My 4.5 year old panther

[radstusky]

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd share this video I took this morning of Leo eating a hornworm. I normally feed him by hand this way because he can't shoot his tongue very straight any more. I basically just place the food right on his tongue. I've also discovered a trick that I sometimes use in order to give him more variety in his diet. He often won't eat the dubia that I have on hand. What I do is get him to eat something he likes, like the hornworm in the video, and then while he's chewing it I add in a dubia and he'll keep eating it as well. Usually I use a nice soft white dubia. This seems to work well.

Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFUY05x94qk

 

[Cait0420]

Wonderful video! You've got a pretty guy

 

[kecked]

tongue

If your cham is not shooting his tongue take heed he is sick even if you don't think so. It is a matter of time. Start working on getting his nutrition up. It is not just calcium. Vary the insects. Hormworms are a good food but should not be the only food. Silkworms, Hornworms, gut loaded crickets, locust if you can get them, a few waxworms here and there (pierce the skin before feeding or they pass right through and make sure they didn't feed on wood), stay away from bugs with hard shells for the most part. DO NOT FEED YOUR CHAM A FULL SIZE HORNWORN. It can cause prolapse. Don't overfeed in general. You are not doing them a favor. Why do I say all this. After over 15 years of chameleons and dealing with everything from MBD on the first one to eye issues to prolapsed colon and hemi to poor nutrition to tongue issues....I learned two things. One they are not good pets even though we love them and two it's ALL ABOUT NUTRITION AND HYDRATION.

My cham is in the vets office with intestinal blockage and bleeding colitis. It stated just like you are doing. You have a chance to stop it now. I barely have a 50% chance of getting mine back. Listen to what I am saying.

 

[Psychobunny]

The op said he feeds other things besides horns.

Are you saying just because he is feed a large hornworm, the cham will have a prolaps??!!

Remember, the cham IS 4 and 1/2 years old!!

 

[radstusky]

If your cham is not shooting his tongue take heed he is sick even if you don't think so. It is a matter of time. Start working on getting his nutrition up. It is not just calcium. Vary the insects. Hormworms are a good food but should not be the only food. Silkworms, Hornworms, gut loaded crickets, locust if you can get them, a few waxworms here and there (pierce the skin before feeding or they pass right through and make sure they didn't feed on wood), stay away from bugs with hard shells for the most part. DO NOT FEED YOUR CHAM A FULL SIZE HORNWORN. It can cause prolapse. Don't overfeed in general. You are not doing them a favor. Why do I say all this. After over 15 years of chameleons and dealing with everything from MBD on the first one to eye issues to prolapsed colon and hemi to poor nutrition to tongue issues....I learned two things. One they are not good pets even though we love them and two it's ALL ABOUT NUTRITION AND HYDRATION.

My cham is in the vets office with intestinal blockage and bleeding colitis. It stated just like you are doing. You have a chance to stop it now. I barely have a 50% chance of getting mine back. Listen to what I am saying.

I thank you for your input, however my cham has been eating really well this summer and I believe he's as healthy as I could possibly expect him to be at least for a 4.75 year old cham. Yes, he still has a tongue-shooting issue, and I feed him by hand mostly, but I do attribute this more to old-age rather than any dietary imbalance. His staple food items are dubia and blateria roaches which are gut-loaded on greens and butternut squash, and he gets hornworms, silkworms and superworms on occasion as well. I have fed him mantids in the past, but found them to be more work than their worth really. Mostly I feed him the soft, just molted white roaches which he loves. Also I make sure he's hydrated by dripping water right into his mouth.

Thanks for your input, but I do believe he's a healthy cham and not sick. Are there some improvements I could make in his diet, probably. The winter time is when I worry about him the most because he usually stops eating for a month or two. In November he'll be 5 years old, and as far as keeping chams goes, that's doing pretty well!

Whether they are "good" pets or not is completely different debate!

 

[carol5208]

Hi Stuart! I missed the original thread you posted back in May! Leo is looking good! So glad he is still alive and well... it seems a lot of chameleons have tongue issues. So what if you have to hand feed him! As long as he still has quality of life, then I don't think it is such a big deal. Hard to believe he is going on 5 years old. I remember getting Romeo as a little baby. How time flies huh? Well, glad to see you still check in on the forum from time to time. I hope Leo can live many more years with you as long as he has a good quality of life.

 

[zlew]

Does this mean i shouldnt feed my baby panther superworms?

 

[radstusky]

Does this mean i shouldnt feed my baby panther superworms?

You can definitely feed him superworms. I have a younger panther as well, and he just loves supers. I believe the fat content is a bit higher so they say that supers are not supposed to be the staple, but they are definitely a good feeder as part of a varied diet. I always have them on hand.

Carol: the time has flown by, and I can't believe Leo's going to be 5 years old soon. He has really been enjoying this summer and has been eating really well, and looks really healthy. Maybe he'll make it to six! The winters are pretty hard on him though, so we'll have to see how he fairs this winter.