torizazu
New Member
Hey all! Okay, so everyone I talk to thinks I am being a paranoid new mom to this little baby panther I have just gotten--I would like some input from you experienced hobbyists!
Here is some background on this new little dude (or dudette)... This kid I work with bought him at a Petland a few hours away from our town, they (carelessly) housed him in a glass exo-terra terrarium and he was there for a month or so (so they said....). I do not believe they were supplementing him with anything
A few days after this kid brought the cham home he decided he didn't want it anymore and I took him in. He had a ridiculous amount of heat on this poor baby and I am really worried about his health because of it... He had an infrared heat light, a ceramic heat emitter, a basking spot ANNNND a UVB linear tube on him (YIKES)!!!! He was extremely dehydrated--orange urates and all when I got him but has since been eating and drinking like a champ and has had white urates. He doesn't poop everyday though and I know for a fact he eats everyday because I will make sure I get him to eat at leat 3 crickets or mealworms from my hand...
Here is his info now:
Your Chameleon - Panther, unsexed, roughly 3 months old
Handling - very rarely...maybe for a few minutes since I have had him and that was only to clean one of his vines.
Feeding - Crickets gut loaded with fluker's orange cubes, they are also dusted everyday with Repashy cham dust and they get calcium with d3 dusted twice a week. He also is offered waxworms to fatten him up and meal worms.
Supplements - Repashy cham dust daily and the repti-cal (pink and white tub) twice a week
Watering - I use an exoterra mister and mist by hand 4 to 5 times a day. I do not seem him drinking often
Fecal Description - Has not been tested yet, droppings are finally white in urates again because he was very dehydrated at first and they were orange. His actual turd is a solid greyish/brown looking poo, it landed in a puddle of water though so it got slimy and weird before I got it out to examine it.
History - see above
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen ZooMed cage, the smaller size (12x12x18ish?) He has plenty of room to roam around since he is still so little and has lots of fake (silk) plants and vines. There is no substrate on the bottom of his cage.
Lighting - 75w sun-glo by exoterra hung several inches above his cage for basking, and a compact fluorescent that is 5.0 UVB also.
Temperature - I have two digital therms on his cage, his basking spot is generally anywhere from 86.5 to 88.5, the ambient temp is around 78 or so and nighttime temps are 74ish.
Humidity - He is misted 4 to 5 times a day, I try to keep the humidity at about 60%, 40% is usually the lowest I ever see it.
Plants - Silk plants...
Placement - Cage is about 3 feet or so off the ground and placed in our office so he isn't bothered by traffic in the house.
Location - Kansas
Current Problem - For the last few days I have caught him dozing off during the day If I sneak up on him he will have his eyes closed but if I make even the slightest noise he will perk right up and look at me. I thought maybe this could be caused from moving around so much and him adjusting to yet another new place. AT first, he would do the creepy eye cleaning thing when they bubble out their eye and suck it in after it is closed then reopen the eye. After he did the cleaning maneuver he would sometimes close it or bulge it out...most of the time it looks normal, which is why this is so confusing to me. Maybe I have too much light on him? Maybe it is caused from the lack of supplements he received at the pet store? Maybe it is from him being half way friggin baked by the kid I got him from?
UGH! Also--I have only seen like 3 turds from him and I have had him for almost a week now I know he has eaten every day though and is fattening up nicely as he was too thin to be one of my chammy kids-- maybe his prey items are too big (slightly larger than the width between his eyes?). Could this cause constipation? I am really more concerned with the sleepiness though when he thinks he can get away with it. I have read this can be caused by lack of vitamins in the diet which I am surely trying to help him out with...My other panther NEVER does this AND poops daily...
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, folks!
Here is some background on this new little dude (or dudette)... This kid I work with bought him at a Petland a few hours away from our town, they (carelessly) housed him in a glass exo-terra terrarium and he was there for a month or so (so they said....). I do not believe they were supplementing him with anything
A few days after this kid brought the cham home he decided he didn't want it anymore and I took him in. He had a ridiculous amount of heat on this poor baby and I am really worried about his health because of it... He had an infrared heat light, a ceramic heat emitter, a basking spot ANNNND a UVB linear tube on him (YIKES)!!!! He was extremely dehydrated--orange urates and all when I got him but has since been eating and drinking like a champ and has had white urates. He doesn't poop everyday though and I know for a fact he eats everyday because I will make sure I get him to eat at leat 3 crickets or mealworms from my hand...
Here is his info now:
Your Chameleon - Panther, unsexed, roughly 3 months old
Handling - very rarely...maybe for a few minutes since I have had him and that was only to clean one of his vines.
Feeding - Crickets gut loaded with fluker's orange cubes, they are also dusted everyday with Repashy cham dust and they get calcium with d3 dusted twice a week. He also is offered waxworms to fatten him up and meal worms.
Supplements - Repashy cham dust daily and the repti-cal (pink and white tub) twice a week
Watering - I use an exoterra mister and mist by hand 4 to 5 times a day. I do not seem him drinking often
Fecal Description - Has not been tested yet, droppings are finally white in urates again because he was very dehydrated at first and they were orange. His actual turd is a solid greyish/brown looking poo, it landed in a puddle of water though so it got slimy and weird before I got it out to examine it.
History - see above
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen ZooMed cage, the smaller size (12x12x18ish?) He has plenty of room to roam around since he is still so little and has lots of fake (silk) plants and vines. There is no substrate on the bottom of his cage.
Lighting - 75w sun-glo by exoterra hung several inches above his cage for basking, and a compact fluorescent that is 5.0 UVB also.
Temperature - I have two digital therms on his cage, his basking spot is generally anywhere from 86.5 to 88.5, the ambient temp is around 78 or so and nighttime temps are 74ish.
Humidity - He is misted 4 to 5 times a day, I try to keep the humidity at about 60%, 40% is usually the lowest I ever see it.
Plants - Silk plants...
Placement - Cage is about 3 feet or so off the ground and placed in our office so he isn't bothered by traffic in the house.
Location - Kansas
Current Problem - For the last few days I have caught him dozing off during the day If I sneak up on him he will have his eyes closed but if I make even the slightest noise he will perk right up and look at me. I thought maybe this could be caused from moving around so much and him adjusting to yet another new place. AT first, he would do the creepy eye cleaning thing when they bubble out their eye and suck it in after it is closed then reopen the eye. After he did the cleaning maneuver he would sometimes close it or bulge it out...most of the time it looks normal, which is why this is so confusing to me. Maybe I have too much light on him? Maybe it is caused from the lack of supplements he received at the pet store? Maybe it is from him being half way friggin baked by the kid I got him from?
UGH! Also--I have only seen like 3 turds from him and I have had him for almost a week now I know he has eaten every day though and is fattening up nicely as he was too thin to be one of my chammy kids-- maybe his prey items are too big (slightly larger than the width between his eyes?). Could this cause constipation? I am really more concerned with the sleepiness though when he thinks he can get away with it. I have read this can be caused by lack of vitamins in the diet which I am surely trying to help him out with...My other panther NEVER does this AND poops daily...
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, folks!