Help me please, worried!

Milan

New Member
Hello,

First of all, I want to apologize for my poor english, as a french native speaker, I'll do my best to be as clear as possible.
I am using a bioactive cage, with living plants, cleaning crew, and a plant wall made of Xaxim.
Tuesday 02/09/21, I got a 4 months old male Furcifer Pardalis, purchased online, delivered at my house. He's been travelling for 16 hours before he arrived at my place.
-Day 0 (Tuesday) he ate 5 crickets from my hand without Calcium. He was a bit stressed, but discovered his enclosure all day long, then found his sleeping spot at 7.00 pm, and fell asleep.
-Day 1 (Wednesday), he ate 6 crickets without calcium. Nothing special to mention in his attitude, a normal day overall.
-Day 2 (Thursday, today), he refused to eat from my hand, so I tried several times to release bugs in front of him in his enclosure, but he still wouldnt eat them. I found him weak, would not say lethargic however. He spent the whole day on his basking spot, lying sideways, sometimes even upside down...Moving very slowly. At 6.00 pm he went to his sleeping spot, I shut the lights off and decided to leave him alone, not try to feed him again.

Thank you for your help!

Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - 4 months old male Furcifer Pardalis. Got him 2 days ago.
  • Handling - Did not handle him yet.
  • Feeding - So far, he ate only crickets, but I've also got "red runner" roaches which I tried to feed him with today. Gutload : endive, pear, cabbage leaves.
  • Supplements - Only got my Calcium without D3 today, so he didnt get any supplements so far.
  • Watering - I use a dripper and a mister. I mist on the morning for about one minute, then on the afternoon, and on the evening after i shut the lights off. I saw him drinking a couple of times so far.
  • Fecal Description - Half white, half light orange. Has never been tested for parasite.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Self made screen cage, size : 150cm x 80cm x 70cm
  • Lighting - Basking light : 100Watts Halogene Komodo bulb. UVB light : 60cm long T5 neon spot Reptil Systems. 20W Lighting lamp "Aquarium Systems".
  • Temperature - Basking spot : 87 degrees. Floor temp : 72 degrees. Middle cage temp 75 degrees.
  • Humidity - No idea, not using a hygrometer, but misting 3 times a day for on minute.
  • Plants - Many living plants such as Howea forsteriana, pteridium aquilinium, Xaxim plant wall...
  • Placement - Cage located in my living room, near a window, cage top 150cm from the room floor.
  • Location - South of France.
Photos :
 

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Right off the main issue I am seeing is that you have basking on one side of the cage with uvb on the other side. This is not ideal. Really you want them close to each other so they get heat while getting UVB.

What UVB bulb strength did you get?
Basking Temps are a bit hot for a baby much less an adult drop the temp back to 80-83.
 
Right off the main issue I am seeing is that you have basking on one side of the cage with uvb on the other side. This is not ideal. Really you want them close to each other so they get heat while getting UVB.

What UVB bulb strength did you get?
Basking Temps are a bit hot for a baby much less an adult drop the temp back to 80-83.

Thank you for your reply.
I'm using a 6% T5 neon UVB.

If Basking Temps are too hot, why is he spending most of the time on his basking spot then?
I can't figure out why he refused to eat today...
Maybe too stressed? Or he doesnt like hand feeding?
 
Thank you for your reply.
I'm using a 6% T5 neon UVB.

If Basking Temps are too hot, why is he spending most of the time on his basking spot then?
I can't figure out why he refused to eat today...
Maybe too stressed? Or he doesnt like hand feeding?
I am going with stress... But having the basking on the opposite side from the uvb means he is not getting the UVB he needs if he is not moving from the basking area with the heat. This will reduce appetite as well.
Due to the type of screening you used it will not reduce the UVB output of the lamp much at all. So your distance to basking is really important. You will need a full 12-13 inches to basking branch below the UVB fixture with this bulb strength. This will give approximately a 3 UVI level.
 
Ok, I'll move the UVB closer to the basking branch then and see.
What should I do if he refuses food tomorrow?
 
Ok, I'll move the UVB closer to the basking branch then and see.
What should I do if he refuses food tomorrow?
Yeah I would have it so it sits right next to it. Then he gets both heat and uvb at the same time.

He may very well refuse food. This can be very common in a new environment. Take it day by day. And start reading through that husbandry program I gave you the link for. This will really help you since your new to the hobby.

Make sure the feeders are size appropriate for him. So 1/4 inch feeders to 1/2 inch. If they are too large he may not take them.

You can continue to hand feed or cup feed and then there are feeder runs but I do not know what kinds they have where you live. But here is a link on how to make one.
https://dragonstrand.com/constructing-a-chameleon-feeder-run/
 
Thanks again for all your informations, I will keep you updated tomorrow, hopefully he'll grab something to eat...
Your welcome. It is a learning process. And right now you just have to make a few changes and let the baby settle. If you can ask the breeder what they fed and how they fed that may help him get more accustomed to the environment he is in now.
 
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