New 1.5 year old Panther - Not eating

[meaney6]

I have a new panther that is about 1.5 years old and is not eating. I've had him for about 2.5 weeks and haven't gotten him to eat anything. I got him from a friend who traded for him (i know, not the best way to obtain a cham) but I thought I could provide a better home than what he had previously. I've offered him crickets, super worms, mealworms, dubia roaches, & waxworms. He is drinking water but that is it. He was starting to shed when I got him, so I thought the combo of new surroundings/shedding would make him not want to eat but now I'm getting a little worried. Its driving me a little crazy because he is big, he has eaten a lot of something before but nothin from me! The lack of info to find out anything from his past life is also making this hard. He looks great, has been moving around, and I have been getting him outside as much as possible for some sunlight. I have a double wide reptibreeze large cage (combined 2 into 1) with a basking temperature of 95 on one side of the cage and about 82 in the middle/other side of the cage. I'm misting twice/three times a day and I leave an ice cube on top of the cage (my dropper system) twice a day as well. If anyone has any feedback or suggestions or ideas on how to get him to eat it would be much appreciated!

Thank you

 

[meaney6]

Here are a few photos

 

[MamatoElvis]

How are you feeding him? Is he still pooping? If you are just toss feeders in maybe he's eating some but just not in front of you. I love the double setup, lots of room. I do think he needs more horizontal branches going from top to bottom. Like a latter system. There is a whole bunch of places in his enclosure that he can't reach. Maybe he's having a tough time hunting because he can't reach everywhere.

 

[junglefries]

Newly transplanted chams get very stressed. So, no handling or hovering if possible. Try a flying feeder, such as moth or butterfly. If not available, a praying mantis, indian walking stick, or grasshopper. That usually gets them back to feeding. I would lower the 95°f basking spot down to 87° f tops. Males prefer maybe about 5°f cooler than females usually. 85°f is the highest my guys ever see. Make sure to offer as much water as possible during his hunger strike. They tend not to like very cold water, so you can do away with the ice cube. Needs more foliage and horizontal branches for cage. Probably stressful. Good luck.

Look up Nick Barta on this site. See if you can get a small sample pack of feeders from him to try. He is in Washington, so they can get there quickly.

 

[carol5208]

Would definitely add some more foilage in there. 2.5 weeks is a long time not to eat. Are you positive he is not eating?. When I took in a chameleon that was around 4 yrs old, he did not eat for 11 days. I think he was so used to his old habitat and surroundings that it just really freaked him out being in a new place. I am not sure that is the case here though.

 

[meaney6]

Great, thanks everyone for the advice. I've thrown the crickets in cage to see if the movement would spark him, and I've had everything else in cups so i could keep track of consumption but he hasn't been interested. He might have eaten a cricket or too but he isn't pooping and i know thats not good. One interesting thing i noticed is 2 separate times he has puffed up at the cup of small dubias, probably the size of dimes, different cup each time. Ive tried feeding bigger ones and he was acknowledging but not interested in eating them. but i need to find some flyers!

 

[MamatoElvis]

Mantis place has Blue bottle flies. They are inexpensive and my guy can't resist them. I would really work on the branching and foliage though. That might be the biggest issue if he doesn't feel safe and comfortable. My enclosure is nothing fancy but it will give you an idea of how to branch it. This was when I first moved him into his large enclosure. The plants are a little sparse because they were new and hadn't filled out the enclosure yet.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Sorry the photo disappeared.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Sorry, a little to sleepy.

 

[MamatoElvis]

I realized I posted his small enclosure. Here is the large one. Although either one should give you an idea about branching. Sorry again, I'm a huge moron.

 

[Wowbango]

Mantis place has Blue bottle flies. They are inexpensive and my guy can't resist them. I would really work on the branching and foliage though. That might be the biggest issue if he doesn't feel safe and comfortable. My enclosure is nothing fancy but it will give you an idea of how to branch it. This was when I first moved him into his large enclosure. The plants are a little sparse because they were new and hadn't filled out the enclosure yet.

Agreed! He's already stressed about the move and new environment, and when you throw in the fact that he doesn't have anywhere to hide and feels like he's always in the open, that'll make it worse. Definitely a lot more foliage and horizontal branches. If he's a shy eater (which he likely will be...you're new, he doesn't know you) he won't eat while exposed. The plants will help.

 

[JamesBryan]

I would try lowering the basking spot to between 85-90f.

95f might be a little too high for him and that's why he's drinking more.

 

[MarieMc44]

Background imagery

Also, another thing that could be stressing him out is all those photos in the background watching him every second... It could be a be a bit daunting and stressful for a chameleon, let alone a human!!

 

[meaney6]

thanks for the photos. I used a bunch of fake tree branches to cover the top corner of the cage, he woke up this morning crawled right up there and pooped! I don't know what he ate but he ate something! thanks for everyones help so far, its workin!