Making Sure He's Okay...

[TragicComic87]

My wife and I have a 5 month old male Panther (Ambilobe). He's very friendly and we've handled him since he was 6 weeks old.

He's always been a healthy eater and we've given him everything from king worms to cockroaches with crickets and Phoenix worms being his staple diet. We do gut-load the crickets (only placing a few at a time in his enclosure) and we supplement with vitamins 2-3 times per week.

For the past few weeks, he's completely stopped eating crickets for some reason. He's eaten crickets since we got him at 6 weeks, so this is highly unusual from our perspective. His eating has slowed dramatically.

Is this normal at 5+ months old? My wife is concerned that he's not growing at the rate she was expecting (see photo). His colors are good (he goes between orange and teal like in the attached photo and purples and blues) and he's strong, but the size and eating has us wanting to get feedback from those who know more than we do.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. We're just making sure all is normal.

Thanks!

Rick & Karrie

 

[zlew]

It is normal for them to slow down eating once the reach the end of their initial growth spurt. You could probably start feeding him every other day. He's also probably getting bored of crickets.

 

[zlew]

If you are a little concerned, you can fill out the "how to ask for help" sticky in the health clinic forum, and we can give you more specific advice.

 

[kinyonga]

What supplements specifically do you give him and how often for each? What specifically do you feed/gutload the insects with? Does he always lay on your hand like that or does he lift his body up when sitting? Does he get exposure to UVB?

 

[TragicComic87]

What supplements specifically do you give him and how often for each? What specifically do you feed/gutload the insects with? Does he always lay on your hand like that or does he lift his body up when sitting? Does he get exposure to UVB?

LOL...I knew someone would say something about him lying on my hand. He walks around normally. It was because I was turning him to get the right angle for the photo, so he braced himself. He's not sluggish like that at all. Loves to crawl up our arms onto our shoulders and runs across the bed, so energy levels are not a problem.

My wife dips worms (one each) into Zoo Med's ReptiCalcium, SuperPig and Vitamin A Plus once per week. I've heard some do it 2-4 times a week, so not sure if maybe we're giving him less than he needs?

Someone at a local pet store told my wife that we gave him too much variety in his food and that now he's "spoiled" which is why he's not eating as much. Not sure if that makes any sense at all to me.

Does he look the right size to you? I realize it might be a bit hard to tell, but my wife is concerned that he's not as big as he should be, but I reminded her that he's only 5+ months old. Not that I know where he should be at this age.

Thank you!

 

[OwenPowell]

He looks to be fine to me. Panther chameleons aren't really big lizards even when full grown (maxing out at about 12-18 inches, head to tail.) They also continue to grow at a decent rate for about the first year of their life, though it does start to drop off at around the age your chameleon is now.

As far as his eating habits go, This is kind of like their teenage years and they tend to start forming "opinions" about a lot of things. My chameleon, for example, loved dubias when he was younger, but at about 6 months old he decided he wouldn't eat them under any circumstances for what ever reason..
They do also get "spoiled" by picking out favorite foods and only wanting to eat those, so thats something to consider.

 

[TragicComic87]

He looks to be fine to me. Panther chameleons aren't really big lizards even when full grown (maxing out at about 12-18 inches, head to tail.) They also continue to grow at a decent rate for about the first year of their life, though it does start to drop off at around the age your chameleon is now.

As far as his eating habits go, This is kind of like their teenage years and they tend to start forming "opinions" about a lot of things. My chameleon, for example, loved dubias when he was younger, but at about 6 months old he decided he wouldn't eat them under any circumstances for what ever reason..
They do also get "spoiled" by picking out favorite foods and only wanting to eat those, so thats something to consider.

Thank you! Great to info to know.