Question about a new panther chameleon

[danny_cham]

Hello! I’m new to chameleons, but not new to keeping reptiles. I was given a female panther chameleon that the previous owner could no longer care for and I’m doing my best to be informed and take the best care of her that I can!

When I first brought her home she sat on the bottom of the cage for hours before climbing up towards the heat lamp. The following days she didn’t move around much and usually day with her tail curled up. The previous owner only ever used a heat lamp, no basking lamp. I was told by the owner that the chameleon hated the bright light but I went and bought a 75 watt basking bulb anyways. A couple days ago I noticed she lost interest in crickets so I assumed she was bored and went to by a better variety. The store was unfortunately out of dubias.

I turned the basking light on for the first time today and she started acting very different. She basked for a while and age a worm and pooped. I had to briefly unplug the lamp to make some adjustments and she became restless. I turned it on again but the restless behavior continued. She’s been climbing along the screen and being much more active. She only ate a super worm, small waxworm, and a small mealworm today. She still has not shown any interest in crickets.

I opened her cage and placed a plant nearby for her to free roam, thinking she might need some space or that something was wrong. She briefly climbed up my arm before climbing the plant again. This is strange because she’s never even let me touch her. She’s begun sitting with her tail uncurled as well.

Any idea what this behavior could be about?



Chameleon Info:
Panther
Female
name is Danny
I’ve had her for roughly a week.
The pet store didn’t know exactly how old she was. Estimated 1-2 years

Handling:
I interact with her almost daily but have not handled her yet. I have offered my hand but she won’t go up it. Today was the first time she voluntarily crawled up my (sleeved) arm.

Feeding:
The previous owner only fed her crickets.
I added super worms to that diet.
I try and feed 2/3 crickets and 1-3 super worms every other day.
Today I added wax worms but she’s only eaten 1 so far.

Supplements:
Repti Calcium with D3- 2x week


Watering
forget set to go off every 3 hours for 5 minutes at a time.
Hand mister whenever needed
Dripper


Fecal Description:
Brown to dark brown well formed. Urea looks good

History:
She was originally purchased from petland. Kept in a college dorm with heavy traffic and apparently grew a distaste for people.
She was given to me and is now being kept in a spare room on top of a desk.

Cage Info:
screen cage. Unsure of the exact size. I plan to upgrade it

Lighting:
Reptisun 5.0 UVB
fluker’s 75watt basking

Temperature:

Ambient temperature:
Day - 75 F to 80º F
Night 70F to 75 F
Basking light bulb is a 75 watt flukers brand. It felt very warm but thermometer reading didn’t change much. I think the batteries could be low

Humidity:
Day – 40 to 60%
Night – 50 to 80%
I have the reptifogger currently set to go off for five minutes every 3 hours.

Plants:
Live: Wandering Jew, golden pothos, money tree, hibiscus, bromeliad
2 fake plants

Placement:
office//spare room with little to no traffic

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! This is going to be long, so I’m breaking it up in sections.
Chameleon Info:
Panther
Female
name is Danny
I’ve had her for roughly a week.
The pet store didn’t know exactly how old she was. Estimated 1-2 years

Handling:
I interact with her almost daily but have not handled her yet. I have offered my hand but she won’t go up it. Today was the first time she voluntarily crawled up my (sleeved) arm. There’s a great blog on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

Feeding:
The previous owner only fed her crickets.
I added super worms to that diet.
I try and feed 2/3 crickets and 1-3 super worms every other day.
Today I added wax worms but she’s only eaten 1 so far.
Variety is the spice of life. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. You’ll want to keep your feeder bugs well fed and healthy so they are more nutritious. Feeding about 3 feeders every other day or even 3 days a week is perfect.

Supplements:
Repti Calcium with D3- 2x week This will overdose D3. You need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (except those that other supplements are used.) The calcium with D3 should be used one feeding every other week. You’ll also need a good multivitamin which you’ll use once every other week, alternating with the D3 so that they aren’t given the same day. I like Reptivite as it contains preformed vitamin A for healthy eyes. Just make sure it doesn’t contain any D3.


Watering
forget set to go off every 3 hours for 5 minutes at a time. You only want to use a fogger at night and only when temperature is below at least 68-70. Heat + humidity = increased risk for respiratory infection.
Hand mister whenever needed It’s best to mist for at least 2 minutes, 2-3 times a day - right before lights go on/off and mid day is optional.
Dripper Instead of a mid day misting, use the dripper for about 20-30 minutes. The enclosure needs to be able to dry out.


Fecal Description:
Brown to dark brown well formed. Urea looks good A veterinary wellness visit and a fecal check for parasites is always a good idea.

History:
She was originally purchased from petland. Kept in a college dorm with heavy traffic and apparently grew a distaste for people. Most chameleons are not fond of humans, unless we are giving yummy bugs. In time and with building trust with her, she may get used to you and handling.
She was given to me and is now being kept in a spare room on top of a desk. Good. Height = safety for chams.
Do you know if she’s ever laid eggs? Do you know that she will lay eggs even if she has never seen a male? Of course if not mated, they will be infertile. Will cover more of this later on.
To be continued…

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:
screen cage. Unsure of the exact size. I plan to upgrade it The minimum size for an adult panther is 2x2x4’ or equivalent.

Lighting:
Reptisun 5.0 UVB Very important - is this a screw in bulb? If so, it isn’t able to provide the level of uvb that is needed any farther than 2-3” away. The standard is a linear T5HO with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. This will provide ideal uvb at about 8-9” below, which is where you’ll want her basking spot to be.
fluker’s 75watt basking

Temperature:

Ambient temperature:
Day - 75 F to 80º F Perfect! We don’t want our ladies to get over 80.
Night 70F to 75 F So this isn’t cool enough to use a fogger. If you can achieve a bigger night time temp drop, it would be ideal and you could use the fogger to simulate natural hydration chams get in the wild thru fog. If you can’t get it any cooler, that’s ok.
Basking light bulb is a 75 watt flukers brand. It felt very warm but thermometer reading didn’t change much. I think the batteries could be low What kind of thermometer are you using? Digital ones with a wired probe end are great. Many use Govee thermometers/hygrometers.

Humidity:
Day – 40 to 60% Perfect
Night – 50 to 80% Already talked about fogging/humidity levels at night. 80% is too high unless you can get your temps dropped.
I have the reptifogger currently set to go off for five minutes every 3 hours. Already addressed.

Plants:
Live: Wandering Jew, golden pothos, money tree, hibiscus, bromeliad Excellent!
2 fake plants Meh…I prefer all live plants, but panthers don’t eat their plants like veileds do so a couple fake is ok I guess.
Do you have a plant light? If not, you’ll certainly be needing one to keep all those alive and well. I use Sansi 70w on all of my enclosures and they work great for my plants. https://www.amazon.com/SANSI-Daylig...id=1651123896&sprefix=Sansi+70,aps,206&sr=8-5 Occasionally Sansi has sales on their website.
More to follow…

 

[MissSkittles]

Now let’s talk about your pretty lady’s behaviors and her reproductive cycle. While I’m still learning about female panther coloring as it relates to their cycles and can’t tell where your girl is in hers, I can tell you things to watch for and how to prepare for egg laying. I don’t know what you know, so will be thorough. Get yourself a drink and get comfy…this will probably be long.
First our pretty girls will go thru a receptive period. They usually show off their prettiest colors and then go hunting for a boy. You’ll see her constantly roaming thru her entire enclosure most of the day. This usually lasts a couple of weeks, but they never follow our timelines.
Once this has ended, you’ll see your lady getting plump and maybe even a bit lumpy at her back end. As she gets bigger with eggs, her appetite may decrease a bit and her activity may slow. One day you’ll look in her enclosure and find she’s started digging in her lay bin (more on the bin later). Do not disturb her! Discretely cover the visible parts of her enclosure with a light sheet and leave her. If she sees you, she may stop digging and could get eggbound. She may dig a few tunnels until she likes on and then she’ll be face first digging away. She may sleep in her tunnel…or not. Follow your same light schedule. If you hand mist, don’t. Set up the dripper (not over the bin) instead. She’ll dig all the way to the bottom, turn around with her butt in the tunnel and lay her eggs. When done, she’ll carefully cover all tunnels and when satisfied, return to her basking branch, waiting for food. The whole process from start to finish usually takes a couple of days. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days to help rebuild her strength. Hornworms and silkworms are great to give at this time to help rehydrate her too. At some point you’ll need to remove the eggs and count them. Hopefully there will be much less than 25-30.
Now, about that bin. It’s really a simple thing. You’ll need a plastic bin that is at least 12” long and wide. Pic below of the bin I get at Walmart that my girls seem to prefer. You’ll want to drill some very small holes at the bottom so excess water can drain. Then you’ll want to fill it to no more than 5-6” with washed play sand. A little sand will leak out the drain holes until it’s set in place. Moisten/keep moist enough so that a tunnel can be made without collapsing. It’s best to keep this as a permanent part of your girl’s enclosure. This not only saves you the stress of trying to figure out when she’ll need it, but saves her the stress of having a new item placed in her home.
Now, most important of all…you need to get a bin made up for her asap and put it in her enclosure! Her restlessness may be looking for a mate or looking for a place to lay her eggs.
With proper husbandry, she shouldn’t have any problems laying her eggs. However, there’s no guarantees. Signs that something may be wrong may be subtle or obvious…staying low in her enclosure/not basking, not eating or drinking (dark urates), lethargic, weakness, ‘dropping’ eggs around her enclosure, etc.
I’ve swamped you with info, so if you have any questions, just ask.

 

[danny_cham]

Hi and welcome! This is going to be long, so I’m breaking it up in sections.
Chameleon Info:
Panther
Female
name is Danny
I’ve had her for roughly a week.
The pet store didn’t know exactly how old she was. Estimated 1-2 years

Handling:
I interact with her almost daily but have not handled her yet. I have offered my hand but she won’t go up it. Today was the first time she voluntarily crawled up my (sleeved) arm. There’s a great blog on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

Feeding:
The previous owner only fed her crickets.
I added super worms to that diet.
I try and feed 2/3 crickets and 1-3 super worms every other day.
Today I added wax worms but she’s only eaten 1 so far.
Variety is the spice of life. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. You’ll want to keep your feeder bugs well fed and healthy so they are more nutritious. Feeding about 3 feeders every other day or even 3 days a week is perfect.

Supplements:
Repti Calcium with D3- 2x week This will overdose D3. You need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (except those that other supplements are used.) The calcium with D3 should be used one feeding every other week. You’ll also need a good multivitamin which you’ll use once every other week, alternating with the D3 so that they aren’t given the same day. I like Reptivite as it contains preformed vitamin A for healthy eyes. Just make sure it doesn’t contain any D3.


Watering
forget set to go off every 3 hours for 5 minutes at a time. You only want to use a fogger at night and only when temperature is below at least 68-70. Heat + humidity = increased risk for respiratory infection.
Hand mister whenever needed It’s best to mist for at least 2 minutes, 2-3 times a day - right before lights go on/off and mid day is optional.
Dripper Instead of a mid day misting, use the dripper for about 20-30 minutes. The enclosure needs to be able to dry out.


Fecal Description:
Brown to dark brown well formed. Urea looks good A veterinary wellness visit and a fecal check for parasites is always a good idea.

History:
She was originally purchased from petland. Kept in a college dorm with heavy traffic and apparently grew a distaste for people. Most chameleons are not fond of humans, unless we are giving yummy bugs. In time and with building trust with her, she may get used to you and handling.
She was given to me and is now being kept in a spare room on top of a desk. Good. Height = safety for chams.
Do you know if she’s ever laid eggs? Do you know that she will lay eggs even if she has never seen a male? Of course if not mated, they will be infertile. Will cover more of this later on.
To be continued…
View attachment 323675View attachment 323676

Thank you for the suggestions and advice! I’ll be sure to get the proper vitamins and work on gut loading the feeders. I’ll set the fogger so it only goes off at night now.
I’ll do some research on nearby exotic vets and have her checked out as well.

 

[danny_cham]

Now let’s talk about your pretty lady’s behaviors and her reproductive cycle. While I’m still learning about female panther coloring as it relates to their cycles and can’t tell where your girl is in hers, I can tell you things to watch for and how to prepare for egg laying. I don’t know what you know, so will be thorough. Get yourself a drink and get comfy…this will probably be long.
First our pretty girls will go thru a receptive period. They usually show off their prettiest colors and then go hunting for a boy. You’ll see her constantly roaming thru her entire enclosure most of the day. This usually lasts a couple of weeks, but they never follow our timelines.
Once this has ended, you’ll see your lady getting plump and maybe even a bit lumpy at her back end. As she gets bigger with eggs, her appetite may decrease a bit and her activity may slow. One day you’ll look in her enclosure and find she’s started digging in her lay bin (more on the bin later). Do not disturb her! Discretely cover the visible parts of her enclosure with a light sheet and leave her. If she sees you, she may stop digging and could get eggbound. She may dig a few tunnels until she likes on and then she’ll be face first digging away. She may sleep in her tunnel…or not. Follow your same light schedule. If you hand mist, don’t. Set up the dripper (not over the bin) instead. She’ll dig all the way to the bottom, turn around with her butt in the tunnel and lay her eggs. When done, she’ll carefully cover all tunnels and when satisfied, return to her basking branch, waiting for food. The whole process from start to finish usually takes a couple of days. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days to help rebuild her strength. Hornworms and silkworms are great to give at this time to help rehydrate her too. At some point you’ll need to remove the eggs and count them. Hopefully there will be much less than 25-30.
Now, about that bin. It’s really a simple thing. You’ll need a plastic bin that is at least 12” long and wide. Pic below of the bin I get at Walmart that my girls seem to prefer. You’ll want to drill some very small holes at the bottom so excess water can drain. Then you’ll want to fill it to no more than 5-6” with washed play sand. A little sand will leak out the drain holes until it’s set in place. Moisten/keep moist enough so that a tunnel can be made without collapsing. It’s best to keep this as a permanent part of your girl’s enclosure. This not only saves you the stress of trying to figure out when she’ll need it, but saves her the stress of having a new item placed in her home.
Now, most important of all…you need to get a bin made up for her asap and put it in her enclosure! Her restlessness may be looking for a mate or looking for a place to lay her eggs.
With proper husbandry, she shouldn’t have any problems laying her eggs. However, there’s no guarantees. Signs that something may be wrong may be subtle or obvious…staying low in her enclosure/not basking, not eating or drinking (dark urates), lethargic, weakness, ‘dropping’ eggs around her enclosure, etc.
I’ve swamped you with info, so if you have any questions, just ask.
View attachment 323677View attachment 323678

I did wonder if she was possibly getting ready to lay eggs or look for a mate. I’ll work on setting up a lay bin. Thank you! The info is super helpful.
I’ll attach another picture of her so maybe y’all can see her colors a bit more

This was her first time with me like this so I was very confused. Not sure if her climbing up me is a good thing or a bad thing

 

[MissSkittles]

Hold the phone! That is not a female! Danny has a very prominent hemipenal bulge. I did have an inkling of that, but thought it was just the way the pic was. With this pic there’s no doubt at all. His colors are muted, which also threw me off. I’m going to guess that with some time and good care, his colors will come out and you’ll have another beautiful surprise. So, congrats! It’s a boy!
That changes a bit why he may be restless. He may be a ‘friendly’ cham who has started to get used to you or he really doesn’t like his enclosure and wants any escape. Or he may be looking for a girlfriend.
The only change in care that I advised is you can increase basking temps to around 85.

 

[danny_cham]

Hold the phone! That is not a female! Danny has a very prominent hemipenal bulge. I did have an inkling of that, but thought it was just the way the pic was. With this pic there’s no doubt at all. His colors are muted, which also threw me off. I’m going to guess that with some time and good care, his colors will come out and you’ll have another beautiful surprise. So, congrats! It’s a boy!
That changes a bit why he may be restless. He may be a ‘friendly’ cham who has started to get used to you or he really doesn’t like his enclosure and wants any escape. Or he may be looking for a girlfriend.
The only change in care that I advised is you can increase basking temps to around 85.

I had noticed the bulge under the tail and I wasn’t sure what it was. Thanks for the information! Good thing his name was gender neutral I guess haha. I’ll definitely increase the basking temperatures.
If he’s looking for a mate do you suggest I let him out more or keep him contained? I’m open to having him free range sometimes as long as I’m in the room.

 

[MissSkittles]

If he comes out willingly, you can let him free range for a short time or hold him. I have a super friendly panther who always wants to come out and I just hold him for about 15 minutes or until he tires of me and wants back in his enclosure. With my set up, I don’t have a free range area.

 

[danny_cham]

I had just set some plants near the opening of his cage so he could hang out on them if he wanted. He’s still weird about coming to my hand or actually touching my skin.
Any recommendations on what kind of vitamins I should give him?

 

[Jikkermanccini]

He looks like an Ankaramy (pink panther) cham to me, the ultra prominent lateral line sells it. If that's the case, then he'll color up bright pink as he ages! He could also be an ambanja, they often turn dull brown when inactive. Whatever the case, he's an amazing animal!

 

[danny_cham]

He looks like an Ankaramy (pink panther) cham to me, the ultra prominent lateral line sells it. If that's the case, then he'll color up bright pink as he ages! He could also be an ambanja, they often turn dull brown when inactive. Whatever the case, he's an amazing animal!

I’m very proud of the progress I’ve made with him. I’m still in shock that he’s a boy haha

 

[danny_cham]

If he comes out willingly, you can let him free range for a short time or hold him. I have a super friendly panther who always wants to come out and I just hold him for about 15 minutes or until he tires of me and wants back in his enclosure. With my set up, I don’t have a free range area.

had just set some plants near the opening of his cage so he could hang out on them if he wanted. He’s still weird about coming to my hand or actually touching my skin.
Any recommendations on what kind of vitamins I should give him?

 

[danny_cham]

Hi and welcome! This is going to be long, so I’m breaking it up in sections.
Chameleon Info:
Panther
Female
name is Danny
I’ve had her for roughly a week.
The pet store didn’t know exactly how old she was. Estimated 1-2 years

Handling:
I interact with her almost daily but have not handled her yet. I have offered my hand but she won’t go up it. Today was the first time she voluntarily crawled up my (sleeved) arm. There’s a great blog on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

Feeding:
The previous owner only fed her crickets.
I added super worms to that diet.
I try and feed 2/3 crickets and 1-3 super worms every other day.
Today I added wax worms but she’s only eaten 1 so far.
Variety is the spice of life. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. You’ll want to keep your feeder bugs well fed and healthy so they are more nutritious. Feeding about 3 feeders every other day or even 3 days a week is perfect.

Supplements:
Repti Calcium with D3- 2x week This will overdose D3. You need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (except those that other supplements are used.) The calcium with D3 should be used one feeding every other week. You’ll also need a good multivitamin which you’ll use once every other week, alternating with the D3 so that they aren’t given the same day. I like Reptivite as it contains preformed vitamin A for healthy eyes. Just make sure it doesn’t contain any D3.


Watering
forget set to go off every 3 hours for 5 minutes at a time. You only want to use a fogger at night and only when temperature is below at least 68-70. Heat + humidity = increased risk for respiratory infection.
Hand mister whenever needed It’s best to mist for at least 2 minutes, 2-3 times a day - right before lights go on/off and mid day is optional.
Dripper Instead of a mid day misting, use the dripper for about 20-30 minutes. The enclosure needs to be able to dry out.


Fecal Description:
Brown to dark brown well formed. Urea looks good A veterinary wellness visit and a fecal check for parasites is always a good idea.

History:
She was originally purchased from petland. Kept in a college dorm with heavy traffic and apparently grew a distaste for people. Most chameleons are not fond of humans, unless we are giving yummy bugs. In time and with building trust with her, she may get used to you and handling.
She was given to me and is now being kept in a spare room on top of a desk. Good. Height = safety for chams.
Do you know if she’s ever laid eggs? Do you know that she will lay eggs even if she has never seen a male? Of course if not mated, they will be infertile. Will cover more of this later on.
To be continued…
View attachment 323675View attachment 323676

I looked at her bottle of calcium supplements again. I was mistaken, it doesn’t contain d3

 

[MissSkittles]

Any recommendations on what kind of vitamins I should give him?

Since your calcium doesn’t contain D3, you could opt for a combination multivitamin/D3 to simplify things. Then along with the calcium without D3 at every feeding, you’d give the combo one feeding every other week. There is Reptivite with D3, Repashy Calcium Plus or Repashy Calcium with LoD.

 

[danny_cham]

Since your calcium doesn’t contain D3, you could opt for a combination multivitamin/D3 to simplify things. Then along with the calcium without D3 at every feeding, you’d give the combo one feeding every other week. There is Reptivite with D3, Repashy Calcium Plus or Repashy Calcium with LoD.

I’ll look into those thank you! I hope his colors starts to come out more and that he will settle in.

 

[MissSkittles]

It’ll be exciting to see what colors he has and what locale. If he is Ankaramy or Ambanja, it’s like you’ve won the lottery imo. I love both locales and wish there were more Ankaramy in the hobby.

 

[danny_cham]

It’ll be exciting to see what colors he has and what locale. If he is Ankaramy or Ambanja, it’s like you’ve won the lottery imo. I love both locales and wish there were more Ankaramy in the hobby.

I’m very excited to see what he will look like. I just went out and got some reptivite. He’s pacing a bit so I opened up his cage in case he feels like coming out.
He came from petland and I know they don’t have the best reputation. I also couldn’t find out where they get their chameleons. The previous owner purchased him for $450 from petland! Not sure much about the cost of these guys but that’s a lot.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m very excited to see what he will look like. I just went out and got some reptivite. He’s pacing a bit so I opened up his cage in case he feels like coming out.
He came from petland and I know they don’t have the best reputation. I also couldn’t find out where they get their chameleons. The previous owner purchased him for $450 from petland! Not sure much about the cost of these guys but that’s a lot.

That’s in the range of cost to buy a panther. I have no idea where Petland gets their animals from, but the other chain pet stores usually get their reptiles from various breeding facilities (reptile mills) and all too often the animals are sick from the conditions they’re bred and kept under. It’s usually best to get a chameleon from a reputable breeder. However, many of us have chain pet store chameleons - soft hearts, what can I say.

 

[danny_cham]

That’s in the range of cost to buy a panther. I have no idea where Petland gets their animals from, but the other chain pet stores usually get their reptiles from various breeding facilities (reptile mills) and all too often the animals are sick from the conditions they’re bred and kept under. It’s usually best to get a chameleon from a reputable breeder. However, many of us have chain pet store chameleons - soft hearts, what can I say.

I’ve always tried to steer clear of petland but when the previous owner asked my to take him in I couldn’t say no.

He drank for several minutes when I turned the dripper on. I came back half an hour later to turn it off and he threw up something clear with small half-digested worm bits. is it possible he just drank too much too fast or os this a cause for a vet trip?