My baby panther is black.....

[Tyzoone]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - ambilobe panther approx 3 monhs old
Handling - once a day briefly.
Feeding - small crickets, fruit flies
Supplements - Calcium with vitamin d one time and calcium without vitamin d nearly every feeding
Watering - Misting system on timer and drip system
Fecal Description - Brown and white solid. Never been tested for worms
History -my lil guys was shipped from California to utah overnight to a reseller near my location. Panthers are hard to come by here....

Cage Info:
Cage Type - I have an all screen cage with three sides draped with plastic for humidity. It is 4 feet tall and 2.5 ft wide on sides. I do have the top partitioned off to give him closer access to food. It is roughly 14 in tall and 2.5 feet on the sides
Lighting - one heat lamp and one UV lamp
Temperature - 80-85 at basking and no less than 70 during day anywhere in cage. At night may reach 68 minimum
Humidity - Have nothing to measure humidity levels but i have a misting system set to mist every 2 hours for 30 seconds
Plants - All live plants. Pothos, baby tears. Tons of vines.
Placement - Against a wall (photos available) middle of room away from vents
Location - im in northern utah

Current Problem - my lil Hugo is black and has been for a few days. Every now and then he will get bright and shows his stripes but for the most part he remains dark and almost a full black. He did have his first shed a few days ago. He remains active and eats well. Is this a problem or something to be worried about? He is a panther and ive read the heat should be pretty high for these guys.....maybe bump the heat a little?

Thankyou for your help!

 

[Seiryu]

Have any pictures of the setup? A 4 ft tall enclosure is pretty big for a 3 month old.

Also, how long have you had him? They can take a few days/weeks to get really settled in. What are you using to measure the temps? A temp gun or a probe?

By 3 months he should be showing some color, although they do tend to stay a little darker at that age.

 

[Tyzoone]

Ill send photos when i get home from work. The cage total is 4ft tall but i have it partitioned off so it is only about 1 ft 6in tall for the lil guy. I have a temp probe i think that i spent a pretty penny on. Not real sure how to use it though.... I just hold it under his basking spot and push the button but i don't know if i have to shoot the surface of something at that area?

So you think it may be a temperature thing overall then?

Oh and the guy i got him him from said that he was told by the distributer that he was 3 months old but he is definitely closer to 2.....

 

[carol5208]

You did not answer how long you have had him. If only a few days or even a week or so it may just be a stress thing or getting used to the new surroundings.

 

[Ladynyce]

Meller Lover

Black is never a good color. Pics are required! Wish u luck

 

[Tyzoone]

Finally snapped some photos when I got home from work. You can see the change in his color variation in the photos and they were all taken within 5 minutes. Hope he's doin alright....

 

[gar732]

You did not answer how long you have had him. If only a few days or even a week or so it may just be a stress thing or getting used to the new surroundings.

I agree. If you haven't had him long it's probably just getting used to everything. My nosy be took weeks before he was anything but dark.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

It could partially be due to stress, but I personally think he is cold. Every pic you have posted he is either on the screen at the top, or very close to it.

Do you have many branches/twigs right below his basking area?

 

[Tyzoone]

Thanks guys, I've had him 2 weeks so I'm assuming he's just not at home yet.

And that could be the case coldbloodedAl, I have a 60w heat bulb and I'm so terrified of cooking the little guy that I keep it 5 in above the cage and then his basking vines are 4 in below the cage. I have a good expensive temp gauge that says it's a max of 88-90 at his bask spot and I'm guessing I can bump it a little. I do notice that when he spends time under the heat bulb that he isn't as dark...

 

[Tapple]

Heat from lamps

Make sure that your heat lamps aren't overheating the top screen to where they might burn the his feet when it's walking upside down across the top screen.

 

[kplatvoet]

I read on the bearded dragon forum that when using a temp gun it should be 2 inches from the point your trying to read -
I had similar issues when I first got my panther - I added cover on the side of the cage so he didn't feel as exposed while basking and bumped the temp a little My husband said that he would lighten up as soon as I went to work- I think he just hated me - I think he would have been better if I had been better at moving slower in the morning when I fed him and such - the more of a routine I got into the better he became - this isn't trying to say that your making my mistakes- you've only had your guy 2 weeks - I think he's be fine when he gets used to you and don't change too much until he settles in.

 

[Tyzoone]

Thanks kplatvoet and others,

This is super helpful. Ive found that every morning when he wakes up he is super dark in color... And then brightens up as the day goes on and as he warms up. Glad to hear that there are others who are dark that make it to adulthood just fine. Ill keep everyone posted on his progress.