3 mth old new baby panther not eating/drinking

[Marlosmom]

Ive tried everything!!! Baby panther still won't eat... Help!

I am the proud mother of Marlo. Since he has arrived (3 days ago), he has not ate at all. All the info is below. My suspicions is that he is not taking to cup feeding and needs to be wild fed in a smaller enclosure for awhile. I am reluctant, because I don't want to stress him by another environment shock. Should I wait it out, or should I move him to a smaller, albeit less nice, enclosure? ADVICE PLEASE!!!


Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Nosy Faly Blue Panther, Male, 3 months. Home for 3 days.

Handling - Only handled him once to put him in his terrarium.

Feeding - I put in 4 locusts, 4 mini crickets ( received from the breeder, he was eating before), and 3 mealworms. All in cups, however a couple of locusts and crickets escaped into the terrarium. I have not noticed any missing yet. Not eating.

Supplements - I intend to use retivite. I also breed my own worms and locusts, with maximum gut load of fresh veggies.

Watering -
i have a 30 second every 3 hours during the day misting system, with only one at night. I also mist him more directly with warm water 3 times per day. He stays out of the main misted area. I noticed him drink once ever.

Fecal Description - None.
History - Raised from a reputable breeder.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Aluminum screen 60cm x 60cm x 120cm I also have a free range setup that I would like to move him to once he is acclimated and eating.

Lighting - One UVB100 bulb and one Daylight basking spot for 12 hours. At night, I am currently putting an infrared bulb, but will be changing to a ceramic infrared heat emitter to get rid of nighttime light ( even red).
Temperature - Cage Floor- 20 c , Basking Spot- 30c. Overnight min 18 c. He is always in the cooler areas, and never basks. His colors are light.

Humidity - Exoterra MonSoon Misting system: 30 sec/every 3 hours, and I warm water mist near/on him as well. 40 - 60%
Plants - Live Yes, ficus. Plastic as well. He prefers the live plants to the plastic.

Placement - He is in a high traffic area ( living room), but it is only me and him here. The bottom of his enclosure is at 1.8 m up off the floor.

Location - Where are you geographically located? Northern Spain

General Condition:
He is somewhat active, and has normal eye functions and bodily movements. His colors show him very calm, except when I come close then his spots flare up and he puffs. Typical. Puts himself to bed at night to sleep for 12 hours.However, not eating or really drinking.

 

[Craigwyatt]

Cup feeding sometimes takes time. And some are just reluctant to cup feed at all. Since you have a brand new baby I'm pretty sure the breeder wasn't cup feeding. Baby chams need lots of food so it's best you get him eating right away. I highly recommend just throwing the food in and letting him hunt on his own.
As far as watering goes just keep at it. It's only been a few days so I'm sure he's just trying to settle in.

 

[Marlosmom]

Thanks for the advice. I think that the cage is too big for him to hunt in, plus the small crickets can escape through a crack near the door. I have decided to transfer him to a small makeshift setup during the day with lots of loose crickets for him to eat, then back in his proper home at night, so that he doesn't have to sleep with all the food. Once he gets his appetite, I will work on just feeding him in the larger proper setup. I hope that transferring everyday doesn't stress him out too much. Not quite sure what else to do..

 

[Marlosmom]

Ok So I have put him in a smaller bin, with a homemade jungle gym and his proper lights. I put in about 10 dusted crickets, but so far he hasn't eaten any. ( Its been one day). At night I move him back to his proper screened in enclosure so that he gets good air flow and isn't sleeping where the crickets are. So far he hasn't eaten for 4 days now. I am no sure what else to do. I am going to try to build a cricket feeder and put that in his big screen enclosure, and stop transferring him. I suppose at this point if he doesn't eat, I am out of options. Any more advice out there?

 

[rf9661]

It might take some time for him to start eating but if he's drinking water he should be good for a couple days. Not eating for 4 days can become harmful to him, have you tried to make him eat. Its not necessarily good but thats one last option unless you want to take him to the vet so they can inject the things that he needs. Please let me know how progress is going.

 

[mvad]

Give him time to acclimate. Being introduced to a new home is a stressful time in a young chams life. Don't take drastic measures like force feeding. He will come around. Think of the shock he has gone trough recently. Good luck!

 

[Alex21]

When I got my male panther at 3 months I put him in a big plastic bin with a single pothos and a single twisty vine. Then I bought a portable clothes rack to go over top that i hung the lights and mister from. this worked great till he was about 5-6 months old then i moved him into his 2'x2'x4'. This worked great and was fairly cheap. I would just dump small crickets in and he would go to town.

 

[Marlosmom]

update

It is now day 5 at home. He has not noticeably eaten nor drank. I tried, for the last two days during daylight hours, to transfer him to a large plastic bin, with a "jungle gym" in it. The setup was complete with loose dusted crickets, misting and lights. He did not noticeably eat, but I did see him poo twice. At night i returned him to the more open, insect free terrarium. The transfers, I feel were stressing him, so I have since left him in his terrarium permanently. This saves him from being handled twice with an enclosure transfer. I have left crickets and meal worms in feeding cups, and legless, in dishes. I know he has found them, because I saw him in one of the cups! Still, no noticeable eating! I have ordered more insects of different types, and hope this will sway him. I really hope he makes it. He seems so strong and viable! Anything else I should try?

 

[Numeralse7en]

I would ask the breeder at this point, see if there were any special feeding methods used before he came into your possession. Also i would inquire about the exact diet, as in what types of bugs has he been used to previously. If those things match with what you have been trying, I would say he is either very stressed or possibly not in good health.

I am in no way experienced im just basing this off my own reading and research. I know that all the people who have received cham's from my breeder are eating and drinking right away. However he is very specific about not starting the cham in a cage that is too big.

I feel that the choice to stop moving him is good, but i do feel like his cage should be smaller. Maybe 16x16x30 or something in between.

I was also told that the reptisun T5 HO UVB bulb was the way to go for a baby. It's relatively cheap compared to the price of your chameleon- it might be worth trying as well.

Again, I'm just using general problem solving, in trying to help you think of whats keeping your new baby from thriving. My suggestions may be empty. But i hope you can get it figured out. 5 Days and counting is scary.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

You have an issue. What that is I'm not sure yet. I tend to stay in my cave on things like this but time is of the essence and I don't see any trouble shooting going on.


Did you buy the animal from the breeder or a store? That hasn't been said when I read the posts. I see you said breeder but I'm hoping you didn't get it from Petsmart or Petco since that could open a new set of parameters into what the problems could be.

Go catch a few house files, let them loose in his habitat.

I always tend to keep a cham in a cage that is not too big for them. A baby is fine like another person posted : put a Porthos in a cage with the right lighting on top and some proper branches. Crickets can run around the bottom or climb the sides that way. Never put a bunch in at once, just a few.

Also are you counting the crickets? Are you sure he has not eaten a single one?

Size of the crickets? Baby chams don't like large food items, they like their food on the smaller side. Less intimidating.

Maybe try some fruit flies. Those tend to get a baby cham eating.

 

[Marlosmom]

Day 6. The case of the missing crickets

I have left him in the terrarium for more than a day now. I am dealing with it potentially being too big for him, but he really only sticks in certain areas. I have his crickets in various feeding cups around his main area. 7 in total. I even pulled the legs off a few smaller ones and left them in a shallow dish. These were the same crickets that the private breeder I got him from had sent with him. He was eating these before he came to me.

Finally! I believe that he has eaten two or three of them. I never saw him eat, but I have noticed fewer numbers in the cups. They are all proven to be as escape-proof as possible. I did notice a fresh poo, too. Looked normal. I have not noticed him openly drinking, but I ensure that he gets regularly exposed to misty, dripping water. I hope he is drinking it.

I have ordered a new tube lighting setup. The compact UVB is not impressing me, and a higher dose of UVA\B can only be good for him.

I am hoping that he was just super stressed. Keeping him in his home, and letting him get settled has definitely made him noticeably more comfortable.

A batch of varied small insects will be arriving tomorrow, and I hope the change of options will stoke his appetite.

Thanks for the advice so far. I am still not out of the woods with him. Possibly 3 crickets in 6 days is not enough for a young male panther to eat...