Growth Concern

[tkalawart]

Hey guys,

I have a question about my panther chameleon. He is about 8 months old and seems to be growing very slowly and also showing little color except when he sleeps, much slower then my veiled. Will he eventually grow to an adult size and display his colors? I basically have the cadilac of terrerium setups. I feed him like 8 medium crickets a day his terrearium is glass with wire mesh on top. (two EXO TERRA Heat Emitters, sun glo bulb, aquatic light over top and a REPTI FOGGER also I placed a small fan overhead to increase ventilation, (it isnt blowing directley into the cage)). Basically what Im asking in your opinion is should I sell him and buy one from a reputable breeder online or just wait?

 

[camimom]

Hey guys,

I have a question about my panther chameleon. He is about 8 months old and seems to be growing very slowly and also showing little color except when he sleeps, much slower then my veiled. Will he eventually grow to an adult size and display his colors? I basically have the cadilac of terrerium setups. I feed him like 8 medium crickets a day his terrearium is glass with wire mesh on top. (two EXO TERRA Heat Emitters, sun glo bulb, aquatic light over top and a REPTI FOGGER also I placed a small fan overhead to increase ventilation, (it isnt blowing directley into the cage)). Basically what Im asking in your opinion is should I sell him and buy one from a reputable breeder online or just wait?

Where is his UVB bulb?
How long have yu had him?
what is your supplement schedule?

And keep in mind, panthers take 2 years to reach full grown size.
and can you take a pic of him on your hand please?

 

[tkalawart]

hey

Ive had hime for closer to 9 months so actually he would almost be a year old. i feed him around 7-10 med. The light is in the corner and there is an aquarium light over the middle just for extra light and lumens. crickets a day and dust with calcium every other day and multi-vitamin with d like once a week. he just doesnt look like hes showing color or size.

 

[Olimpia]

Could we see the base of his tail? I'm actually concerned he might be a female instead.

 

[camimom]

Could we see the base of his tail? I'm actually concerned he might be a female instead.

thats waht i was thinking too, even a late bloomer should have colors by a year old.


also, aquarium lights dont produce UVb.
you need a reptisun or reptiglo UVB bulb.

 

[thePopeJP]

He looks pretty ruin too, he's about the size of my 4month old...

I was also thinking maybe a female

 

[thePopeJP]

Are the heat emitters on at night? He needs a lamp that gets a basking spot to the mid to high 80s and that's it. What's the internal temp? If the heaters are on constantly, it doesn't let him have a natural temperature dip at night. May be able to remove them.

Also, do you always run the fogger? Is it on a schedule? Timers? It needs to dry out between mists as to prevent mildew/mold/bacteria growth. Also not really necessary at night, seeing as glass terrariums hold a lot of humidity. Chris Anderson only mists his glass guys like once a day for a couple minutes.

Also dust with no-d3 calcium every feed, and once you get the UVB tube cut the d3-calcium and multivitamin to twice a month.

 

[tkalawart]

I am starting to think female as well but at the same time it sleeps with a light yellow and some red in the bars. I am probobly going to sell him back to the petstore as a female since she said I could if it turned out to be. Ill take a picture of the bump later. Do you know of any good breeders I really just want a beautiful panther for all this work ive put into the setup. ughh

 

[tkalawart]

thank you for all your help as well. I live in michigan if you know any local breeders.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Your setup looks nice, but it is actually not adequate for an adult panther chameleon. That exo-terra is much too small by far! An adult panther chameleon, especially a male, should have a cage at least 2'x2'x4' tall. An aquarium light is unnecessary, and without UVB your chameleon will not be able to absorb calcium from the food and will die from metabolic bone disease. This one might not have grown because you didn't have a UVB light to allow it to develop properly. How hot is it in there with 2 heat emitters and a sunglo over a small glass cage? Are you sure you're not cooking them? My exo-terra of the same size (for pygmy chameleons) stays at 80 degrees with just a 13w UVB and nothing else. Your temps shouldn't be that much higher for a youngster...

 

[tkalawart]

I will pick up a uvb bulb today thank you. Does anyone have recommendations for panther breeders?

 

[camimom]

I will pick up a uvb bulb today thank you. Does anyone have recommendations for panther breeders?

i think you need to get this cham situated first before you get anothe rone.

 

[tkalawart]

thank you so much

I will pick up a uvb bulb today. thank you guys. Does anyone know any good breeders besides screameloens? thanks again!

 

[tkalawart]

I will be returning this one or selling it I think

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You will need a new cage for the new chameleon.

 

[Benton1576]

It looks like a female to me. Perhaps you should do some more research before you buy another to be sure you get everything he needs.

 

[thePopeJP]

I got my Nosy Be from Kilgour's Chameleons. However I'm a little hesitant to tell you unless you verify that you'd be making the necessary adjustments to give him a healthy life.

The exo-terra would only be big enough until he was about a year old.

 

[TriSARAtop]

Just like everyone else saying. Before you buy another one, do more research on here. I see a few people who have told you that your going to want a bigger cage. An you may want to really think about taking yours back or selling it. If you didn't fall in love with this one, then what makes you think you'll fall in love with the next. Its a sad if a chameleon has to bounce from place to place because it stresses them out.