Chameleon hypochondria

[AFH]

I love this forum, but it's kind of like the med school phenomenon where half the class begins to think they've got whatever disease they're learning about in class.

Now for my problem (maybe). My panther has a fat head. I've looked at a lot of peoples male panther photos and almost all have a pretty flat casque. Some are kind of sunken, some are kind of bulgey. I did some research on the threads and found that the casque can be a fat storage area, I think Brad Ramsey pointed that out somewhere. Anyway, Ray is about 13 months old, and my best guess (using a food scale, not very accurate or scientific, I know) is he weighs around 150 grams. Definitely not what you would consider overweight.

He eats the equivalent of 5 crickets a day (sometimes supers, sometimes silkies) on a regular suppelment schedule. He's very active and his poops look good. Really, I don't see anything wrong with him except for his fat casque.

Take a look and if anyone can shed any light on a problem/cause/solution, I'd be grateful.

 

[kinyonga]

There's nothing wrong with the head pads...its usually a sign of good health. Not sure it only has to do with fat storage either.

 

[AFH]

Thanks, Kinyonga. Like I said, he appears/acts very healthy, I just haven't seen any other panthers on here with a big ole fat head like Ray's.

 

[chris]

he looks really good and healthy . many panthers have differently shaped heads and casques, some are long and narrow and some are more blunt and short. i noticed with my chams as they get older the head gets fatter. maybe its just the chams that i have had but sambavas for example often seem to have a more robust and blunt head with less of a rostral process, while ankaramys for example often seem to have a more narrow and elongated head.

i believe the pads on the head are more for water storage. i would worry more if the pads are sunken in, which would be a sign dehydration. If he is acting normally and eating and drinking i would just say you have a well hydrated cham.

 

[Calavera]

He looks awesome to me! Personally, I think his "fat" casque makes him look cute. I agree completely, better fat then sunken. Also, is Ray a Kammerflage creation? He looks just like my Kelvin, sired by the magnificent Kelly-Akandro.

-Cala-

 

[AFH]

He looks awesome to me! Personally, I think his "fat" casque makes him look cute. I agree completely, better fat then sunken. Also, is Ray a Kammerflage creation? He looks just like my Kelvin, sired by the magnificent Kelly-Akandro.

-Cala-

Thanks!

Actually, he would be your cham's half uncle, I guess. Ray was sired by Kelly-Akandro's father Blue Banana.

So does Kelvin have a fat head?

 

[Justin Carl]

Maybe he is the Albert Einstein of chameleons?
You could change his name.lol


He looke perfectly fine to me.

 

[Calavera]

Thanks!

Actually, he would be your cham's half uncle, I guess. Ray was sired by Kelly-Akandro's father Blue Banana.

So does Kelvin have a fat head?

Thats awesome! I could tell right off the bat that his good looks ran in "the family!" Kelvin has a fairly prominant casque that seems to be becoming more and more robust as time goes by. I would say that in about a year, my kelvin will be the spitting image of Ray, big head and all. Haha, maybe our chameleons are undergoing some strange evolutionary changes, which will eventually lead to a super-intellegent breed of panther!

-Cala-