spatulars
New Member
I am concerned about my new ambilobe/ambanja cross panther chameleon, Walter. He was hatched in September and I have had him since December 20th (I think about three weeks). His breeder provided specific and helpful instructions that I have followed strictly because I wanted him to be healthy, but now I feel something must be amiss, and I would greatly appreciate any advice. I feel so bad for the little guy.
His environment:
-Screen Cage - 20" width, 24" length, 28" high (wood frame and not cricket proof) located in the otherwise ignored dining room furthest from the hall
-2.5 ft ficus - washed thoroughly in the shower at least a week before Walter's arrival. I heard it could be toxic but his breeder uses ficus, so I found him one. I changed the soil.
-4 or 5 med size flexible vines, and 1 of the small vines (washed before added)
-A reptile fake ivy plant to try to keep him off of the screen (also washed)
-A "Little Dripper" that goes over his plant to drip on the leaves
-newspaper on the bottom of his cage replaced daily
-50 watt Zoo Med basking bulb
-Reptisun 5.0 bulb
-Walter's lights come on at 10:45 am and go off 9:00 pm and are regulated by a timer
-90 - 95 degree (F) basking heat at the very top of the cage, 70 - 85 % humidity (seems to fluctuate depending on the day). I live in Texas and our weather has been strange lately. On the cold(ish) nights, the night temperature has been getting as low as 65 degrees, on the warmer nights the low in the house is around 70.
-I began misting the cage 3 times a day when he first arrived, but he seemed to prefer drinking from the dripper, and he did regularly. Now he tends to like drinking during misting more, and when he started acting more sluggish I started misting his cage 2 additional times per day, but I still only see him drink for maybe 30 seconds at a time.
Feeding:
-For now, small crickets purchased from Petsmart. It's a pretty clean store, but I know they do feed their crickets a mysterious green block, which I try to replace with my own gutloading.
-Gut-loaded with a dry mix of dry milk, unsalted nuts, bee pollen, rice baby cereal and supplemented with collard greens, melons, oranges, and prickly pear cactus... the recipe was forwarded to me from adcham via the breeder
-Dusters are Herpetivite Monday/Wednesday, RepCal with D3 Tuesday/Thursday, and then I give him a 50/50 mix on Saturdays
-I feed him in the morning, about 45 minutes to an hour after his lights come on, after I spray his cage. I let them roam free despite the fact that a few might be able to escape because Walter would not cup feed in the beginning.
-His feces seems to be firm (somewhat moist) with a small white tip and a long dark piece
My worries:
-About one week ago, he started eating less and going into his sleeping area much sooner. His lights go off at 9 pm but he might retire to his sleeping branch at the back of the cage at around 7. He doesn't do his "i'm a leaf" movement anymore, with the swaying. When I first started putting the crickets in the cage, he would notice them immediately, and start stalking immediately. He would eat between 6 and 8 crickets. I now no longer see him go after his crickets right away. I haven't personally seen him eat in 2 days. He has still been pooping well, but whether or not he is eating I don't know because his cage is not cricket proof, so the rest may be escaping. I thought he was looking very wrinkly yesterday and the day before, so I was making sure watch him drink fairly often, but he started shedding today and his skin looks healthy underneath. He didn't seem lethargic for the better half of today because he was rubbing himself everywhere he could to get his skin off, and he has been successful, except now he seems tired again. Right now he is in his sleeping branch.
-I figure that he could be suffering from stress related to his arrival in a new environment. I've been avoiding him as much as possible. I'm worried it could be something worse, but how will I take him to the vet? The only reason he will approach us is to get misted, but he's not used to being handled yet. What if I made his condition worse by trying to force him into a shoebox and causing him more stress? Is there anything I can do for him here?
I don't know, I feel like an over-worried parent or something. I already mistook one normal behavior (eye cleaning) for something bad, but he's too inactive during the day for me to just go without asking.
Thanks in advance mis amigos.
-Christen
His environment:
-Screen Cage - 20" width, 24" length, 28" high (wood frame and not cricket proof) located in the otherwise ignored dining room furthest from the hall
-2.5 ft ficus - washed thoroughly in the shower at least a week before Walter's arrival. I heard it could be toxic but his breeder uses ficus, so I found him one. I changed the soil.
-4 or 5 med size flexible vines, and 1 of the small vines (washed before added)
-A reptile fake ivy plant to try to keep him off of the screen (also washed)
-A "Little Dripper" that goes over his plant to drip on the leaves
-newspaper on the bottom of his cage replaced daily
-50 watt Zoo Med basking bulb
-Reptisun 5.0 bulb
-Walter's lights come on at 10:45 am and go off 9:00 pm and are regulated by a timer
-90 - 95 degree (F) basking heat at the very top of the cage, 70 - 85 % humidity (seems to fluctuate depending on the day). I live in Texas and our weather has been strange lately. On the cold(ish) nights, the night temperature has been getting as low as 65 degrees, on the warmer nights the low in the house is around 70.
-I began misting the cage 3 times a day when he first arrived, but he seemed to prefer drinking from the dripper, and he did regularly. Now he tends to like drinking during misting more, and when he started acting more sluggish I started misting his cage 2 additional times per day, but I still only see him drink for maybe 30 seconds at a time.
Feeding:
-For now, small crickets purchased from Petsmart. It's a pretty clean store, but I know they do feed their crickets a mysterious green block, which I try to replace with my own gutloading.
-Gut-loaded with a dry mix of dry milk, unsalted nuts, bee pollen, rice baby cereal and supplemented with collard greens, melons, oranges, and prickly pear cactus... the recipe was forwarded to me from adcham via the breeder
-Dusters are Herpetivite Monday/Wednesday, RepCal with D3 Tuesday/Thursday, and then I give him a 50/50 mix on Saturdays
-I feed him in the morning, about 45 minutes to an hour after his lights come on, after I spray his cage. I let them roam free despite the fact that a few might be able to escape because Walter would not cup feed in the beginning.
-His feces seems to be firm (somewhat moist) with a small white tip and a long dark piece
My worries:
-About one week ago, he started eating less and going into his sleeping area much sooner. His lights go off at 9 pm but he might retire to his sleeping branch at the back of the cage at around 7. He doesn't do his "i'm a leaf" movement anymore, with the swaying. When I first started putting the crickets in the cage, he would notice them immediately, and start stalking immediately. He would eat between 6 and 8 crickets. I now no longer see him go after his crickets right away. I haven't personally seen him eat in 2 days. He has still been pooping well, but whether or not he is eating I don't know because his cage is not cricket proof, so the rest may be escaping. I thought he was looking very wrinkly yesterday and the day before, so I was making sure watch him drink fairly often, but he started shedding today and his skin looks healthy underneath. He didn't seem lethargic for the better half of today because he was rubbing himself everywhere he could to get his skin off, and he has been successful, except now he seems tired again. Right now he is in his sleeping branch.
-I figure that he could be suffering from stress related to his arrival in a new environment. I've been avoiding him as much as possible. I'm worried it could be something worse, but how will I take him to the vet? The only reason he will approach us is to get misted, but he's not used to being handled yet. What if I made his condition worse by trying to force him into a shoebox and causing him more stress? Is there anything I can do for him here?
I don't know, I feel like an over-worried parent or something. I already mistook one normal behavior (eye cleaning) for something bad, but he's too inactive during the day for me to just go without asking.
Thanks in advance mis amigos.
-Christen
). If he is eating there will be a dark(fecal)part. Maybe order some silkworms, they don't move fast or escape too often.
