New panther feeding issues

[Timonator]

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Chameleon Info:Your Chameleon*- Male abilobe about 6-9 months old

Handling*- only twice so far
Feeding*- 10- 15 gut loaded crickets a day with zoo med repti calcium.
Watering*- drip for 20 minutes 3X daily. I havent seen him drink yet
Fecal Description*- He hasnt pooped yet
History*- I bought him from chicago reptiles 2 days ago.

Cage Info:Cage Type*- 12x12x30 screen zoo med chameleon kit cage. Upgraded the basking bulb to a 100w. Basking bulb. 5.0 uvb compact bulb.Lots of vines and fake plants and leaves. Kind of a high traffic area in our house top of cage is about 5 feet. Lights out at sundown on at sun up.

Current Problem*- The current problem is that he usually misses with his toungue when feeding and it seems like the crickets dont stick to his tongue very well either. Though he is eventually getting them.

Thanks in advance, I just want him to be ok

 

[carol5208]

Hi and welcome to the forums! I want to first point out that that size cage(unless your chameleon is unusually small) is inappropriate in size for a chameleon of that age. A picture of your chameleon and your set up would be helpful. Unfortunately it sounds like your chameleon is having tongue troubles that have nothing to do with your set up, especially seeing that you just got him. They are usually caused by a few factors. If the tongue is shooting out and extending, but he is missing, there could be a problem with his eyesight. If the tongue is not sticking to the prey there could be some type of nutritional imbalance going on and seeing that you have not owned him long, that may be difficult to diagnose. Make sure in addition to the calcium(with no D3) that he gets a multi vitamin atleast a few times a month, one like Reptivite that contains Vitamin A. I have heard that dehydration can cause the tongue not to stick, but I am not sure if that was someone guessing or if there was proof of this. I would run the dripper as much as possible and also try misting the cage down for about 3 minutes atleast 3 or 4 times a day if possible. What I do is drip the dripper directly on the chameleon's nose even if you have to follow him around. Usually they will stop and start drinking. I know you just got him and he is probably stressed being in a new surroundings. I would definitely consider getting him something bigger if not now, it will be a must for the future.

 

[Timonator]

I plan on getting a larger cage soon. I also have vitamins for him.

 

[Timonator]

He's still having this problem. I'm misting him like crazy.

 

[JoCarp]

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Chameleon Info:Your Chameleon*- Male abilobe about 6-9 months old

Handling*- only twice so far
Feeding*- 10- 15 gut loaded crickets a day with zoo med repti calcium.
Watering*- drip for 20 minutes 3X daily. I havent seen him drink yet
Fecal Description*- He hasnt pooped yet
History*- I bought him from chicago reptiles 2 days ago.

Cage Info:Cage Type*- 12x12x30 screen zoo med chameleon kit cage. Upgraded the basking bulb to a 100w. Basking bulb. 5.0 uvb compact bulb.Lots of vines and fake plants and leaves. Kind of a high traffic area in our house top of cage is about 5 feet. Lights out at sundown on at sun up.

Current Problem*- The current problem is that he usually misses with his toungue when feeding and it seems like the crickets dont stick to his tongue very well either. Though he is eventually getting them.

Thanks in advance, I just want him to be ok

I'm very new, so take my advice with a grain of salt (or wait to see how other more experienced owners chime in either in favor or not with my opinion, it won't ofend me if I'm wrong as I'm still learning too!). I will say that looking at the little dripper on top, it looks like you have an 18x18x36 cage (since that's what I have) and it looks like a Reptibreeze since mine had the same stickers on it to assemble. They don't make a 12x12 that I've seen. So its probably 16x16x20 or 30" or its like mine 18x18x36, which seems to be the options other than the 24x24x48. Regardless I don't think he's as cramped as it sounded initially.

As for missing his food, I think the point of eyesight versus tongue is the perfect question as it will help to figure out what are his true struggles. Is it more of an aim issue (eye sight) or a "grip" issue with his tongue?

Regardless, he is a great looking panther and I look forward to hearing how he is doing. He will be in our thoughts and prayers!

 

[Wowbango]

Yeah this looks like my setup which is the 16x16x30. From my understanding he's good up until about 10-12 months in which case you want to upgrade to the 2'x2'x4'. Mine is only about 5 months old but he's a super shy drinker. He never drinks when I'm watching but if I'm sneaky, I see him taking a drink. How is his urate? As long as it's white, and not orange/yellow, he's properly hydrated.