I have a 2 month old panther chameleon. When I got him the breeder said he was about a month old. I'm not sure I believe that and he has barely grown despite eating well. Anyway - Donut was doing very well but I ran out of crickets. My own stupid fault. While waiting for another order I bought the smallest I could from petsmart. He was eating these just fine but on Sunday I found him with a huge cricket in his mouth and he was struggling to get it down. I panicked and went to help. He fell and I scooped him up, removed the cricket and looked in horror as he lay still in my hand. I rubbed his chest until he finally took a breath. Got him under his heat lamp and he came to, got up and walked around. We saw him eat Roly poly bugs that day but nothing since. He is lethargic and sleeps a lot during the day. I know I have the right lights and humidity. He is not my first cham.
What could be going on here? Is this a result of the traumatic experience or were the Roly poly bugs a bad idea? I put fruit flies and smaller crickets in his cage. I did manage to feed him a cricket by hand today and he is drinking. His temp is normal. He pooped normal. But sleeping all day is worrisome. And he seems weak and wobbly when he does walk. I've handled him a lot in my worry and that's probably not good. So leaving him alone now and just hoping he gets over whatever this is. He is so young and fragile. Any advice welcome.
What could be going on here? Is this a result of the traumatic experience or were the Roly poly bugs a bad idea? I put fruit flies and smaller crickets in his cage. I did manage to feed him a cricket by hand today and he is drinking. His temp is normal. He pooped normal. But sleeping all day is worrisome. And he seems weak and wobbly when he does walk. I've handled him a lot in my worry and that's probably not good. So leaving him alone now and just hoping he gets over whatever this is. He is so young and fragile. Any advice welcome.
good luck with little one, babies are so fragile but my goodness he’s a doll!
they have both been a huge part in my journey and are fantastic!
Babies are very fragile and need for everything to be as perfect as possible or they can decline quickly and pass away. Even with everything perfect, sometimes very young chameleons will pass away for no apparent reason. Because of this, most responsible breeders won’t send them off to their new homes until they are at least 3-4 months old. Also with all chameleons and especially babies, by the time you notice that they aren’t well, it’s often too late. I’m telling you this because I’m not sure if your baby will be able to bounce back and I don’t want to give false hope. There are some things that are more important than others to know. If you can please answer at least the following questions, we can perhaps find the problem and fix it and give baby his best chance.
