Growth Stunt???

[sarah.johnson15]

Is it possible that my baby Panther Chameleon isn't growing? I got him two months ago (when he was only 2 weeks old) and since then he doesn't look like he's grown at all. Is that possible? I need an outside perspective. The first 3 pictures are from the week I got him (in April) and the last 2 are from today.

 

[Theveiled]

Have you had a fecal done? There is a parasite called coccidia that stunts growth. I would get one done to be safe but with his size......

 

[sarah.johnson15]

He's just so small and he was so young when I got him that I can't tell if he's grown or not

 

[Andee]

I agree with Theveiled, also what are your supplements like? Your lighting? How much are you feeding?

Who did you get him from? 2 weeks is ridiculously young to sell a chameleon. Most reputable breeders don't sell them until the 3-4 month age.

 

[alphakenc]

He's just so small and he was so young when I got him that I can't tell if he's grown or not

Has he been shed his skin since April?
On the pic 3 ,was that a chopped up mealworm?
My suggestion for u is feed him some silkworm that will definitely help him to put some weight,along with some gutloaded crickets too,and if he is shedding that mean he is growing,but to maximize his growth,u will have to feed him more ...lots more feeders every day.
Since the breeder sold u a two weeks old baby,that means this baby has been separate from the rest of the sibling group early,usually when they in that young age,they kept in a 5~10 chameleon group,n they watch their siblings learn what to eat , I think that might be the problem too since the baby got pull away too early,the only thing u can do now,is constantly feed the baby food n more food ,hopefully the baby will start to grow bigger,best luck to ur baby cham.

 

[MissLissa]

From the first to the last picture you can definitely tell he has grown. If you fill out this form: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ (just copy and paste it here) we can look for any husbandry issues that may be of concern. If you are worried, a fecal exam is always a good idea. Fecal testing is recommended at least once a year for chameleons, in any case. I test mine twice a year.

For comparison, here is my normally-sized panther at 12 weeks of age, able to comfortably sit on my fingertip on his first day home (which is why he is so dark and stressed):

July 8

• MissLissa
• Dec 31, 2015

So tiny, oh mer gerd

Here he is again at 16 weeks of age, where he had more than doubled in size from the previous month (please excuse the messy bed!):

August 9 2016

• MissLissa
• Jun 16, 2016

 

[Remkon]

For sure he's grown from first to last picture...
And if you compare it to MissLissa's 12 week old picture I think he measures up.

The 16weeks old seems to have increased in size massively tho...

I think you don't really notice the growth of your pet when you see it every day...

I don't think I can sleep after seeing such a messy bed!

 

[MissLissa]

For sure he's grown from first to last picture...
And if you compare it to MissLissa's 12 week old picture I think he measures up.

The 16 weeks old seems to have increased in size massively tho...

I think you don't really notice the growth of your pet when you see it every day...

I don't think I can sleep after seeing such a messy bed!

From 3-8 months male panthers go from about 2-3" long to about 17" long, and I found that my boy did most of that growth between 3-5 months of age. Some weeks I could almost watch him grow day by day! A good feeding schedule, feeder rotation, and proper supplementation is crazy important for growing chams since they grow so much, so fast.

and: Ha, yeah. I never make my bed. It feels like a waste of time since I'm only going to mess it up again