No colors on six month old ambilobe panther?

[Nightshaded]

Hey all.

I received my 3 month old juvenile on August 17th this year. I couldn't help but notice that he doesn't really have any colors compared to other ambilobe panther chameleons that I've seen online. I just took him to the vet last week and they said he appears healthy. Is his lack of color a little weird? He's always tan. He usually turns reddish whenever I open his cage. I also feel like he's a little small for his age. How much should he be eating each day? Normally he eats between four to six 5/8" sized Dubia roaches and a super worm (or two). Both are gutloaded with carrots and dusted with EarthPro A.

One last question, how do you guys spray your enclosures without making your chameleons angry? I feel like everytime I mist his cage, he resents me. I always try to be careful not to spray him, but sometimes fine water particles will wander over. I never really handle him either because he will be afraid of me for days and I don't want to ruin the trust I've established, but would it be beneficial to buy a fake tree for him to explore during the day to get him out of his cage and provide a little mental stimulation?

Thanks guys. Thank you tremendously.

 

[Flick boy]

Hi and welcome could be a girl my boys a girl lol you could get some more pics of tail base area .

 

[Flick boy]

Earth pro a is more for dusting. Could you maybe fill in a husbandry form to see what your little guys situation is as it would be helpful for him and you . Earth pro a as in arcadia look up their supplement routine ialso use the full range

 

[Carlton]

Remember that web photos showing coloration can be doctored, and people tend to share more extreme individuals. Also, people tend to take photos when the cham is fired up. Exactly when your individual juvenile starts showing color can vary. If he tends to be a mellow little guy he may not feel the need to be reactive...which is why they change. Is his color different when he's asleep? Most chams have a different sleeping coloration. He's getting close to the age when hormones will make him more reactive. Some people show their juveniles a mirror to elicit a response. Not a lot, that's unkind, but sometimes it provides a trigger.

As for not pissing him off while misting him, several things can help. Obviously, you don't want to mist him directly with a higher intensity spray...mist everything else in the cage first. Use warm water and a fine nozzle setting. By the time droplets contact surfaces in the cage they'll be pretty cold. If the cage doesn't have much foliage to intercept and hold water droplets it also may mean he doesn't have anywhere to retreat to avoid them. Most chams don't like to be squirted. I tended to mist as much from above as possible and let gravity do the work. Easier for my chams to duck under foliage that way. I'd start by misting the areas of the cage farthest from where they happened to be perching at the time. Sort of let them get used to the idea that rain had arrived. Sometimes they would even start reflexive swallowing because they knew they were about to get a drink. The one exception to misting the cham itself is if you have taught them to drink directly from the nozzle. I taught as many of my chams to accept water this way as I could, but not all of them agreed. They learned that the approaching nozzle wasn't a bad thing, it was a source of eye washing moisture and a drink. Again, I would do it very gently with low volume and let it dribble down their face. It helped them tolerate cage misting too. Some learned to reach right up to the nozzle, hold on to it, and lick the water as it emerged.

 

[Flick boy]

Sorry my mistake thought you said gut-loading with pro a .

 

[Beman]

Do you have any really good pics of his tail??? This is how we would tell gender on a panther. By 6 months typically your going to start seeing adult colors come in. What locale did they say "he" was?

Kinda wonder if you don't actually have a female. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2013/04/male-or-female-how-to-sex-baby-panther.html

 

[Nightshaded]

Earth pro a is more for dusting. Could you maybe fill in a husbandry form to see what your little guys situation is as it would be helpful for him and you . Earth pro a as in arcadia look up their supplement routine ialso use the full range

My apologies, here's his husbandry info:
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther. I received him August 17th as a Juvenile. Roughly 6 months old at this point.
• Handling - Pretty much never. He's a little apprehensive about me, still.
• Feeding- Dubia Roaches and superworms, both gut-loaded with carrots and organic bee pollen.
  • He will usually eat 3 roaches a day and one worm. I handfeed him with tongs to work on trust.
• Supplements - EarthPro-A (without vitamin D) on every single bug. Flukers with D3 twice a month.
• Watering - Dripper on top. Fogger 2-6am. I hand mist morning and night.
• Fecal Description - Perfect. Nice and white urea. Sometimes there's a little orange, but I'm vigilant on making sure he's well hydrated.
• History - None.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Tall Dragon Stand 24"x24"x48" His enclosure is cleaned every night
• Lighting - Basking bulb: 75W. UVB: T5 HO 5.0
• Temperature - 85 for basking. Top of the cage is always around 72-78. Temperatures drop to 68 at night.
• Humidity - Fluctuates between 45-60% during the day.
• Plants -Three golden pothos, two crotons, and one small pitcher plant (I've been experiencing fungus gnats)
• Placement - In the corner by my kitchen table, which I never use. I guess this would also be considered my living room. I walk past his enclosure whenever I go into my bedroom. I put a towel around the top part of his enclosure at night to prevent any lights from bothering or waking him up.
• Location - Michigan

 

[Nightshaded]

Do you have any really good pics of his tail??? This is how we would tell gender on a panther. By 6 months typically your going to start seeing adult colors come in. What locale did they say "he" was?

Kinda wonder if you don't actually have a female. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2013/04/male-or-female-how-to-sex-baby-panther.html

I'll try to get a decent picture of his/her tail tommorrow, but is this one good enough? It's from its most recent shedding. It's the only decent picture I have that shows "his" tail.

 

[salty dog]

female, they are so sweet, I love mine!! I hope you take good care of her, if you keep her and have any husbandry questions, I'd gladly answer, here or pm me

 

[Nightshaded]

female, they are so sweet, I love mine!! I hope you take good care of her, if you keep her and have any husbandry questions, I'd gladly answer, here or pm me

Are you serious?!? I specifically ordered a male because I wanted the colors. I still love this chameleon and will treat her with care, but I'm a little upset. I've had nothing but problems with cbreptile.com...

 

[Beman]

I agree with salty.... Looks like a girl to me especially in the last photo. very thin from vent down the tail rather then a hemipenal bulge. I thought so with the colors but seeing the image of the tail its obvious. Does not surprise me since you got her from cb reptile.

She is pretty though and females tend to have the sweetest personalities from what I have heard.

 

[Flick boy]

I can understand your frustration my girl was supposed to be a boy I could have swaped her but as I was already attached so decided to keep her. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[DeShawni Green]

Even in your first pics, i thought this was a girl

 

[Nightshaded]

Remember that web photos showing coloration can be doctored, and people tend to share more extreme individuals. Also, people tend to take photos when the cham is fired up. Exactly when your individual juvenile starts showing color can vary. If he tends to be a mellow little guy he may not feel the need to be reactive...which is why they change. Is his color different when he's asleep? Most chams have a different sleeping coloration. He's getting close to the age when hormones will make him more reactive. Some people show their juveniles a mirror to elicit a response. Not a lot, that's unkind, but sometimes it provides a trigger.

As for not pissing him off while misting him, several things can help. Obviously, you don't want to mist him directly with a higher intensity spray...mist everything else in the cage first. Use warm water and a fine nozzle setting. By the time droplets contact surfaces in the cage they'll be pretty cold. If the cage doesn't have much foliage to intercept and hold water droplets it also may mean he doesn't have anywhere to retreat to avoid them. Most chams don't like to be squirted. I tended to mist as much from above as possible and let gravity do the work. Easier for my chams to duck under foliage that way. I'd start by misting the areas of the cage farthest from where they happened to be perching at the time. Sort of let them get used to the idea that rain had arrived. Sometimes they would even start reflexive swallowing because they knew they were about to get a drink. The one exception to misting the cham itself is if you have taught them to drink directly from the nozzle. I taught as many of my chams to accept water this way as I could, but not all of them agreed. They learned that the approaching nozzle wasn't a bad thing, it was a source of eye washing moisture and a drink. Again, I would do it very gently with low volume and let it dribble down their face. It helped them tolerate cage misting too. Some learned to reach right up to the nozzle, hold on to it, and lick the water as it emerged.

Thank you for answering my questions! I really appreciate you taking the time to write your detailed response and for providing insight and advice. Also, that's so awesome that some of your chams drink directly from the nozzle. Ha, I had to look that up on YouTube. I had no idea some drank that way. ?

 

[Nightshaded]

Thanks for the responses everybody. To be honest, I'm super torn and disappointed. I was really excited to see the colors develop since she just hit six months old. I know it's extremely superficial, but ever since I was a child I've always wanted a bright and colorful chameleon.

The problem is that I only have room for one chameleon. I also can't purchase another enclosure right now with all the gear that goes with it (lights, fixtures, plants, etc). I REALLY wanted a male and I don't want to wait 5-7 years before I'm able to get one. In your honest opinions, would I look like a heartless jerk if I gave her to a new home if I'm offered a male? I feel like a terrible person.

 

[Flick boy]

Don't feel terrible at all you knew what you wanted and prepared for it your husbandry is pretty good so contact your supplier its there mistake and dont think you have to take on responsibility for it

 

[Kronos]

Are you serious?!? I specifically ordered a male because I wanted the colors. I still love this chameleon and will treat her with care, but I'm a little upset. I've had nothing but problems with cbreptile.com...

DO NOT order from CBreptile again please!!!! They are horrible, we got a rescue, instead of a healthy chameleon from them, he had MBD, a broken leg and tail and was extremely small, weighed under 1 gram. Our vet couldn’t even get an actual weight because of how small he was. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories about that company ever since.. Your best bet is to go with one of the sponsors of this forum. We recently got a male from Kammerflage. And let me tell you, there was a huge difference upon receiving him. Our new Chameleon is literally 5 to 6 times the size of the one we got from CB reptile and they were supposedly the same age. Our CB reptile chameleon didn’t really show any colors either but the one we got from Kammerflage was red, green and white when he came out of his container after being shipped to us. It was a huge change from the experience we got from CB.

 

[Nightshaded]

@Kronos
I seriously can't get over CBreptile and need to vent (if the mods are cool with it). Seriously, what is CBreptile's problem? I've never seen such disregard for customers and incompetence.
For my first ever order I purchased a mistking, Reptibreeze XL, and a hatchling chameleon. The mistking never arrived and they never once mentioned that these were on backorder. Is it normal for companies to immediately take your money for backordered products without telling you its on backorder? They just left me hanging high and dry without any communication at all. The enclosure arrived first severely damaged and bent. I called and they wanted me to send it back to their warehouse. WEEKS went by and I still hadn't received a replacement. They also agreed to add extra packaging to protect it (which they didn't). Finally I messaged them and it finally shipped out that exact same day. Basically, they completely forgot about me.

A couple months went by and I still hadn't received the mist king. I was fed up with the lack of communication and waiting for so long so I politely requested a refund. They argued that they had already sent it to me and provided the tracking number to prove it was delivered...which was actually the replacement reptibreeze, not the mist king. I explained the mistake but they absolutely refused to budge and told me to file a claim with UPS if I never received it. They basically implied that I was trying to cheat them out of a stupid mister. After not getting a refund and this headache going absolutely nowhere, I filed a dispute with my credit card company. The next day I received a phone call first thing in the morning with an apology. I was kind and said "it happens". They offered me a discount for my next chameleon.

At this point, my hatchling passed away from a respiratory infection. I did everything I could to save him. I drove an hour to the vet for an emergency appointment and they gave him antibiotics. He died on my way back. A week prior I had messaged CBreptile because I was concerned that my hatchling's eyes were closed during the daytime while he basked and that I heard this was super bad. They told me that this was "completely normal". He died soon after. I thought I was just being paranoid. Had I known the warning signs, I would've taken him to the vet ASAP.

Because of the dispute over the mist king, they gave me a 25% OFF coupon. I used this to purchase this juvenile "male" ambilobe panther chameleon. Despite them advertising a "biologist ON SITE", they somehow managed to send me a female. I almost wonder if this was intentional.
This is hands down, the absolute most frustrating company I have EVER dealt with in my life. It's downright negligence.

 

[Kronos]

You can return her and get a refund. It’s understandable. It’s up to you. And that’s if they’ll do it. Anytime I actually talked to someone from their company it was always a child/teenager. We actually talked to adults at Kammerflage, they are absolutely wonderful people!!! We did end up keep ours from CB but he eventually died because of the major MBD issue he had when we got him. It was sad!!!

 

[Kronos]

We ordered our Mist King from Amazon got it in 2 days. But I did order the premium nozzles from Mist King themselves, the company is based out of Canada. And I received the premium nozzle within a week from Canada, it definitely should not of taken that long for you to get what you ordered and it definitely shouldn’t of been broken. Never go to them again. They really are a bad company. And I really do think it is ran by a teenager. We as a people, need to report them, so that others like us don’t get taken advantage of.