Hatchling Pathers will not eat and are dying

[mas274]

I have had 6 panthers hatch over the last 3 weeks and none of them are appearing to eat. 2 have already died and 1 is not looking good.

- I have been offering them flightless fruit flies and pinhead-1/8" crickets.
I have been dumping a ton of each of them in front of chameleons in cage
with no response.
- Under spotlight temp is 82 degrees F with a 40 watt bulb and slightly less in the rest of the cage There is also a reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb.
- Cage is currently a rubbermaid type container with screen on the top and bottom. I had them in a 16"x16"x20" screen cage but the feeder insects seemed be slipping right out through the screen. I put very fine screen on the bottom of the rubbermaid container to avoid this happening.
- They are currently misted 2-3 times per day.
- There is currently a pothos plant, fake plant and rubber coated metal type wire for climbing/basking.

I thought about moving them back to the all screen enclosure but I do not know if this will help. Please let me know if you have any advice. Thank You.

Mark

 

[suzi]

How much cooler is the rest of the cage? 82 should only be for basking spot they need a cooler spot.What are the temps at the bottom? I would also mist them more, I wouldn't put them back in the screen they need high humidity. Are there eyes open? Are they sleeping a lot or active? It may be a weak clutch I am sorry, that really sucks, I hope things turn around for you!

 

[suzi]

Can you post photos of your set up? You may want to try a 25 watt or maybe even no bulb for a bit and see if there is any change, are you sure your Gage is accurate?

 

[Texas Ranger]

Babies dont need a basking spot just a used 5.0 bulb and a 6500 k bulb. no heat light/dome. also do not put the lights straight on top of them hang it about 3 to 5 in from the top of the tub to make it 80 degrees. I mist my babies 6 times a day thats everyother hour. and very lightly not heavy the drops I think could hurt them when there new. also Try a little smaller cricket i use 2 week old crickets i breed and make and I do not heat them to grow faster.

 

[imcurt]

my guess is they are dehydrating!! Im with scott on this one. Myself i have my babies in a rubbermaid with a reptisun 5.0 I do not introduce basking intill they hit 2 months. my mist king gos off for 10-15 sec 6 times a day. my system is far from perfect but ive only lost 1 baby in the last 3 clutchs. post a couple pics and we can get you pointed in the right direction.

 

[Ekaj13]

I agree, it's so easy for them to dehydrate with the lights we use for adult chameleons. Look into a mistking setup- makes like a little easier!

 

[Texas Ranger]

my guess is they are dehydrating!! Im with scott on this one. Myself i have my babies in a rubbermaid with a reptisun 5.0 I do not introduce basking intill they hit 2 months. my mist king gos off for 10-15 sec 6 times a day. my system is far from perfect but ive only lost 1 baby in the last 3 clutchs. post a couple pics and we can get you pointed in the right direction.

Im lee texas ranger not scott thats Texas Panther man

 

[kinyonga]

I find if you put too many insects in a cage with them they tend to just annoy them and they don't seem to chase/eat them. There could be other reasons though too.

 

[Pilotman800]

Im lee texas ranger not scott thats Texas Panther man

LOL! It happens again!!!

 

[Texas Ranger]

LOL! It happens again!!!

I told you

 

[mas274]

Thanks for all the helpfull advice guys. The bulb I was using was about 5" from the surface of the top screen of cage. I have removed this light for now and the temperatures in the cage seem to be in the mid 70s dropping to low 70s possibly high 60s at night. I am also going to mist them lighter 5 times or so a day vs. the heavier misting 2x that I was doing. I have an extra mist king that I need to get a seconds timer for that I can hook up. My current mist king has longer 50 second cycles 4x per day which I believe is too much for babies.

Their eyes don't seem to be opened and they do not seem very active. They do move around a little bit, but not a lot. They don't seem to be too strong. I'm hoping its not a weak clutch. Has anyone else ever had these problems. I have made the adjustments and another one is about to hatch. Hopefully they will turn around for the better. I attached a few photos of their enclosure.

 

[Kent67]

Which species of cricket are you using?

 

[bigcappa]

Sorry to hear about your losses, but it looks like you have made some positive changes, good luck with the rest of them.

 

[suzi]

If you could raise the hood off the cage by hanging it it may be better, I wish you all the best with your new hatchlings please keep us poster on how there doing

 

[clarkrw3]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Looks like you have made some good changes. Do you have drains in the tubs? I can't tell from the pictures but I wouldn't want standing water in them. I assume you do because you mentioned fine mesh on the bottom.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Now your temps seem to low a uvb bulb its self is not going to do it. You need a 6500k bulb too. You need to do a little more research before you breed again or your next clutch hatches. Also what are you useing to dust your feeders with?

 

[kinyonga]

Are the eyes ever open?

Do they drink when misted? If so, until you figure out why the eyes are shut you could try sticking some food in between their teeth when their mouths are open as they drink. It would at least give you some time to figure it out.

 

[Seeco]

Their eyes don't seem to be opened and they do not seem very active. They do move around a little bit, but not a lot. They don't seem to be too strong. I'm hoping its not a weak clutch. Has anyone else ever had these problems. I have made the adjustments and another one is about to hatch. Hopefully they will turn around for the better. I attached a few photos of their enclosure.

Vitamin A problem from the mom perhaps. How long did they incubate? Give us any other incubation details as well.

Nice cage, looks familiar.