Not eating

[Gemeleon dude]

Hello, so my female panther (dart) is eating wayy less I’ve noticed, it’s was about after her 5th shed her diet cut way back, I wanna say it’s natural and she’s getting older and developing eggs or if she’s sick but no signs show she’s sick at all.. just curious on how I’m gonna change her diet and how many staple feeders to give and snacks, this morning she ate a horn worm dusted in vitamins no question asked and tried to give her other food and all she wants to do is climb all over the cage and NOT stay in one place.

 

[Beman]

How old is she ? Can you post pictures and details about how often/how many feeders you give?

 

[Gemeleon dude]

How old is she ? Can you post pictures and details about how often/how many feeders you give?

She is 7-8 months old, before when she was eating on a daily basis when she was growing a lot she’d eat 10-15 crickets no problem

 

[Gemeleon dude]

How old is she ? Can you post pictures and details about how often/how many feeders you give?

The first photo is her before her shed and the second 2 pics are her after the shed and stopped eating heavy and really started to show colors , new ones I should say

 

[Beman]

She is 7-8 months old, before when she was eating on a daily basis when she was growing a lot she’d eat 10-15 crickets no problem

Ok so you cut her back to what? Or are you still offering everyday with those amounts? With that kind of food intake she may very well be getting ready to lay. Can you post pictures of her? Do you have a lay bin in the cage?

This is what is typically recommended for females. This way they do not go into laying and the potential for large clutches.

As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.


You will not ever want basking to be over 78-80 for her. Very important for females because as she ages she needs this temp no higher at basking to help control the amount of eggs she produces.

A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

 

[Gemeleon dude]

Ok so you cut her back to what? Or are you still offering everyday with those amounts? With that kind of food intake she may very well be getting ready to lay. Can you post pictures of her? Do you have a lay bin in the cage?

This is what is typically recommended for females. This way they do not go into laying and the potential for large clutches.

As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.


You will not ever want basking to be over 78-80 for her. Very important for females because as she ages she needs this temp no higher at basking to help control the amount of eggs she produces.

A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

I offer her crickets in her shooting gallery every day, some get free and she eats them thru out the day I can here here chomping from time to time, but I offer horn worms, bsfl, wax worms, and super worms and her staple is crickets that I gut load with carrots and sweet potato, there is a lay plain in the cage that is a 12” round pot filled with play sand and organic mixture with a pant in it for cover and privacy

 

[Gemeleon dude]

Ok so you cut her back to what? Or are you still offering everyday with those amounts? With that kind of food intake she may very well be getting ready to lay. Can you post pictures of her? Do you have a lay bin in the cage?

This is what is typically recommended for females. This way they do not go into laying and the potential for large clutches.

As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.


You will not ever want basking to be over 78-80 for her. Very important for females because as she ages she needs this temp no higher at basking to help control the amount of eggs she produces.

A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

And yes I posted pictures of her above

 

[Beman]

I offer her crickets in her shooting gallery every day, some get free and she eats them thru out the day I can here here chomping from time to time, but I offer horn worms, bsfl, wax worms, and super worms and her staple is crickets that I gut load with carrots and sweet potato, there is a lay plain in the cage that is a 12” round pot filled with play sand and organic mixture with a pant in it for cover and privacy

Sometimes they will not use the round pots... But if she is restless and not eating these are signs that she is getting close to laying. @MissSkittles can offer you more specific info on females and laying.

I would start working her down in feeder amounts. She should be on every other day now working into 3 days a week by the time she is 9-10 months old. See what I posted above for amounts and cutting down.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Sounds like Dart is receptive. My (veiled) girls have never lost their appetites when receptive, but each chameleon is different. My little panther girl is having her first receptive period too (I suspect at least) and she’s all over her enclosure. I‘m kind of learning about female panthers as I go, so I can only tell you what I know in general and with my own.
I’m still feeding my little girl about 5 small feeders daily as she’s still tiny and needs to do more growing. I do have a lay bin in her enclosure. Since she’s so small I used a plastic bin that is about 8-10” wide and long and filled with about 4” of washed play sand. Once she lays her first clutch, I’ll be feeding her the same that I do my veileds - 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week. Basking temps are already kept at no higher than 80F.
The receptive period can last anywhere from one to several weeks. A few weeks or longer after that you can usually expect your girl to lay her eggs. She’ll find her bin when she needs it…or she may chose a plant pot and that’s fine. Right before laying, she may not want to eat, may start getting restless again (spending more time checking out the lower part of her enclosure) or she might not give any signs at all. Once you see she’s in her bin and started digging, walk away and get a light sheet to cover up just the visible lower half of the enclosure so she can’t see you. If she sees anyone, she may stop digging and there’s risk of becoming egg bound. Keep your normal light schedule. She may dig a few holes until she’s satisfied with one. She’ll probably sleep in her tunnel. Once she’s happy with the tunnel she’s dug, she’ll turn around with bottom in the tunnel and lay her eggs. She’ll carefully cover all of her holes. When all done, you’ll find her sitting on her basking branch looking much thinner. Give her a good misting and some food. I like giving silkworms and hornworms after they lay to help rehydrate them. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days after and then start the reduced feeding schedule. I know reduced feeding and temps help reduce egg production and laying in veileds and in theory should do the same for our lady panthers.

 

[Gemeleon dude]

Thank you for all the info, and I’ve dropped to a 65W house bulb and her temps still reach above 80, so I’ve ordered a 50W house bulb and see what it does

 

[Gemeleon dude]

Hi. Sounds like Dart is receptive. My (veiled) girls have never lost their appetites when receptive, but each chameleon is different. My little panther girl is having her first receptive period too (I suspect at least) and she’s all over her enclosure. I‘m kind of learning about female panthers as I go, so I can only tell you what I know in general and with my own.
I’m still feeding my little girl about 5 small feeders daily as she’s still tiny and needs to do more growing. I do have a lay bin in her enclosure. Since she’s so small I used a plastic bin that is about 8-10” wide and long and filled with about 4” of washed play sand. Once she lays her first clutch, I’ll be feeding her the same that I do my veileds - 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week. Basking temps are already kept at no higher than 80F.
The receptive period can last anywhere from one to several weeks. A few weeks or longer after that you can usually expect your girl to lay her eggs. She’ll find her bin when she needs it…or she may chose a plant pot and that’s fine. Right before laying, she may not want to eat, may start getting restless again (spending more time checking out the lower part of her enclosure) or she might not give any signs at all. Once you see she’s in her bin and started digging, walk away and get a light sheet to cover up just the visible lower half of the enclosure so she can’t see you. If she sees anyone, she may stop digging and there’s risk of becoming egg bound. Keep your normal light schedule. She may dig a few holes until she’s satisfied with one. She’ll probably sleep in her tunnel. Once she’s happy with the tunnel she’s dug, she’ll turn around with bottom in the tunnel and lay her eggs. She’ll carefully cover all of her holes. When all done, you’ll find her sitting on her basking branch looking much thinner. Give her a good misting and some food. I like giving silkworms and hornworms after they lay to help rehydrate them. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days after and then start the reduced feeding schedule. I know reduced feeding and temps help reduce egg production and laying in veileds and in theory should do the same for our lady panthers

So would it be a good idea to cover her cage so she will stop screen climbing? Tbh I feel like we distract her. Whenever I come up to the cage she instantly get on the screen.

 

[Gemeleon dude]

@MissSkittles

 

[MissSkittles]

So would it be a good idea to cover her cage so she will stop screen climbing? Tbh I feel like we distract her. Whenever I come up to the cage she instantly get on the screen.

I doubt covering the enclosure will stop her screen climbing. My girls screen climb at times (especially when receptive) and I just keep an eye that they haven’t hurt their nails. You can try adding more branches in the front of your enclosure, but if she wants to screen climb, she will.

 

[Gemeleon dude]

I doubt covering the enclosure will stop her screen climbing. My girls screen climb at times (especially when receptive) and I just keep an eye that they haven’t hurt their nails. You can try adding more branches in the front of your enclosure, but if she wants to screen climb, she will.

So is being in the room with her won’t effect anything, her cage is in our bedroom

 

[MissSkittles]

So is being in the room with her won’t effect anything, her cage is in our bedroom

Well, it’s impossible to know what is going on in their minds. She may see you as ‘the door opener’ which would allow her to get out and find that man cham that she just knows you are hiding somewhere. I personally wouldn’t change my own activity level or being in the bedroom. Thankfully for you and her, the receptive period doesn’t last too long and as long as she isn’t hurting herself, you both just need to wait it out.