I recently bought a 3/4 month old panther chameleon

[ethankohl13]

Hi im Ethan I recently bought a 3/4 month closer to 4 months old panther chameleon on sunday from a reptile expo. I have a 2x2x4 cage and plenty of live plants everything you'd need for the perfect home. The only issue is this little guy hasn't ate since bringing home. Idk how to introduce food to him(small crickets). I've tried tong feeding hm he just runs and hides. I'm scared to put crickets in his cage for long periods bc ik they could hurt him. I also haven't seen him come to the basking branch much just really hiding the whole time the lights on. I just don't the little guy to die or get unhealthy. This is my first chameleon, I've also reached out to the breeder about how he was going about feeding the dude and i haven't had a reply. I really would love the help. THINGS THAT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT.
I have a Reptisun T5 Ho Light
Basking buld is a 50 watt and the basking branch is about 87-90. I have a 75WATT but was told buy the breeder it could be to hot and dehydrate him.
i have a fogger and sprayer. and a water dripper and lots of live plants.

 

[LizardLurkin]

If he's brand new to the place, it will take a couple of weeks most likely before you start to observe him eating regularly. His surroundings are all new, and even if a total improvement to his last, will take some getting used to. As babies they are particularly more scaredy, too.
I will have to advise against using tongs to feed your little guy. Too often can they result in major tongue injuries. To get him used to your presence, you will have better luck putting the bugs in a little cup, and holding them near wherever he's hiding (being sure you're mostly out of view. I did this by standing more beside the enclosure with arm outstretched, or sitting much lower.)
That's how it worked for me and my chameleon, anyhow. Eight months later and he happily and confidently takes bugs from my hand even with full eye contact.

 

[ethankohl13]

If he's brand new to the place, it will take a couple of weeks most likely before you start to observe him eating regularly. His surroundings are all new, and even if a total improvement to his last, will take some getting used to. As babies they are particularly more scaredy, too.
I will have to advise against using tongs to feed your little guy. Too often can they result in major tongue injuries. To get him used to your presence, you will have better luck putting the bugs in a little cup, and holding them near wherever he's hiding (being sure you're mostly out of view. I did this by standing more beside the enclosure with arm outstretched, or sitting much lower.)
That's how it worked for me and my chameleon, anyhow. Eight months later and he happily and confidently takes bugs from my hand even with full eye contact.

so what about a vertical feeder where the bugs can craw but not jump out? Like i said im completely new to this. how big/deep should said cup be? I also have a very hard time finding him sometimes

 

[LizardLurkin]

Yes, such feeder cups are popular. Shooting galleries, feeder runs, I see them called by both of these things.

I have one of these, but I also place this cup inside daily for extra visibility (I was worried the roaches blended in to how dark the cup is)
I also use the little white cup for hand feeding. I'm unsure if crickets can escape it, so you might just elect to use a generic, deeper plastic cup and hold it under where your cham is hiding for visibility and temptation.

 

[Beman]

You need a feeder run. This guy has either been free fed or by feeder run. You can make one in the mean time or buy one. But you need baby to start eating. https://dragonstrand.com/constructing-a-chameleon-feeder-run/

At this stage they rarely will cup feed or hand feed. And tongs are dangerous for chams so not recommended. If they target it you could pull back and permanently damage the tongue.

Your temps are way too high for one this young. you want more to the 80 degree basking temp. Even an adult would be in the 80-85max for basking. If you are running focused heat bulbs these are very intense. A plain 60 watt incandescent white bulb would be better.

T5HO should be a 5.0 bulb strength and you want 8-9 inches to the basking branches running directly below it. No lights on at night so you want a 12 hour lights on and off cycle. If you are running the fogger that would be night only and only if temps are cool around 65.

 

[ethankohl13]

Yes, such feeder cups are popular. Shooting galleries, feeder runs, I see them called by both of these things.

I have one of these, but I also place this cup inside daily for extra visibility (I was worried the roaches blended in to how dark the cup is)
I also use the little white cup for hand feeding. I'm unsure if crickets can escape it, so you might just elect to use a generic, deeper plastic cup and hold it under where your cham is hiding for visibility and temptation.

i did just get him to eat 2 crickets! with the cup method i just think he is scared and just trying to get use to the new home

 

[Beman]

i did just get him to eat 2 crickets! with the cup method i just think he is scared and just trying to get use to the new home

But at this age he has to eat around 24-36 small insects per day. This is going to be hard with cup feeding. So he needs to be able to eat as he wants to.

 

[LizardLurkin]

You can also try more than just crickets. Personally, my chameleon goes crazy over catepillars (hornworms and silkworms)
Do note, however, hornworms grow very fast and you don't want to offer any too big to a little baby. Very good option if you have multiple reptiles, or if your house isn't so hot that they grow up quickly. A lot of hornworms can also make their poop runny too.

Here's a couple feeder images for inspiration:

If you only just got him Sunday, I do believe he's settling in, but maybe getting that taste of food will encourage him to eat more. I do highly recommend a feeder run, though I wouldn't be surprised if the crickets hop out of it.

 

[ethankohl13]

You can also try more than just crickets. Personally, my chameleon goes crazy over catepillars (hornworms and silkworms)
Do note, however, hornworms grow very fast and you don't want to offer any too big to a little baby. Very good option if you have multiple reptiles, or if your house isn't so hot that they grow up quickly. A lot of hornworms can also make their poop runny too.

Here's a couple feeder images for inspiration:
View attachment 367588View attachment 367589
If you only just got him Sunday, I do believe he's settling in, but maybe getting that taste of food will encourage him to eat more. I do highly recommend a feeder run, though I wouldn't be surprised if the crickets hop out of it.

i bought a food runner but idk where i should put it since idk where he likes to be at. And do i leave food in it for how long ? what if they get out of it should i be worried ??

 

[LizardLurkin]

For me, personally, I remove insects after they go to sleep. I haven't dealt with crickets (I am not yet strong enough) but they have been known to nip on chams. I am not wisened to they way of managing escaped crickets.
I also believe the food runner should sit on the upper half of the enclosure, but positioned in such a way where they can see into it from their high branches. They will spend most of their time at the top, so you want their line of sight to be able to see and understand there are bugs in the runner.

Some pics of my placement (veeery early photos of my chameleon's enclosure, but makes it much easier to see where I put it!)

@Beman is one of the wisest here, so do take her advice to mind too

 

[ethankohl13]

For me, personally, I remove insects after they go to sleep. I haven't dealt with crickets (I am not yet strong enough) but they have been known to nip on chams. I am not wisened to they way of managing escaped crickets.
I also believe the food runner should sit on the upper half of the enclosure, but positioned in such a way where they can see into it from their high branches. They will spend most of their time at the top, so you want their line of sight to be able to see and understand there are bugs in the runner.

Some pics of my placement (veeery early photos of my chameleon's enclosure, but makes it much easier to see where I put it!)
View attachment 367590View attachment 367591

@Beman is one of the wisest here, so do take her advice to mind too

well i was able to get him to eat a couple out the cup snd then put some in his runner before work and a couple in the plant he hangs out in so he could hunt them from a higher point. am still worried about him but he is at least eating now

 

[LizardLurkin]

I know there's a lot of anxiety with bringing home a chameleon in particular, knowing how many things can go wrong.
Eating is always a good sign, and especially considering he's somewhere brand new. The best we can do is keep checking on them.
I personally installed a pet cam for constant surveillance and it helps a lot with peace of mind. It's also pretty entertaining.

To echo what @Beman said about the temps, it is good to keep a baby at around 80f max. When he's more grown, he can see temps of 85f. I might also suggest bringing the uvb bar closer to the basking lamp, that way the basking branch serves both the purpose of UVB and basking.
Make sure the basking branch is at least 8-9 inches below the UVB.

Good luck with your chameleon.

 

[ethankohl13]

I just wanted to make a update post and say hes been eating and we kinda have it figured out. i place a little cup with his dusted crickets and then after putting it down he makes his way to his eating spot pretty quickly ! i also have taken everyones advice and made changes as instructed.

 

[ethankohl13]

just wanted to post a couple pics of him after about a week of having him