@CharlieRae ok so being as thorough as possible.... So see my feedback in red bold.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species-Ambilobe Panther, sex-Male, age-9 months. How long has it been in your care-Since the 1st week of March.
He weighed 121grams on Sept 18 & on Sept 29th also weighed 121grams. So he is holding his weight... this is good and 121 grams is good for a 9 month old. Makes me think he had to have been eating something or he would have been losing grams.
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon- almost daily. He is quite social & likes to hang out. I remove him from his enclosure & let hi free roam in my living room. Or he will go outside with me & hang out on my shoulder as I water plants. Wonderful. So he is still acting normal.
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham-All sizes of crickets. All sizes of silkworms & the moths. All sizes of dubia. BSFL & the flies. Hornworms. Waxworms. Superworms. Grasshoppers. I currently have surinam roaches, red runner roaches & blaberus fusca roaches that are in his feeder that he won't eat. What amount- unlimited since I got him. What is the schedule-daily. How are you gut-loading your feeders-all kinds of veggies, greens & fruit... With the feeders... What method of feeding have you tried? Will he take something if he is outside of the enclosure and you try to handfeed? They can go through a picky stage but usually they pick one feeder they prefer and refuse all others. Additionally at this age some can do a curb back on feeders on their own, for Panthers at 9 months they would be on an every other day feeding of 5 feeders and this would kick down to 3 feeders at 12 months old.
- Supplements - Repti-calcium without D3-every feeding. Bee Pollen-Every Feeding Repashy Calcium Plus-2x a month. These will work. I really like the arcadia supplements as well.
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use-misting & a dripper. Dripper runs from 11AM-5PM. How often and how long to you mist-2x a day 60 seconds each time. once before lights on & once when lights off. Do you see your chameleon drinking-yes... I would extend at least the evening misting to 3 minutes... Give him additional time to drink. and this will up ambient humidity at night.
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings-Will post picture of a dropping from Sept. 30th. I broke it open & it was full of dirt. Had not pooped before that for 10 days & has not pooped since. . Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites-no. I took him to the vet on Sept. 29th & she would not test him. So a fecal would be my advice... Just to rule out an issue of parasites causing the issues.
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - He was in a bioactive 18x18x36 glass vivarium with 2 small fans on top until 2 weeks ago when I removed him & put into a wire ferret cage with potted plants covered in a thick layer of rocks. His new enclosure will be completed by this weekend. A smaller enclosure can contribute to changes in behavior. When they are not happy it can impact them... Curious if this was impacting the lack of eating the feeders. Since the move to the large wire one has eating at all improved?
- Lighting - What brand-T5HO linear bulb ordered from Pangea. I do not remember the brand. 1 BR30 65W bulb. What is your daily lighting schedule-lights on @ 7AM. Lights off @ 7PM. Please double check the UVB light for me. On the end of the bulb it will say what the bulb strength is. If the UVB is not correct this can impact them in many ways.
- Temperature - What temp range have you created? cage floor-I have never checked the cage floor. In his bioactive the temp about 3/4 way up was 70-72*F. I'm getting the same temp in the ferret cage. basking spot-77*F. Lowest overnight temp-62 is what we keep our house temps at. His cage would cool to the same temps in the bioactive & in the ferret cage. How do you measure these temps-I measure the basking spot with a heat gun. I have a hygrometer/thermostat in the cage for ambient temp. Basking spot can be as high as 80. get a Wired probe gauge for the basking spot hook the probe directly below the fixture on the branch.. It may be running a bit colder then your thinking because a heat gun measures surface temps only.
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels-30-40%. How are you creating and maintaining these levels-Misting What do you use to measure humidity-digital hygrometer. 30-40% is a bit low for a Panther. Your wanting more like 50-60% during the day with a boost at night above 75%. I would consider adding a cool mist humidifier to the room he is in. This will up ambient temps. I would not run it into the enclosure during the day though this would pose a risk of a respiratory infection. But in the room is fine and you will be able to achieve higher ambient levels this way. At night fogging is great because it will help hydrate him.
- Plants - Are you using live plants-yes. If so, what kind-Pothos. Nerve Plants. Polka Dot plants. Schefflera. Money tree.
- Placement - Where is your cage located-Living room in a corner away from windows & vents. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor- both bioactive & ferret cage 5.5ft
- Location - Where are you geographically located-Northern Wyoming
Current Problem - Will not eat feeder bugs. Seeks out & eats dirt. Will dig through or push aside anything covering the dirt. Problem started in late August. I took him to the vet Sept 30th. She said he did not feel like he had an impaction. She would not do a fecal. She said if he isn't improving in a couple weeks bring him back. I will not take him back to her. She did not know his sex, she tried to argue that he was a she, when he is quite obviously a male. She had to google info on his locale & gave me a print off from reptilemagazine.com
I took him out of the bioactive 2 weeks due to the fact I could not cover the dirt adequately to prevent the dirt eating & it was too small for him.
I attached photos of the cage he is now in. This was an in progress picture & more plants & sticks have been added.
The poop was very small. The size of my finger nail. Urates were very orange.
Urate is showing signs of dehydration but this can be misleading because if he is not producing stools because he is not eating the urate can be held longer which can also cause it to look like he is dehydrated.
