Female Panther not eating

Chris.rosa

Member
I bred my female panther chameleon for the first time 6 days ago and she was eating good until today, when she refused food. I know females will go a period without eating while gravid but I thought it was longer than 6 days after breeding. Any help?
 
Please post a photo of all of her from today.

What supplements are you using ...be specific...how often for each and how heavily?

How many insects do you feed her every week?
What domyounfeed the insects?

What specific UVB light do you use...long linear? Twisty?Compact
 
I use flukers calcium without d3, three times a week and I use rep-cal multivitamins once a week. Both with a light dusting.

I feed her a variety of Dubai’s, super worms and crickets. She eats around 2-3 bugs every feeding. I was feeding her every other day until I bred her I started feeding everyday since she bred.
I feed the insects leftover fruits and vegetables like strawberries, carrots, potatoes.

I have a T5 long strip fixture.
 
Currently what she looks like. She is usually showing gravid colors with much more black.
 

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I use flukers calcium without d3, three times a week and I use rep-cal multivitamins once a week. Both with a light dusting.

I feed her a variety of Dubai’s, super worms and crickets. She eats around 2-3 bugs every feeding. I was feeding her every other day until I bred her I started feeding everyday since she bred.
I feed the insects leftover fruits and vegetables like strawberries, carrots, potatoes.

I have a T5 long strip fixture.
She needs a quality phosphours-free calcium without D3 on every feeding (especially since she’s a female!). A couple good brands are Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3 or Repashy SuperCal NoD. She also needs a quality multivitamin with D3 and preformed Vitamin A in it once every two weeks. A couple good brands are Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. What brand and strength of T5 High Output linear UVB do you have? How old is the bulb, and how far away is it from her basking branch? Superworms shouldn’t be used as staple feeders, and your gutload needs improvement. I’ve attach great feeder and gutload charts below, variety is key for both! Could you also fill out this form in as much detail as possible, please, including pics of your cham’s lights and her full cage (lights to bottom), as well?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • 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?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • 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?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 

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Thank you for the tips on feeders bugs and what to feed them, but she began eating again this morning when I put a magnetic feeder cup in her cage to eat from instead of my hand. She is a very socialized animal that I hold often and will always eat from my hand when I offer food. Is there a reason she is more shy and timid while being gravid?
 
Thank you for the tips on feeders bugs and what to feed them, but she began eating again this morning when I put a magnetic feeder cup in her cage to eat from instead of my hand. She is a very socialized animal that I hold often and will always eat from my hand when I offer food. Is there a reason she is more shy and timid while being gravid?
I would still recommend filling out the form to make sure everything else is correct. Make sure to start using the proper supplements on the correct schedules, as it is vital for her health!
 
Chameleon info:
  • female ambilobe panther chameleon she is 10 months old and i has been in my care for 7 months now.
  • I handle both my male and female panthers quiet often but since she has been bred I have left her alone in her cage.
  • The feeding and supplements i use are up above in my last post but i am going to take your advice and get the better quality calcium and supplements while also gut feeding my feeder bugs based off the chart you showed.
  • I use an automatic mister that mists for 2 minutes every 4 hours. I regularly see my cham drinking off leaves and catching water droplets on her tongue.
  • the feces is firm and dark brown with mostly white urates and a small peachy colored tip to it.
Cage Info:
  • screen cage that is 16x16x30
  • I use an arcadia 6% T5 HO UVB strip fixture as well as a Zoo med basking bulb of 50 watts. I have the lights on for about 10-12 hours a day i turn them on at 8 in the morning an doff at 8 at night.
  • her basking spot is at 87 degrees Fahrenheit while the bottom of her cage has lots of cover from the foliage and is around 75. The lowest temp it can get in the room overnight is 75 degrees as i have a space heater running to not let it drop below this. I am using a temp gun to measure these.
  • As for my humidity I do not have any accurate way of checking this but I do have 2 fish tanks in the room including a 125 gallon which helps raise the humidity of the room. I also mist her and the males cage every 4 hours for 2 minutes which raises the humidity.
  • Yes I am using a live plant it is a Ficus Benjamina tree.
  • As for her cage placement she is not in a high traffic area as she is in my pet room nor near any open vents or fans. Her cage is about 3 feet from the ground but is slighter lower than the larger cage I have for the male panther.
  • My geographical location is Nevada.
 
Do you have a laybin in her cage at all times?

Since you've bred her, I would recommend not handling her now until she lays the eggs and give her as much privacy as possible.
You don't want her to become eggbound.
 
Her cage is bioactive with a planting bag in the bottom so the tree is planted inside of it with soil and lots of spagna moss on top of that but I haven't seen her roam the bottom of the cage yet as when she does this I plan to move her into a separate lay bin with play sand in it for her to lay.
 
Chameleon info:
  • female ambilobe panther chameleon she is 10 months old and i has been in my care for 7 months now.
  • I handle both my male and female panthers quiet often but since she has been bred I have left her alone in her cage.
  • The feeding and supplements i use are up above in my last post but i am going to take your advice and get the better quality calcium and supplements while also gut feeding my feeder bugs based off the chart you showed.
  • I use an automatic mister that mists for 2 minutes every 4 hours. I regularly see my cham drinking off leaves and catching water droplets on her tongue.
  • the feces is firm and dark brown with mostly white urates and a small peachy colored tip to it.
Cage Info:
  • screen cage that is 16x16x30
  • I use an arcadia 6% T5 HO UVB strip fixture as well as a Zoo med basking bulb of 50 watts. I have the lights on for about 10-12 hours a day i turn them on at 8 in the morning an doff at 8 at night.
  • her basking spot is at 87 degrees Fahrenheit while the bottom of her cage has lots of cover from the foliage and is around 75. The lowest temp it can get in the room overnight is 75 degrees as i have a space heater running to not let it drop below this. I am using a temp gun to measure these.
  • As for my humidity I do not have any accurate way of checking this but I do have 2 fish tanks in the room including a 125 gallon which helps raise the humidity of the room. I also mist her and the males cage every 4 hours for 2 minutes which raises the humidity.
  • Yes I am using a live plant it is a Ficus Benjamina tree.
  • As for her cage placement she is not in a high traffic area as she is in my pet room nor near any open vents or fans. Her cage is about 3 feet from the ground but is slighter lower than the larger cage I have for the male panther.
  • My geographical location is Nevada.
Great with the gutload and supplements! She’ll be way healthier and hopefully have enough calcium to not have to use any from her bones to form the eggs! After she lays, she’ll need a cage upgrade, though. The minimum size is either 36” x 18” x 36” tall or 2’ x 2’ x 4’ tall, but preferably 4’ x 2‘ x 4’ tall or bigger. Bigger is always better! How old is her UVB bulb, and how far away is it from her basking branch? If you don’t have a Solarmeter 6.5 to check the actual UVI levels, the Arcadia bulbs need to be replaced yearly, or when the UVI readings are cut in half (when measured with a Solarmeter 6.5). The distance is important as well. If it’s too close, there is overexposure of UVB, and if it’s too far away, there is underexposure of UVB. Her basking temps could be lower, and her nighttime temps can definitely go lower and into the 60*s. For measuring her basking temp, it is better to use a digital thermometer with a probe, with the probe placed where her casque/top of her back is when she’s on her basking branch. Knowing humidity levels is crucial! I used 3 digital thermometer-hygrometer combos to measure ambient temps and humidity levels throughout the cage, with one placed at the top of her cage near her basking branch, one in the middle of the cage, and one at the bottom. The daytime humidity levels need to be between 50-60% and can up to 100% at night. The Chameleon Academy is a great resource with the most accurate and up-to-date info, so I would definitely check out every module and the panther species profile, as well as the podcasts, and more if you haven’t done so aready!
 
I’m not sure if she will take well to being placed into a separate lay bin unless you mean you have another cage with a lay bin in it, but someone with more experience can answer that better than myself, it just sounds like a lot of unwanted handling and not a lot of privacy for a gravid chameleon. Your cage is a bit on the small side and you may want to consider upgrading that soon. Good luck to you and your little prego ☺️
 
You said..."I haven't seen her roam the bottom of the cage yet as when she does this I plan to move her into a separate lay bin with play sand in it for her"...how are you going to set up this laybin?
Are you going to leave her in it or move her back and forth?
 
You said..."I haven't seen her roam the bottom of the cage yet as when she does this I plan to move her into a separate lay bin with play sand in it for her"...how are you going to set up this laybin?
Are you going to leave her in it or move her back and forth?
Once I see her roam the bottom I plan to place her into the 5 gallon bucket about 60% of the way filled with damp play sand that will be placed in front of her cage with the screen door open. There will also be extra pieces of branch inside for her to climb out if she feels the need or is not ready to lay yet that will allow her to climb back into her cage.
 
Will springtails and isopods effect the eggs of a chameleon if they are only in the soil for a short time? because I will let her lay in the bottom of her cage if they don’t effect the eggs at all.
 
Will springtails and isopods effect the eggs of a chameleon if they are only in the soil for a short time? because I will let her lay in the bottom of her cage if they don’t effect the eggs at all.
They’ll eat the eggs

Edit: but they might not if the eggs are only in there a short period of time. I don’t know, but @jamest0o0 definitely will!
 
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