Finally came this morning!!!

[Kushkilla]

Hey everyone my new and first chameleon came this morning and I have a few questions if anyone could help me out. Hopefully I'm just worried cause i just got him and there's nothing wrong.

He is almost 4months old. He is a panther chameleon from chamalot chameleons. So far he won't eat but I've read they might not for the first few days in new enviorment, how should I provoke his appetite? I have tried cup feeding but the cup makes him shy and back away, so I left 7 crickets in a cup in his cage, but I'm afraid it is too low as he has not gone low in his cage yet. Also how often should he be drinking? I have seen him drink from the dripper only twice today so far but I mist every few hours even though he doesn't seem to like it very much. My last question is that he stays under the UVB light a lot and won't stray from that area. Every time he goes to his basking light he tries to sit under it on the roof and it is too hot and he skeets away after trying. Should I fix it or is he just learning? Hope to hear from someone soon I'm worrying unnecessarily too much lol. Thanks!!

 

[JonRich]

First off you don't want to chance burning him. Try to have the heat lamp hang a few inches above the cage so the screen itself isn't HOT to the touch. Young Chams LOVE to climb on the screen and especially hang upside down on the roof.

If you have a screen cage, it should be fairly escape proof for feeders. Try to free-range a few crickets (let them loose in the cage).

 

[hallenhe]

Hi, and welcome! It's common for them to take a couple days to settle in - you've already seen him drink a couple times, which is more than some people ever see (they can be very furtive about it), so I wouldn't worry about the drinking for now. When he goes to the bathroom, the urates (lighter colored part) are white in a well-hydrated chameleon and orange in a dehydrated one (there's also a brown part, the feces); if his are white, you can relax about the water.
It's not uncommon for them to not eat (or not be caught at it) for a couple days; right now, it's probably best to just stand back and let him settle in. I know you want to watch him and keep looking at him (I would, too), but a little time to himself will let him explore and figure out that he's in a good place.
How hot is the "too hot" place under the basking light? - They can burn themselves without realizing it sometimes. A panther doesn't need to be above the 80s; a warmer place in a temperature gradient is fine, but if you're talking 95 or above, you probably want to move the basking light back a little. I wouldn't really worry about hanging out under the UVB just yet; chameleons are very good at sitting very still for long periods.

 

[Kushkilla]

Okay I will have to go grab a light hanger thanks. And I will try letting a few loose near him and see If he reacts positively thanks for the info!

 

[Kushkilla]

Okay thanks, he definetly knows its too hot whenever he walks on the basking part of the roof he skeets away and doesnt wanna touch it. I'm gonna look for a light fixture hanger or how else would I go about moving it back away from the screen?

 

[JonRich]

Okay I will have to go grab a light hanger thanks. And I will try letting a few loose near him and see If he reacts positively thanks for the info!

welcome, goodluck and congrats on the new guy.

Also , does that name mean what i think it means?

 

[Kushkilla]

welcome, goodluck and congrats on the new guy.

Also , does that name mean what i think it means?

Thank you! Hopefully he turns out fine I really hope so. And yes, you got it

 

[Dez]

Hi John

Glad to see you one here using the forums

Like I said before, it is not uncommon to not see them eat for a few days after they arrive... It was a long scary trip from Florida to you and now he is in a new environment. Give him a few days to settle in.

Also we free feed our chams so He is not use to cup feeding.. some chameleons pick it up right away but it may not be a bad idea to let a few crickets loose in the cage too because that is how he is use to eating.. Once he gets use to his new surroundings you can try to 'train' him to cup feed.

Have you picked out a name for him yet?

 

[Kushkilla]

Hi John

Glad to see you one here using the forums

Like I said before, it is not uncommon to not see them eat for a few days after they arrive... It was a long scary trip from Florida to you and now he is in a new environment. Give him a few days to settle in.

Also we free feed our chams so He is not use to cup feeding.. some chameleons pick it up right away but it may not be a bad idea to let a few crickets loose in the cage too because that is how he is use to eating.. Once he gets use to his new surroundings you can try to 'train' him to cup feed.

Have you picked out a name for him yet?

Hi des thanks again for all ur help and answering my questions. He seems to be moving around the top of his cage a lot and besides not eating is doing fine. His legs shake sometimes when he moves around slow, is this normal in young cham? And to answer your question no I haven't I feel like I don't know him well enough to name him yet but I have been thinking!

 

[JonRich]

Hi des thanks again for all ur help and answering my questions. He seems to be moving around the top of his cage a lot and besides not eating is doing fine. His legs shake sometimes when he moves around slow, is this normal in young cham? And to answer your question no I haven't I feel like I don't know him well enough to name him yet but I have been thinking!

is it like a rocking back and forth movement "swaying in the wind"?

 

[Kushkilla]

is it like a rocking back and forth movement "swaying in the wind"?

I know what you mean by that and yes sometimes he will do that, more hen he first arrived than now but yes he def does . And what I was talking about was occasionally as he walks his legs will sort of tremble a little. Just as if he is scared but I have red this is an early stage of MBD, forgive me of I'm being too worried I just dnt want anything to happen to him

 

[JonRich]

I know what you mean by that and yes sometimes he will do that, more hen he first arrived than now but yes he def does . And what I was talking about was occasionally as he walks his legs will sort of tremble a little. Just as if he is scared but I have red this is an early stage of MBD, forgive me of I'm being too worried I just dnt want anything to happen to him

Hummm. I'm stumped. I have never had a Cham do what you discribed.

And i'm sure Dez did a good job on supplimenting , So i wouldn't be worried about MBD in your guy.

What are you dusting with?

 

[Dez]

We use calcium without D3 at every feeding and calcium with d3 every 2 weeks..

And a multivitamin once a month

 

[Kushkilla]

We use calcium without D3 at every feeding and calcium with d3 every 2 weeks..

And a multivitamin once a month

I'm sure dez did a great job and he seems healthy he does not shake hardly anymore I think he was just so scared when I first put him in his enclosure. He was practically black with color from fear when this was happening ; since then he has been very lightly colored and hasn't been darkening since. Also how long should I wait before handling for the first time? Few days? Week?

 

[Solid Snake]

I'm sure dez did a great job and he seems healthy he does not shake hardly anymore I think he was just so scared when I first put him in his enclosure. He was practically black with color from fear when this was happening ; since then he has been very lightly colored and hasn't been darkening since. Also how long should I wait before handling for the first time? Few days? Week?

I would wait weeks. I would occaisonaly try and offer the first feeder of the day by hand. Once he takes it from your hand, and hes absolutely comfortable in his enclosure, then I would think about handling, JMO. Slowly build his trust in you, and he wont mind handling when he gets older.

 

[Kushkilla]

I would wait weeks. I would occaisonaly try and offer the first feeder of the day by hand. Once he takes it from your hand, and hes absolutely comfortable in his enclosure, then I would think about handling, JMO. Slowly build his trust in you, and he wont mind handling when he gets older.

Thanks for the input I'm definitely going to wait few weeks and in a week I'll try the hand feeding as well. Greats advice !