Panther not eating

[Its.sam]

I’ve had my panther chameleon for around 3 months now and for the last week he hasn’t been eating. For a few days he let me feed him but he’s quit eating altogether. There’s no feces in his cage. He’s losing weight. How do I increase his appetite?

 

[Its.sam]

The phone camera makes dexter show his colors more but before I held it up he was just brown

 

[Its.sam]

I’m not sure how old he is but when I got him he was a little less than 3 inches and he’s 7 ish inches right now

 

[andrearamirezo91]

I see you posted not long ago about your cham having an upper respiratory infection. I tried to see if you filled up the help form there but I didn't find much information on your husbandry. Sooner rather than later someone will ask you to fill out this form. It might help people determine what could be going on. Try to be as specific as possible. Also, pics of his whole enclosure setup are useful

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[Its.sam]

All he’s been doing is drinking loads of water

 

[Its.sam]

Chameleon- panther, male(?), less than 6 months old, been in my care about three months
Handling- once a week if that
Feeding- I count the number of crickets I can see and add more until I see 6 a few hours after I turn on the lights. Gut loading with fluker’s high-calcium cricket diet
Supplements- rep-cal herptivite
Watering- I mist him 3x a day for about 5 minutes
Fecal description- none for the last few days
Cage info:
Cage type: All screen cage 18x18x36
Lighting: zoo med I think they’re called domes?? I don’t remember but there’s 2...I use a reptisun 5.0 for one and a 75 watt basking bulb for the other
Temp range: 68 at the bottom, 76 at the top, basking spot 85
I have 2 thermometers, one stays at the top and the other is attached to a cord and is moved around sometimes to check temps at different spots
Humidity: stays between 50-70% at all times, misting. I have a hygrometer attached to the inside of the screen
Plants: croton
Placement: in my room, vents are all shut, fan is off. If it is hot/ humid out I open the windows. Cage is sitting on the floor for now because we moved about 3 weeks ago and the stand broke but I ordered a new one that should be here very soon.
Location: Atlantic beach, North Carolina

 

[Its.sam]

Current problem- not eating

 

[Graves923]

Chameleon- panther, male(?), less than 6 months old, been in my care about three months
Handling- once a week if that
Feeding- I count the number of crickets I can see and add more until I see 6 a few hours after I turn on the lights. Gut loading with fluker’s high-calcium cricket diet. --- Try cup feeding method to keep track of his food intake. Ditch the flukers gutload. Feed crickets Leafy greens and veggies such as dandelion greens, escarole, kale, carrots.
Supplements- rep-cal herptivite --- You need a plain, phosphorous-free calcium powder for daily use, and calcium with D3 used twice per month. Rep-cal herptivite should be used twice per month as well. Rep-Cal also offers plain calcium and D3. These bottles have green and pink labels.
Watering- I mist him 3x a day for about 5 minutes-- Make sure each misting session is atleast 2-3 minutes long.
Fecal description- none for the last few days
Cage info:
Cage type: All screen cage 18x18x36
Lighting: zoo med I think they’re called domes?? I don’t remember but there’s 2...I use a reptisun 5.0 for one and a 75 watt basking bulb for the other-- Invest in a linear T8 or T5 light fixture for UVB. The Compact coil UVB bulbs focus the UVB light too much so the cham needs to be directly under it to benefit from it.
Temp range: 68 at the bottom, 76 at the top, basking spot 85
I have 2 thermometers, one stays at the top and the other is attached to a cord and is moved around sometimes to check temps at different spots
Humidity: stays between 50-70% at all times, misting. I have a hygrometer attached to the inside of the screen
Plants: croton
Placement: in my room, vents are all shut, fan is off. If it is hot/ humid out I open the windows. Cage is sitting on the floor for now because we moved about 3 weeks ago and the stand broke but I ordered a new one that should be here very soon.
Location: Atlantic beach, North Carolina

I made some notes about your husbandry that need adjusting above in red.

Check out the Resource section of the forums for detailed caresheets and other articles to help you learn more about chameleon care.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

Thanks for filling that out

There’s a few things that could be improved but initially I think lighting and supplementing are the two most important things that should be looked into. I’m a bit of a noob but I’m really trying to learn, so please veterans correct me if I’m wrong.

If you have the coil UVB light bulb that goes inside the little dome your chameleon might not be getting enough UVB. Apparently the range on these lights is very small and unless the Chamaeleon is standing very close to it, it won’t get any. Linear UVB bulbs are way better and always recommended as they can evenly distribute UVB light throughout the cage.

Also when it comes to supplementation you want to make sure your Chamaeleon gets calcium dusted feeders every day (without D3). Then you will need a calcium with D3 which you will use once every two weeks. Last, the multivitamin which you will also use once every two weeks.