NEED HELP!

[kakachameleon]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 1-2 month old blue bar Ambilobe Panther Chameleon MALE (got 2 days ago)
• Handling - 3x a day
• Feeding - 5 flightless fruit flies, 10 baby crickets, 4 small mealworms free roaming a day
• Supplements - exoterra calcium, we left the insects in the cage, free roam
• Watering - DIY water bottle dripper and mister for now
• Fecal Description - all white from what we've found

Cage Info:

• Cage Type 18x18x36 Zoo med glass for now
• Lighting - 65w basking lamp, exoterra coiled bulb 25w each (2)
• Temperature- stays at about 65-70 degrees with 55-60 humidity using the zoo med thermometer placed in the middle
• Plants- umbrella plant
• Placement - Front of window
• Location Clarksville TN

Current Problem - not eating enough. Yesterday only ate 1 mealworm and cricket. Today 1 fruitfly. (What we have witnessed at least.)

 

[kakachameleon]

Here's the pics

 

[kakachameleon]

Here's the cage

 

[urawrath]

Where did you get him from? he is very small and probably shouldn't have been sold yet at a month old. You probably want to get him in something smaller so he can find the food easier.

 

[jpowell86]

urawrath is correct. While I can see that you put effort in to the current setup, it is much too large for a chameleon this size. I would recommend putting him a tote/container of some kind. There is another OP that has the exact same issues right now. I wonder if you bought your chameleon from the same breeder. He was too young to be sold, IMO.

When you downgrade the size of his enclosure, it will be easy to maintain the proper levels of husbandry needed for the little guy and it will also be much easier for him to find his food!

 

[kakachameleon]

Is this better? Can we leave it inside the cage?

 

[urawrath]

Heres the link to the thread with the person in your same situation. It says how to set the tub up and everything
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/2-baby-panthers.146927/

 

[kakachameleon]

Is this better?

 

[urawrath]

IMHO I wouldn't leave him in there currently because he is not eating much. downgrading to the tub with be much easier for the both of you and he can stay in there for several months to make sure he is established and can then move into the bigger cage that you have setup

 

[MelissaB]

I see in your first post that you're handling him 3x's a day. In my opinion, that is WAY too much, especially since you recently got him and how young/small he is. Every time you handle him, you're going to stress him, even if you can't "see" that he's stressed. I would leave him be, and let him get used to his new home.

 

[Leo Chance]

Our baby chameleons are kept in a 16 x16 x 24 reptibreeze cage and fed 50 or so flightless fruit flies twice a day.
The cage is small enough for them to find their food. We do not try to handle them until they are ready to move to a larger cage or be separated.
Some one mentioned that your chameleon was too small to sell. We bought a Jackson that was less than a week old when it was shipped. Way smaller than a cricket. It all worked out, but I wish sellers would hold them a little longer sometimes.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I see in your first post that you're handling him 3x's a day. In my opinion, that is WAY too much, especially since you recently got him and how young/small he is. Every time you handle him, you're going to stress him, even if you can't "see" that he's stressed. I would leave him be, and let him get used to his new home.

Aside from the stress--and don't underestimate the effect of stress--a chameleon as tiny as this has very thin skin and is very, very fragile. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by handling him and much risk.

One of the defense responses of a chameleon is to simply drop from a branch. Anytime you handle him, you are risking him leaping off into space. They are very fragile, so if they are struggling in your hands, you can easily crush them trying to stop them from escaping or committing suicide. Your "grab" reflex will be instinctual and you might crush/injure them before you can stop yourself. As a kid, I used to catch a lot of little fragile animals and it is a real skill to be able to capture/hold a tiny struggling animal without hurting it. I no longer trust myself to have that kind of fine motor control of my hands.

 

[kinyonga]

Is one of the lights a UVB?

What is the temperature in the basking area??

 

[oneillchameleons]

it looks like the light are sitting on the outside of the glass? UVB cannot penetrate through glass, if you do in fact have a UVB bulb. Also jajeanpierre and melissab are absolutely right about handling. Especially at his young age, I would handle as little as possible (or not at all) until he has settled in and grown.