He wont eat!

[kencater]

Hey guys!

I just received as a gift a baby panther chameleon. He's only a month old and I can't seem to get him to eat. I've had him for about 4 days. I've only been able to get him to eat 3 crickets since i got him.

When I first got him, I had him in an aquarium, but have since built an enclosure for him. I've got my UVB and basking light going and all temps and humidity look to be ok.

I've been providing regular watering in the form of a dripper and misting several times a day. I've only really seen him drink once though.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get him to eat?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Hey guys!

I just received as a gift a baby panther chameleon. He's only a month old and I can't seem to get him to eat. I've had him for about 4 days. I've only been able to get him to eat 3 crickets since i got him.

When I first got him, I had him in an aquarium, but have since built an enclosure for him. I've got my UVB and basking light going and all temps and humidity look to be ok.

I've been providing regular watering in the form of a dripper and misting several times a day. I've only really seen him drink once though.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get him to eat?

how big are the crickets?

 

[kencater]

They're small pinhead crickets. I also tried some small worms after I posted today. No good.

 

[PantherVeileD]

try fruitflies

 

[sandrachameleon]

is it possible he is having trouble finding the food? Is he small and the cage large? tried cup feeding?

 

[Julirs]

Give us the rundown, using brand names. Some chams are "closet eaters" meaning that no matter how hard you try to see them eat-you rarely will. How are you offering him the food?
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type 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?
Location - 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?

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

Pictures are helpful

 

[kencater]

Thanks for all the input guys. When I woke up this morning, Manny was active. For the past few days, he's just been kinda lounging around. But this morning, he was climbing around. As soon as I misted and started my dripper, he went straight for the big leaves and started guzzling water down. I think he just was not used to the new surroundings. I put some crickets and tiny grasshoppers in the enclosure and he went on a killing spree.

I'm so relieved he has finally started responding. Thanks again for all the help guys. Oh, and one other thing, how do i tell exactly what subspecies he is? I know he's a panther, but how do i tell what region he's from? Color? He hasn't really started changing very much color yet so I need to wait until he does maybe? thanks

 

[kencater]

Here's my info:

Cage - Wooden framed screened enclosure 2'x2'x6' tall, actual cage part is 2'x2'x3' tall. I designed this myself and drew it all up using Autocad so if anyone would be interested in making one, let me know and I can send the plans. I'll post a pic of it soon.

Lighting: I'm using a reptiglow 5.0 and a 75 watt heat bulb. I leave the lights on most of the day and turn them off when I go to bed.

Temps: Range from 70 on the bottom to around 90 under the basking light. Lowest overnight is around 70. I bought an indoor/outdoor thermometer that also measure humidity.

Humidity: Usually stays around 55-60 percent. Working on the humidity right now. Gonna put a live plant in soon to control it a little better.

Plants: No live plants as of yet. Still researching, open to suggestions. Currently using some sticks from the yard and some ivy leaves.

Location: Enclosure is located in the living room in a lower traffic area. Only thing that concerns me about location is the noise from the tv. It sits close to the cage, and our tv is almost always on.

Chameleon:

Panther Chameleon, male, about a month old. I've had him for almost a week.
Handling: I usually only handle him if I'm trying to get him to get close to food or show him the water. I've tried to leave him alone so he can get used to his new space.
Feeding: Currently feeding pinhead crickets, and tiny grasshoppers. Have yet to start gut loading, I've focused primarily until now on getting him to eat. Then I'll worry about the nutrition.
Supplements: I have reptical and a few other supplements but haven't begun to use them yet.
Watering: Misting and using a dripper directed towards leaves.
Feces: Seems to be liquidy brown until now. has not been tested for parasites as far as I know.

Will post pics soon.

 

[kencater]

Here's Manny:

 

[kencater]

Here's the enclosure:

 

[Julirs]

Beautiful cage-can you get a better pic of your cham-that does not look like a panther. Also temps for anything under 3 months should below 80's in the basking and if he is in fact only one month he needs to be in a smaller cage.

 

[Trace]

Preview
That's not a Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) but, in fact, a wild caught Senegal Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleo senegalensis).

Dealing with WC animals, particularly chameleons, are wrought with problems especially for a new owner. While I'm not trying to sound uncaring, is there a possibility you can exchange that animal for a captive bred Panther Chameleon? Your experience with chameleons will be a much more pleasant one. Trust me.

Were you sold a Panther Chameleon?

Good luck,
Trace

 

[dodolah]

just as a comparison to further illustrate Trace's post

Senegal:

Baby Panther:

 

[kencater]

Well, maybe it is a senegal. the guy that brought him to me didnt give me much info. he's never dealt with them before. He might have been mistaken. But I know for a fact that he's not wild caught. he got him from a breeder friend of his in texas.

 

[kencater]

What are the reasons for putting him in a smaller enclosure. i wanted to build one that he could grow into. he's eating and drinking fine now.

 

[kencater]

oh, BTW, i didnt pay for him. He was free.

 

[Julirs]

What are the reasons for putting him in a smaller enclosure. i wanted to build one that he could grow into. he's eating and drinking fine now.

I think he is fine in that enclosure-you just would not want a 1 month old Panther in there-one month old Panthers are tiny-but your Senegal looks much older than one month.

I would put a nice healthy washed and repotted Ficus and Schefflera in there!

 

[opihiman]

nice cage and nice cham...

Is that a compact bulb in the picture? if it is you may want to change to a linear as the compacts have been related to mulitple serious injuries to chams eyes.

Nice cage!

OPI

 

[ChameleonsTree]

What are the reasons for putting him in a smaller enclosure. i wanted to build one that he could grow into. he's eating and drinking fine now.

the reason for a smaller enclosure is so he can easily find the food...would you rather hunt in 2 acres or 200 for 1 prey?

 

[skeeta]

Nice cham, nice cage! Need LOTS more greenery (get what Julirs said and you can't go wrong)

Chameleons are not known for their hearing BUT there is a belief they communicate with vibrations. That being said, maybe you should make sure the TV isn't too loud (or better yet, use extension speakers so the noise doesn't blast right beside the cage) [even better yet ... shut it off and READ]

Also you might want to drape the TV side with a towel so as not to disturb night-time sleep habits.

And you are sure it's CB. Cool! (not as high risk of lethal parasites to deal with) And since he was free, the cost of a fecal exam shouldn't be a problem)

Hi Trace, see you at the Mississauga Reptile Expo!