Chameleon barely eats or drinks, always wants to come out

[lilboypascal]

Hi, I've had my ambilobe panther since he was 4 months old. He's now 8 months old. Two months ago, he's been refusing both crickets and superworms which were the main two that I was rotating in his diet. He liked mealworms for awhile but then I read they were not good for chameleons so I stopped. I offered hornworms and he ate a few of them but after a week or so, he wouldn't even look at them. I recently bought Phoenix worms, he eats about three of them which is not enough because they're about the same size as mealworms. I'm still providing crickets even though he won't eat them, I even bought one of the "Shooting Gallery" feeders and he just stares at the crickets without ever eating them. I have a Monsoon Solo misting system which he literally ignores or hides from. I've tried a dripper but he doesn't like that either, it just floods the soil in my plant everyday. Sometimes he licks one of the leaves but not very often, I also handmist in the cage on the leaves that the mister doesn't touch and he sometimes starts licking the sprayer so I spray in his mouth until he's done. His urate has been orange lately, used to be white a few weeks ago. It's getting harder to feed and water him because every time I open the door to do those tasks, he wants to come out and starts climbing on me so I have to stop what I'm doing. He's constantly circling the cage near where the door opens and even crawls on the screen door so that I can't get in without letting him out. I really don't understand this behavior, I've changed plants overtime, added more sticks, changed his heating (60 watt) and UVB bulbs (26 watt) according to posts I've read on this forum. (Didn't change them all at once, I know that would be way too stressful) Thermometer says 80°, at night it's around 72° in my house. Humidity is around 60°. Any advice is helpful. Let me know what information I need to add. There are pictures attached. Thank you.

 

[Syreptyon]

Well for one thing, that cage is way too small for him at his age/size. That could easily contribute to him wanting to come out all the time.

You are using the wrong type of UVB light, too. It is very important to switch it out for a T5 linear UVB light. The compact one you are using will not be sufficient.

 

[lilboypascal]

Well for one thing, that cage is way too small for him at his age/size. That could easily contribute to him wanting to come out all the time.

You are using the wrong type of UVB light, too. It is very important to switch it out for a T5 linear UVB light. The compact one you are using will not be sufficient.

Okay, what size cage should I order him? Do you have any brands that you recommend for cages and lighting? I'll take all the advice you can give. Thanks for responding!

 

[Ruthless]

Not sure what size cage you have now but her is a recommendation for a cage
https://dragonstrand.com/
For lighting you can go with a Zoomed T5 HO or Acadia 6%

 

[MissSkittles]

Beautiful guy! He needs the largest enclosure you can get. The ‘standard’ is about 2x2x4’. I use the XL Reptibreeze. He will also need many more vines and sticks to travel.Pics below - the XL next to a medium to show the difference & how my enclosures look (plastic plants since removed). The linear T5 ho uvb should span the width of the enclosure. Make sure your supplements are appropriate too. He should be getting calcium with no D3 at every feeding and every other week alternating a feeding with calcium with D3 and a multivitamin.

 

[lilboypascal]

~blank message~

 

[lilboypascal]

Beautiful guy! He needs the largest enclosure you can get. The ‘standard’ is about 2x2x4’. I use the XL Reptibreeze. He will also need many more vines and sticks to travel.Pics below - the XL next to a medium to show the difference & how my enclosures look (plastic plants since removed). The linear T5 ho uvb should span the width of the enclosure. Make sure your supplements are appropriate too. He should be getting calcium with no D3 at every feeding and every other week alternating a feeding with calcium with D3 and a multivitamin.
View attachment 260600View attachment 260601

Wow! That enclosure does make a big difference. Any advice on where to find more husbandry? I'll definitely need to get some more. I have the medium for him right now, I ordered the ReptiBreeze XL along with a 24" T-5 High Output Double Light Linear Fluorescent Hood - with a 24 watt 22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 HO T5 UVB Lamp and a 24 watt 22" Zoo Med T-5 HO Ultra Sun Super Daylight 6,500K Fluorescent Bulb. I researched a lot about these items before finally deciding. I'm really hoping these changes will make him more comfortable and he will go back to eating/drinking regularly. Thank you for your advice.

 

[MissSkittles]

This is a great resource. https://chameleonacademy.com/

 

[kinyonga]

Did he eat well when he was little? How many insects does he eat a week now?

What changes to the cage did you make recently?
Are your plants all non toxic...well washed both sides of the leaves?

Your basking temperatures should be quite a bit warmer than 80F...at least 85F. Do you turn all the lights out at night?

 

[lilboypascal]

Did he eat well when he was little? How many insects does he eat a week now?

What changes to the cage did you make recently?
Are your plants all non toxic...well washed both sides of the leaves?

Your basking temperatures should be quite a bit warmer than 80F...at least 85F. Do you turn all the lights out at night?

Yes, he used to eat mainly crickets when he was little. I would say about 10-15 a day. Last week he would only eat one superworm everyday, even though there were crickets in his cage. He would just ignore them. I bought Phoenix worms (size L) online, he's been eating about 5 a day now but those are about the size of mealworms so it's definitely not enough food. Last week I changed his bulbs to Zoo Med Reptile Basking Spot- 50w and Repti Glo- 26w. I noticed after a day it wasn't near as hot as it usually is so I switched the Basking Spot back to his Daytime Blue Heat Bulb. I thought that maybe he was too hot and I read that this bulb isn't good for chams. Yes, my plants are nontoxic and well washed. Hopefully the new lights that I ordered will be better for the temperature. Yes, my lights automatically turn off at 10pm and turn back on at 10am.

 

[Lucinda]

Not sure what size cage you have now but her is a recommendation for a cage
https://dragonstrand.com/
For lighting you can go with a Zoomed T5 HO or Acadia 6%

Mine is a 24×24×4foot high

 

[kinyonga]

For basking you can use a regular household incandescent bulb of a wattage that provides the right basking temperature.

So in a WEEK he would now eat how many of what insect in total?

 

[lilboypascal]

For basking you can use a regular household incandescent bulb of a wattage that provides the right basking temperature.

So in a WEEK he would now eat how many of what insect in total?

Last week, he only ate 7 superworms total. This week, he's had about 20 Phoenix worms total. The whole time he's had crickets in his cage which he might have had a few (maybe 4 or 5) while I was at work, or else they escaped into my room and I haven't found them yet. I'm hoping he ate them.

 

[kinyonga]

So in 2 weeks he would have had 20 Phoenix worms and 7 superworms...so that sounds pretty good to me for the age he is.

 

[lilboypascal]

So in 2 weeks he would have had 20 Phoenix worms and 7 superworms...so that sounds pretty good to me for the age he is.

Maybe I'm overthinking it then. He just isn't showing his happy colors unless he's out of his cage and his poop is much smaller than usual. Phoenix worms are about the size of mealworms and a 1/3 of the size of superworms so it concerns me.

 

[kinyonga]

This might help....gives you calories for 100 grams of Panther chameleon in it...but not a calorie count for all insects...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/02MarDonoghue.html