Sickly maybe

[Monet's mom]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther Chameleon, male, young. Been in my care 1 month.
• Handling - 3 times per week, in the morning. He typically comes to me.
• Feeding -Gut loaded (w/veggies) crickets and super worms. He won't touch the roaches we purchased. Lately, he won't eat worms. Still eating 3 to 4 crickets per day.
• Supplements - dusted weekly
• Watering - Watering is through misting. We have a system that delivers RO water which collects on the plants and glass several times per day. I have seen hom drink droplets once
• Fecal Description - Brown, long, hard. Sperm plug also excreted. Someimes has white urine.
• History - He seemed happier and healthier. I went on a trip and now he seems lethargic and appears to be losing weight.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Combo 24x24x48
• Lighting - Lighting is 100watt zoomed basking light 7am to 7pm, Reptizoo Dimming Modular Led UVB lighting 7Am to 7 PM (blue red white and uvb).
• Temperature - Temp is kept at 83 degrees on basking stick, varies down to 70s lower in cage. Night time is 65 degrees with ceramic light fixtures aiding in temp maintenance. It does get cold in the house at night, so the heater turns on and off.
• Humidity - Automatic misting system runs 49 to 70% during day averaging 60%. 83 to 100 at night.
• Plants - Sticks from our plumb tree, bromeliads, golden pathos, polkadot, wandering jewelry, fern (he's never taken an interest in them.)
• Placement - Cage is in the front room by my desk. It is a low traffic ares which gets muted evening sun. No fans or vents near by.
• Location - Colorado

Current Problem - He appears to be shedding but is napping during the day and appears to be losing weight. He also seems weaker. He stopped eating worms, but is still eating crickets. His color has darkened and he seems to be having a hard time staying warm although he isn't seeking extra light. He lightens up and seems more alert when held. He has white spots typically but they seem brighter and more numerous atm.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Please post a couple more photos of him so I can see all of him more clearly.
Also, some photos of the cage...including the lights.

Please explain the supplements more clearly and provide photos of the containers. How often do you dust? At every feeding for example and how often for each supplement? How heavily are the insects dusted?

 

[Monet's mom]

Supplements are at the office with my other lizard friends. Here's some close ups. He returns to normal colors when he is asleep at night which believes me to think he is under stress only during the day and may need more plants.

 

[Monet's mom]

More of his cage

 

[Monet's mom]

Normal colors when he sleeps

 

[Beman]

Hey there a few things stand out.

• Temperature - Temp is kept at 83 degrees on basking stick, varies down to 70s lower in cage. Night time is 65 degrees with ceramic light fixtures aiding in temp maintenance. It does get cold in the house at night, so the heater turns on and off. You should not be providing any heat at night with the ceramic fixture unless temps drop below 50. They need the cool down.
• Humidity - Automatic misting system runs 49 to 70% during day averaging 60%. 83 to 100 at night. Humidity is running too high daytime at 70%. You want 50% as an amibient day level. Too high of humidity and heat in a glass cage is a recipe for a respiratory infection to develop.

The other big thing is the type of LED uvb your using. These have not been tested and approved as a good option for chameleons. The tried and true method is a t5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% linear bulb for it. And then basking level would be 8-9 inches below this. This then puts them in the correct UVI level. I would not use LED UVB methods until testing on these different products have been proven over time with Chameleons. If that fixture is not putting out enough UVB then he is declining due to not getting the right UVB and UVA combo. If it is producing too high of a UVI level then he is being over exposed causing the stress and decline.


Also chams are very sensitive to colored lights so the red in that fixture could be stressing him out.

Finally there are no big plants he can hide in. He is fully exposed which they hate. Getting a large ficus or umbrella plant to fill out some of that lower 3/4 of the cage would help. And provide drinking surfaces for him.

 

[Monet's mom]

Added more plants and ditched the red light. He already looks happier.

 

[Monet's mom]

How long does shedding typically last?

 

[Lindasjackson]

Shedding can take a couple hours or a few days just depending on your chameleon.

 

[Monet's mom]

Crude, he's been at it longer than that. Nothing has come off in big pieces.

 

[Lindasjackson]

chameleons Are dry shedders. If you have been spraying his body that could be a problem. What’s the humidity in his enclosure?

 

[Monet's mom]

chameleons Are dry shedders. If you have been spraying his body that could be a problem. What’s the humidity in his enclosure?

All Chams or Panther Chams specifically? From everything I have read Panthers are slightly different.

 

[Lindasjackson]

All chams are dry shedders.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Have you been spraying him?

 

[Monet's mom]

His humidity is around 50 in the day and 80s at night. I may need to turn that down.

 

[Monet's mom]

His humidity is around 50 in the day and 80s at night. I may need to turn that down.

I haven't been spraying him but he does live in a humid environment

 

[Lindasjackson]

I believe your humidity levels are fine but let’s ask someone who keeps panthers.
@kinyonga @MissSkittles

 

[MissSkittles]

From above, you said your humidity during the day was as high as 70%. That could definitely contribute to shedding difficulty. If your chameleon gets misted directly, that too could cause poor shedding. It’s taken me forever to finally realize that my veileds aren’t shedding cleanly because they don’t move when their mister goes off - they sit in the spray. Also keep in mind that babies will shed like, ‘poof!’. Adults shed maybe a leg here, tail there, face another day, etc. If you are having trouble bringing your humidity down, you could add a small fan to the top of your enclosure and have it draw air out.

 

[Monet's mom]

Yes, humidity during the day is 70. That was me hitting the wrong key. I'll turn on the fan. It's been more than a week since the white dots appeared and his skin darkened. He does stand in the sprayer so I am hoping with more plants and changing the angle he can find a way to stay dry. Any other thoughts?

 

[Beman]

Your UVB type could be causing the issue as well. I have seen before where high uvi exposure causes a prolonged shed.
The cage looks better but I would switch out the uvb and not use the LED.