Chameleon is always Dark

[felix07]

My panther is always dark, and has a very small appetite

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther, nosy be, Male. He’s about 12 months old. I’ve had him for 6 months
• Handling - not often once every 2 -3 weeks. But whenever I do he lightens up
• Feeding - i feed him crickets mainly, he’s incredibly picky. I gutload them with carrots. I’m not sure how many he eats a week though. He has a very small appetite
• Supplements - reptivite once every 3 weeks and reptile calcium daily.
• Watering - I use a mister and spray him for about 1 minute twice a day. No real tactic I just hit the leaves and plants. I do see him drink
• Fecal Description - no parasite tests. His fecal matter has been very watery lately
• History - nothing.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen reptibreeze. He was in a 4x2x2 but I switched him to a 3x16x16 to see if that would help with his colors and behaviour. It hasn’t.
• Lighting - uvb is an Arcadia T5 6% and I’m using a 50 watt deep heat projector. Light goes on at 08:00 and of at 20:00
• Temperature - ambitent is probably around 22C or so. Basking is about 26C. I measure temps with a temp gun.
• Humidity - just do heavy misting. I have a Habistat humidifier but I never use it because I’ve heard mixed things about it.
• Plants - weeping fig and fern
• Placement - top of my attic stairs. Not a ton of traffic.
• Location - Ireland

Whenever he goes to bed he brightens up

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a minute and I can give you some feedback.

 

[MissSkittles]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther, nosy be, Male. He’s about 12 months old. I’ve had him for 6 months
• Handling - not often once every 2 -3 weeks. But whenever I do he lightens up that would be due to being stressed. It’s always a good idea to work on trust to help reduce stress. This is a great blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - i feed him crickets mainly, he’s incredibly picky. I gutload them with carrots. I’m not sure how many he eats a week though. He has a very small appetite From my experience, picky eaters with small appetites should be checked for parasites. Your temps might play a bit into this too. He should be getting a variety of different feeders, and those need to be kept well fed with a variety of food so they’ll be more nutritious. Attaching some graphics to help as a guide. I feed all of my chameleons the equivalent of 3-4 med/lg feeders, 3 days a week plus treats.
• Supplements - reptivite once every 3 weeks and reptile calcium daily. Very important! Do either of these contain D3? I’m hoping that your ReptiVite does, and your calcium does not. D3 is fat soluble and since it can easily build up to toxic levels, we need to use it cautiously. The ReptiVite should be given every 2 weeks (or twice a month if you prefer). If it has D3, that and your calcium without D3 is all that’s needed. If it does not have D3, you will need to get a calcium with D3 which will need to be given one feeding every other week (or twice a month) alternating with the ReptiVite.
• Watering - I use a mister and spray him for about 1 minute twice a day. No real tactic I just hit the leaves and plants. I do see him drink Increase the time to 2 minutes and it will be perfect
• Fecal Description - no parasite tests. His fecal matter has been very watery lately I am definitely advising to have his poos tested. Usually you’ll need to be seen by a vet before they’ll test.
• History - nothing.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen reptibreeze. He was in a 4x2x2 but I switched him to a 3x16x16 to see if that would help with his colors and behaviour. It hasn’t. Oh no! Put him back in the big one…the other is far too small. He definitely needs many more branches and vines to travel on. Make him a nice little network of ‘roads’. It is a challenge to hang anything on a screen enclosure, but there are solutions. I’ve been using garden trellis which I attach to the frame with wires. I also make sure to anchor some to screws to prevent it from sliding down. It’s even strong enough to attach some plants to. Pics below. It’s easiest when the enclosure is taken apart to attach these. Some create little scaffoldings by attaching support branches vertically to the frame and then horizontal branches to those.
• Lighting - uvb is an Arcadia T5 6% and I’m using a 50 watt deep heat projector. Perfect uvb, but what is the distance between the lights and his basking area? It should be around 20-22 cm for optimal uvb level. If he isn’t close enough to get that level of uvb, he will darken in his attempts to absorb all he can. From your pics, I don’t think he’s able to get close enough. I also suggest using a basking light that puts out light. Chameleons are attracted to the brightest lights to bask. Light goes on at 08:00 and of at 20:00 perfect schedule
• Temperature - ambitent is probably around 22C or so. Basking is about 26C. This is likely another reason that he could be staying dark…trying to absorb heat. His ideal basking temps should be around 28-29c. I measure temps with a temp gun. This is ok, but you should also be measuring the basking area with a thermometer with a wired probe end. Temp guns can only measure surfaces.
• Humidity - just do heavy misting. I have a Habistat humidifier but I never use it because I’ve heard mixed things about it. But what are your humidity levels? Are you measuring them? If not, I advise you do. I keep mine around 50% humidity, but panthers can go a bit higher up to 70%. No humidifier use during the day or at night when temps are not below at least 20c. High heat plus high humidity is a recipe for respiratory infection.
• Plants - weeping fig and fern Definitely add some more plant cover. I’d replace the artificial plants with a nice full pothos or two. Create some shaded areas for him to hide in if he chooses and feel more protected. Perhaps place a pothos down low and have it vine upwards. The leaves grow bigger when they grow up. Then have one placed around basking level for some shaded areas and place to catch some drinking water.
• Placement - top of my attic stairs. Not a ton of traffic. Ok
• Location - Ireland

Whenever he goes to bed he brightens up That’s what they do.
I hope I’ve been of some help to you and your handsome guy. If I wasn’t clear enough on anything, just let me know.

 

[felix07]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther, nosy be, Male. He’s about 12 months old. I’ve had him for 6 months
• Handling - not often once every 2 -3 weeks. But whenever I do he lightens up that would be due to being stressed. It’s always a good idea to work on trust to help reduce stress. This is a great blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - i feed him crickets mainly, he’s incredibly picky. I gutload them with carrots. I’m not sure how many he eats a week though. He has a very small appetite From my experience, picky eaters with small appetites should be checked for parasites. Your temps might play a bit into this too. He should be getting a variety of different feeders, and those need to be kept well fed with a variety of food so they’ll be more nutritious. Attaching some graphics to help as a guide. I feed all of my chameleons the equivalent of 3-4 med/lg feeders, 3 days a week plus treats.
• Supplements - reptivite once every 3 weeks and reptile calcium daily. Very important! Do either of these contain D3? I’m hoping that your ReptiVite does, and your calcium does not. D3 is fat soluble and since it can easily build up to toxic levels, we need to use it cautiously. The ReptiVite should be given every 2 weeks (or twice a month if you prefer). If it has D3, that and your calcium without D3 is all that’s needed. If it does not have D3, you will need to get a calcium with D3 which will need to be given one feeding every other week (or twice a month) alternating with the ReptiVite.
• Watering - I use a mister and spray him for about 1 minute twice a day. No real tactic I just hit the leaves and plants. I do see him drink Increase the time to 2 minutes and it will be perfect
• Fecal Description - no parasite tests. His fecal matter has been very watery lately I am definitely advising to have his poos tested. Usually you’ll need to be seen by a vet before they’ll test.
• History - nothing.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screen reptibreeze. He was in a 4x2x2 but I switched him to a 3x16x16 to see if that would help with his colors and behaviour. It hasn’t. Oh no! Put him back in the big one…the other is far too small. He definitely needs many more branches and vines to travel on. Make him a nice little network of ‘roads’. It is a challenge to hang anything on a screen enclosure, but there are solutions. I’ve been using garden trellis which I attach to the frame with wires. I also make sure to anchor some to screws to prevent it from sliding down. It’s even strong enough to attach some plants to. Pics below. It’s easiest when the enclosure is taken apart to attach these. Some create little scaffoldings by attaching support branches vertically to the frame and then horizontal branches to those.
• Lighting - uvb is an Arcadia T5 6% and I’m using a 50 watt deep heat projector. Perfect uvb, but what is the distance between the lights and his basking area? It should be around 20-22 cm for optimal uvb level. If he isn’t close enough to get that level of uvb, he will darken in his attempts to absorb all he can. From your pics, I don’t think he’s able to get close enough. I also suggest using a basking light that puts out light. Chameleons are attracted to the brightest lights to bask. Light goes on at 08:00 and of at 20:00 perfect schedule
• Temperature - ambitent is probably around 22C or so. Basking is about 26C. This is likely another reason that he could be staying dark…trying to absorb heat. His ideal basking temps should be around 28-29c. I measure temps with a temp gun. This is ok, but you should also be measuring the basking area with a thermometer with a wired probe end. Temp guns can only measure surfaces.
• Humidity - just do heavy misting. I have a Habistat humidifier but I never use it because I’ve heard mixed things about it. But what are your humidity levels? Are you measuring them? If not, I advise you do. I keep mine around 50% humidity, but panthers can go a bit higher up to 70%. No humidifier use during the day or at night when temps are not below at least 20c. High heat plus high humidity is a recipe for respiratory infection.
• Plants - weeping fig and fern Definitely add some more plant cover. I’d replace the artificial plants with a nice full pothos or two. Create some shaded areas for him to hide in if he chooses and feel more protected. Perhaps place a pothos down low and have it vine upwards. The leaves grow bigger when they grow up. Then have one placed around basking level for some shaded areas and place to catch some drinking water.
• Placement - top of my attic stairs. Not a ton of traffic. Ok
• Location - Ireland

Whenever he goes to bed he brightens up That’s what they do.
I hope I’ve been of some help to you and your handsome guy. If I wasn’t clear enough on anything, just let me know.

View attachment 362003View attachment 362004View attachment 362006View attachment 362007

Thank you for all your help! I’ll change some things around!

 

[Jeevesieb]

Hi there! Welcome to the chamily. You're in great hands with @MissSkittles, so I thought I would try to add to the feeder/gutload portion. @MissSkittles already attached some great resources there. I often make my own gutload, but if that seems like too much, Repashy Bug Burger is just fine. Like many chamelon keepers, I use several feeders. Though my primary is usually dubia roaches, I will rotate through black soldier fly larvae (and flies), silk worms, and horned worms or (rarely) super worms as treats. They get picky sometimes. Hold out. He will eat if he's hungry. Ask any keeper on this forum and they can probably all talk about their cham going on a hunger strike. But if his appetite is never good... that leads us to what @MissSkittles said above about the fecal test. Have them done regularly. Usually once a year. Any time you have an animal eating live prey, you run the risk of them picking up a parasite. Hope this helps! Again, welcome to you and your handsome boy!