Chameleon seems weak?

[JDawg105]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male Panther chameleon. 2 1/2 years old. Had him since he was approx 4 weeks old.
• Handling- Once a week or less
• Feeding - Feeding him crickets. Haven’t kept up with how much. Maybe 30-40 a week. Have been slacking on gut loading crickets.
• Supplements - To be honest, I haven’t been using supplements for him lately.
• Watering - Misting 1–2 a day. Have a dripper set up to drip on a branch.
• Fecal Description - Fecal matter appears healthy. Brown with white tip.
• History - He has been healthy in the past with no major issues.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Hand built wooden frame with metal screen. 30x30x16
• Lighting- Not exactly sure on lighting. Didn’t keep the boxes from his bulbs.
• Temperature - Sadly, I don’t have any temp readers in his cage but he has a sunny side and a dark side to his cage. He swaps between the two.
• Humidity - I don’t have any moisture meter anymore. I try to keep his cage periodically moist throughout the day.
• Plants - I have several fake plants and a live croton plant in the center.
• Placement - Bottom of cage is about 30in off the ground. Is it in front of my bedroom door and I have a ceiling fan. Air vent possibly blows in his direction.
• Location - Chattanooga, TN

Current Problem - He has been lazy the past few days. He hasn’t been eating or drinking that well. He doesn’t want to move when he’s in his cage and when I got him out earlier I put him on my bed. He just laid flat down with his legs kind of sprawled out. He doesn’t seem to want to move and keeps his left front leg hung off the branch. He did move decently when I put him back into his cage and even used his front legs but now he’s back to sitting still. I messed his sleep schedule up when mine was bad and I’m working on fixing it now. I don’t know if that could have anything to do with this or not. The dangling leg and laziness is what bothers me most. I’ve made an appointment with a vet for tomorrow morning. I feel bad for slacking on his care as far as monitoring his temp/moisture level and supplements. I will do better with this. Should I move him into my living room?

 

[Syreptyon]

That's an awfully small enclosure for him. Like 18" too short. There is a lot that could be going on here. Did you just get lazy with him? He's beautiful, it's a shame if you have. It sounds like you're just not doing some of the important care requirements out of convenience...

It's critical that you start supplementing again immediately. How else is he supposed to get the calcium he needs to have strong bones? If his bones are weak due to under-supplementation, that could contribute to his perceived laziness. You also need to start gut loading his crickets again. These are the source of nearly all of his nutrition and it is up to you to make sure he gets the nutrients he needs.

As for lighting, the brands don't matter as much as the type of bulb. You are using a heat lamp and a linear UVB bulb, right? You should go out and purchase a thermometer and hygrometer so you can be sure his temps and humidity are healthy for him

 

[kinyonga]

What a shame you don't know his temperatures. Temperature plays a part in digestion and you need to know he's warm enough. Has the cage always been in the same place?I It's also too bad you've slacked both on supplements and gutloading,/feeding the insects....and you don't even know how many you've fed him lately?? All of this is not good. You have likely compromised his immune system with the combination of things.
Did you at least give him water?? Sorry if I sound harsh....but this is not right.
I hope the vet is an exotic vet that knows chameleons.

 

[JDawg105]

What a shame you don't know his temperatures. Temperature plays a part in digestion and you need to know he's warm enough. Has the cage always been in the same place?I It's also too bad you've slacked both on supplements and gutloading,/feeding the insects....and you don't even know how many you've fed him lately?? All of this is not good. You have likely compromised his immune system with the combination of things.
Did you at least give him water?? Sorry if I sound harsh....but this is not right.
I hope the vet is an exotic vet that knows chameleons.

I mean, I feed him about every other day at least 6-7 crickets. And I said in the post that I mist him daily and use a dripper. The cage has always been there. And it is an exotic vet.

 

[JDawg105]

That's an awfully small enclosure for him. Like 18" too short. There is a lot that could be going on here. Did you just get lazy with him? He's beautiful, it's a shame if you have. It sounds like you're just not doing some of the important care requirements out of convenience...

It's critical that you start supplementing again immediately. How else is he supposed to get the calcium he needs to have strong bones? If his bones are weak due to under-supplementation, that could contribute to his perceived laziness. You also need to start gut loading his crickets again. These are the source of nearly all of his nutrition and it is up to you to make sure he gets the nutrients he needs.

As for lighting, the brands don't matter as much as the type of bulb. You are using a heat lamp and a linear UVB bulb, right? You should go out and purchase a thermometer and hygrometer so you can be sure his temps and humidity are healthy for him

I do have a UVB and heat bulb. I also don’t see how this cage is too small, as it’s twice the size of the cages the stores sell. It’s 30” wide, 30 inches tall, and 16 inches deep.

I’m definitely going to start supplementing again as well as buying meters for temp and moisture, I went through a depressive state after a traumatic event a couple months ago and slacked on a lot of things in my life. I’m fine now and will start taking care of him the way he needs. I don’t think the nutrients would be the cause of this, as he’s been absolutely fine until about 2 days ago. This came on so suddenly im inclined to think he’s gotten sick or something.

 

[JDawg105]

Yes, the cage has always been here. I mean, I feed him about every other day, at least 6-7 crickets. And I said in the post that I mist him daily and use a dripper. The vet deals with exotics.

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry for your health issues. Hope you're well on the way to good health again.

 

[DarinD]

I do have a UVB and heat bulb. I also don’t see how this cage is too small, as it’s twice the size of the cages the stores sell. It’s 30” wide, 30 inches tall, and 16 inches deep.

I’m definitely going to start supplementing again as well as buying meters for temp and moisture, I went through a depressive state after a traumatic event a couple months ago and slacked on a lot of things in my life. I’m fine now and will start taking care of him the way he needs. I don’t think the nutrients would be the cause of this, as he’s been absolutely fine until about 2 days ago. This came on so suddenly im inclined to think he’s gotten sick or something.

Twice the width is not preferable to twice the height. Height is important for arboreal animals to establish temperature and humidity gradients. My Veiled and Panther's enclosures are both 48" tall. 48"x24"x24" is generally regarded as the minimum for adults. If you're going to house your animal in an enclosure that's more of a horizontal layout, the height has to be increased for the aforementioned reasons. Check out Dragon Strand's atrium series for some measurements that are appropriate to house adult Panthers.

 

[Dylan.Wallace]

looks great but i agree it might be a bit small. if you have the room try building one like what i did. Mines a little overboard at 6ft by 3ft by 3ft but you get the idea. just make it taller so he feels high up. and i have the same lighting fixture (came with first starter kit) but i put higher watt bulbs in it and also threw in a 100w uvb basking bulb. Good Luck!!
Also something to look out for is mold. my first cage had that problem and was on a flat table/stand so i built this one. its on a hollow stand bigger than cage with plastic underneath funneling the fallen water into a bucket. The wood will get moldy so i used a non toxic sealant and let it dry and air out for a week.

 

[kinyonga]

@Dylan.Wallace .... are the lights all inside the cage??

 

[Dylan.Wallace]

Yes they are. That pic is when i first got er going. The lights are fenced in now. But im still able to move them around if i decide to switch it up a bit. Also have a lot more greenery in there now

 

[kinyonga]

Glad to hear that!