My 2 month old male panther is going into shadows to nap

[sterling archer]

Hi i just bought a two month old nosy faly chameleon on saturday, he has been doing well seems happy, he isn't eating as much as he should but i think thats because the new environment, i have a mist system and see him drink all the time. i read that chameleons should not sleep during the day and am a little worried. he isn't spending the whole day sleeping in the shadows but at least 2 hours yesterday and today, i also noticed its where he likes to sleep at night. is this strange? what should i do? i can send pics if necessary or any other info needed

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 2 month old male Nosy faly chameleon. Just got him saturday.
Handling - havnt yet
Feeding - Im feeding crickets? the first two days he ate about 4-6? i feed him at 7am 1 hr after lights come on? gut load with carrot potato apple and cricket drank?
Supplements - not sure if this is ok( monday:herptivite, tues: reptivite with d3, wed-sat:rep cal with d3) I'm not sure about this just researched online(open to suggestion)
Watering - I use a misting system on a cycle of every 3 hrs for 12 secs. and i see him drink all the time
Fecal Description - a little wet with white .never been tested for parasites
History -Just bought him on the weekend from all reptiles

Cage Info:
Cage Type - I use a screen cage 30x18x48
Lighting - zoo med 15w reptiglow 5.o uvb and exoterra daylight basking 100wat, lights are on 6am, 8pm
Temperature - basking spot: 90-95 ambient:70-80 lowest overnight temp is 60-70, electric thermo hydro combination
Humidity - 40-50% using a misting system on a cycle, electric thermo hydro combination
Plants - both live and fake i use a real hibiscus and real dreccenia
Placement - cage is in a secure spot a little traffic not high tho. about 6 feet off the ground
Location - toronto ontario canada

Current Problem - My little guy is taking couple hour naps at a time in the shade lower down in the cage

 

[AngieL]

Hi i just bought a two month old nosy faly chameleon on saturday, he has been doing well seems happy, he isn't eating as much as he should but i think thats because the new environment, i have a mist system and see him drink all the time. i read that chameleons should not sleep during the day and am a little worried. he isn't spending the whole day sleeping in the shadows but at least 2 hours yesterday and today, i also noticed its where he likes to sleep at night. is this strange? what should i do? i can send pics if necessary or any other info needed

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 2 month old male Nosy faly chameleon. Just got him saturday.
Handling - havnt yet
Feeding - Im feeding crickets? the first two days he ate about 4-6? i feed him at 7am 1 hr after lights come on? gut load with carrot potato apple and cricket drank?
Supplements - not sure if this is ok( monday:herptivite, tues: reptivite with d3, wed-sat:rep cal with d3) I'm not sure about this just researched online(open to suggestion)
Watering - I use a misting system on a cycle of every 3 hrs for 12 secs. and i see him drink all the time
Fecal Description - a little wet with white .never been tested for parasites
History -Just bought him on the weekend from all reptiles

Cage Info:
Cage Type - I use a screen cage 30x18x48
Lighting - zoo med 15w reptiglow 5.o uvb and exoterra daylight basking 100wat, lights are on 6am, 8pm
Temperature - basking spot: 90-95 ambient:70-80 lowest overnight temp is 60-70, electric thermo hydro combination
Humidity - 40-50% using a misting system on a cycle, electric thermo hydro combination
Plants - both live and fake i use a real hibiscus and real dreccenia
Placement - cage is in a secure spot a little traffic not high tho. about 6 feet off the ground
Location - toronto ontario canada

Current Problem - My little guy is taking couple hour naps at a time in the shade lower down in the cage

You need to use plain calcium daily. The d3 should be used once or twice a month and same for the multivitamin.

Also I think 12 seconds is a bit too short for the mistings. Maybe a couple of minutes would be better.

I think 100w bulb might be too much too? JMO

Edit: think the lights should be on a 12 hour cycle too?

 

[sterling archer]

You need to use plain calcium daily. The d3 should be used once or twice a month and same for the multivitamin.

Also I think 12 seconds is a bit too short for the mistings. Maybe a couple of minutes would be better.

I think 100w bulb might be too much too? JMO

Edit: think the lights should be on a 12 hour cycle too?

ok thanks, ill keep that in mind for the supplements, ill extend the misting too, as for the 100w it has a dial that i adjust so it keeps the basking spot 90-95 its not at full blast
you think the light has to do with the the hiding? or you think he is just getting used to the new setup?

 

[AngieL]

I'm pretty new myself! Just going by some great advice from the forum.

He might be hiding? Or maybe a combo of some of the little things that are not quite right?

Have you checked out any of the care sheets on here? They are really great

 

[sterling archer]

ya i have i used them to gather my research, he doesn't seem to be sleeping just hiding so at least he isn't sleeping during the day maybe he just thinks its too hot up there, i don't know ill keep an eye on him tho. think hell be ok?

 

[AngieL]

I don't know a lot about panthers as I have a veiled. Maybe someone with panther experience can help????

Hiding is pretty normal for chams though! My one hides from me!

Chameleons move from hot areas to cold ones do they can regulate thier body temperature, since they are cold blooded they can't warm up unless they have a heat source. As long as he's not gaping his mouth open, that's a sign of being too hot

 

[chameleonkev]

He will be to hot, I use either a 40 or 60 watt household bulb on top of all my vivs and there perfect for me

 

[charvey]

Being a young panther youre gonna want to drop that basking temp down to the mid 80's, our year old gets too hot if its over 90

 

[ZuggieTheCham]

My panther Cham has a 100w bulb in his enclosure but the light isn't sat directly on the mesh its clamped on the side and looking down onto the cage his temps stay at around 84-86 he likes it like that !

 

[shackleford]

sterling archer: 2 month old male Nosy faly chameleon. Just got him saturday.
Lighting - zoo med 15w reptiglow 5.o uvb and exoterra daylight basking 100wat, lights are on 6am, 8pm
Temperature - basking spot: 90-95 ambient:70-80 lowest overnight temp is 60-70, electric thermo hydro combination

Hi sterling archer, I have a 3 month old panther and keep the basking spot between 84-86 degrees. At 2 months I kept the basking spot between 83-85. As adults the basking spot can be 90-95.

Lights on 6am - 8pm should be reduced to 12 hours. In the winter months this can be reduced to 10. This may be why your boy is hiding for periods of the day.

Angiel: You need to use plain calcium daily. The d3 should be used once or twice a month and same for the multivitamin.

^ This is great advice. A quick search on "supplementation" will provide you with tons of reading from chameleonforums.com.https://www.chameleonforums.com/search.php?searchid=1977348

It's a steep learning curve but you seem like you're up to the challange, you found this site and that's a major step in the right direction!

 

[sterling archer]

My basking lamp is on a stand not directly on mesh, and ok ill lover the watage on the dial see if that helps also ill try reduceing the light time just with my work shedule i didnt want it to be dark before im home, he seems happy , although he is grttin used to things

 

[sterling archer]

Like maybe his old light schedule is still trippin him out from the pet shop

 

[shackleford]

i didnt want it to be dark before im home, he seems happy.

He doesn't need the lights on until you get home. He needs darkness for healthy sleep and eating habits. The 14 hour light cycle you have him on is possibly what is "trippin him out".

There are many sites that discuss 12 hour sleep cycle:
http://www.chameleonsnorthwest.com/caresheet.htm
http://www.chameleonkingdom.com/The Chameleon Kingdom Caresheet.pdf
http://theluckychameleon.com/caresheet/chameleon_temperature.php
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/veiled-and-panther-chameleon-care-101.html

 

[sterling archer]

No man i meant i dont want the lights off before im home (5-6 pm) so i can give him the second half of his crickets, anyhow i adjusted the timer to allow a 12 hr cycle also i brought down the basking temp ill test it for a day or two n see whats goin on, also he doesnt seem to like eatin outa his cup, hell eat any cricket thats crosses his path tho. I just worry that he is eating enough too will this take a little time( he just came home with me saturday)

 

[EKEKO]

At this point you are stressing out more than your cham. You are making adjustments that will make his organism function better. Remember to change that Calcium with D3 to twice a month and pure Calcium no D3 daily. The wattage of your bulb is not what matters in this situation, specially if you have a dimmer. Place your light at different heights to adjust temperatures within the enclosure...Monitor the temps(basking spot is key) with a thermometer or even better a thermo gun.

From personal experience younglings tend to sleep a little more than juveniles or sub adults. Only my opinion. So relax, make the adjustment and enjoy your new chameleon. Post some pictures.

 

[sterling archer]

ok thanks and will do on the suppliment adjustments as for pics i got a couple I'm having trouble uploading them tho so ill post links let me k now if these work. the first one is him in his dark hiding spot that he keeps going back to

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...139709105316.115260.1642560135&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...139709105316.115260.1642560135&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...139709105316.115260.1642560135&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...139709105316.115260.1642560135&type=1&theater

 

[sterling archer]

Do those help?