Lack of Energy

[Tydis]

Cage dimensions (L x W x H)? 12x18x20
Cage location? On top of an unused entertainment center.
Ambient room temperature range (using a thermometer for accuracy)? 72
Materials cage is made from (i.e. screen, glass, a combination of both, wood, etc.)? screen with plastic bottom
Substrate on cage bottom (if any)? N/A
Type(s) of plants inside the enclosure (was anything new introduced into his/her environment over the past several weeks?) 4 small plants from Petco, didn't say what kind but they said they were reptile safe and a larger ficus.
Type(s) of branches or vines used? Two Fluker's bend-a-branches.
Brand and wattage of UVA/UVB source? Reptisun 5.0 Tube
Brand and wattage of heat source? 75w basking bulb. I believe it is a zoo-med.
Light/heat cycle (i.e. 10 hrs. a day, 12 hours a day) Both 10 hours a day, from 7 - 5.
Any lights or heat used at night? No
Using a thermometer to determine (no guessing or approximating), what are the temperature ranges inside the cage (highs & lows) - including directly under the heat source at the highest point your chameleon would be able to bask. 86 at basking point, 70 on far end.
Method of watering (i.e. misting, dripping, both . . .water fall, etc.) Frequent misting with warm water and dripping.
How often is he/she watered each day (once, twice, more?) Mist two to three times a day, the big dripper drips until its empty, usually when its lights out.
Diet - Foods you are giving him/her (what types and how often?) Just ran out of my silkworms, been back to 1/4th" crickets.
Are the insects free range fed, or offered in a cup? Free range fed.
Feeder insect diet (i.e. what are the crickets and other insects eating?) Flukers high calcium cricket feed, dandelion greens and orages.
Supplementation (brands, amounts used, schedule of usage) RepCal with D3 Monday Thursday, Herptavite Tuesday Friday, MinerAll-O Wednesday Saturday
Excrement - Does he/she poop regularly and if so, does it appear normal or running, discolored or unusually smelly? All is normal here
Activity level (i.e. normal & alert, sleepy & lethargic?) Usually he is normal and alert, starting about 4 days ago he became much less active, he was about to shed to I figured that was normal. He then finished his shed but he is still taking longer to get up in the mornings and is much less active during the day. I just cleaned at rearranged his enclosure about two days ago. Could he still be adjusting? Would that somehow explain him taking longer to get up in the morning?
Any unusual behaviors you have noticed? Much less active, longer to wake up in the morning, slight brown coloration on his head.
Handling (how often & for how long of a period?) Basically none.


~4 month old male Nosy-Be.

I am worried about the lack of activity.

 

[Julirs]

Everything looks good in your husbandry and feeding. Could be just adjusting, getting older, and changing his habits. What do you mean by brown spot on his head?
You might want to back off on the D3 and get some Reptical without it to use.

 

[pedro92]

Are you offering Calcium dusted feeders. Can you post any pics.

 

[Tydis]

Everything looks good in your husbandry and feeding. Could be just adjusting, getting older, and changing his habits. What do you mean by brown spot on his head?
You might want to back off on the D3 and get some Reptical without it to use.

The top of his crest (I dunno what you call it on a panther) is just a more brown coloration than it used to be pre-shed. It does not look like a burn.

Are you offering Calcium dusted feeders. Can you post any pics.

Yes he is getting calcium, and I should be able to post pictures later today, I need to go on a scavenger hunt for my usb cable.



On the plus side he is eating like normal today, I think he just needed to get hungry enough to eat crickets instead of silkies.

My main concern is waking up 1-2.5 hours after i turn the lights on.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

To quote Dave Weldon: "What part of the world are you in?"

-Brad

 

[Kent67]

My main concern is waking up 1-2.5 hours after i turn the lights on.

Where's he sleeping? Deep inside foliage or someplace where direct light is coming down on him from above? Reptiles have a parietal eye on the top of their heads for sensing light conditions and I have noticed at times that ambient light coming from their side won't necessarily wake them while low light from directly above will.

Eating is about the best sign, so hopefully everything's alright.

 

[Tydis]

To quote Dave Weldon: "What part of the world are you in?"

-Brad

Suburb of Dallas Texas.

Where's he sleeping? Deep inside foliage or someplace where direct light is coming down on him from above? Reptiles have a parietal eye on the top of their heads for sensing light conditions and I have noticed at times that ambient light coming from their side won't necessarily wake them while low light from directly above will.

Eating is about the best sign, so hopefully everything's alright.

Before the cage rearrange he was sleeping out in the open, after he is usually deep in the ficus.

P.S. Thanks for all the quick replies, he has been eating and much more active today, he must have just taken time getting used to the rearranged enclosure.
I think it was a matter of him finding where the water was dripping from now.
I will be sure to keep you all updated.

 

[dodolah]

how big is the cham (snout to vent length)?

 

[PardalisGirl]

Adjusting........

My chams are going through a slight seasonal change here. The days are darker because of our rainy weather. Even if it's not raining the days are shorter and it gets dark earlier. Even though they all have good cage lighting and overall room lighting, I know they can sense the lighting outside. They are all in rooms with lots of windows. I am home all day and I feel the change myself. Most of them are a little slower waking up in the morning and they do go to sleep a little earlier. I know you have much better weather in Dallas, but it still must get dark earlier now.

My chams also went through an adjustment caused by the recent silkworm shortage. Mine were used to getting silkworms every day along with crickets and other things. They love the silkworms. Hornworms are not loved nearly as much. The silkworm virus has been going around and I have not been able to buy the large sizes of silkworms like I could before. I don't have the patience to grow them up from the small size. So my chams have gone without them. They were not happy for over a week. They would look at me expectantly for the silkworms and then pass up the crickets they were given instead. I took a week for them to get over the silkworm thing.

Just keep a close eye on your boy and make sure he does not get thin or look dehydrated. Maybe some other food choices will perk him up. You can do the hornworms or butterworms for a change

 

[Brad Ramsey]

My chams are going through a slight seasonal change here. The days are darker because of our rainy weather. Even if it's not raining the days are shorter and it gets dark earlier. Even though they all have good cage lighting and overall room lighting, I know they can sense the lighting outside. They are all in rooms with lots of windows. I am home all day and I feel the change myself. Most of them are a little slower waking up in the morning and they do go to sleep a little earlier. I know you have much better weather in Dallas, but it still must get dark earlier now.

See, this is what I was thinking.
We're definitely experiencing winter slow down here.
Kitty takes forever to decide to head up to bask in the morning and his food intake and pooping (metabolism) is slow, slow, slow.
He pooped this morning for the first time this week!
He's absolutely fine .... just using a lot less energy this time of year.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I just took a picture of my "slow metabolism boy" ... he just decided now to come up to the top of the enclosure ... it's 12:15 p.m. here, lights have been on since 7:00 a.m.

-Brad

 

[PardalisGirl]

Wish I was Kitty

I wish I could be Kitty and start things rolling at noon Yawn........ On the flip side of the seasonal thing......I also have a bunch of Crested geckos which are nocturnal. They usually sleep hidden in the plants until the cage light goes off at 10:00 pm. They have changed during the last month or so and don't wait for the lights to go off. On stormy days when the house is darker, some of them will start foraging around as early as 4:00 pm.

P.S. I like the long and lanky looking shot of Kitty. Nice body shape.....

 

[Tydis]

how big is the cham (snout to vent length)?

Around two inches.



And Brad and Catherine, thank you so much for the reassurance.

 

[dodolah]

i see... i am guessing it probably due to winter season.
at first, i thought the cage might be to small.
but, since he's only 2" SVL.. then that's definitely not it.

 

[Kevin1873]

Well I think we all kinda get the same way during the winter time. I know as far as I go, during the winter time it takes me a heck of a lot longer to wake up and i can't wait to go to bed. hehe. Maybe the winter is having an affect on the little guy's as well. When things start warming up i'll be time to bounce around and burn off some of that energy.