Newbie w/ 4 mo. chameleon.

[Auntbee86]

Hey all so I just got my first panther chameleon the Wednesday,so this is day #2 and hes 4 months old. his body is about 2 in and tail is prolly another 1-2 in. so I guess hes average size. I've never had one before and I've been reading other posts but havent found much that he can eat in the area. I work at Pet Supermarket which carries large (5week) and small(3 week) live crickets, live med. and large mealworms(which they cant eat), live superworms, and the rest is freeze dried...small and large crickets, grasshoppers,mealworms, and then a can that just is all mixed called medley. So the breeder I got him from said he can eat 3 week live crickets and fruits,veggies. So she said he ate before she gave him to me and told me how to care for him and I'm doing everything but I havent seen him eat anything. I have him in a rubbermate tote its like a 73qt. and hes got fake plant vines, small fake plant and i bought this grapevine stick thing which he loves it. I mist it for him and I see him licking the water off the leaves and I ve noticed hes went potty and it looks good...not to runny or to dry. She said to toss in some crickets and a few little peices of mustard greens and maybe carrot shreds and he should do okay or she said to place him in a smaller container to feed him then put him back into 73q home. I'm just affraid hes not eating...what should I do?? I'm doing everything ok right or no? plz help. I posted some pics I just took of him. Thanks.

 

[Gensen]

Help...

You may want to fill out the how to ask for help form so that the knowledgable people who are watching the site can help you out. They are probably going to tell you first to get him out of the plastic tub as he is not a little tiny bay anymore. At that age he needs to be in a fully screened enclosure. Also lighting is very important he needs a UVB source (preferably Ruptisun 5.0) as well as a basking bulb. Also what type of Cham is he, I was guessing a Veiled since you mentioned feeding him greens & carrots but thought on the pictures he looked more like a panther... that's why the ask for help link is so great they need to know details about your setup but also what type of Chameleon you have. Here is a link to the help questionaire:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

But fill that out & post it so these guys can give you knowledgable help. I don't want to give too much as I am fairly new to owvership but I am having sucess through before hand research and questions from knowledgable persons.

 

[Auntbee86]

Thank you so very much for the help. Yes hes a panther chameleon. Sorry I guess I overlooked or missed that section of the forum. sorry again.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the Chameleon Forums. Gensen gave you some good advice and filling out the form will be very helpful to the members here to try to help you get this little guy eating. Not all panthers will eat fruits and veggies so for right now just stick with the live feeders.

I'm also attaching a link that will help you to get everything that you need for your new guy. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[Gensen]

Feeding...

Thank you so very much for the help. Yes hes a panther chameleon. Sorry I guess I overlooked or missed that section of the forum. sorry again.

Reason I ask is because you said you were concerned you have not seen him eat, and I got the impression you are giving him greens, fruits ect.... a Veild will eat fruits and veggie but I my knowledge a panther does not... Panthers should have crickets, mealworms, wax worms, flightless fruit flies,silworms, roaches.... ect. Of course this depends on thier age young ones should get wingless fruit flies, crickets no bigger than the width of thier heads, house flies and mini mealworms. Sub-Adults can have larger & more variety added. You should also be dusting/supplementing your feeders and gut loading your crickets too all this is very important. Chams can be tricky to keep and are work involved but rewarding and not so bad if you get the proper set up going and then feed properly.

 

[Auntbee86]

** PLEASE HELP **

Okay so here we go again...I'm always worried about something. Sorry but I've noticed on here and at work (pet supermarket) that My cham is very small. heres a pic of him i just took next to a small key ring tape measure. He looks really small and I've noticed other people their chams are atleast double this size at his age. today he is 5 months old I'm told by the breeder. What do you think?? also some people are saying I'm feeding him to much or not enough?? he eats about 12-15 pinhead crickets a day or about 6-8 3 week old crickets a day depending on what i buy. he looks great. he wants to be held alot it seems. the temps are perfect according to what everyone on here says and when i put my hand in cage to mist he just wants to climb up and sit on my arm or sholder...should i be worried everyone says dont handle them alot because they get stressed easy and could die. help!!

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9093/dsc00638t.jpg

 

[Vegas Chad]

A chameleon that large should be WELL past the pinhead stage, if you are feeding it those you are wasting your money. Buy larger bugs as your chameleon will gain more food when it eats from less items. It will also find them easier and you can (and should) gutload them. Anyhoo, no pinhead bugs.

If you regularly hold your chameleon then that is fine as long as its not freeking out when you do hold it, chameleons never suffer from not enough handling.

If it is eating and everything is inside the normal care requirements then it sounds like you just need to relax and let it do its thing. It’s at the age where the growth will really kick into high gear. So in conclusion, relax and enjoy your pet.

 

[Olimpia]

Is it just me, or is that a female? I'd bet it's a female. Females are by nature much smaller than male panthers, so that might account for the smallness. I agree with Vegas Chad, feed her/him much larger crickets and forget the pinheads. As long as the cricket isn't wider than the space between the cham's eyes, she can handle them.

 

[benpaul]

"I have him in a rubbermate tote its like a 73qt"


Your chameleon?? thats really bad......... all screen cage. Doesnt the lights melt the plastic?

 

[Auntbee86]

A chameleon that large should be WELL past the pinhead stage, if you are feeding it those you are wasting your money. Buy larger bugs as your chameleon will gain more food when it eats from less items. It will also find them easier and you can (and should) gutload them. Anyhoo, no pinhead bugs.
If you regularly hold your chameleon then that is fine as long as its not freeking out when you do hold it, chameleons never suffer from not enough handling.
If it is eating and everything is inside the normal care requirements then it sounds like you just need to relax and let it do its thing. It’s at the age where the growth will really kick into high gear. So in conclusion, relax and enjoy your pet.

okay i ordered larger crickets and they sent the wrong size....thats why im stuck with 500 pinheads..when i called them and they were out of the ones i wanted and all they had were 5 week crickets those r way to big so they said that i could ship the pinheads back and then when they get all 500 they would return my money....i thought that was stupid so i just fed them to him but hes eatin alot of them.I'm gonnal feed 3 week crickets after these r gone. and yes im gutloading the crickets and dusting them. i agree no pinhead bugs! and yes he loves being handled atleast once a day for like a few min.

Thanks.

Is it just me, or is that a female? I'd bet it's a female. Females are by nature much smaller than male panthers, so that might account for the smallness. I agree with Vegas Chad, feed her/him much larger crickets and forget the pinheads. As long as the cricket isn't wider than the space between the cham's eyes, she can handle them.

Its not a female...I've had over a dozen people swear its a guy. But I guess its never a guarantee until they get older and start getting all their colors. Hes already getting colors..hes got green on the top of his head and on his face and has blue stripes on his sides and hes getting orange and red down his back. i thought females were browns/ orange colors?? or can they be all colors?

"I have him in a rubbermate tote its like a 73qt"

Your chameleon?? thats really bad......... all screen cage. Doesnt the lights melt the plastic?

Just so you know I didnt want to start a new topic so I just changed the subject. hes in a huge all screen cage. and he freakin loves it. the plants have grown and started filling in nicely and theres more vines and stuff for him to climb on.
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7171/dsc00623vy.jpg