Stressed Panther Chameleon, Need Help Please!!!

[BatCity93]

i have a 3.5 month old panther chameleon, he has been stressed out lately, it started last Friday and has gone one ever since. is there any advice someone can give me to help him relieve the stress. i had put in a new plant, and he started to get stressed out so i took it out, but he is still stressed. anything helps thank you everyone.

 

[ChameleonMom]

What is he doing that makes you believe he is stressed? Is he still eating/drinking? Was the plant you placed in your enclosure on the 'approved' plant list? If it wasn't it could have been toxic and he is still dealing with the toxicity of it.

 

[BatCity93]

he is staying still for long periods of time, he does not run away when i spry him with water, he use to be active but now he just stands there looking at the everything, not exploring like he use to, he is also dark in color, im thinking about getting a new basking light and covering is cage so no one can see him and he is isolated. he has not eating today, but seems hydrated, as far as the plant goes, it couldn't be toxic because it was a fake one bought at petco. the only good thing of this is he does not sleep all day or at all until bed time, he just looks at his surrounding.

 

[Kate]

Welcome to the forum . You have come to the right place to ask questions. Could you fill out the " how to ask for help form" . You will find it in the health section. This will help us to have an idea about your chams environment etc.

 

[ChameleonMom]

Well, scratch the plant theory then...haha. I wouldn't necessarily consider those issues you listed as evidence of stress, except for the dark color - but perhaps there's another reason for that. My older veiled cham sits for long periods under his basking light and often stares into space and he isn't that much of a climber nor is he into constant movement and that is okay!! They aren't always 'on the go'. If he was sitting at the bottom of his enclosure, then I'd be worried. Is he still eating? Sorry, I can't remember if you noted that.

Also, I wouldn't cover his enclosure. Air circulation is important and you won't get that if your enclosure is covered. I have two veiled's in seperate enclosures in my living room and it is an open-concept house AND I have a busy 4 year old, so it is a busy area and my guys aren't bothered by the movements/noise.

Can you post a picture?

 

[Kmw]

If he's dark he could be cold and trying to soak up the heat. Just go to any hardware store, or grocery store, or walmart and get regular light bulbs. You might want to grab a few different wattages (anywhere from 50-75 would probably be good) unless your light has a dimmer, and play with them until you get ideal temps.

[EDIT: if he's not moving around too, it could be because he is chilly!]

 

[BatCity93]

he has not eaten at all to day, yesterday he ate around 8 baby roaches, but that all, iv just thrown in about 6 small crickets, so i waiting to see if he goes for those. he did have food available to day about 6 roach's be did not eat none. that is true the ventilation is equally important. thanks. the first picture where he is orange is what i use to look like when he was active, but now he looks like the rest. when he grows older he is suppose to be primarily red.

 

[thedude]

what your describing sounds more like hes cold or bored. based on the pictures you posted it doesn't look easy enough for him to get near enough to the heat source. i would play with more branches for him to perch on and climb on for exploration try to put one closer to his heat source and one close to the reptisun 5.0. but not too close. i usually have a perch near my heat source anywhere from 5 to 8 inches from the light depending on the size of the chameleon, always test the temperature first. i keep my panther chameleons at 85 degrees with an ambient of 70 to 75. i don't let it get hotter than 90 degrees in the heat spot. also i noticed cups and what looked like a watering bowl in your picture. chameleons drink best from mist or driping on a leaf. and the pictures look like your cup feeding. forgive me if i'm wrong. i know alot of chameleon owners cup feed but you got a young spry panther chameleon. they like to hunt. let him hunt for his food that will give him something to peak his interest. also while i don't recommend a lot drastic changes to a cage in such a young chameleon as he gets older adding or changing his cage when he's not in it can give him something to explore. when choosing feeders, i recommend having 3 or 4 different insects to keep him interested. crickets and superworms can both be gutloaded and work great for a staple feeder. hornworms, silkworms, and butterworms work good to peak interest. hornworms and silkworms are actually very healthy feeders and some chameleon owners will feed them as staple feeders too.