Is my panther chameleon too small?

[Arlo The Cham]

To preface, this is my first post, and I’m a new keeper. My darling baby boy, Arlo is a panther chameleon. I believe he’s about 10 months old, but I’m not certain. He eats like a champ, his urates look normal, and he overall acts like a normal chameleon. My concern is that he’s too small/he isn’t growing very fast. I’m following the husbandry guide from Chameleon Academy. I’m trying to get him into a vet, but Lord knows that it’s quite the task. It may be nothing, but I’m still going to worry

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Do you by any chance know how much Arlo weighs? It’s hard to judge size without some sort of common reference item next to him.

 

[Mark_C]

FYI, my guy is on the small side as well.
Healthy, eats, active (mostly), all good. Just smallish.
Maybe it's not uncommon?
He's 7" without tail and weighs in at 6.7oz

 

[Arlo The Cham]

Hi and welcome! Do you by any chance know how much Arlo weighs? It’s hard to judge size without some sort of common reference item next to him.

I haven’t weighted him before, but he’s about 7” from head to the base of his tail

 

[MzLaurie11]

Hello! Arlo looks well portportioned to me an healthy as well. He may be small but still has some growing to do. Is he on a daily juvenile diet still or have you switched him to an adult diet?

 

[Arlo The Cham]

Hello! Arlo looks well portportioned to me an healthy as well. He may be small but still has some growing to do. Is he on a daily juvenile diet still or have you switched him to an adult diet?

Still eating 10-15 daily. I haven’t switched him yet because I want him to keep growing

 

[redhorse]

Nice looking--- can you share where you got him from? Thanks!

 

[Arlo The Cham]

Nice looking--- can you share where you got him from? Thanks!

I got him from a breeder off of Morph Market. In hindsight, it definitely wasn’t the best decision, but here we are!

 

[redhorse]

That is fine, I am working with a veiled and have a male that is 1/4 the size of his siblings at 1 year old (time flies).
My guess is he is a slow grower or just going to be a small panther. Keep up the good job!

 

[MissSkittles]

I haven’t weighted him before, but he’s about 7” from head to the base of his tail

That seems like a decent size. Panthers are slower growers than veiled and he probably has a little more growth in him. He looks healthy and like @redhorse said, he may be a smaller cham or just growing at his own pace.

 

[MzLaurie11]

I have a female panther named Rosie that I rescued. I dont know her exact age but she laid 10 eggs about a month after i got her and in the five months i have had her she has only grown one inch. She is now 6 1\2 inches long. If all the females stay this petite how do they mate with the bigger male panthers? next to my male vieled she looks tiny. He would definetly break her if i gave him the chance. maybe the males need to stay small so they can successfully mate when they are young!

 

[Beman]

Hey there have you had a fecal sample tested to ensure he is not carrying a parasite load? For the amounts he is eating daily I would expect him to be more muscular and filled out than he is. When they are carrying a parasite load this can impact their growth rate.

 

[Arlo The Cham]

Hey there have you had a fecal sample tested to ensure he is not carrying a parasite load? For the amounts he is eating daily I would expect him to be more muscular and filled out than he is. When they are carrying a parasite load this can impact their growth rate.

I just took him into the vet, and they said he looks fine, but they so want me to bring a sample for them to look at. I’ll post an update when I get the results

 

[Beman]

I just took him into the vet, and they said he looks fine, but they so want me to bring a sample for them to look at. I’ll post an update when I get the results

Sounds good. Take in a fresh one. The fresher the better for testing it. This is the only thing I would rule out to ensure it is normal growth for his genetics and not an underlying issue like parasites.