Lethargic Cham

Timothycham

New Member
Recently my chameleon started acting relatively lethargic for no apparent reason (eg. he just sits on his basking spot all day). Additionally, his appetite has seemed to die down and he no really "hunts" for his food anymore as much as he used to; there are always like 6 crickets bundled up by on the screen by the basking light and he pretends like they aren't there.

Wondering if this is normal for an older cham, about 1.5 years. Also, this wasn't a one day change, just came to notice it recently.
 
Yes, please fill out the form. Sometimes chams will chill out for a day or two in one spot, and their appetite does slow down with age.
 
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - M Panther, I hatched
  • Handling - Almost every day he climbed on me when I fed (or at least used to)
  • Feeding - Roaches, Crickets, Worms, etc. every other morning. gutload with whatever organic veggie i have on hand usually carrots or greens
  • Supplements - calcijm every feeding, d3 1st and 3rd monday of month, reptivite 2nd and 3rd monday of month
  • Watering - mist 3xday/2-5min, i see him drink out of cup sometimes (old)
  • Fecal Description - normal?
  • History - n/a

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen, approx .5 width, 1.5 height, m
  • Lighting - reptisun t5 HO light 5.0. normal basking
  • Temperature - 85-90 basking, low to 60ish overnighy
  • Humidity - 55-80
  • Plants - Schlefflera, Pothos.
  • Placement - On desk, high
  • Location - BR

Current Problem - listed above

Pic of him:
IMG-1504.JPG
 
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - M Panther, I hatched
  • Handling - Almost every day he climbed on me when I fed (or at least used to)
  • Feeding - Roaches, Crickets, Worms, etc. every other morning. gutload with whatever organic veggie i have on hand usually carrots or greens
  • Supplements - calcijm every feeding, d3 1st and 3rd monday of month, reptivite 2nd and 3rd monday of month
  • Watering - mist 3xday/2-5min, i see him drink out of cup sometimes (old)
  • Fecal Description - normal?
  • History - n/a

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen, approx .5 width, 1.5 height, m
  • Lighting - reptisun t5 HO light 5.0. normal basking
  • Temperature - 85-90 basking, low to 60ish overnighy
  • Humidity - 55-80
  • Plants - Schlefflera, Pothos.
  • Placement - On desk, high
  • Location - BR

Current Problem - listed above

Pic of him: View attachment 217330
Only handle him if he wants it, and there's positive reinforcement, like a treat, going to a free range set-up, or going outside (when it's warm enough, of course). Make sure you have enough variety of fruits and veggies and that they're safe for your cham (under resources in the food and nutrition tab, there's a gutload list) or add in a quality commercial gutload, like Pangea, Mazuri, Cricket Crack, Repashy. Is your Reptivite with or without D3? What do mean drinking out of an old cup-unless I'm reading that wrong? He needs a minimum cage of 2 foot by 2 foot by 4 foot tall (not sure what that is in meters). Is your basking light white or a colored light? How many food items do you give him each feeding? Have you ever had a fecal done on him? Gorgeous cham, by the way! Is he an Ankarmy?
 
Only handle him if he wants it, and there's positive reinforcement, like a treat, going to a free range set-up, or going outside (when it's warm enough, of course). Make sure you have enough variety of fruits and veggies and that they're safe for your cham (under resources in the food and nutrition tab, there's a gutload list) or add in a quality commercial gutload, like Pangea, Mazuri, Cricket Crack, Repashy. Is your Reptivite with or without D3? What do mean drinking out of an old cup-unless I'm reading that wrong? He needs a minimum cage of 2 foot by 2 foot by 4 foot tall (not sure what that is in meters). Is your basking light white or a colored light? How many food items do you give him each feeding? Have you ever had a fecal done on him? Gorgeous cham, by the way! Is he an Ankarmy?
Thank you

- If he wants to climb on me, and I let him, that is positive reinforcement, no? I would be depriving him of something he wants if I were to not....? correct me if im wrong here
- I use only the top listed gut load fruits, probably like 5 different ones. do i need more? carrots, greens, some berries, oranges, arugula to name some more
- My cage is larger than 2x2x4 feet sorry that was unclear
- My basking light is white
- 10 to 15 food items usually
- no fecal or vet ever
- by cup drinking: he was dehydrated awhile back and he didnt get better even with more misting so I put a small cup with water in his cage every morning for 2 hours every day. i would see him drinking and he got a lot better. I stopped doing that, however, but he seems fine in terms of hydration.
- He's a tamatave. Very solid red and orange lineage.
 
Thank you

- If he wants to climb on me, and I let him, that is positive reinforcement, no? I would be depriving him of something he wants if I were to not....? correct me if im wrong here
- I use only the top listed gut load fruits, probably like 5 different ones. do i need more? carrots, greens, some berries, oranges, arugula to name some more
- My cage is larger than 2x2x4 feet sorry that was unclear
- My basking light is white
- 10 to 15 food items usually
- no fecal or vet ever
- by cup drinking: he was dehydrated awhile back and he didnt get better even with more misting so I put a small cup with water in his cage every morning for 2 hours every day. i would see him drinking and he got a lot better. I stopped doing that, however, but he seems fine in terms of hydration.
- He's a tamatave. Very solid red and orange lineage.
1) I suppose if he doesn't get stressed out or fired up
2&3) very good!
4) and how many will he eat of those? Chams eat a little less as they get older
5) you might want to run a fresh fecal over to an exotics vet to check for parasites, just as a precaution
6) I just wanted to make sure you weren't giving him a cup of water that you never changed out or cleaned the cup, etc.
7) well he's stunning! Sorry, from my computer screen he looked a little pink
 
1) I suppose if he doesn't get stressed out or fired up
2&3) very good!
4) and how many will he eat of those? Chams eat a little less as they get older
5) you might want to run a fresh fecal over to an exotics vet to check for parasites, just as a precaution
6) I just wanted to make sure you weren't giving him a cup of water that you never changed out or cleaned the cup, etc.
7) well he's stunning! Sorry, from my computer screen he looked a little pink
He leaves like 3-5 feeders usually

Thank you
 
they are the largest crickets, and for dubia medium. i dont know exactly how big in centimeters if thats what you are asking..
Like are the roaches adults? A lot of the time, I feed my biggest cham ~2 adult orange-heaed or ivory-headed roaches, they're big enough to fill him up because the roaches are huge
 
Like are the roaches adults? A lot of the time, I feed my biggest cham ~2 adult orange-heaed or ivory-headed roaches, they're big enough to fill him up because the roaches are huge
no they are not adults; those dubias are enourmous. The medium ones are not that big and he only eats like 5-8. 10-15 crickets
 
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