New panther unhappy and not settling in

[sammythechameleon]

When I met Jarvis in the reptile store he was super bright and always wanted to come out and I took him home yesterday (I know, not long enough for him to settle in yet). He was dark the whole way home and since he's been here he is very unsettled. I'm not used to this because I got my two veils very young and they settled right away. Jarvis is 9 months old and this is his first time "moving". I am not new with chams so his setup and temperature is all good, but I want to know what I can do to help him settle in. I've been leaving him alone except for the few times I check on him and mist the cage per day. Any suggestions on what to do to help him settle in and be comfortable? I hate seeing him like this.

 

[Lovereps]

If his cage is large enough, etc. then you can make sure he has plenty of foliage to hide behind and continue to resist the temptation to keep looking at him as much as possible.
I would imagine you know that Panther like a little higher humidity and slightly lower temps than Veiled chams do.
Hope Jarvis settles in quickly.

 

[werecat]

As many people will tell you every chameleon is different. Some seem to be more laid-back than others. When we first met our panther chameleon he was very laid-back, but after we took him home he took quite a while to settle in. It has been nearly a month and a half now and we are just starting to handle him. The first few weeks we had him he would cower and hide when we walked in the room. My best advice is to be respectful and understanding of your chameleon. He is very scared and needs a chance to get accustomed to his new surroundings. This can take a couple weeks or more so just be patient. Do the things you need to do around his cage like cleaning and feeding him, but try not to linger too long or stare at him and give him privacy. After a week or two you can try to start hand feeding him. This will get him more accustomed to you and he will begin to see you as a positive thing. This all takes time. It took much more time than I expected it to. I'm sure he will come around though. Good luck!

 

[laurie]

I feel your pain. I just got two baby quads I have waited a long time for. Well I think I have them, they have hardly been seen since the arrived. I hardly am allowed near their cages just to feed them. I am sure these tiny chams would eat me if I stayed at either cage for over a few seconds. Sigh, maybe some day.

 

[KingJulian]

My panther was already a year old when we got him. He was super friendly at the house we picked him up from. He was bright and colorful and was climbing all over us. When we got him home and put him in his new cage, he seemed to be ok...He wouldn't touch food for a few days and seemed to want to come out more than he wanted to stay in the cage. We noticed he started turning dull colors (brown and gray) in the mornings when he woke up. Everything in the cage was setup before he arrived and we double checked temps and everything. I was worried sick! We decided that if things got worse, we would take him back to his previous owner because we didn't want him to die. He eventually started eating and became more active. He got his beautiful colors back too over time. I would recommend giving him some time to get used to his new cage