How does Zkittlez look?

[Thelizardking81]

Good morning Friends. This is zkittlez. He is a male panther ambilobe x capt est x sambava
He is a little over a year old. He has a great enclosure set up, all the fixings. I’ve noticed the last week he has been pretty stationery in his enclosure. He is eating regularly crickets dusted w calcium and with D3 once a week. Occasional super worms as treats. pooping regularly. I feel like he could be drinking more water. Just curious if he looks okay to some of the more experienced owners here. His color seems a bit dull, maybe shedding approaching. Maybe dehydrated? His eyes seem a little sunken to me, but I’m not super skilled in recognizing some of these things. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[SteveH]

He might just be a the winter funk or getting ready to shed. What is your hydration method and schedule ? For my panther I use Reptical without D3 every feeding and RepashyLoD once a month, what supplements are you using ?

 

[Thelizardking81]

I keep his water dropper full, and I have been slacking on the cage misting the last couple of weeks. His daily supplements are Flukers Calcium without D3, and his once every other week is ReptiCalcium w D3. He has been without his red heat lamp the last couple weeks, it just arrived yesterday. Just changed his Blue daytime bulb, and his new T8 fluorescent is arriving Tuesday.

 

[Thelizardking81]

I keep his water dropper full, and I have been slacking on the cage misting the last couple of weeks. His daily supplements are Flukers Calcium without D3, and his once every other week is ReptiCalcium w D3. He has been without his red heat lamp the last couple weeks, it just arrived yesterday. Just changed his Blue daytime bulb, and his new T8 fluorescent is arriving Tuesday.

I keep the house around 70-76 degrees always, day and night. It’s a small tiny home. I just notice his skin when pinched softly stays creased. I have been spraying the last couple days again, the first day, he drank from the sprayer and leaves in enclosure quite a bit. But haven’t noticed him drinking from his Big Dripper a lot. He has been staying on the same branch in his enclosure the last couple weeks, about in the middle, pretty guarded by plants. I just took him out today, he isn’t puffing at me, just seems a little slow. But he has also gotten more comfortable with handlings finally

 

[Thelizardking81]

This is where he like to chill when he’s out of the enclosure. He just chills in the window

 

[SteveH]

Ok there a a few things that you will want to change, aim for mid 60s for nighttime temps, run a fogger/humidifier at night to get 80-100% humidity. T8 uvb will work with the basking branch around 5in. from the top as it doesn't penetrate into the enclosure enough and so T5HO is recommended. Here is a link that I highly recommend for panthers care ... https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/

 

[Thelizardking81]

Awesome! Will get a humidifier going asap, and drop nighttime temps in the house. Lights are positioned correctly. Other than that, would you say he looks healthy?

 

[SteveH]

Awesome! Will get a humidifier going asap, and drop nighttime temps in the house. Lights are positioned correctly. Other than that, would you say he looks healthy?

He looks pretty good and with a few of the changes it should show

 

[Thelizardking81]

He looks pretty good and with a few of the changes it should show

Thank you very much

 

[Thelizardking81]

Here is another picture I just took. He just seems slow and his eyes aren’t as wide open, like he’s sleepy. His color is dull. Are his eyes considerably sunken in? This pic is better lighting to see him without excess shadow. Usually when I would try to handle him, he would puff up and open mouth. Now he just kinda lets me grab him.

 

[MissSkittles]

I keep his water dropper full, and I have been slacking on the cage misting the last couple of weeks. His daily supplements are Flukers Calcium without D3, and his once every other week is ReptiCalcium w D3. He has been without his red heat lamp the last couple weeks, it just arrived yesterday. Just changed his Blue daytime bulb, and his new T8 fluorescent is arriving Tuesday.

Hi. In addition to what @SteveH has said…. No red lights ever…they harm sensitive chameleon eyes. No lights in at night. For basking just use a regular old fashioned incandescent bulb or halogen. LED puts off no heat. Are you using a multivitamin? If not, try one like ReptiVite without D3, which would be used one feeding every other week (alternating with your D3). It‘s one of the few that has preformed vitamin A, which is good for cham eyes.

 

[Thelizardking81]

No red light ever? I’ve never been told that? Even by the specialist breeder that sold me him that is very prominent in breeding community out of Orange County. Who told you no red light ever, if I may ask? I’m more concerned about dehydration. As I stated above, yes I use supplements. Please read above thread for I named them both and routine. This pic is right now, and I’ve never seen him do this odd bright coloration patch just on one spot. I’m really worried about him.

 

[MissSkittles]

dusted w calcium and with D3 once a week.

daily supplements are Flukers Calcium without D3, and his once every other week is ReptiCalcium w D3.

Is he getting the calcium with D3 weekly or every other week? The D3 should be once every other week. If it’s weekly, he’s getting too much and since it’s fat soluble, it builds up in the body. Could be one reason he isn’t feeling 100%.
What about a multivitamin? He needs that as well as the calcium and D3. If he isn’t getting one, again may be a reason he isn’t feeling well.

I have been slacking on the cage misting the last couple of weeks

Not at all to sound rude, but you’re concerned he’s dehydrated. Drippers are fine, but misting twice daily at least for 2 minutes each time is important/essential. No more slacking off. If need be, invest in an automated misting system. To help get him better hydrated now, get some juicy hornworms or silkworms.
I have to ask, how are you feeding/gutloading his feeder insects? That is just as important as everything else. Feeding him a variety of well fed and healthy bugs will provide him better nutrition. Here’s a couple of graphics below that may help.
I know that you’ve said you’ve had him and he’s been fine for the past 2 years. My intentions are to help you to find why he isn’t feeling well and correct it and NOT to insult you or be mean/rude. I would suggest reading thru this https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ just to be 200% certain that you have everything as perfect as possible.
Regarding the red light - honestly have no idea who specifically I learned it from as it was one of the very first things I learned about keeping my chameleon. Here’s just one source. https://www.chameleons.info/l/never-use-red-light-at-night-for-chameleons/

 

[MzLaurie11]

Personally, i think his eyes are a bit sunken. So dehydration is very possible. i have trained mine to drink from a syringe and give him a couple of syringe full every three days. So must take into consideration that its winter and the heat we have in our homes rises to the ceiling. Since our cages are up high, it may be warmer up there. It also makes the air drier. You should go back to your old misting routine and maybe fog latenight early morn to replicate it in the wild. Heaters for cages , red lights or other, arenot needed at night as long as the room temp doesnt drop below 50. chams are cold blooded and during sleep their bodies adjust and do its healiing.

 

[Thelizardking81]

Is he getting the calcium with D3 weekly or every other week? The D3 should be once every other week. If it’s weekly, he’s getting too much and since it’s fat soluble, it builds up in the body. Could be one reason he isn’t feeling 100%.
What about a multivitamin? He needs that as well as the calcium and D3. If he isn’t getting one, again may be a reason he isn’t feeling well.

Not at all to sound rude, but you’re concerned he’s dehydrated. Drippers are fine, but misting twice daily at least for 2 minutes each time is important/essential. No more slacking off. If need be, invest in an automated misting system. To help get him better hydrated now, get some juicy hornworms or silkworms.
I have to ask, how are you feeding/gutloading his feeder insects? That is just as important as everything else. Feeding him a variety of well fed and healthy bugs will provide him better nutrition. Here’s a couple of graphics below that may help.
I know that you’ve said you’ve had him and he’s been fine for the past 2 years. My intentions are to help you to find why he isn’t feeling well and correct it and NOT to insult you or be mean/rude. I would suggest reading thru this https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ just to be 200% certain that you have everything as perfect as possible.
Regarding the red light - honestly have no idea who specifically I learned it from as it was one of the very first things I learned about keeping my chameleon. Here’s just one source. https://www.chameleons.info/l/never-use-red-light-at-night-for-chameleons/
View attachment 333602View attachment 333603

His d3 is every other week, I mistyped the first response there. His supplements are good, I can tell that isn’t the issue. His feedings are also not the issue. I use leafy greens and carrots for gut loading, and his appetite is healthy. I ordered a humidifier last night, a small one that you place in a bottle of water that runs off and on for 8 hours to help with the moisture and humidity. Not rude at all, I admitted to slacking and now and have been back to misting his cage with the sprayer. Temperature has already been addressed also, and removed the red light completely. Also working on getting better husbandry for his enclosure. Ordered live plants instead of the silk that they sold me at pet store last year. I will keep you all updated on his progress. He seems a bit more lively today already after being misted throughout the day yesterday. Thank you

 

[Thelizardking81]

This is today. His temps last night were much cooler. Between 62-66. Slept without the red light. This patch of his vibrancy has not left. Has anyone seen this before? Those colors are only right there. He just seems slow today. Thank you for the help guys

 

[bruce the cham]

No red light ever? I’ve never been told that? Even by the specialist breeder that sold me him that is very prominent in breeding community out of Orange County. Who told you no red light ever, if I may ask? I’m more concerned about dehydration. As I stated above, yes I use supplements. Please read above thread for I named them both and routine. This pic is right now, and I’ve never seen him do this odd bright coloration patch just on one spot. I’m really worried about him.

red lights arnt recomended

 

[Thelizardking81]

red lights arnt recomended

Thank you, removed the Red light!

 

[Multivitamins]

This is today. His temps last night were much cooler. Between 62-66. Slept without the red light. This patch of his vibrancy has not left. Has anyone seen this before? Those colors are only right there. He just seems slow today. Thank you for the help guys View attachment 333611

The splash of color is interesting. My panther had a phase where he was totally blue and green then went almost dull colors and transformed to red. Unexpected to say the least. I added a led plant light and it seemed to really liven up my chameleons activity and colors.

Hopefully time will tell plenty of info to digest in the comments above. Best of luck

 

[MissSkittles]

No idea about the color splash. It is unusual to say the least. @SteveH have you seen anything like this or have any idea?