New And Worried For My Baby

[Scuttlebutt]

Hello Forum,
I am very new to the reptile game. I purchased a 'nosy be' panther and just have a few new parent worries.

I am worried that he is not eating. He is 6 weeks and I have found only a couple of poops here and there in the last 5 days.

I am currently feeding fruit flies and small crickets but never see him eat. I just put a small superworm in and am waiting 24 hours for results.

I currently use a basking temp of 90 degrees and an average cage temp of lowest 71 degrees and high of 85 degrees.

Another concern I have is he may not be drinking. I spray him but all he does is run around and almost seem upset / confused.

I just cut the leaves of his plant so he can no longer 'cage climb' the roof but he will sleep on the roof if given the opportunity.

Do I need to worry about this behavior or is this normal?
Any help is appreciated and I am very worried for my baby.

-Justin

 

[carol5208]

Hi Justin and welcome to the forums. If you just got your chameleon it is not unusual for them to eat or not eat too regular at first. They need a little time to settle in and get used to their new environment. If he is pooping, then he is must be eating!!! Are you counting, the food items and are positive he is not eating? Some are just shy about eating and especially drinking in front of people. You can put a cup in there and count the feeders that way so you know for sure if he is eating or not Sometimes owners rarely see their chameleons drink. Their poop as you can see has two parts, a light part and a dark part. The light part is the pee(urate) and should ideally be white. If it is white, then he is hydrated. How long are you misting for? You should be misting for atleast 3 minutes or so, as sometimes it takes them awhile to get stimulated to drink. Also, adding a dripper is recommended for an extra drinking source. Hanging upside down on the roof is normal and they will sleep that way too until they start feeling comfortable with their surroundings. Sometimes, even after that, they will still hang from the ceiling so not to worry. You should have two lighting sources. Do you have a uvb light? I know you have a basking as you stated. Do you know about gutloading your feeders and using supplementation(dusting your feeders)? You should have three kinds of supplements: calcium without d3 to be used every feeding, calcium without d3 and a multivitamin to be used twice monthly.

 

[Scuttlebutt]

I am using a UVA and UVB. I just started counting crickets. I see one missing. I am going to make a feeding tray tomorrow so it may be easier for him to get to his food. I reduced the height of the plants so he is now 6" from the lights. I am not sure I saw a white part this time, but I had in his original habitat.

Do you think I should keep him in the aquarium habitat or move him to the cage / ventilated mesh cage?

I am just very nervous I will harm him or do it wrong some how.

 

[LazardLizard]

Another concern I have is he may not be drinking. I spray him but all he does is run around and almost seem upset / confused.

-Justin

I don't know why, but all i can do is laugh reading this part. Sorry, just picturing this baby cham in my head running for his life....

I know, shouldn't be funny, but sooooo funny

 

[carol5208]

Well, I like and recommend the all screen cages as most of do. When you say aquarium, do you mean "fish tank" or are you using a terrarium that has the ventilation strip on the bottom? What is your overall cage temps also? You state 71 to 85..is the 85 not under the basking area. Your whole cage should be cool in the low to mid 70's preferably and then a hotter area for your basking. It would be helpful to post a pic of your set up so we can see what you have going on.

 

[Scuttlebutt]

Thank you for your assistance thus far. I will post a photo as soon as I get home this evening.

It is an aquarium without the vent on the bottom. My humidity is very good although i believe my overall cage temperature is just about 80 during the day and 71 at night.

I caught him drinking this afternoon when I made a visit to spray the plants. I also believe 1 to 2 of the small crickets were either hiding or consumed. How would you recommend feeding him? I have read articles on small cups with fruit flies / crickets / worms in the bottom with branches hanging near it. As of now his food is free roaming.

-Justin

 

[carol5208]

Justin you are gonna need to get your chameleon a new enclosure. Aquariums do not provide adequate ventilation and when you are misting and dripping water, etc. you are creating standing water and stagnant conditions. You are setting your chameleon up for a respiratory infection. Letting your prey loose is fine as long as you do not have any substrate in the bottom like mulch, rocks, bark that they could injest while shooting for their food items.

 

[Scuttlebutt]

I understand the need for ventilation. When I spray (3 times per day). I have a second enclosure that I was going to put him in once he got a little bit bigger. Do you think I should put him in that now instead? I'm afraid his food would escape out the mesh cage. Different feeding method?

As promised here are the photos of the current enclosure. Also a photo of my baby.

-Justin

 

[carol5208]

switch to the mesh and you will need to add more plants, vines and branches. Right now he really has no places to hide and feel secure. Make sure you have a branch below your basking light about 6 inches down.

 

[Scuttlebutt]

Thank you, I will do this tomorrow and give an update.

I appreciate all the help.

-Justin

 

[Scuttlebutt]

Ok here is my new setup. I am on my way to get some more thermometers because this one is just bleh now. I am also picking up some wood to make my lights above 6 inches from the roof. He is always hanging on the roof right under the UVB light.

Update on my setup:
Lighting - ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 UVB - ZooMed 75 Watt Basking Light

I will update my temps tomorrow morning to get the averages of basking spot and overall cage temp.

-Justin