New Baby Panther

[Alberto504]

My cham is a little over 3 weeks old, I got him yesterday. When I got him yesterday I got him to eat 2 crickets. When I came back from school this afternoon he was very still the whole time and I'm wondering if theres something wrong with him. He's just staying in one spot this is what he looks like. I also got him to eat one cricket today but thats before he started acting like this. Also in the pictures he looks upside down but he isn't.

 

[nick barta]

He is probably fine.

You need to be sure to spay his leaves when you are at home and drip when you are in school, lack of water takes more babies than lack of food.

Nick

 

[Lovereps]

Welcome to the forums!
What a cute little cham you have.

Nick Barta is right that it is very important to be sure he has enough water to drink .
There's a forum page about water and humidity here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/water/

If you want to be sure that everything is set up the way he needs it to be, you can copy and paste the questions from https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
and add all of your answers.

This way, if something should be changed to keep him healthy, we can let you know.

There is also some excellent info about Panthers on the forum's Panther caresheet page https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

On that page, there are links on the left to other great info.

 

[Alberto504]

I'm also wondering if the temp is too high I can't get the temp lower than 80 without turning off the UVB light.

 

[Lovereps]

It might be but UVB lights are usually fluorescent bulbs, so maybe you have a too high wattage basking bulb.

As I suggested, the help Q&As with your answers added will help people to give you useful info.

 

[Alberto504]

It might be but UVB lights are usually fluorescent bulbs, so maybe you have a too high wattage basking bulb.

As I suggested, the help Q&As with your answers added will help people to give you useful info.

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Panther Chameleon, Male, 3 weeks old, have had him for 2 days now.
• Handling – I have held him twice to feed him, once everyday.
• Feeding – I am feeding him 1/8th sized crickets gut-loaded with gut loading cubes.
• Supplements – I am supplementing him with zoomed calcium without d3 everyday, and I will begin to feed him once with d3.
• Watering – I have a dripper on the top, with misting him constantly when the leaves dry up. I see him drinking water. I try to keep humidity at around 60%.
• Fecal Description – From what I’ve seen it was hard and black I’m not 100% sure those were dropping though.
• History – Got him two days ago.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – I have him in a 16x16x30 screen cage.
• Lighting – I am using a reptisun 5.0 and a 60 watt lighting for the cage.
• Temperature – The top side of the cage has a temperature of 80 degrees at basking and the bottom at around 73 degrees.
• Humidity – For the humidity I try to keep it around 60% and I achieving this humidity by spraying the cage with water.
• Plants – I am using live plants, the only plant I have is a ficus plant.
• Placement – The cage is located next to my window in my room and is at a high of about 4 feet making the top of it around 7 feet tall.
• Location – I am located in San Diego, California.

Current Problem – I am wondering if the temperature in the cage is too hot for him. Another problem I am having is that the lowest I can get the cage at is around 80 degrees with the UVB light on, and the basking light off.

 

[zlew]

First off, three weeks is VERY young to get a cham at. For chams in general, switching homes is extremely stressful, but for a baby it could kill him. I don't know who is selling 3 week old chams but they can't be very experienced. You AND your cham will have to both work hard to keep him alive. Second, when they move into a new place or are stressed out it is unlikely that they will eat at all for the first few days. I'm surprised you got him to eat even one cricket. It would be helpful of you to post a pic of your whole cage setup so we can help you. Foliage and branch placement can help you control the temperatures. 80 degrees ambient is not terrible, but not great. The ambient temp should be 70-80, but 80 is pretty high. I would bring his basking temp up to 85 at least, another reason they won't eat is because of skewed temperatures. Next, I would stop handling him completely, while he is young you can hurt him and you could also ruin hopes of him being amiable for a long time. Get your lights on a timer asap. The UVB and the basking light should be running at the same time. Don't turn either off nd leave one on.12 hours on, twelve hours off. Make sure the room is dark when the lights go off. One way to help with temps is to elevate the basking lamp so it isn't sitting on the cage, hanging it on a stand or something.. A timed mister would be helpful, and try free ranging the crickets in his cage during feeding. Having them moving around in the cage may spark his interest a little more than hand feeding and get him to eat. For his supplements, you want calcium without D3 every day, with D3 twice a month, and Multivitamin twice a month.

 

[zlew]

make sure he is in a very low traffic area, don't have people walking past, stopping to try and find him or anything. even you shouldn't hang around the cage too much. That could stress him out and make him not want to eat.

 

[Alberto504]

First off, three weeks is VERY young to get a cham at. For chams in general, switching homes is extremely stressful, but for a baby it could kill him. I don't know who is selling 3 week old chams but they can't be very experienced. You AND your cham will have to both work hard to keep him alive. Second, when they move into a new place or are stressed out it is unlikely that they will eat at all for the first few days. I'm surprised you got him to eat even one cricket. It would be helpful of you to post a pic of your whole cage setup so we can help you. Foliage and branch placement can help you control the temperatures. 80 degrees ambient is not terrible, but not great. The ambient temp should be 70-80, but 80 is pretty high. I would bring his basking temp up to 85 at least, another reason they won't eat is because of skewed temperatures. Next, I would stop handling him completely, while he is young you can hurt him and you could also ruin hopes of him being amiable for a long time. Get your lights on a timer asap. The UVB and the basking light should be running at the same time. Don't turn either off nd leave one on.12 hours on, twelve hours off. Make sure the room is dark when the lights go off. One way to help with temps is to elevate the basking lamp so it isn't sitting on the cage, hanging it on a stand or something.. A timed mister would be helpful, and try free ranging the crickets in his cage during feeding. Having them moving around in the cage may spark his interest a little more than hand feeding and get him to eat. For his supplements, you want calcium without D3 every day, with D3 twice a month, and Multivitamin twice a month.

Thank you for all your advice and I have put it into consideration, I have recently switched his food from crickets to fruit flies as they are easier to feed them to him without handling him.

 

[zlew]

sounds good. you could also try some xtra small worms and pinhead crickets.

 

[Lovereps]

Fruit Flies are an excellent feeder for baby chams . Both Josh's Frogs and NE Herpetoculture use nutritious culture media that the flies eat and become more nutritious for your cham.

If you put a small piece of fresh fruit in the cage, such as a strawberry or peeled grape, piece of apple, etc. then the flies will stay in a smaller area and be easier for him to find and eat enough.
Babies need lots of food, so a constant supply of fruit flies is best.
The Josh's Frogs cultures are big 32 ounce cultures which produce far more flies than the ones typically found in stores.

 

[chameeeleon]

If you have somewhere away from the window you could move the enclosure, that might help keep temps down.

 

[Kiwiflage]

Contrary to previous stated... I have seen a TON of people sell chameleons ON THIS SIGHT at 2 weeks. That being said, the only time I personally have purchased that young were dead on arrival.... A very tragic story. However I have heard a lot of success. You seem to care very deeply, and I applaud you for seeking help. At this point, I would keep your chameleon super hydrated, and ask a vet if things get any worse. Keep up your good work!

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Contrary to previous stated... I have seen a TON of people sell chameleons ON THIS SIGHT at 2 weeks. That being said, the only time I personally have purchased that young were dead on arrival.... A very tragic story. However I have heard a lot of success. You seem to care very deeply, and I applaud you for seeking help. At this point, I would keep your chameleon super hydrated, and ask a vet if things get any worse. Keep up your good work!

I am not sure where you are seeing chameleons sold "ON THIS SITE" at 2 weeks of age. I check the classified EVERY DAY and have not seen any forum member offer 2 week old chameleons for sale. I have seen a few at 2 months (which I still think is too young) but not 2 weeks.

Even if you have seen people offering them at 2 weeks, that in no way makes it OK to do so. I, and I am sure most on this site, would not purchase a chameleon from a breeder who was willing to sell their chameleons at 2 weeks of age. The chameleons are far too fragile at they age and are much more likely to perish, even if purchased by experienced keepers.

That being said, Alberto504, I have to give you credit for taking the initiative to do everything in your power to help your little one. It sounds like you truly care and want the best for him. Keep up the good work and hopefully he will grow into a beautiful boy for you!