New panther baby and eating habits...

[Nick429255]

Hello. New to the forums! Seems like valuable info on here with knowledgeable people so I'll ask my question... I've owned panthers in the past, but it was a long time ago. I just recently got back into it and picked up a Ambanja/Ambiloble cross morph from Kammerflage Kreations about 5 days ago. He arrived great, (in fact the picture I posted was taken about 10 min after I got him out of the box). My question/concern is he's not eating a whole heck of a lot. He did eat 2 or 3 crickets in front of me the day after he arrived and I think he ate a few when I wasn't around. I also witnessed him sippin water off the leaves of the umbrella plant I have in there. But would it be normal for him to not eat for a day or two?

I was concerned he wasn't able to see the food dishes I'm using(two 3" diameter plastic dishes at different heights), so I kind of "positioned" it sort of in from of him thinking maybe he just wasn't seeing the food, and he didn't seem interested. The food dishes are clear so he can see the cricket movement from different angles, and I did thin out the plant pretty good so he could see through it if needed.

As far as physical looks, he has no sunken eyes, normal coloring (actually has greens and reds peeking through already). Darker colors at night. Acts on the offensive when I reach in the cage like a normal little guy would. Temps around 70-78. I have a repti-sun 5.0 on during the day with a basking lamp as well. I mist him 3-4 times a day. I could just be over worried, but I know these animals are finiky and I've been out of the game for a while so I'm looking for a second opinion. He also has been kinda sleepy during the day, which I know could mean illness, but everything else seems in order?

I was also considering placing the cage right out on my patio table in the morning when the sun would be out on him and a bit of a breeze. It's fairly warm in the AM where I live. Soooo...if anyone has any ideas or if I should just wait it out and see if things pick up, just throw it out there.

 

[lizardboy119796]

Welcome to the forums! Awesome panther you got their!

He may just have to get use to his habitat, leave him alone for a week or two, and he will like you a lot more if you go near his cage with food

As for sunning, Im sure he would love it, but, again, I would leave him for a bit, let him get use to his new home.
A lot of the experts on here will probably tell you, A huge amount of them have over worried, it happens a lot with such a delicate animal as a chameleon, but, Im sure you will do great with him, maybe some more pics? Of his cage and things?

 

[rnara002]

He should be ok sometimes is takes a couple of days to get used to his new home.

 

[ChrisnLisa]

Switch the feeding cup to one that is not clear. Your chameleon may not recognize the barrier, causing hm to shoot his tongue at the outside of the cup. This could cause injury, or deter him from eating because of the lack of success. Chameleons can take a few days to adjust to their new surrounding, so I am sure he is fine. Just switch out that cup. As far as basking outside, your cham would love that!! Just be sure to make sure temps don't get to high, and to keep him hydrated. Good luck!

 

[TreelionsUK]

Dont worry,The only thing that matters atm is keeping an eye on the stools forget about watching him eat and dont clean the viv too much once a week is fine...just montior his waste and dont stress about not seeing him eat,i would feed your baby "free range" as it sometimes takes a while to get used to cup feeding and they will often lose weight until they are hungry enough to start using the cup.
Keep the stress levels down by misting once in the morning,add food and leave him to it,I know it's hard but try not to "hover" over him,he'll get freeked out.
You'll be fine he looks great and if your really worried hatch some flies for him these wont go uneaten i promise you

 

[Nick429255]

Thanks for all of th reponses! The breeders also said that he was eating free range as a baby. I'll try to toss a few crickets in there and just let them roam around I suppose. I just hope he is able to see them! I posted a couple pictures of his enclosure also...

 

[chambabysitter1]

I would get a little plant stand for your planter. Bugs love to crawl under there and die. Same with the water collection dish.

I assume your lighting is reptisun 5.0 linear and a low wattage basking bulb?
I think I see a probe thermometer there as well?

If my assumptions are correct, your cage is looking awesome. Wayyyy better than most. Simple, clean, and functional. The way I like it, personally.

 

[hailo]

nick what kind of plant is that in cage ...i like it alot

 

[Nick429255]

Its an umbrella plant. I think it's about an 8 or 10" pot. I thinned it out quite a bit for ease of navigation for the baby. They're on the "chameleon safe" list and are very hardy. I think I paid less than $15 for it at Home Depot, but Lowe's or any nursery should have them in all types of sizes. Just make sure you wash the leaves off. It's tedious, but since chameleons drink directly off the leaves, it's importnat to clean the leaves. Tiny bit of soap, and warm water.

 

[Nick429255]

I just saw him rubbing his eye with a branch he was perchd on? Could this be a sign of him getting ready to shed? I don't really see any signs or skin flaking yet. It looked like he was rubbing it on that branch pretty hard!? I put him outside in the sunlight and this is where I saw him rub it like that. He is moving around and still not eating the free range crickets I put in there. Also, I have spotted droppings as of this morning. And one that looks like it was a few days ago, so that's a good thing. I don't know about the eye rubbing thing though. My other panthers never did that.