures: 42” high / 30” wide / 20.5” deep. I do plan to add an addition to the top of his enclosure to make it 1.5 feet taller.
I wonder if that white is on the surface, like a little bit of urate smudge? I can’t really say but hopefully someone with experience with that chimes in soon. Sleeping in the day is a little concerning tho, I know my chameleon needs a night drop in temp to sleep well, what is your night temps? The only other things I can think of is vibrations from the fridge or someone using a loud microwave for midnight snack?
! And don’t worry, I have NOT caught him sleeping during the day...he just always goes to his sleeping spot about 2 hours before lights out. I do look often at him when he is there, just to make sure he is not sleeping. And I think you have a pretty good idea there with the urate smudge because he took another pretty big poop with a lot of urate on a leaf (Monstera vine) that is right next to (kind of on top of) one of his basking branches & he could have easily rubbed up against it!! Good call! I really hope that’s it!! I’ll try to give him a good soak today to see if it comes off (I don’t like to spray him directly (he doesn’t like that or getting wet in general) but obviously this may have to be done! Thanks so much! I do hope someone else chimes in though! I’m shocked more people haven’t commented actually! But thanks so much for taking the time to read the book I wrote
