Help Not sure whats wrong

[rasjoel]

Panther roughly 10 months old
screen cage 4x24x24
hand mist three to four times a day ( i do see him drink)
feed crickets everyday (every other with calcuim once a week with D3
UV light reptisun and a 60 watt basking bulb
been in my care since sept 10 pruchased from TikiTiki

He has not been eating as much lately going on a month or so and seems to only want to go after the superworms. I do pick up hornworms every so often as a supplement

He has been sleeping during the day the last couple of days not all day just not as active as he usually is appears hydrated and does not look skinny

I handle him once every couple days but generally leave him alone. I have a ficus in the cage with vines and some dry wood. Just not sure if this is normal behavior or not

any pointers would be appreciated

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Why are you giving him the cal w d3 weekly? Normally thats a 2x a month supplement. At 10 months he can go to an every other day feeding schedule also. As far as the daytime sleeping? How are your temps? Is the house abnormally cold since the weather outside is colder? That can have a affect on activity levels if they cant warm up properly. I have changed all my males in the big cages to 100 watt incandescents since its colder outside. Its helped mine stay more active thru this cold winter.

He needs more variety in his diet also. Try silks, roaches, blue bottle flies, those are all good options to add to his current staple.

 

[rasjoel]

Thanks it was my mistake not the D3 but herbavite my mistake. I agree on the variety of feed and I went ahead and ordered some roaches and hornworms from mulberry. right now his basking spot is averaging 85F and the lower is 72F he is actually sleeping out of the basking area as well. Do you think I still should throw in the 100w?

 

[Texas Panther Man]

85 is what temp I usually shoot for. You could try the 100 watt and see how much that raises your temps. Try not to get over about 87 degs at his basking spot. I think what your seeing is he's slowing down due to the winter weather, and he's also maturing at the same time and he will not roam quite as much as he did when he was younger.
As for supplements, just make sure you have:
cal w/d3, cal w/o d3, and minerall or herptivite multi vitamin. Give the cal w/o d3 2x a week for a mature male. The d3 and the multi vita can be given 2x a month.

 

[rasjoel]

thank you for your help!

 

[carol5208]

Slowing down during the day is one thing, sleeping is another. Something is not right if he is sleeping and it is not night time. Was your uvb light purchased new with your chameleon?

 

[fowlers]

i think its possibly uv and supplement related, when chams have their eyes closed in the day something is wrong, do you gutload the feeders?

also is the uv tube inside or outside the cage? and what uvb strength is it eg, 5%, 10% etc

rob

ps, carol your avatar pic looks like a cool cham

 

[kinyonga]

Not sure what's going on...but it shouldn't be sleeping during the day.
What are the basking temperatures? What brands of supplements do you use and how often for each? What do you feed/gutload the insects with...be specific please? What sex is it? Can you post a picture please?

Here's some information that might help.......Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

 

[rasjoel]

I use all the supplements that you mentioned and use cricket crack gutload from rainbow mealworms along with fresh carrots and potatoes with some squash about once a week and i dust the crickets and superworms at every feeding and using the herpivite and calcium minus D3 and use the one with D3 about three times a month. I noticed that he is not likeing the crickets as much but has no problem going after the superworms (he ate three today) and hornworms. My UV is the reptisun 5.0 and has already been replaced once since September. Should I go with a bigger bulb (reptisun 10)? I will post a picture tomorrow when the light is on. He just started doing this yesterday and it did not seem right. He is properly hydrated and looks good other than this behavior. I will take a picture and post it in the morning when the light is on. It sounds like I may not have been gutloading properly and will start to make my own gut feed right away.

 

[kinyonga]

Is it the long linear fluorescent UVB light or the compact?

 

[rasjoel]

It is 18inches long in a hood on top of the all screen cage

 

[rasjoel]

Here are some pictures as requested Please dont study the temp gauge my lights just turned on and that was the temperature before any lights were on Thank you

 

[carol5208]

i think its possibly uv and supplement related, when chams have their eyes closed in the day something is wrong, do you gutload the feeders?

also is the uv tube inside or outside the cage? and what uvb strength is it eg, 5%, 10% etc

rob

ps, carol your avatar pic looks like a cool cham

thanks, that is his sleeping colors which are awesome. It is hard to get him to color up like that in the day very often.