4 month old male amilobe panther chameleon has stopped eating...

[Budthechameleon]

My girlfriend and I purchased our new little friend last Sunday at a reptile convention. The first week he seemed to be getting acclimated to the cage fine, and was eating from our hands (1-2 crickets, or a superworm) daily. Over the past two days, he has seemed very skittish, will run away whenever we open the cage (to feed him) and will not eat out of our hands. He is still drinking water, but has taken to eating little bits of bark shavings from the ficus and we found him today gnawing on the soil at the bottom of the ficus planter, which we are going to cover with rocks asap. Any ideas on why he may not be eating? Have noticed his droppings over the last two days have not looked as healthy as previously, with nearly a 1:1 ratio of urea/fecal matter instead of the normal 1:3 or so...we are trying to just put a couple feeders in a cup in his cage and leave it to see if he finds it on his own...we have no idea what is wrong and are very worried about the little guy. Please get back to us with any tips you may have, he has not eaten in two days!!!!

Side note: He has also seemed a little lethargic over the past couple of days, there have been hours he has been sitting basking with both eyes closed, tail curled up exactly how he looks when he is sleeping at night...

Chameleon: Male baby amilobe panther chameleon, approx. 4 months old, been in our care for about a week
Handling: Have not handled since purchase
Feeding: 1-2 crickets (gutloaded with calcium supplement, fresh apple, carrot and lettuce) and/or 1 superworm daily
Watering: MistKing system 3 times daily, water drip twice daily
Droppings: Normal size/consistency for first week, over past two days have seen marked decrease in solid waste compared to urea due to not eating

Cage info: Screen 4'x2'x2'
Lighting: National Geographic Solar Heat Mercury-Vapor Bulb (125W) along with two ceramic infrared heat emitters located at top of cage, active from 6:30a.m. to 8:30p.m.
Temperature: 70F-90F (bottom/top of cage) Humidity:45%-65%
Plants: 1 Live Ficus
Placement: Corner of room, on table approx 2' off ground
Location: Tampa, FL

Problem: Lack of appetite


Have attached a picture of cage as well

 

[Crashbandit05]

The pic shows good amounts of foilage and hiding spots. I don't see an issue with that. You didn't say anything about UVB lighting though and UVB is a necessity for chameleons to properly thrive. I don't see anything about calcium with and without d3 as well.. Both are needed.

I don't have my cham yet so hopefully some more experienced owners will chime in.

 

[jpowell86]

Would you mind posting a pic of the little guy? As far as the enclosure is concerned, the Mercury-Vapor bulb provides the UVB mentioned in above post. The two ceramic heat emitters are what concerns me. Chameleons need visual confirmation of light in their basking areas. So without being able to see corresponding light with heat, a burn is in the making. I would ditch those for sure. Keep in mind that a week in his new environment is not a long enough time to truly settle in. Give him a bit more time on that front. Back to the topic of husbandry, I would also try to add more horizontal branches for him to sit on. You're covering the soil...that's good. What did you mean by "bark shavings"? If this is something you have added to the enclosure, get rid of that as well. If you are meaning that he is gnawing on the branches of the ficus....welcome to owning a young panther. They tend to chew on the most random of things....especially sticks. The temperature gradient is good, but 90 degree basking temp may be a bit much for his age....that is just my opinion.

 

[Budthechameleon]

He's got about 4 horizontal branches/vines at varying lengths from the light to bask in, he has been doing so since we have got him except for the past couple days. The heat emitters are placed literally right next to our mercury bulb though, so he should be able to feel the heat and associate it with that light coming from the bulb. As far as bark shavings, yes, he has just been chewing on pieces of bark coming off of the ficus naturally, I have even seen him grab a small piece with his tongue as if it were an insect. Here are a couple pictures of him as well, he's looking a little skinny. The differently sized one is from about a week ago, the rest are from today.

 

[wodesorel]

1 to 2 crickets a day is not nearly enough! At 4 months he should be getting 10 to 12 every day. He's probably going after bark and plants because he's hungry. Here's the care sheet for Panthers which outlines how much they should be getting at different growth stages: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/