New panther chameleon from Petco

aguallo123

aguallo123

Member
For my birthday my mom let me get a panther chameleon. Petco had a deal going on where all reptiles were 50% off. They are regularly $300 but I got him for $150 which is a really good deal I think. I noticed that in the store he was rubbing his left eye on a branch and he looked like he just finished shedding He also liked to keep his left eye shut but would occasionally open it to look around. The left eye is a little smaller than his right eye. He opens it to focus onto food items to stick it with his tongue. I bought him on July 21, a Saturday, and it is now Monday July 23 and he is still having problems. He eats and drinks fine. Poop looks normal. when I mist his body the water beads right off, which is normal, but when water gets onto his left eye, it seems to absorb the water and the skin says wet. Could this just be that he hasn't shed completely over his left eye and is trying to rub the old skin off or could this be a different, more severe problem? I tried to get a picture from above his head to show the size difference. And could someone also help me identify which type of panther he is since he has such a range of colors. Thanks!
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Hi, and welcome to the forums! Unfortunately, there are lots of things that could be going on in a situation like this, with a big range of severities. You will quickly learn here that petco is the worst possible place to purchase a chameleon from, as they do not know how to care for them or provide customers with much good knowledge. Chameleons from petco usually come with a host of health problems, which you will now be responsible for. For us to help you best, please fill out the following form in its entirety so we can get an idea of how you are caring for your new boy. From what I can see, there are already some changes you are going to need to make ASAP (UVB light and cage decor, for starters)

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
 
You seem to have a coil UVB as opposed to a linear UVB from what I can see in the picture? Sometimes those can cause harm to Cham's eyes. I highly doubt that's why his eye is bothering him at the moment, but its something to think about in the future.

The fact that its functioning though (he can see/eat using it) is promising, though.
 
Congratulations on the beautiful panther! It could be something as simple as scratching his eye rubbing on a vine to get the shed off.....but First and foremost find an exotic vet or one that works with reptiles. I’d suggest just getting an appointment to establish yourself as a client in case of emergencies so they will see you in a pinch. I agree that pet store animals are not the best at all health wise so just as a precaution it is soooo important to have them checked over. Most will allow you to pay them out too just in case money is an issue. The forums are a great source of information but my opinion is VET then you can just relax that your guy is ok or prevent anything health wise that could be a shock later.
 
Your Chameleon - Panther Chameleon, male, I'm not sure how old he is. He is about 8-9 inches long. I have had him for 3 days. I bought him from petco.

Handling - I handled him when I put him in his cage for about 5 minutes.

Feeding - Crickets for right now. Im going to a store that has plenty of mealworms available because the pesto I got him from didn't have any. He will eat about 3-4 crickets a day. The crickets are in a jar on the bottom of the cage if he wants to go down and get them but I throw a few into the cage for him to hunt which is the only way he eats the crickets right now. I am feeding the crickets orange slices and carrot slices along with Fluker’s cricket feed.

Supplements - I bought Rep-cal Calcium with vit. D3 ad rep-cal herptivite multivitamin. I used the calcium yesterday on the crickets. I plan on using the calcium with D3 every other day and use the multivitamin once a week.

Watering - I use a spray bottle on fine mist and I spray his whole enclosure until everything is dripping. I do this about 3-4 times a day. I have seen him drink on multiple occasions.

Fecal Description - It comes out wet white and the hard poop comes out brown. He hasn't been tested for parasites. Poops once a day so far.

History - His colors were more deep and intense at the petco .The first pic I posted was when he was in the petco (the pic with the rock wall background).


Cage Info:

Cage Type - I bought the chameleon kit from petco and it came with a reptibreeze 16X16X30.

This is a temporary cage until I build his large permanent enclosure. I have been growing live plants for about a year for this little guy but they don't really fit in this enclosure. I am building a cage 6 feet tall X 3 feet wide X 2 feet deep. I have all the materials ready all i need is some power tools to cut the wood and put it all together. (I will be going to a family members house to do so and I will try to make a video of how I built it for you guys).

Lighting - I am using zoo med Daylight blue bulb 100W for general heat. I am using the light fixture that came with the kit which can hold two bulbs but I am just using it for the heat one since I have a separate fixture to hold my Zilla T8 uvb/uva bulb (18 inches, 15 watt).

8:30 am - 8:30pm

Temperature - We keep the temp in the house around 77*F during the day. Cage floor temp= 77*F. Basking spot = 88-90*F. Lowest overnight temps reach 68-69 *F. I have a probe thermometer. I don't have a night time head lamp.

Humidity - The humidity levels are at 55%. The live pathos holds a lot of moisture in the soil and I have a reptile carpet on the bottom of the cage that I spray down to keep the humidity high.

Plants - I am currently using a live pathos in the cage where he sends his time drinking the water that builds up on it. I also have fake plants from the petstore in there that he also drinks off of. I have a live ficus and an umbrella plant outside his cage on both sides to help with humidity. These plants are going into the cage I am building for him in the upcoming weeks.

Placement - The cage is in my room on the floor. it is out of range from any fans or air vents. We only use the fans at night when we sleep but I throw a bed sheet over the cage at night just to be sure he isn't getting to cold. Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

Location - San Antonio, TX.


Current Problem - Left eye staying closed most of the time and is a little smaller than right eye. Other than that he seems live a healthy boy.
 
NDO said:
You seem to have a coil UVB as opposed to a linear UVB from what I can see in the picture? Sometimes those can cause harm to Cham's eyes. I highly doubt that's why his eye is bothering him at the moment, but its something to think about in the future.

The fact that its functioning though (he can see/eat using it) is promising, though.
Click to expand...
It is only the fixture with the heat bulb. I have a long bulb on the right side of cage.
 
Kat_72 said:
Congratulations on the beautiful panther! It could be something as simple as scratching his eye rubbing on a vine to get the shed off.....but First and foremost find an exotic vet or one that works with reptiles. I’d suggest just getting an appointment to establish yourself as a client in case of emergencies so they will see you in a pinch. I agree that pet store animals are not the best at all health wise so just as a precaution it is soooo important to have them checked over. Most will allow you to pay them out too just in case money is an issue. The forums are a great source of information but my opinion is VET then you can just relax that your guy is ok or prevent anything health wise that could be a shock later.
Click to expand...
Thanks you I just found a vet in town that works with all kinds of exotic reptiles! I knew that buying a chameleon from petco might have been a poor choice but the people that worked there were very educated with reptiles and they had these as pets a long time before they were working at this petstore. They were really enthusiastic and gave me some pointers that I didn't even know!But I'd rather give this little guy a good life rather than some parent buying it for their little kid and not know what they are doing. And for such a low price I couldn't resist lol.
 
As for the feeders don't feed him mealworms. They can cause impaction and just are hard to digest. Crickets, superworms, hornworms, silkworms, if you dont mind dubia roaches. Your supplementation schedule is off, the calcium without D3 should be used almost every feeding, the calcium with D3 should be used twice a month, and multivitamins should be used twice a month as well.
 
bloftis1 said:
As for the feeders don't feed him mealworms. They can cause impaction and just are hard to digest. Crickets, superworms, hornworms, silkworms, if you dont mind dubia roaches. Your supplementation schedule is off, the calcium without D3 should be used almost every feeding, the calcium with D3 should be used twice a month, and multivitamins should be used twice a month as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot! I appreciate it, I will use this schedule from now on.
 
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