Panther at bottom of cage. Please advise.

[kwilmot]

Need help. Panther Cham approx 6 months. Keeps going to bottom of cage. I keep checking everything. Here's my setup.
Open air cage
1 emitter
1 Mercury
1 red night light

Large umbrella plant in middle
2 bamboo plants
1 orchid

Top temp on vines: 85 (was around 93 in basking but turned one light off to see if helped) it did not
Middle vines:75
Lower vines:65
Floor is 60s

Reptirain mister every hour for 15 sec
Manual mist about 2-3 times a day because I'm struggling with humidity. Even added some fabric around 2 1/2 sides yesterday to see if that will help. Humidity is usually 20/30%. I'm constantly monitoring making sure there are water drips on leaves .

Seems like wants out but is restless when on my hands.

Any ideas???? Is it possible he just wants to be on bottom? I know that usually means something is wrong. He does not sleep on ground.

 

[AlienCreeper]

What are you supplementing with and how often? Pics of him and enclosure and filling this form out https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ will help people help you tremendously.

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a recent photo or two.
How long have you had him? (you mentioned 6 months...but is that his age or how long you've had him?)
You don't mention a UVB light...do you have one on the cage?
Do you have the red light on at night? There should be no lights on at night.
What do you feed/gutload the insects with?
As was already asked...what supplements specifically do you use and how often for each?

 

[kwilmot]

I tried posting images but I guess they did not go through. I supplement with calcium with and without D3 daily. Gut load my crickets, roaches, superworms with sweet potatoes. I have the rhapsody stuff but I have to figure out how to use it. I have a mercury vapor light and a 5.0 uvb. Red light at night for warmth.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

Supplementing should be calcium without d3 daily
Calcium with d3 twice a month
Multivitamin twice a month
Good gutloaded feeders like you said.
No red light at night. If you need heat at night use a ceramic heat emitter, any light at night will disturb there sleep.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

I tried posting images but I guess they did not go through. I supplement with calcium with and without D3 daily. Gut load my crickets, roaches, superworms with sweet potatoes. I have the rhapsody stuff but I have to figure out how to use it. I have a mercury vapor light and a 5.0 uvb. Red light at night for warmth.

One more thing. Please look up gutloading on the forums because you need more then just sweet potatoes......

 

[AlienCreeper]

If temps aren't going below 50 Degrees at night in the cage then there is no need for that night time heat source. They actually benefit from the night time temp drop.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

Top temp on vines: 85 (was around 93 in basking but turned one light off to see if helped) it did not
Middle vines:75
Lower vines:65
Floor is 60s

Ambient temp of the rest of your cage should be more like 70 - 75 during the day. 70 or around there near the bottom, and gradually getting higher as you move up the cage. Floor of the cage shouldn't be 60 during the day. That's just a bit lower than what is best recommended. Warm that room up a bit. Also, at night, there should be NO LIGHT. As AlienCreeper stated, as long as the temps aren't dropping into the low 50's or lower, then you will be fine at night. A good night temp is in the 60's.... but 60's is not good for the day. Deff need to get rid of that night light though... Chameleons have a photoreceptive cell on their heads that detect light, and any light at all can disturb their sleep.

You also never stated how big your cage was... Maybe he is exploring a lot because he is in need of a bigger cage?

 

[kwilmot]

Ambient temp of the rest of your cage should be more like 70 - 75 during the day. 70 or around there near the bottom, and gradually getting higher as you move up the cage. Floor of the cage shouldn't be 60 during the day. That's just a bit lower than what is best recommended. Warm that room up a bit. Also, at night, there should be NO LIGHT. As AlienCreeper stated, as long as the temps aren't dropping into the low 50's or lower, then you will be fine at night. A good night temp is in the 60's.... but 60's is not good for the day. Deff need to get rid of that night light though... Chameleons have a photoreceptive cell on their heads that detect light, and any light at all can disturb their sleep.

You also never stated how big your cage was... Maybe he is exploring a lot because he is in need of a bigger cage?

Cage is 18x18x36

 

[kwilmot]

How can I warm up the bottom without the temp in the room? I don't think under tank heater will work for them.

 

[kinyonga]

Is it a male or female?

You said you have an emitter...i assume you mean heat emitter...the red light is going to prevent your chameleon from sleeping properly...so you shouldn't have it on at night.

You didn't say what brands of supplements you use. Each brand has different combinations of nutrients...which is why I asked you to be specific.

So here we go...
Since center most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous its important to dust the insects with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings.

To ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light we recommend that you dust twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder.

It's also recommended that you dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources of vitamin A cannot build up in the system and lead to overdoses like prEformed sources can and will leave it up to you to decide whether the chameleon needs prEformed or not.

It's important to feed / gutload the insects properly too. Crickets, locusts, superworms, roaches can be fed a wide range of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.
Appropriate temperatures allow for proper digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce the D3 needed to use the calcium in its system.

Of course watering and cage setup up, etc are important too.