Young death

[Raul]

I purchased an Ambanja Panther from a reputable breeder. He was about 3 inches and about 3 months old. I had him for about 6 months he very rarely ate and only grew about an inch the whole time. Previously I had a Veiled for 6 years and an Ambilobe for 3 years. My husbandry was exoterra glass vented enclosure 18x24x36 4-T5 24W compact bulbs, Mercury Hallide 100W heat lamp, mist king dual jet mist system 3x a day for 1 minute. Light schedule 12 hour on 12 hour off. I had a mat on the bottom with a under tank heating pad for evaporation and night time heat. Pothos and grape vines. Feeders were crickets, wax worms, hornworms and BSF larvae.
I very rarely saw him eat. He got skinny toward the end so I had to hand feed him. I have no idea what I did wrong if anything. I took his feces to the vet for lab testing. I’m waiting for the results. Has anyone ever heard of a chameleon that didn’t grow from no appetite and die of mal nutrition in a similar husbandry?

Raul

 

[JoXie411]

Do you mind posting a photo of the setup?

 

[Kaizen]

I purchased an Ambanja Panther from a reputable breeder. He was about 3 inches and about 3 months old. I had him for about 6 months he very rarely ate and only grew about an inch the whole time. Previously I had a Veiled for 6 years and an Ambilobe for 3 years. My husbandry was exoterra glass vented enclosure 18x24x36 4-T5 24W compact bulbs, Mercury Hallide 100W heat lamp, mist king dual jet mist system 3x a day for 1 minute. Light schedule 12 hour on 12 hour off. I had a mat on the bottom with a under tank heating pad for evaporation and night time heat. Pothos and grape vines. Feeders were crickets, wax worms, hornworms and BSF larvae.
I very rarely saw him eat. He got skinny toward the end so I had to hand feed him. I have no idea what I did wrong if anything. I took his feces to the vet for lab testing. I’m waiting for the results. Has anyone ever heard of a chameleon that didn’t grow from no appetite and die of mal nutrition in a similar husbandry?

Raul

Do you mean you were using a 100watt mercury vapour bulb and a quad fixture on a 36” tall tank?

 

[The Wild One]

Wax worms and hornworms as a feeder regularly does not sound good at all to me. Maybe that’s why he stopped eating because the wax worms have so much fat.

 

[kinyonga]

So sorry to hear about your chameleon. There is a sort of mortality rate for hatchling chameleons which is part of the reason why I don't like to see them sold before they are a few (4) months old.

How old were the others when you got them?

There is no need to have a heating pad under the cage. You want the bottom of the cage to be cooler than the top so the chameleon can cool off. No lights at all at night?

Did you dust the insects with a phos free calcium powder lightly at almost all feedings? With a phos free calcium/D3 powder twice a month lightly? Twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A? Feed/gutload the insects well?

How did you water them? Did you use a dripper as well as spray the cage?
Again...so sorry...keep it in your heart.

 

[Raul]

Do you mean you were using a 100watt mercury vapour bulb and a quad fixture on a 36” tall tank?

Yes

 

[Kaizen]

Yes

Do you have a solar meter? A 100 watt MV bulb would give off some pretty high uvb levels. And if you also have a t5 uvb bulb...it just sounds like a lot of uvb for a 36” tall cage.

 

[salty dog]

I think you cooked your little one.. we do learn from our mistakes.. I recently killed a hatchling with a linear 12% ho t-5, 3 inches above the top of the cage, I moved it to 6 inches above

 

[cyberlocc]

@kinyonga IDK if he edited it, since you post that. He said he got it at 3 months and it died at 9 months, and ate very little till it passed where it was very skinny when passing.


The Thread Title is kind of Deceiving, the Cham was almost a year old when it died. It wasn't a lighting issue I dont think, as it would have died long before 6 months with that lighting. The fact it was very skinny, barely grew, and rarely ate to me, says parasites your Fecal will tell you though.