ChamOh
Established Member
I typically feed my cham at 8:15 am, yesterday I had to feed him at 7:30 am, today I slept in and fed him at 9:30 am.
I woke up and checked his cage only to find him at the bottom gnawing on a terracotta pot! It was making a terrible sound and scared the sh*t out of me when I saw him doing this. You definitely could hear his little teeth/jaw scraping on the pot.
WTH was that all about? any ideas?
I then went to cup feed him, and he seemed dehydrated. no physical signs that I could see, but his tounge seemed dry, it actually stuck to the cup for a second. So I immediately gave a misting and he went for a drink, he seemed pretty thirsty.
I don't know if the pot thing and being thirsty are somehow related or not, but I'm a little concerned with this behavior. BTW, the organic soil is covered with river rocks although if he were really trying i believe he could get his head into the soil and eat a little. But again I didn't catch him eating soil, I caught him gnawing the pot!
THANKS!
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Panther, Male, 3 1/2 months, in my care for less than two weeks
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
haven't yet
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
"Small" crickets, approx 10-12 per day in the morning, gut loading crix with Zilla Cricket and Insect Food, greens, carrots, and providing them with water crystals.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Reptical, Reptical w/ D3, Reptivite. Schedule from breeder which is a rotating schedule, which consists of two weeks. Week one: calcium, none, calcium, vitamins, calcium, none, calcium. Week Two: Vitamins, calcium, none, calcium, vitamins, calcium, none. Calcium w/ D3 is used instead of regular calcium once or twice a month.
I will be switching out the reptivite for herptivite, because I'm concerned about all the Vit A in Reptivite, where as herptivite uses beta carotene.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Drip system and misting. Mist two to three times per day. I used 1/2 of a water bottle which causes a humidity spike in the 80-90 percent range.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Brown and white. Consistency unknown. Not tested yet for bugs.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
screen 18x18x20
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
retisun 5.0 linear tube, 34 watt incandescent house bulb. 12 hrs
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Floor is around 70 degrees, basking is 84, ambient around 69, over night around 67, digital thermometer readings.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
room humidity is as bad as 20 percent. Cage stays around thirty when dry, after misting spikes up to 85/90 and stays humid for a while. Back and 1/3 of sides of cage are enclosed with aquarium background that helps keep humidity in cage.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? schefflera, pothos
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Bedroom, Bottom of cage is about 3 ft off the ground.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Eastern Pennsylvania.
I woke up and checked his cage only to find him at the bottom gnawing on a terracotta pot! It was making a terrible sound and scared the sh*t out of me when I saw him doing this. You definitely could hear his little teeth/jaw scraping on the pot.
WTH was that all about? any ideas?
I then went to cup feed him, and he seemed dehydrated. no physical signs that I could see, but his tounge seemed dry, it actually stuck to the cup for a second. So I immediately gave a misting and he went for a drink, he seemed pretty thirsty.
I don't know if the pot thing and being thirsty are somehow related or not, but I'm a little concerned with this behavior. BTW, the organic soil is covered with river rocks although if he were really trying i believe he could get his head into the soil and eat a little. But again I didn't catch him eating soil, I caught him gnawing the pot!
THANKS!
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Panther, Male, 3 1/2 months, in my care for less than two weeks
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
haven't yet
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
"Small" crickets, approx 10-12 per day in the morning, gut loading crix with Zilla Cricket and Insect Food, greens, carrots, and providing them with water crystals.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Reptical, Reptical w/ D3, Reptivite. Schedule from breeder which is a rotating schedule, which consists of two weeks. Week one: calcium, none, calcium, vitamins, calcium, none, calcium. Week Two: Vitamins, calcium, none, calcium, vitamins, calcium, none. Calcium w/ D3 is used instead of regular calcium once or twice a month.
I will be switching out the reptivite for herptivite, because I'm concerned about all the Vit A in Reptivite, where as herptivite uses beta carotene.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Drip system and misting. Mist two to three times per day. I used 1/2 of a water bottle which causes a humidity spike in the 80-90 percent range.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Brown and white. Consistency unknown. Not tested yet for bugs.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
screen 18x18x20
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
retisun 5.0 linear tube, 34 watt incandescent house bulb. 12 hrs
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Floor is around 70 degrees, basking is 84, ambient around 69, over night around 67, digital thermometer readings.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
room humidity is as bad as 20 percent. Cage stays around thirty when dry, after misting spikes up to 85/90 and stays humid for a while. Back and 1/3 of sides of cage are enclosed with aquarium background that helps keep humidity in cage.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? schefflera, pothos
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Bedroom, Bottom of cage is about 3 ft off the ground.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Eastern Pennsylvania.
