Chameleon not eating as much as normal.

[Dart401]

Hi there I have a panther chameleon who’s is about 8 months old. We live in south Florida and this last week we just barely missed hurricane Dorian. My chameleon Dart hasn’t been eating much the last couple days and he hasn’t wanted to be in his cage very much. At first I thought it was because the pressure was weird from the hurricane and this still might be the reason. Once a week on Wednesday’s I give him three super worms and no matter what including this week he scarfs those down. But on average he gets about ten crickets a day. Recently he’s only been eating a few. Does anyone have any suggestions of something else I could try feeding him to make him eat or something I could try doing? I would really appreciate any help.
Also about a month ago I went to my local exotic vet and she told me he was in great health only thing was she said he was a little chunky, so I don’t think I should feed him super fatty foods like wax worms, unless necessary.




Chameleon Info:

• Chameleon -Nosy Faly Panther, male, about maybe 8 months old. He’s been in my care for about two months now.
• Handling-when ever he seems like to want to come out of his cage, like if he’s hanging out by the front I’ll take him out. On average every other day.
• Feeding -I feed my cham about ten large to medium size crickets a day, Wednesday he gets 3 super worms. He eats In the morning normally around 8:30. I gut-load my feeders by giving them fresh dark greens, veggies, and fruits, like kale and spinach, carrots, apple slices, and black berries. I also give them fluckers cricket quencher - calcium fortified.
• Supplements -Multi vitamin: exo terra multi vitamin powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium: exo terra powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium with D3: zoomed repti calcium ultra fine precipitated calcium carbonate supplement with D3. I dust his feeders with calcium with out D3 every other day. And I dust his feeders with calcium with d3 every two weeks and same with the multi vitamin.
• Watering -the kind of watering technique that I use is a automatic mister (the exo terra monsoon) It automatically mists every hour for 12 seconds, also when ever I see it looking dry I will hand most the cage as well a few times a day. One of the mister tubes drips a little so I also have a dripper. I see my chameleon drinking a few times a day either from liking leaves or branches and sometimes from mister that drips.
• Fecal Description -His poop are normally moist, solid, does not fall apart, sometimes more than one, a little smelly, a normal color. He pretty much goes every other day sometimes once a day. since I’ve had him he has he’s been tested for parasites once and came back normal.
• History -I don’t really have allot of history on him since I’ve only had him for about two months. I took him to a vet a month ago and she said my lights were working perfect and everything In my setup was perfect and that he’s in great health. She told me to cut back to only three super worms once a week tho to make sure he doesn’t get to chunky.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -24" x 24" x 48" open air screen cage from reptibreeze
• Lighting -Reptisun terrarium hood with T5 HO high output UVB bulb. basking light: zoo Med, mini deep dome light fixture with a Exo terra 50w intense basking spot light bulb. My daily lighting schedule is I turn the lights on at around 7am and I turn them off at around 7pm.
• Temperature -at the bottom of the cage the temperature is about 75°f and at the top where he basks it is around 80°f The Lowest overnight temp is 72°f. I measure these temps by having two temperature gages at the top and bottom of the cage.
• Humidity -at the bottom of the cage the humidity levels areabout 60. At the top of the cage the humidity is about 50. Im creating humidity by misting often and having live plants. I use to measure humidity two humidity gages.
• Plants -All live plants, three small pathos, one corn plant, one umbrella plant, and one red edge Dracaena.
• Placement -My cage is located in the corner of my bed room. There is a air vent a couple feet to the right of it but I have the vents facing the opposite direction. Not a super high traffic area. I have the cage sitting on top of two blocks about a foot off the floor (vary stable)
• Location -I live in south Florida

 

[RyanBRZ]

I have the same problem with mine, he is around 1 year old and overweight from feeding superworms too much. He will take down a few BSFL's a week at most, I am now holding back on those since they are not very nutritious aside from calcium content. I am working on getting him back on gutloaded dubia roaches but he has yet to eat one. Your guy looks pretty healthy to me.

 

[Dart401]

I have the same problem with mine, he is around 1 year old and overweight from feeding superworms too much. He will take down a few BSFL's a week at most, I am now holding back on those since they are not very nutritious aside from calcium content. I am working on getting him back on gutloaded dubia roaches but he has yet to eat one. Your guy looks pretty healthy to me.

Good luck to you as well then, today for example mine only ate five crickets but he normally eats 10! I’m hoping the both of ours will start eating normally soon!

 

[marcsman16]

How old is he?
He should be eating around 7-10 medium-large crickets every other day.
Take a look at panther chameleon's caresheet here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

 

[kinyonga]

I dust the insects lightly just before feeding them to my chameleons with a phos free calcium powder at almost all feedings. Twice a month I dust with a phos free calcium/D3 powder lightly and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources won't build up in the system like prEformed sources will so if you think your chameleon needs a little vitamin A you can do it separately. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues too which is why I only dust twice a month with the supplement and leave the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB.

As for not eating as much...your chameleon should be reaching maturity and may not need as much food now.

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Hi there I have a panther chameleon who’s is about 8 months old. We live in south Florida and this last week we just barely missed hurricane Dorian. My chameleon Dart hasn’t been eating much the last couple days and he hasn’t wanted to be in his cage very much. At first I thought it was because the pressure was weird from the hurricane and this still might be the reason. Once a week on Wednesday’s I give him three super worms and no matter what including this week he scarfs those down. But on average he gets about ten crickets a day. Recently he’s only been eating a few. Does anyone have any suggestions of something else I could try feeding him to make him eat or something I could try doing? I would really appreciate any help.
Also about a month ago I went to my local exotic vet and she told me he was in great health only thing was she said he was a little chunky, so I don’t think I should feed him super fatty foods like wax worms, unless necessary.




Chameleon Info:

• Chameleon -Nosy Faly Panther, male, about maybe 8 months old. He’s been in my care for about two months now.
• Handling-when ever he seems like to want to come out of his cage, like if he’s hanging out by the front I’ll take him out. On average every other day.
• Feeding -I feed my cham about ten large to medium size crickets a day, Wednesday he gets 3 super worms. He eats In the morning normally around 8:30. I gut-load my feeders by giving them fresh dark greens, veggies, and fruits, like kale and spinach, carrots, apple slices, and black berries. I also give them fluckers cricket quencher - calcium fortified.
• Supplements -Multi vitamin: exo terra multi vitamin powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium: exo terra powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium with D3: zoomed repti calcium ultra fine precipitated calcium carbonate supplement with D3. I dust his feeders with calcium with out D3 every other day. And I dust his feeders with calcium with d3 every two weeks and same with the multi vitamin.
• Watering -the kind of watering technique that I use is a automatic mister (the exo terra monsoon) It automatically mists every hour for 12 seconds, also when ever I see it looking dry I will hand most the cage as well a few times a day. One of the mister tubes drips a little so I also have a dripper. I see my chameleon drinking a few times a day either from liking leaves or branches and sometimes from mister that drips.
• Fecal Description -His poop are normally moist, solid, does not fall apart, sometimes more than one, a little smelly, a normal color. He pretty much goes every other day sometimes once a day. since I’ve had him he has he’s been tested for parasites once and came back normal.
• History -I don’t really have allot of history on him since I’ve only had him for about two months. I took him to a vet a month ago and she said my lights were working perfect and everything In my setup was perfect and that he’s in great health. She told me to cut back to only three super worms once a week tho to make sure he doesn’t get to chunky.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -24" x 24" x 48" open air screen cage from reptibreeze
• Lighting -Reptisun terrarium hood with T5 HO high output UVB bulb. basking light: zoo Med, mini deep dome light fixture with a Exo terra 50w intense basking spot light bulb. My daily lighting schedule is I turn the lights on at around 7am and I turn them off at around 7pm.
• Temperature -at the bottom of the cage the temperature is about 75°f and at the top where he basks it is around 80°f The Lowest overnight temp is 72°f. I measure these temps by having two temperature gages at the top and bottom of the cage.
• Humidity -at the bottom of the cage the humidity levels areabout 60. At the top of the cage the humidity is about 50. Im creating humidity by misting often and having live plants. I use to measure humidity two humidity gages.
• Plants -All live plants, three small pathos, one corn plant, one umbrella plant, and one red edge Dracaena.
• Placement -My cage is located in the corner of my bed room. There is a air vent a couple feet to the right of it but I have the vents facing the opposite direction. Not a super high traffic area. I have the cage sitting on top of two blocks about a foot off the floor (vary stable)
• Location -I live in south Florida

Wow... another one just like Dex. Also a faly. Gorgeous boy

I wanted to pop over and say my guys aren't eating as much as normal... and have had some weird mood swings as well. Seeing as it's not just one, I blame it on the weather patterns as well. My guys are still eating; just not as much. Seeing as we are in the same general area, may be reassuring.

Best wishes!

 

[Dart401]

How old is he?
He should be eating around 7-10 medium-large crickets every other day.
Take a look at panther chameleon's caresheet here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

He’s 8 months old and normally eats 10 full size crickets a day but this last week he hasn’t been.

 

[Dart401]

Wow... another one just like Dex. Also a faly. Gorgeous boy

I wanted to pop over and say my guys aren't eating as much as normal... and have had some weird mood swings as well. Seeing as it's not just one, I blame it on the weather patterns as well. My guys are still eating; just not as much. Seeing as we are in the same general area, may be reassuring.

Best wishes!

So weird, hopefully the weather goes back to normal and does our boys! Luckily he’s still eating just not his normal amount sadly.

 

[Dart401]

I dust the insects lightly just before feeding them to my chameleons with a phos free calcium powder at almost all feedings. Twice a month I dust with a phos free calcium/D3 powder lightly and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources won't build up in the system like prEformed sources will so if you think your chameleon needs a little vitamin A you can do it separately. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues too which is why I only dust twice a month with the supplement and leave the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB.

As for not eating as much...your chameleon should be reaching maturity and may not need as much food now.

Hmm I guess he could be eating less due to growing up
I didn’t think of that.

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Hmm I guess he could be eating less due to growing up
I didn’t think of that.

I personally feel that's a steep drop to go from 10 a day to a couple per week. To be fair I don't own a true adult Male either.

So weird, hopefully the weather goes back to normal and does our boys! Luckily he’s still eating just not his normal amount sadly.

Just realized I forgot to attach the proof they look alike, lol.

He likes to sit in the hibiscus just outside my front door. Works out ok as on super hot days I can open the door so the AC keeps him under 90s.

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Hi there I have a panther chameleon who’s is about 8 months old. We live in south Florida and this last week we just barely missed hurricane Dorian. My chameleon Dart hasn’t been eating much the last couple days and he hasn’t wanted to be in his cage very much. At first I thought it was because the pressure was weird from the hurricane and this still might be the reason. Once a week on Wednesday’s I give him three super worms and no matter what including this week he scarfs those down. But on average he gets about ten crickets a day. Recently he’s only been eating a few. Does anyone have any suggestions of something else I could try feeding him to make him eat or something I could try doing? I would really appreciate any help.
Also about a month ago I went to my local exotic vet and she told me he was in great health only thing was she said he was a little chunky, so I don’t think I should feed him super fatty foods like wax worms, unless necessary.




Chameleon Info:

• Chameleon -Nosy Faly Panther, male, about maybe 8 months old. He’s been in my care for about two months now.
• Handling-when ever he seems like to want to come out of his cage, like if he’s hanging out by the front I’ll take him out. On average every other day.
• Feeding -I feed my cham about ten large to medium size crickets a day, Wednesday he gets 3 super worms. He eats In the morning normally around 8:30. I gut-load my feeders by giving them fresh dark greens, veggies, and fruits, like kale and spinach, carrots, apple slices, and black berries. I also give them fluckers cricket quencher - calcium fortified.
• Supplements -Multi vitamin: exo terra multi vitamin powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium: exo terra powder supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Calcium with D3: zoomed repti calcium ultra fine precipitated calcium carbonate supplement with D3. I dust his feeders with calcium with out D3 every other day. And I dust his feeders with calcium with d3 every two weeks and same with the multi vitamin.
• Watering -the kind of watering technique that I use is a automatic mister (the exo terra monsoon) It automatically mists every hour for 12 seconds, also when ever I see it looking dry I will hand most the cage as well a few times a day. One of the mister tubes drips a little so I also have a dripper. I see my chameleon drinking a few times a day either from liking leaves or branches and sometimes from mister that drips.
• Fecal Description -His poop are normally moist, solid, does not fall apart, sometimes more than one, a little smelly, a normal color. He pretty much goes every other day sometimes once a day. since I’ve had him he has he’s been tested for parasites once and came back normal.
• History -I don’t really have allot of history on him since I’ve only had him for about two months. I took him to a vet a month ago and she said my lights were working perfect and everything In my setup was perfect and that he’s in great health. She told me to cut back to only three super worms once a week tho to make sure he doesn’t get to chunky.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -24" x 24" x 48" open air screen cage from reptibreeze
• Lighting -Reptisun terrarium hood with T5 HO high output UVB bulb. basking light: zoo Med, mini deep dome light fixture with a Exo terra 50w intense basking spot light bulb. My daily lighting schedule is I turn the lights on at around 7am and I turn them off at around 7pm.
• Temperature -at the bottom of the cage the temperature is about 75°f and at the top where he basks it is around 80°f The Lowest overnight temp is 72°f. I measure these temps by having two temperature gages at the top and bottom of the cage.
• Humidity -at the bottom of the cage the humidity levels areabout 60. At the top of the cage the humidity is about 50. Im creating humidity by misting often and having live plants. I use to measure humidity two humidity gages.
• Plants -All live plants, three small pathos, one corn plant, one umbrella plant, and one red edge Dracaena.
• Placement -My cage is located in the corner of my bed room. There is a air vent a couple feet to the right of it but I have the vents facing the opposite direction. Not a super high traffic area. I have the cage sitting on top of two blocks about a foot off the floor (vary stable)
• Location -I live in south Florida

So I was taking a look at your boy again... I noticed he likes to hang out above the treetops just like dex. I have a slightly different set up, but same concept.

The one thing I do want to point out though is your therm/hydrometer. If that's one like the one I used to have that's the dual zoomed with the sticky back... if you used the sticky part to adhere it to the mesh of the cage.... be cautious! After a few months I noticed mine fell every now and then and that on very rare occasion my girl would use it to climb - even though it wasn't exactly within reach. Recently I've heard many people warning that their cham tried to climb it or that it randomly feel off onto their cham and the glue pulled off scales, or left a nasty mess.

I am only bringing this to your attention because it was recently brought to mine. I have since followed many seasoned veteran's advice and upgraded to an IR temp gun and moved that dual hydrometer to somewhere they can't get to it.

Best wishes!

 

[Dart401]

I personally feel that's a steep drop to go from 10 a day to a couple per week. To be fair I don't own a true adult Male either.


Just realized I forgot to attach the proof they look alike, lol.

He likes to sit in the hibiscus just outside my front door. Works out ok as on super hot days I can open the door so the AC keeps him under 90s.
View attachment 245475

Wow they do look very similar!
Maybe they are related some how haha

 

[Dart401]

So I was taking a look at your boy again... I noticed he likes to hang out above the treetops just like dex. I have a slightly different set up, but same concept.

The one thing I do want to point out though is your therm/hydrometer. If that's one like the one I used to have that's the dual zoomed with the sticky back... if you used the sticky part to adhere it to the mesh of the cage.... be cautious! After a few months I noticed mine fell every now and then and that on very rare occasion my girl would use it to climb - even though it wasn't exactly within reach. Recently I've heard many people warning that their cham tried to climb it or that it randomly feel off onto their cham and the glue pulled off scales, or left a nasty mess.

I am only bringing this to your attention because it was recently brought to mine. I have since followed many seasoned veteran's advice and upgraded to an IR temp gun and moved that dual hydrometer to somewhere they can't get to it.

Best wishes!

Oh thank you for letting me know about this.
I have mine stuck on by having half the Velcro inside and the back half outside his cage. This way it’s stuck through the screen and more secure. The sticky half is not inside the cage where it could stick on to him. He does tend to climb on it but it seems pretty though to be pulled off the way I have it stuck on. But I’ll check it to make sure it’s still like this.

 

[Dart401]

Just to update everyone on Darts eating
He did in fact eat 7 large crickets today,
So It seems each day he’s eating a little more and going back to his normal self. Fingers still crossed though!

 

[Kickythekick]

Just to update everyone on Darts eating
He did in fact eat 7 large crickets today,
So It seems each day he’s eating a little more and going back to his normal self. Fingers still crossed though!

Hey Dart,
Any update? Have the last few days been good? My 6 month old Panther has started doing something similar...