Mystery Issue (updated post)

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther (possibly nosy-be/ambilobe cross), male, and 2 years old. He has been with me since he was 3 months old. Very bold, friendly, and usually likes to explore.
  • Handling - Few times a week, he usually shoots up my arm whenever I open the enclosure to get up and ride my shoulder around the classroom. He was raised by sixth graders in a science classroom since a he was a baby and is quite fearless with people. Well behaved students may handle him during reading time (this usually happens 1-2 times a week).
  • Feeding - Crickets is the staple feed with hornworm/superworm as treats once in awhile. He usually downs around 6-12 crickets per feeding. He usually is fed around 3 times a week, sometimes he'll get a bunch of crickets in his feed box and finish them over the week. I feed my crickets kale, dubia chow, and orange cubes.
  • Supplements - No D3 with every feeding, multivitamins+D3 once during every other week. (repticalcium and rep-cal brands)(may switch up with what the chameleon academy recommended quite soon)
  • Watering - Timed repti-zoo mister. Mists around every 4 hours during the day 30 seconds to 1 minute each soak. I see my chameleon drink whenever he is thirsty. He also has access to a slow dripper.
  • Fecal Description - Feces are dark brown and solid (looks normal). Was captive born and only fed farmed insects... no signs of parasites. Parasites are highly unlikely but I will test if necessary.
  • History - I accidentally switched uvb with T8 zilla desert uvb for a couple of weeks before replacing with proper T8 zilla tropical uvb this week. I do not know if this is the cause of the unusual changes in his behavior.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen enclosure made up of two combined enclosures. 6'long, 38" tall, 18" wide and he has another massive summer enclosure in the backyard porch(Florida climate).
  • Lighting - T8 zilla tropical uvb, timed daily 12 hour sessions.
  • Temperature - two 85F basking spots due to the width of enclosure and room temps is always around 70F. Lowest overnight temp: 70F. I have a temp gun.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? (uncertain) How are you creating and maintaining these levels? (Multiple potted tropical plants soak up water to boost humidity. What do you use to measure humidity?(have a small device but appears to work better in glass enclosures, i am currently in search of better tools)
  • Plants - Around 10 different live tropical chameleon-safe plants.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Near the window to allow some natural sunlight in(was suggested that recently) and he still always has plenty of shade as there is a tree front of the window so no direct burning sunlight. His enclosure is nestled in a quiet corner of my science classroom. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Around 6'5 above the floor.
  • Location - Northern Florida

Current Problem - Panther Chameleon acting slow and sluggish with pale colors. He started to take few short naps during the day which is what concerns me the most. The strange thing is the fact that he still feeds very well... he downed nearly around a dozen crickets today and a few more yesterday. He is just much less active and bright than he used to be. He usually shoots up my arm whenever I open the enclosure to ride around my shoulder but he does not do that anymore. I am wondering if he is due for a shed soon or needs a vet visit or is having a some kind of winter slump. I have attached 3 pictures below, the first picture where he is brightest is his usual color and the last two was from today... I woke him up from his atypical nap.
 

Attachments

  • 65462911960__64585FBE-A6AD-4D4E-AC2F-2C68D697F8B4.JPG
    65462911960__64585FBE-A6AD-4D4E-AC2F-2C68D697F8B4.JPG
    149.6 KB · Views: 91
  • IMG_6550.JPG
    IMG_6550.JPG
    233.4 KB · Views: 80
  • IMG_6551.JPG
    IMG_6551.JPG
    233.5 KB · Views: 89
  • Your Chameleon - Panther (possibly nosy-be/ambilobe cross), male, and 2 years old. He has been with me since he was 3 months old. Very bold, friendly, and usually likes to explore.
  • Handling - Few times a week, he usually shoots up my arm whenever I open the enclosure to get up and ride my shoulder around the classroom. He was raised by sixth graders in a science classroom since a he was a baby and is quite fearless with people. Well behaved students may handle him during reading time (this usually happens 1-2 times a week).
  • Feeding - Crickets is the staple feed with hornworm/superworm as treats once in awhile. He usually downs around 6-12 crickets per feeding. He usually is fed around 3 times a week, sometimes he'll get a bunch of crickets in his feed box and finish them over the week. I feed my crickets kale, dubia chow, and orange cubes. Is the kale organic or do you wash it in preparation, it is a good gutload but can be high in pesticides & heavy metal thallium. Could try something else inplace of kale for a while. Hows his aim and tongue elasticity does he never miss and can shoot far?
  • Supplements - No D3 with every feeding, multivitamins+D3 once during every other week. (repticalcium and rep-cal brands)(may switch up with what the chameleon academy recommended quite soon) re-cal multivitamin i believe has beta carotene instead of vitamin A preformed (retinol). It is believed chameleon lack the ability to convert beta carotene alone into vit A
  • Watering - Timed repti-zoo mister. Mists around every 4 hours during the day 30 seconds to 1 minute each soak. I see my chameleon drink whenever he is thirsty. He also has access to a slow dripper. See humidity
  • Fecal Description - Feces are dark brown and solid (looks normal). Was captive born and only fed farmed insects... no signs of parasites. Parasites are highly unlikely but I will test if necessary. Urate colour? I would send a fecal to vet or lab that can perform a fecal float. Or if you have magnification equipment being a science lab possibly carry out your own following the McMasters method egg count with float solution
Fecal flotation solution (can be Fecasol®, a commercially available solution, sugar solution,
or a saturated solution of pickling salt (NaCl) or Epsom salts (MgSO4) - see procedure notes
on how to make this solution.)

  • History - I accidentally switched uvb with T8 zilla desert uvb for a couple of weeks before replacing with proper T8 zilla tropical uvb this week. I do not know if this is the cause of the unusual changes in his behavior.Too high uv is risk of uv burns and long term cancer but a couple of weeks highly unlikely

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen enclosure made up of two combined enclosures. 6'long, 38" tall, 18" wide and he has another massive summer enclosure in the backyard porch(Florida climate).is There is a heat gradient? What is heat source an incandescent light bulb?
  • Lighting - T8 zilla tropical uvb, timed daily 12 hour sessions. T5ho is better technology than t8 but t8 can be used how far from basking branch? Also having a very long cage i presume it isn't across the entire enclosure. Does your chameleon hang out alot under the uv light?
  • Temperature - two 85F basking spots due to the width of enclosure and room temps is always around 70F. Lowest overnight temp: 70F. I have a temp gun.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? (uncertain) How are you creating and maintaining these levels? (Multiple potted tropical plants soak up water to boost humidity. What do you use to measure humidity?(have a small device but appears to work better in glass enclosures, i am currently in search of better tools) really need a hygrometer or a few i measure a few places around my cage and also ambient with cheap digital units. There is also really good wi-fi hygrometers that can log the data especially good for checking overnight humidity. Cant really tell if misting is sufficient without knowing humidity spikes. Being in Florida I'd imagine close to perfect humidity outdoors exept your having a cold winter currently correct?
  • Plants - Around 10 different live tropical chameleon-safe plants.👍
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Near the window to allow some natural sunlight in(was suggested that recently) and he still always has plenty of shade as there is a tree front of the window so no direct burning sunlight. His enclosure is nestled in a quiet corner of my science classroom. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Around 6'5 above the floor. Did the new behaviour start after moving him too window? Glass wont allow uvb through, can also when sunny heat up cage risky if your heat bulb not on dimming thermostat. If there is alot of birds visible through window could be stressful for him
  • Location - Northern Florida
Lovely colour blue when he at his best btw looks nosey be to me😎
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom