Panther chameleon not growing

[Charlieboy]

Thats ok thanks. @Beman lights / supplements. Not unless your temps drop below 10 Celsius you don't need your che on at night a night time drop in temperature is healthy. 70 % daytime humidity would be your maximum but as you have seen and adjusted your misting schedule should be OK just keep an eye on it. Your levels can go up at night to 100 % ( you could get a govee mini that you can download to your phone ) but I would concentrate on enclosure size upgrade for now. I find it helpful to write down a list and prioritise through it and take it from there. As you can see my uv in the middle diagonally covers more of the enclosure

So I should get rid of the small uvb and just use a long one diagonally across? Does it hurt him to leave the che on all the time?

 

[Flick boy]

Full throttle feeders @Charlieboy

 

[Charlieboy]

Full throttle feeders @Charlieboy

The feeder cups?

 

[Flick boy]

So I should get rid of the small uvb and just use a long one diagonally across? Does it hurt him to leave the che on all the time?

It won't hurt him leaving the che on he just doesn't need it as I mentioned unless your temps drop below 10 Celsius at night a night time drop in temperature is beneficial. What are the brands and uvb bulbs in your fixtures/ what percentage

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."He won't eat anything but crickets, small to medium. He eats 4-5 crickets on average daily. They are gutloaded with carrots and potatoes. He gets fed when he shows himself for the day, usually mid to late morning"...he should be eating more than this at this age. I would recommend feeding th crickets dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, escarole, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, a very little bit of pears, berries, papaya, apples.

You said..."Dusting them with Repashy Calcium Plus once a week"....it's recommended that you dust the insects just before feeding them to him with a phos free calcium powder lightly at every feeding each week but one. For that one feeding each week, alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder and a vitamin powder lightly.

You said..."Charlie (my baby) goes to bed around 4 pm and pops up between 8 & 10 am".. that's too early to go to bed.

You said..."60w ceramic heater, 5.0 UVB and slimline 18" T8. The ceramic stays on, the bulbs are on a timer from 8 am-8 pm"... You don't need a heat emitter unless the temperature drops into the 50's F..., and a heat emitter is not providing a basking area. At that age you don't need a hot basking area.

You said..."The basking is usually between 75-85 F. The other ranges from 70-80 F. Usually low 70s at night".....all a bit too high IMHO.

You said..."He has not grown and I don't think he's eating as much as he should be"...don't know for sure why he isn't eating but that is definitely affecting his growth. Could be he's too hot...can't be sure.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I have a male juvenile panther. I'm not sure of his exact age. He's been with me for about 1.5 - 2 months. He has not grown and doesn't eat much. He won't eat roaches or worms, but will eat 4-5 medium crickets per day usually. I'm concerned that he's not getting all the nutrition he needs and that's why he's not growing. I've let the crickets run free in his enclosure so he can hunt, but he doesn't. If I tong feed him he'll eat. When he shoots his tongue, his aim is off. I have a vet appointment next week to have him checked out but any help beforehand would be greatly appreciated. I'm afraid he's not happy

At that age, my male panther was eating ~10-15 med. crix/day, split between 2 meals.
Yours really should be getting some variety. IDK what worms you've tried; have you tried small super worms or giant meal worms? I feed out of a home-made feeder run cup similar to Full Throttle Feeders style.

(Vet appointment)

I'm not sure where to find the form. I have a mealworm dish but he won't eat from it.

Top shaded area of the Health Clinic forum.

How to ask for help (Bookmark it for future reference)

Does he know that's where the food is? If you haven't already, try holding the cup with feeders in it below and in front of him so he can see the food. Once he starts eating out of the cup, he'll associate the cup with food, and you should be able to relocate it.

Wow thats a jungle for sure . Is there enough room for your little guy to move in there in between everything. What lights you got up top as if your uvb is correct its only getting to a small portion of your enclosure

It's beautiful.

I was thinking any redoing the vines and taking some of the foliage out but he moves quite well through everything. I want to take the mossy vine out because I'm afraid it'll grow bacteria from not thoroughly drying out. What would you recommend for the light?

Yes, I would remove anything artificial. The plants you have will grow into beautiful strong vines along with your cham's growth.

Lights:

UVB : T5 HO w/ mirrored reflector. Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. Both are good. Fixtures that look like this...

are all made by the same company, so shop for price. Doesn't have to go diagonal, but diagonal is OK. Should at least go full width of the enclosure, so 24" (nominal).

Plant light: For your enclosure & plants, I would go right for a Sansi 70W LED grow light pad.
https://www.sansiled.com/70w-led-grow-light-full-spectrum.html
Look for coupons: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=sansi+coupons

Basking light: Old-style incandescent household lightbub (current dome fixture is fine). If you can't find one of those, incandescent flood (NOT LED) or halogen flood (NOT LED).
In lieu of one of these, you can use your CHE, but it should go off at night unless nighttime temps drop below 50F/10C.

I don't see anything alarming about temps, but he may be sleeping low in the enclosure seeking cooler nighttime temps.

 

[Charlieboy]

It won't hurt him leaving the che on he just doesn't need it as I mentioned unless your temps drop below 10 Celsius at night a night time drop in temperature is beneficial. What are the brands and uvb bulbs in your fixtures/ what percentage

They are zoo med brand. I'm not sure what you mean by percentages. I'm going to turn off the che today to see if it helps him. It doesn't get that cold in the room.

 

[Charlieboy]

At that age, my male panther was eating ~10-15 med. crix/day, split between 2 meals.
Yours really should be getting some variety. IDK what worms you've tried; have you tried small super worms or giant meal worms? I feed out of a home-made feeder run cup similar to Full Throttle Feeders style.

(Vet appointment)


Top shaded area of the Health Clinic forum.

How to ask for help (Bookmark it for future reference)

Does he know that's where the food is? If you haven't already, try holding the cup with feeders in it below and in front of him so he can see the food. Once he starts eating out of the cup, he'll associate the cup with food, and you should be able to relocate it.


It's beautiful.


Yes, I would remove anything artificial. The plants you have will grow into beautiful strong vines along with your cham's growth.

Lights:

UVB : T5 HO w/ mirrored reflector. Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. Both are good. Fixtures that look like this...

View attachment 297567​

are all made by the same company, so shop for price. Doesn't have to go diagonal, but diagonal is OK. Should at least go full width of the enclosure, so 24" (nominal).

Plant light: For your enclosure & plants, I would go right for a Sansi 70W LED grow light pad.
https://www.sansiled.com/70w-led-grow-light-full-spectrum.html
Look for coupons: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=sansi+coupons

Basking light: Old-style incandescent household lightbub (current dome fixture is fine). If you can't find one of those, incandescent flood (NOT LED) or halogen flood (NOT LED).
In lieu of one of these, you can use your CHE, but it should go off at night unless nighttime temps drop below 50F/10C.

I don't see anything alarming about temps, but he may be sleeping low in the enclosure seeking cooler nighttime temps.

I have tried meal worms and horn worms. You don't think giant meal worms or super worms would be too big for him?

 

[Charlieboy]

It won't hurt him leaving the che on he just doesn't need it as I mentioned unless your temps drop below 10 Celsius at night a night time drop in temperature is beneficial. What are the brands and uvb bulbs in your fixtures/ what percentage

What is the difference between the t5 ho and the t8? I researched and it says the t5 ho would have to be kept further from Charlie. Is this true or would it still be able to test on top of the enclosure? As for upgrading the enclosure, would I be better off getting the larger LED reptibreeze rather than the one without LED?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I have tried meal worms and horn worms. You don't think giant meal worms or super worms would be too big for him?

No, mine had no trouble with either at 3 mo. "Giant" mealworms is a marketing gimmick; they're only an inch long. Supers are available in different sizes. I started with small for the first 100, then moved up to medium (cham is now ~6 mo. old). Neither should be used as a staple, but as part of a varied diet, a few of each/either per week should be fine. There is a slight chance a cham might become "addicted" (another misnomer; some lizards just REALLY like them! ) to supers, but that usually only happens after feeding them exclusively for some time.
https://www.google.com/search?clien...erworm+addiction+site:www.chameleonforums.com

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

They are zoo med brand. I'm not sure what you mean by percentages.

It's just terminology for the strength of the bulb.

Arcadias are labeled/sold as percentage: 6%, 12%, 14%.
Reptisun are sold by decimal number: 5.0, 10.0, which loosely translates to a percentage.

So for chameleons, many/most use 5.0 or 6%. Some argue one or the other is "better" but if so, it's almost not worth mentioning. I have both brands, and IMO there's no practical difference. Both are warrantied for 1 yr.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

What is the difference between the t5 ho and the t8? I researched and it says the t5 ho would have to be kept further from Charlie. Is this true or would it still be able to test on top of the enclosure? As for upgrading the enclosure, would I be better off getting the larger LED reptibreeze rather than the one without LED?

The T is an industry designation of bulb diameter in 1/8" increments, and has nothing to do with strength.
T8 = 1" diameter
T5 = 5/8" diameter
As mentioned in post above, strength is designated as a percent or decimal.
T5s are newer technology than T8s, so are usually stronger in practice.
HO= High Output; even newer technology that kicks strength & lifespan up another notch.

Current SOTA is T5 HO (or T5HO).

The LEDs in reptibreeze are a gee whiz marketing gimmick; they do nothing for the reptile within.
IMO, save the money, get a good 24x24x48, and any savings will likely be spent elsewhere on better lighting, plants, etc.

This is an expensive hobby, and not worth doing things on the cheap—it's the chameleon that will suffer.

 

[Charlieboy]

No, mine had no trouble with either at 3 mo. "Giant" mealworms is a marketing gimmick; they're only an inch long. Supers are available in different sizes. I started with small for the first 100, then moved up to medium (cham is now ~6 mo. old). Neither should be used as a staple, but as part of a varied diet, a few of each/either per week should be fine. There is a slight chance a cham might become "addicted" (another misnomer; some lizards just REALLY like them! ) to supers, but that usually only happens after feeding them exclusively for some time.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=superworm+addiction+site:www.chameleonforums.com

Thanks for the info. I'll grab some today and try them.

 

[Brian J G]

I think it looks male, but it is a difficult age to tell. Either way, gender probably is not the reason for little/no growth, though

True but color on females are not as pronounced as males.Size of females are somewhat smaller than males also.

 

[Flick boy]

They are zoo med brand. I'm not sure what you mean by percentages. I'm going to turn off the che today to see if it helps him. It doesn't get that cold in the room.

The percentage is the amount of uvb that the light provides. Either this light / percentage or an arcadia 6%