New Panther chameleon eating question

Sast

New Member
I picked up my 3 month old Ambilobe Panther on Sunday and I'm curious about his eating habits.

This is a break down of his eating so far:

Sunday - Ate nothing, just hid under his basking light and stayed there until i turned his lights off for the night.

Monday - Ate 2-3 crickets but wasn't interested in any more.

Tuesday - Ate 6-7 crickets

Today - Eaten only 2 thus far.

Is this normal behaviour for a new chameleon? I expected him to either eat nothing or eat his recommended amount, not be in between.

He is going to the toilet at least once per day, it looks to be healthy poop.


Here is the info that might help you understand better:


********************


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Male Panther chameleon , had him since Sunday. 3 months old.

* Handling - I handled him to transfer him from his container to his vivarium but haven't touched him since.

* Feeding - I'm feeding him around 13-15 crickets in a homemade milk carton feeder with the screen going up the back, he knows the crickets are in there as he has eaten from it.

* Supplements - Daily sprinkling with calcium, have calcium + d3 which will be done at the weekend - followed by every 2 weeks. Multivitamins same as the D3.

* Watering - Dripper going throughout the day, misting 3-4 times a day.

* Fecal Description - SInce sunday he has done 4 poos, the first was brown with a yellow colour at one end, the other 3 have been brown with white at the end.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Exoterra 45x45x60
* Lighting - 42W household bulb for heat and reptiglo 5.0 & 2.0 for UV
* Temperature - His basking spot is between 80-84ºF
* Humidity - after a misting session it hits 90% but drops to around 60 when dry.
* Plants - 1 ficus plant
* Placement - Located at the far end of the front room. Foliage is covering 1 side of his vivarium to minimise disturbance and traffic.

* Location - North West England.

Current Problem - Concerned about him not eating the quantity he should be.



Hopefully it's just the settling in phase and he will be wolfing the crix down in no time.

Thanks in advance.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about him as he s still settling into his new home. On the temp ,I am assuming you mean 80F and not C as I would say he would be dead by now if that were the case!:rolleyes:
 
I wouldn't worry too much about him as he s still settling into his new home. On the temp ,I am assuming you mean 80F and not C as I would say he would be dead by now if that were the case!:rolleyes:

Oh...yes my bad! definitely F :)

Changed it now :)
 
Was he cup fed before you got him? And, if not it sometimes takes them a bit to get used to it. But, I wouldn't worry too much, they take a bit to acclimate to their new homes.

Scott
 
Are you standing there watching him eat?


I put them in and go get ready for work. check to see if he's eaten any before i leave and then check again when i'm home. My other half is in the house during the day and she hears him eat every now and then but nobody stands and watches him.
 
Was he cup fed before you got him? And, if not it sometimes takes them a bit to get used to it. But, I wouldn't worry too much, they take a bit to acclimate to their new homes.

Scott

I don't think he was. That said, he is eating from the cup, just not a huge amount. The cricket sizes seem to be correct too.

Guess i'll just keep an eye on him.

On a side note - he only ate 5 today.
 
Sounds like he's just settling in to me - sometimes changing up the sizes helps-
I would start to worry a bit if he's still only eating 5 a day by the end of next week but even then it might be a simple thing like tweaking the temps- or working on your cricket gut load-
 
Sounds like he's just settling in to me - sometimes changing up the sizes helps-
I would start to worry a bit if he's still only eating 5 a day by the end of next week but even then it might be a simple thing like tweaking the temps- or working on your cricket gut load-

I'm going to buy a 2nd thermometer to check that my temps are stable.

Failing that do you think i should change to a 60w bulb? (from the current 42w)
 
I would let him settle in - he's eating just not a lot at this point - once he gets into a routine and gets used to his new home he'll most likely eat more - It's very normal for them to not eat a lot in the first couple of weeks-
As long as he has cooler spots and warmer spots in the cage he can explore you'll be able to tell if by where he's spending his time if he's looking for warmer or colder - a drop in temps at night seem to help their appetites.
 
Little update.

I ordered some small crickets as I think the medium ones were a little on the big side.

In with the crickets was a small mealworm so i decided to try him out with it. As soon as I put it near him he instantly ate it.

Still won't touch his crickets though.

Tried freeroaming crickets, milk carton feeder and a cup. Nothing working yet.
 
Back
Top Bottom