help with 1 month ambanja

H

herp essentials

New Member
I have the tiniest little panther chameleon. He is definatly drinking because I watch him but I haven't seen him eating. I am looking for poop on the cage floor but I can't see any (could just be it matches the substrate.) He seems fine in everyway except he tends to sleep with his eyes closed during the day. I do not know what to do. He is so small, I can't even figure out how to force a pin head into his mouth if I was able. If I go in there to adjust the light he is awake and moves and changes color. His enclosure is warm, it is humid, I have removed any stray crickets so he doesn't get stressed. I only put the UVB on for a couple of hours at a time so he doesn't get irritated from the lights, otherwise he has a 25 watt bulb on him at all times. His enclosure is small so the 25 is enough. I don't know what else to do...any suggestions to knwo that he is eating? I am just so worried about the sleeping thing. I was hoping it was just because he is so small and young.
 
Could you describe your caging and lighting situation? UVB should be on all day and he should not be sleeping. No substrate either, as it causes impaction.
 
Where did you purchase a 1 month old panther? That's far too young to be selling it. 3 months of age is the rule of thumb.
All I can say is make sure the area for a 1 month old is pretty small so he's able to catch his prey easy. Keep him nice and hydrated and hopefully he'll eat the 1/8 crickets for you. Keep a bunch of the 1/8 crickets in there so he can eat when he needs to. I'd also recommend getting him some flightless fruitflies.
 
Thanks for your quick reply. I have him in a 18 x 12 x 12 glass terrarium with the mess top. There are fake branches and vines with he moves abotu with no problem. I have peat mix on the bottom. On top I keep a dome light with a 25 watt regular household bulb (as suggested by cham man) I change to 9 volt uvb compact about every 4 hours. The temp is about 76 and humdity around 75%
 
i know he is too young. Lets just say he was given to me from a store somewhere because an employee knew he would just die there. I had no intention of getting one that young as I have been looking for older ones for a while to no avail, then I was offered this one.
 
hey there,
I know its a really stressful situation for both you, and your cham. I just lost a very young (about 1 month old) nosy be panther.

First off, if your cham is sleeping during the day, thats not good. He should be awake for about 12hrs of the day. Your UV light should also be on about 12hrs a day and your heat lamp should be on about 12hrs as well.

What kind of UV light do you have? How big?
What are the temps?
What are the dimentions of the cage?
How old is your cham, and how big is it?

I had to force feed mine both crickets, water and a calcium supplement. It is very tricky to force feed them. It is definitley easiest if you have someone help you. One person needs to hold the cham steady in one hand so that it cant move and squirm, and with the other hand use a finger nail so SOFTLY pry open the mouth. The other person needs to be ready with a cricket to pop in their. make sure the head of the cricket is ripped off so it cant bite your cham. You cham is going to want to spit it out. You are gonna need something small to poke it past there tounge, but be careful not to push it in too far. I would try to force feed him a few crickets a day. if you can get one in and he is chewing you might want to get a second one in him while he is already stressed. I also had a small syringe that I used to give him a few drops of water to help the cricket go down. You might look into getting a liquid calcium supplement as well.

Although that will help for now to get some food into him, there is obviously a bigger problem. My guess is that it would have something to do with your light set up, or the temps in the cage.

If you can, it might not be a bad idea to take him to a vet. Do you know if he ever got dewormed?

Hope this helps a little...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
 
I also saw that you have it in a glass cage? You def want a all mesh cage if possible. the glass doesnt allow for good circuation, and it makes the conditions optimal for mold to grow.

You said you are using a regular household bulb for his basking light? I would get an acual basking light. IS your UV bulb UVA/UVB? Who makes it?

I dont think you need a substarte like that either. I have a repti-liner and it works great. Easy to clean and you can see poop really easy on it.

Also make sure to get some real plants in there.
 
get rid of the substrate.
It's haven for bacteria and mold. especially in a 75% humidity:eek:
 
herp essentials said:
I have the tiniest little panther chameleon. He is definatly drinking because I watch him but I haven't seen him eating. I am looking for poop on the cage floor but I can't see any (could just be it matches the substrate.) He seems fine in everyway except he tends to sleep with his eyes closed during the day. I do not know what to do. He is so small, I can't even figure out how to force a pin head into his mouth if I was able. If I go in there to adjust the light he is awake and moves and changes color. His enclosure is warm, it is humid, I have removed any stray crickets so he doesn't get stressed. I only put the UVB on for a couple of hours at a time so he doesn't get irritated from the lights, otherwise he has a 25 watt bulb on him at all times. His enclosure is small so the 25 is enough. I don't know what else to do...any suggestions to knwo that he is eating? I am just so worried about the sleeping thing. I was hoping it was just because he is so small and young.
Click to expand...

ok where to begin..reptisun 5.0 bulb should be on 12 hours...i doubt the 25 watt is enough...ive never used less than 40 for babies but check the temp in the basking area. Pull out all the substrate. The best substrate is none or newspaper or papertowel
 
Dan said:
I also saw that you have it in a glass cage? You def want a all mesh cage if possible. the glass doesnt allow for good circuation, and it makes the conditions optimal for mold to grow.

You said you are using a regular household bulb for his basking light? I would get an acual basking light. IS your UV bulb UVA/UVB? Who makes it?

I dont think you need a substarte like that either. I have a repti-liner and it works great. Easy to clean and you can see poop really easy on it.

Also make sure to get some real plants in there.
Click to expand...

an aquirium is ok for babies.
 
okay..the temp right now is 72.5 and humidity is 76% I tried to get a cricket into his mouth which was pretty easy because as soon as I went near his mouth he opened it but he spit the cricket out. Now he is motoring around the enclosure like no tomorrow. The terrarium is 18 x 12 x 12, lots of fake plants and vines and he drinks freely. When I put a higher bulb in, it gets to hot in there. I don't want to fry him.
 
ok, with the little guy being so young, it's ok to have him in the tank FOR NOW, esp. if you are in a drier climate. Make sure the humidity stays around 50%, as little ones can dehydrate fast in a dry environment. Spray him at least 2-3x's a day for a few minutes each time, but be sure to clean up any puddled water (oh, first, get rid of your substrate. as mentioned before, it can cause impaction).
Also with him being so small, try offering crix in a small tupperware container. Make sure they are appropriately dusted (pure Ca+ 2 out of every 3 feedings, a vitamin dust once a week, preferably with at lease a day between the last time you dusted with the Ca+ & when you dust with the vitamins). Also make sure the crix are well gut-loaded (greens - kale, mustard greens... no iceburg), commercial gut load, carrots...). Allow the crix to feed on the gut load overnight before feeding to your cham.
The temp sounds ok, as it is within range. Do you have a basking area with a higher temp?
I would also recommend a trip to the vet, esp. since this little guy is from a pet store... tho I hesitate b/c it might just cause undue stress. First & foremost, remove all substrate, then you will know for sure if he is pooping. And if you cup-feed him, you will know how much he has eaten, if anything. If all of that doesn't work, and you are still worried, def. take him to a vet.
Good Luck!
~C
 
Hi Herp essentials:

When we last traded emails, you mentioned that you leave the basking light on 24 hrs. I did suggest only using it for a day cycle and then lights out at night. Your baby may have no sense of day and night.

What is the ambient temp in your place at night?

I am also curious as to what brand and type of UVB light you have? If it is a compact flourescent ( coiled bulb) you may be burning the babies eyes.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

IMO , the 25 watt household bulb should be fine, but take a temp reading at the basking spot; it shouldn't be more than low 80's for a baby cham at the basking spot. Store bought basking bulbs are just fancy incandescent s anyways; buy one if you want to spend more money.

Anything larger than a 12x12x18 would make hunting food more difficult. Cup feeding is an option, but I've never used it; I prefer free ranging crix and flies for a 1 month old.

Nothing wrong with glass, especially for babies and considering your climate in B.C. , its ok.

I suggest you reread Chameleon trees comments; she raisies baby panthers and speaks from experience.. its good advice.

Let us all know how you make out and post any other questions or observations.
 
ok, here is what I have done. I moved the baby into a fresh air habitat, all mesh! I now have a red light in (50 watt) terrarium liner on the bottom. I would put in a white light but I only have 100 and 150 watt bulbs and think this would be too hot.The current temp is 70.5. I may put a high voltage light in later if the temp doesn't go up in there. Humidity is at around 65%. The UVB is a desert series 9 volt. I guess it is a compact flourescent. It is made by Zilla

By the way..thanks everyone for so much info. You have been a big help.

As for night time, it is quite cold here. What about a black light for nighttimes? or can I leave a red bulb on all the time?

I usually have veiled's and have not had any problems, this is my first panther. He is about an inch long including the tail. I am calling him Biggie Smalls.

Now that he is in the fresh air he is boogying everywhere on the mesh. I will keep you updated. My biggest concern is food, so with just the liner i may be able to see poop, although he is so tiny I don't know what it will look like
 
Please read the link from my previous post. Your compact flourescent bulb is most likely blinding your baby. That is possibly why it has its eyes closed . It may not be sleeping. If it has damaged vision, it will also be unable to hunt food easily.
 
herp essentials said:
ok, here is what I have done. I moved the baby into a fresh air habitat, all mesh! I now have a red light in (50 watt) terrarium liner on the bottom. I would put in a white light but I only have 100 and 150 watt bulbs and think this would be too hot.The current temp is 70.5. I may put a high voltage light in later if the temp doesn't go up in there. Humidity is at around 65%. The UVB is a desert series 9 volt. I guess it is a compact flourescent. It is made by Zilla

By the way..thanks everyone for so much info. You have been a big help.

As for night time, it is quite cold here. What about a black light for nighttimes? or can I leave a red bulb on all the time?

I usually have veiled's and have not had any problems, this is my first panther. He is about an inch long including the tail. I am calling him Biggie Smalls.

Now that he is in the fresh air he is boogying everywhere on the mesh. I will keep you updated. My biggest concern is food, so with just the liner i may be able to see poop, although he is so tiny I don't know what it will look like
Click to expand...

Ok you need a regular 5.0 reptisun long tube light...there have been very bad reports on those compact bulbs. Make sure there is a basking area for him where it reaches low 80s. No black light. Your other lights should be on a 12 hour on then 12 hour off each day. Dont be shocked if you need to change his name...its hard to tell sex at that age.
 
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