New to Panther Keeping

[JulianoChameleano]

Hi, I just bought a Ambilobe Panther and cage set up from a guy needing to rehome his. I immediately notice leg grabbing. He is 6months old. PetCo said he looks healthy and leg grabbing is normal because they climb and grip things and he just confuses his legs with a branch. I came here for answers because I know they're not experts.

I bought him a new ubv light and some crickets and super worms. I also just read about supplementing. What would you all suggest as a good regimen. I want my guy to be happy and healthy.

I'm considering changing his limbs because they don't seem to be set up in a beneficial way.

Please lend me your expert advice. View attachment 103167View attachment 103168View attachment 103169View attachment 103170

Thank you all.

 

[kinyonga]

Leg grabbing is most often a sign of MBD.
Please post a recent photo.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

The pics I posted above are from today.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

I bought this ubv light also.

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry...photo isn't clear enough for me to tell. My playbook doesn't zoom in well.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

this is his setup.

 

[Milesd]

That uvb bulb that comes with the zilla is 3% you need to upgrade to at least reptisun 5.0 or equivalent. If you click the resources tab in green right under the Chameleon Forums banner you will find info on panthers and care sheets for them, this is quoted from there, ( I would also highly recommend reading member JannB blogs https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/325-info-new-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html)

"Panther Chameleons - Food & Nutrition


Feeding:
Panther chameleons are insectivores meaning they should only be fed live insects. Great feeder insects include crickets, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, dubia roaches and superworms. Waxworms and mealworms are high in fat content and harder to digest so should only be used on occasion. The rule of thumb is to not feed insects that are longer than the width of your chameleon's head.

Neonates: as many small crickets as they can eat several times a day
Juveniles 3-6 months of age: 10-12 small crickets daily
Juveniles 6-12 months of age: 10-12 medium crickets every other day
Adults over 12 months of age: 7-10 medium-large crickets every other day

Chameleons should be fed in the first half of the day to give them time to bask and digest their food properly. Crickets need to be properly gutloaded with calcium rich vegetables several hours before being fed to your chameleon. Inadequate dietary calcium leads to metabolic bone disease, a very serious illness. Commercially available gutloads usually aren't properly balanced or sufficient for good nutrition. See Chameleon Food for more information.


Supplementation:
Calcium and other vitamins are very important to your chameleon's health. Feeder insects should be lightly dusted with powdered supplement before being fed to your chameleon. Many keepers successfully use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) at nearly every feeding, multivitamin once every 2 weeks, and calcium with D3 once every 2 weeks.


Hydration & Misting
The cage should be misted at least twice a day, drying out completely between misting sessions. This raises relative humidity as well as stimulates your chameleon to want to drink. Water can be provided by means of a dripper (not a waterfall or water bowl). The dripper should be placed on top of the cage so that the water droplets drip down and accumulate on plant leaves. Other watering options include manual and automated misting sytems. Chameleons do not recognize standing water as a drinking source. See Water & Humidity for more information. "

 

[Milesd]

Also I cant tell for sure from the pic but if that's substrate on the floor of his cage it needs to be removed so he doesn't accidently swallow and become impacted.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

I removed this substrate and took all the greenery out and added a live umbrella plant. I bought him a multivitamin and calcium with d3, need to go get the without but they didn't have any so in gonna order it.

I read Jans blog last night and it helped a lot.

Is there any way to help him get a better tongue snap(I don't know what that's called) but it seems his tongue isn't sticky enough maybe and it's pissing him off.

 

[Diego Lamb]

Leg grabbing is most often a sign of MBD.
Please post a recent photo.

Well thats alarming. Ive noticed my Panther doing this before.

 

[carol5208]

I am sorry you were given false information about your chameleon grabbing its legs. As Kinyonga said, that is often a sign of MBD(Metabolic Bone Disease). Unfortunately, pet store chameleons are often deprived of calcium and uvb lighting or both and it will ultimately effect their health. If you could post a close up picture of him, especially his limbs, we can atleast tell you if he has advanced MBD.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

He isn't from a pet store, I was told he is from a breeder in Richardson, Texas. They didn't have any sire/dam info on him. He was really dehydrated and has been drinking all day. I changed his setup to a live plant and he seems very happy today.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

I'm not sure why these are uploading sideways

 

[JulianoChameleano]

Closer view

 

[JulianoChameleano]

His cage

 

[JulianoChameleano]

They have me a black light bulb for him and said to leave it on at night, I'm reading otherwise. What should I do?

 

[Peachypink]

They have me a black light bulb for him and said to leave it on at night, I'm reading otherwise. What should I do?

No lights at night. They need the dark to sleep. Even a black light bulb or a red give off too much light. It is perfectly fine for the temp to drop a bit at night.

 

[JulianoChameleano]

Thank you! That's what I was thinking