dehydrated neonate Panthers?

[distortionz]

Chameleon Info:Your Chameleon*- The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 5 neonate ambilobe Panthers, pretty sure 3 males 2 females, 2.5-3 weeks old
Handling*- How often do you handle your chameleon? No handling other than taking the jungle gym out of the baby bin to clean
Feeding*- What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule?
How are you gut-loading your feeders? Melanogster, hydei, bean beetles, pinheads. Every morning around 8 when lights come on I put 40-50 in a small cup in the bin. They seem to like the melaogaster the most. But flies in general seem to be the favorite. I think the crickets and bean beetles irritate them more than anything when they get out and crawl on them but I have seen them eat some. If the bowl gets low I throw more in about 4pm.. I'm gut loading with mustard green, dandelion green, Apple, carrot, enchive... flukers calcium quencher, and a dry gut load made of almonds, sunflowers seeds, pumpkin seeds and just a little oatmeal and wheaties blended..
Supplements*- What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? So far just repashy nod at every feeding, going to give them a serving of lod this week
Watering*- What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Mist them 5 times per day for about 30 seconds making sure I don't put to much on and drown them. No dripper however I am going to put one on them tomorrow
Fecal Description*- Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I have seen most of them go to the bathroom but it's hard to tell however most look brown with a little white but they are tiny dumps lol no parasite check
History*- Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:Cage Type*- Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? About a 30 gallon bin with a skewer jungle gym assembled inside.. screen on top.. small screen drain to one corner
Lighting*- What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using?
What is your daily lighting schedule? 18 inch reptisun 5.0. I had a 25 watt basking bulb to one corner where they could barely get to.. that was they're favorite spot and it stayed 80-82 degrees. However bring concerned about dehydration I removed it and just have the reptisun.. on 8am - 8pm on a timer
Temperature*- What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 76-80 during day pretty much through out the bin..
Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 68 at night zoo need temp/ hyg at top and bottom
Humidity*- What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I'm in Ohio so humidity is hard right now.. when I mist it goes up to 70-80.. between misting and at night about 40
Plants*- Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No real foliage at moment just fake leave glued around the jungle gym
Placement*- Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?in bedroom I work nights though so there is no lights on around them during the night hours no fans vent is across the room. Top of cage is prob about 3 ft off ground..
Location*- Where are you geographically located? Canton Ohio


Current Problem*- The current problem you are concerned about.

Currently I'm worried they are dehydrated. No sunk in eyes.. but u can see small creases/wrinkles down they're body.. I removed the 25 watt bulb and just using reptisun now.. for the most part they all roam most off the day however I have seen like 2 sleeping during the day which concerned me a little however when u mist they go back to moving around.. I'm gonna add a dripper tomorrow I wasn't using one because I have been having trouble drowning the feeders who make it to the floor and I was concerned about keeping it moist all day in the bin. I have seen most eat and drink... However it is hard to keep track of 5 chameleons in one bin that all look the same... They have not grown much yet but I'm concerned for them any advice? I apologize for spelling as I typed this all on my phone


Shaun

 

[junglefries]

Babies need cooler temps, or they quickly dehydrate. Somewhere around 72-74f is ok, with no heat bulb. I keep mine in a bin with just a single T5HO or T8 (x2) bulb across the top. Make it easy to find food, shade and branch heights. I mist about 4-5 times a day, or a few minutes after it dries. I raise the temps on them about 2f every 4-5 days, at about 4-6 weeks old, depending on original temp.

 

[distortionz]

Thank you after removing the 25 watt bulb the bin was still staying about 76 up top with just one t8 reptisun.. Is one t8 not sufficient? Should I get another bulb and raise it up a few inches to lower temp?

 

[junglefries]

Thank you after removing the 25 watt bulb the bin was still staying about 76 up top with just one t8 reptisun.. Is one t8 not sufficient? Should I get another bulb and raise it up a few inches to lower temp?

One is fine, my T8 is a 2 bulb fixture. The T5HO puts out a little more heat due to the wattage, so I run the 2 T8s to make up the difference. Babies don't need to be around but so much UVB. They hide from predators the first couple of months and are still learning to regulate UVB, also. My babies are in the coldest room of the house, my room (french door draft in winter and a/c in summer).

 

[deerharvester]

What are you using to measure the temps? I've found anything other than a temp gun can be inaccurate. I have kept babies at 80 with no problems. My chameleon room is that hot in the summer. I just put a t8 5.0 on top(which is older), but, you can decrease the uvb just by raising the fixture a few inches. Maybe 2 of the mistings a day bump it up to a minute.

Scott

 

[carol5208]

If they are wrinkly they are probably getting ready to shed.

 

[distortionz]

Yeah I haven't got a temp gun yet I sold off all my reptile stuff a few years ago.. so I'm just starting to get back to building up a new stash lol.. but I'm just using the zoo med temp/hyg.. one in top one in bottom and I just checked out I'm at 68 degrees today with out the 25 watt bulb. And as for shedding I could be wrong but I thought they would have to get a little larger before shedding.. or is it normal at around 3 weeks? I see them everyday so it's hard for me to tell how much they have grown.. They have definitely gotten fatter.. Not much longer though it doesn't seem

 

[junglefries]

With panthers, the first month can seem stagnant. The alpha male will start to shine from week 3-8. They really take off at week 8-12. That is when you really take notice. I would recommend going to Lowes or Home Depot and buying an electric thermometer and humidity gauge. Mine reads indoor and outdoor. It was like $19.99. From this you can gauge your other gauges and what your mistings should be. If high RH outside, then chances are, your indoor humidity will lower slower between mistings. My baby room is a constant 74-76°f with natural 45-65% humidity. At night, it is about 72°f , and 68°f next to the french doors. If you need more help, you can pm me. I have veil, jacksons and ambilobe babies currently. So chances are, my memory is fresh on baby keeping and will be experiencing close to your time frame. Good luck and enjoy them. (Added: keep the cage floors as clean as possible. I wipe my bins with a wet paper towel daily, sometimes multiple times. Also, completely wash out and clean bin weekly. It really makes a difference.)