Panther not eating!!!

[laur03]

Hello everybody, I'm brand new to the forum! I need help, my panther chameleon (not quite a year yet) has barely eaten for the past couple weeks and I don't know if I should be concerned. He's in a 4 ft tall mesh cage and I just recently changed his basking bulb to 100 watt (don't know if there's a coincidence). I have him eating mostly crickets and some king worms and dusting them with vitamins. I changed his vines around when I put in the new bulb, so maybe I just stressed him out too much? Help!

 

[Sticktongue]

Welcome to the forums!

Could you give us more info? Temperatures, what you're dusting with exactly and schedule.

They some times go on hunger strikes and won't eat. Try getting some different feeders, silk worms, bluebottle flies, etc. He also might be just getting use to his change of the enclosure. Maybe some pictures of him and your setup would help also

 

[laur03]

This is Theo:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24570519/Theo.jpg

Here's a couple pictures of his enclosure:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24570519/IMG_00000010.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24570519/IMG_00000011.jpg

In theory, when he's eating regularly, I'll dust the crickets and king worms every other day with Repti Calcium, then once a week with Reptivite with D3. His basking area is around 85F, I have the thermometer set up in the middle of the cage where it reads 82.6F.
I also have the Monsoon RS 400 set for 8 times a day for 10 seconds at a time, and I'll manually mist him on occasion as well.

 

[parishcromer]

His cage is on the ground and I think it should be up higher.

 

[laur03]

His cage is on the ground and I think it should be up higher.

What does putting the cage higher benefit him?

 

[Sticktongue]

They feel more secure being above everything. In the wild, those trees he's on are way higher than you, that way he can be looking down, and seeing better.

Your temps and such look good. I'd switch the d3 to every other week, instead of every week.

I'm betting he just wants a new food item

 

[KingJulian]

Welcome to the forum! Theo is very handsome I agree with the other members about getting his cage off the floor. Chams like to be at the tallest point, hence them living in trees. I have a 4 foot tall cage on a table that's about 2 feet tall. We have him in our room and the only thing taller than his cage is the curtain rod (which has become his main mission to try and get up to every chance he gets) Good luck with your cham

 

[laur03]

I guess I can work on changing his food then and see if that makes a difference. I'm pretty sure it's also about time that I upgrade the UVB bulb as well. What wattage should the new bulb be at?
Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate it .

 

[KingJulian]

I have a 24 inch reptisun 5.0 UVB.

 

[djfishygillz]

I will second that, he is a pretty chameleon I hope the problem is found.

Has he ever had a fecal test done?

 

[djfishygillz]

I guess I can work on changing his food then and see if that makes a difference. I'm pretty sure it's also about time that I upgrade the UVB bulb as well. What wattage should the new bulb be at?
Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate it .

Also I had a chameleon eating amazing, then I switched his bulb for what I thought was a brand new uvb (but the bulb was very old and someone scammed me) and the uvb wasn't putting out any rays so my chams appetite diminished until I got him a new uvb then he was eating again.

 

[ataraxia]

His basking area is around 85F, I have the thermometer set up in the middle of the cage where it reads 82.6F.
I also have the Monsoon RS 400 set for 8 times a day for 10 seconds at a time, and I'll manually mist him on occasion as well.

Hi, A 100 watt bulb at that basking distance is not reading 85*. Either your thermometer is malfunctioning or it hasn't been read properly. With a basking spot 8-10 inches from the light you shouldnt need anything more than a 60 watt. It does depend on your ambients but truly anything above mid 60's and at that distance with a 60 watt you will achieve suitable temps.


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