Merlin is a beautifully colored Nosy be panther whom I absolutely adore. For the past two weeks his appetite has been decreasing. At first, he was only eating a few less crickets than normal but would still gobble up mealworms. Then for a couple days he only ate one or two crickets. So, I gave him a few extra mealworms. Then he stopped eating the crickets all together. I thought this might be because he was waiting for mealworms so I haven’t given him any in 6 days but still no luck with the crickets.
Also, as I was looking for answers as to why this sudden lack of appetite, I came across a few threads mentioning the size of members’ chameleons at a year old. Merlin is about 4 inches long, which concerned me after reading a few others’ posts. Is this small for an 11 month old panther chameleon? Now that I think about it, Merlin has not shed in over a month… any answers would be greatly appreciated!
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, Nosy Be Panther, born 12/30/09. Received in April 2010, for my birthday. My boyfriend drove to pick Merlin up from Screameleons in Reston, Virginia.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? About every other day. Although I talk to him every morning when I feed and water him.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He is fed 8-10 about 1/2 inch crickets in the morning. I give him mealworms or waxworms as a treat once or twice a week. The crickets are gut-loaded with Fluker’s gutloading dry food and water source. I also give them carrots.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal with and without D3 and Herptivite. I dust very sparingly alternating with the three supplements then skip a day before starting over.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has a dripper set up so that it drips along a series of leaves for about an hour, twice a day when I also mist the entire enclosure. He doesn’t like to drink until I leave the room but I often peek around the corner a little while after I’ve started the dripper and he is usually drinking.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? His droppings have been normal color and consistency from what I can tell from my research until this past week, just seemed smaller than usual. Which makes sense. He has not been tested for parasites while I’ve had him. I am not sure if the breeder, Screameleons, had tested for parasites.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? All screen, homemade cage, 2’x3’x4’. Two sides draped on the outside with opaque plastic sheeting for extra privacy. He has lots of branches and vines with plastic leaves along with one live umbrella plant.
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb, 75w incandescent bulb, and ceramic heat emitting bulb each in a dome fixture above the cage; 3’long fluorescent bulb in a fixture above the top back. Lights are on 8am-8pm.
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At the branch that runs the length of the cage under the heat emitting bulb and UVB bulb there is a temperature range from 87-74. Branches throughout decrease in temperature as you descend with the low during the day being about 65. Near the bottom of the cage it can reach lowest around 60 at night with the top staying closer to 75. Measured with a laser thermometer. The ceramic heat emitting bulb is connected to a thermostat with probe to keep it pretty consistent.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity stays around 60% until I mist, then it is 80-90% for a while. Humidity gauge placed centrally in his cage.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One umbrella plant.
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage is located in our living room, which is rarely ever used. The only times someone walks in the room is when I go in to take care of him, although we walk past the door routinely which is at the opposite end of the room from the cage. He is relatively undisturbed. The top of the cage is about 6’6” from the floor. No drafts from what I can tell.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Eastern Virginia.
Thanks in advance!
Also, as I was looking for answers as to why this sudden lack of appetite, I came across a few threads mentioning the size of members’ chameleons at a year old. Merlin is about 4 inches long, which concerned me after reading a few others’ posts. Is this small for an 11 month old panther chameleon? Now that I think about it, Merlin has not shed in over a month… any answers would be greatly appreciated!
* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, Nosy Be Panther, born 12/30/09. Received in April 2010, for my birthday. My boyfriend drove to pick Merlin up from Screameleons in Reston, Virginia.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? About every other day. Although I talk to him every morning when I feed and water him.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He is fed 8-10 about 1/2 inch crickets in the morning. I give him mealworms or waxworms as a treat once or twice a week. The crickets are gut-loaded with Fluker’s gutloading dry food and water source. I also give them carrots.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal with and without D3 and Herptivite. I dust very sparingly alternating with the three supplements then skip a day before starting over.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? He has a dripper set up so that it drips along a series of leaves for about an hour, twice a day when I also mist the entire enclosure. He doesn’t like to drink until I leave the room but I often peek around the corner a little while after I’ve started the dripper and he is usually drinking.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? His droppings have been normal color and consistency from what I can tell from my research until this past week, just seemed smaller than usual. Which makes sense. He has not been tested for parasites while I’ve had him. I am not sure if the breeder, Screameleons, had tested for parasites.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? All screen, homemade cage, 2’x3’x4’. Two sides draped on the outside with opaque plastic sheeting for extra privacy. He has lots of branches and vines with plastic leaves along with one live umbrella plant.
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb, 75w incandescent bulb, and ceramic heat emitting bulb each in a dome fixture above the cage; 3’long fluorescent bulb in a fixture above the top back. Lights are on 8am-8pm.
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At the branch that runs the length of the cage under the heat emitting bulb and UVB bulb there is a temperature range from 87-74. Branches throughout decrease in temperature as you descend with the low during the day being about 65. Near the bottom of the cage it can reach lowest around 60 at night with the top staying closer to 75. Measured with a laser thermometer. The ceramic heat emitting bulb is connected to a thermostat with probe to keep it pretty consistent.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity stays around 60% until I mist, then it is 80-90% for a while. Humidity gauge placed centrally in his cage.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One umbrella plant.
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage is located in our living room, which is rarely ever used. The only times someone walks in the room is when I go in to take care of him, although we walk past the door routinely which is at the opposite end of the room from the cage. He is relatively undisturbed. The top of the cage is about 6’6” from the floor. No drafts from what I can tell.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Eastern Virginia.
Thanks in advance!
