my dehydrated panther

[mattgbkk]

this is my first post ever on this site.

i hav had my ambilobe panther chameleon for exactly 3 weeks now, i live in bangkok, Thailand where it is very humid so his enclosure is out side, where parts of the cage is hit by the sun. I purchased him at a market for 4500 baht which is about $130 US, the guy who sold it to me told me that it was 6 months old.

i hav seen him drink the residue off leaves after i've misted the enclosure but lately he seems not to be bothered enough, i dont hav a dripping system either.

he is sleeping during the day and his eyes are sunken in, i am now spraying the cage more and more so he can have a better chance to hydrate himself.

WHAT DO I DO?!

i will post pictures of him and the enclosure soon

 

[jannb]

Give him a long very warm misting or you can put him in the shower. You don't have to buy a drip system. Just take a plastic cup or bowl and punch a couple of very small holes in the bottom and fill it with very warm water and let it drip over a plant or a vine so he can drink off the leaves. Is he eating? Can you get hornworms or silkworms there? A nice juicy worm can also help to hydrate.

 

[mattgbkk]

here are the photos

here are the photos

 

[Ryan123]

take a plastic cup and poke a small hole in the botton with a sewing needle and fill it with water and bang you got yourself a dripper they really work then feed him horn worms they really hydrate your chameleon

 

[jannb]

He does not look good. Eyes are sunken in. You need to get him hydrated. Do you have a chameleon vet? He might need fluids.

 

[Ryan123]

sorry i just said what jannb said they work though or put ice cubes on top of the screen and let them drip i can also call you and tell you exactly how to make a perfect drip system with a couple things it drips for weeks PM me your number and ill call you and tell you how it works

 

[jadeaudio]

Wow I wonder how he got to Thailand! What can you feed him out there? He looks older than 6 months. Looks big. I would mist the crap out of him. In Thailand it is very hot, so the mistings probably dry up very fast. I would mist him personally especially because he is shedding. I guess what is important to know is what you are feeding him.

 

[mattgbkk]

avoiding the water!?

ive put the cup with the hole above the cage, where it drips onto a couple of leaves next to them, it seemed that he got irritated by it and has now climbed to the edge of the cage and is now clinging from the side of the enclosure...

during the time i was misting and dripping he would constantly open his mouth too...

so far ive only fed him crickets, about 15 a week

 

[Ryan123]

just keep misting till he stops drinking like i said i mae this thing that really works too and try some horn worms

 

[mattgbkk]

ive taken him downstairs and placed him on a small tree because he looked really waterboarded, he was chillin in the sun which to me made him look better...

i then filled a plastic syringe with water then every now and then he would hiss at me at that point i squirted some water in his mouth i eventually used up about 50 ml.

ive put him back in his cage witha fresh mist but hes gone bak to sleep...

 

[graydon]

keep your panther very hydrated in those temps. If he is in direct sunlight all day you would need to water him for three minutes every 90 minutes. I would get him out of the sun and in the shade and also water him several times a day for a minimum of 3 min.

 

[kinyonga]

You said that you squirted water into his mouth...I would not squirt it...I would put it in gently/slowly. Squirting it may cause him to aspirate it.

You said that you only feed him about 15 crickets a week...I feed one that age every second day and I would give it as many crickets as it could eat in a minute or two (likely more like 15 crickets of the appropriate size per feeding...so, every second day he would get that many).

What do you dust the crickets with (specifically please) and how often for each supplement?

What do you feed to the crickets?