Help! My 18 month old Panther Chameleon isn't eating or pooping..

[jannb]

Attila Molnar, DVM *
All Animals Medical Center, Calabasas, California - (818) 591-2773

Geoffrey Stein, DVM *
Shipp's Animal Hospital, 351 Foothill Blvd., Beverly Hills - (310) 550-0101

Daniel Reimer, DVM *
Adler Veterinary Clinic, North Hills, California - (818) 893-6366

Thomas H. Boyer, DVM
Pet Hospital of Penasquitos, 888-F Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA - (858) 484-3490
Pet Hospital of Penasquitos

Todd R. Cecil, DVM
Pet Emergency and Specialty Center, Chula Vista, CA (619) 591-4802 and La Mesa, CA (619) 462-4800

Tom Greek, DVM
Greek & Associates Veterinary Hospital, 23687 Via Del Rio, Yorba Linda - (714) 463-1190 or (866) 940-7028
www.tomgreek.com

 

[kinyonga]

If he isn't eating then you can't expect poop. Its hard to say if he's impacted and thus not eating or if its something else.

What did you clean his cage with??

Are his eyes open all day? Do you have a substrate in the cage?

You said you dust the insects...with what specifically?

You said you use a compact fluorescent on the cage...what I have used for years on chameleon cages is a Repti-sun 5.0 long linear fluorescent tube for UVB along with a regular household incandescent light bulb of a wattage that provides the right temperature (mid 80's) in the basking area. I put this bulb in a domed hood. I place it to one end or corner of the cage. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic BTW.

Baby food pears will help veiled chameleons when constipated....but I have never tried it on a panther.

 

[Elizadolots]

Are you sure you just haven't seen the poop? Usually chameleon cages have loads of stuff in them and the little buggers are great at putting the poop in the least visible place.

Are you counting insects to know he hasn't eaten or just judging by the fact you haven't seen him eat?

 

[sarah777]

My panther stopped eating when he had pin worms. I know he's not pooping but if he does (eventually) get a fecal done.

 

[dodolah]

Just noting that California is huge and has wildly varied climates. Yes, "Los Angeles" sort of suggests it doesn't get too cold ever, but there are places in California that get very cold indeed and in fact, snow over during daytime hours.

I've been in daylight snow driving distance from my house.

I'm just offering that out there. (also, I got sort of chastised for suggesting it wasn't a problem to maintain humidity in Southern California....because, you know...someone had issues with it)

jdub, anything that's comfortable for you at night is probably fine for your chameleon. They like a bit of a cool down.

I'm in San Diego and have a plan for cooling down my chameleon should we have a warm summer night..(we don't have air conditioning).

You got that right.. I am making a generalization that California has a warm climate and forgot that some people might live in areas close to mountains instead of a desert. To clarify my point, let me retract that statement and add, unless it is snowing outside and the temperature dropped below 50 F, i don't see the need to have a night heat of some kind.

Now with that said, just a question, cause I am not familiar with Santa Cruz climate.. Does it ever snow there? or Does the indoor temperature often drop below 50 F during nightime?

 

[jdub0928]

Are you sure you just haven't seen the poop? Usually chameleon cages have loads of stuff in them and the little buggers are great at putting the poop in the least visible place.

Are you counting insects to know he hasn't eaten or just judging by the fact you haven't seen him eat?

I have been counting insects and a week ago it was very obvious where he was pooping, I would take them out as I saw them.

 

[jdub0928]

If he isn't eating then you can't expect poop. Its hard to say if he's impacted and thus not eating or if its something else.

What did you clean his cage with??

Are his eyes open all day? Do you have a substrate in the cage?

You said you dust the insects...with what specifically?

You said you use a compact fluorescent on the cage...what I have used for years on chameleon cages is a Repti-sun 5.0 long linear fluorescent tube for UVB along with a regular household incandescent light bulb of a wattage that provides the right temperature (mid 80's) in the basking area. I put this bulb in a domed hood. I place it to one end or corner of the cage. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic BTW.

Baby food pears will help veiled chameleons when constipated....but I have never tried it on a panther.

I don't remember what I cleaned his cage with to be honest..His eyes are open all day, there is a substrate but there are no wood chips or anything like that (was going to change to newspaper tomorrow and get a live plant to put in there)....I bought dusted crickets once a week from a reptile store near me but I'm not sure what the guy used....I am also going to pick up one of the bulbs you are talking about tomorrow when I get that other stuff.

I have baby food and a syringe, but he refuses to open his mouth now....any tips?

 

[beeze]

Take him to the vet and find out what's wrong with him. He's probably sick and that's why he's not eating and pooping. You also need to get the correct lighting and supplements. You need a tube Reptisun 5.0 UVB, a household bulb for basking probably 60 watt and you need 3 kinds of supplements. Calcium without d3 to use at just about every feeding, calcium with d3 for twice a month and a multivitamin for twice a month.

 

[Elizadolots]

Santa Cruz is just south of San Francisco, right on the water. It's night time temperature average over the year is under 50 degrees (the highest monthly average night time temperature is ~52 degrees, that's in July) and during winter months it hovers around and below 40. Whether or not the house gets that cold depends on the person.

I sort of stand by the idea that if it's comfortable for the humans in the house, it's okay for the chameleons.

jdub, I've seen people say they press the edge of a credit card to the chameleon's "lips" to encourage him to open his mouth. You might want to have an extra set of hands around in case it gets challenging.

 

[Benton1576]

I used to have a problem trying to get my chams to open their mouths to administer baytril for a URI. My pet store showed me how to do it. Hold the chameleon with 1 hand upside down (on his back ) with your thumb and forefinger either sid of his jaw. he will struggle and get pissed enough to open his mouth and hiss. if that doesnt work, gently tap his nose a few times and he WILL get pissed! worked for me everytime, just mind you dont get bitten!

 

[Cheryl27]

My panther Cham use to eat millworms and crickets but won't touch them anymore and gets bored quickly of dubi roaches I think there give off quite a strong sent and iv heard it can be off putting for to the Cham do you guy load the food? And have you tried lochus? My panther prefers them to crickets and also prefers mario worms or some call them super worms.