Please help! Multilple questions on 1yr old blue bar panther

[chelms865]

Hello to all, and I apologize for the long newbie post. Attached are several recent pics. I have several basic questions and have read the forums and think I am doing the right things. However, there are so many opinions, I would like to ask the experts to chime in. I bought a blue bar panther last October(10/2012) and was about 4 months old at the time. So now is just over a year old. It was supposed to be a male(as that is what I paid for). Can someone verify if it is a male or female?

Also, it(Moose) has very little color. Mostly showing brownish, grey, white, and occasionally red eye turrents and throat. It seems healthy otherwise. At its age, shouldn't it show at least some green? I have heard that some are late bloomers, but should I not see some green at some time? There are even times it is almost a pale white?

A little on the gross side here, but I noticed that from what I have read, their poo should look like a birds poo. Should be a white blob with a brown blob. It started out that way but now is just whiteish or chalky in color. Is this normal?

Moose is in a DIY.com 4x2x2 cage, with a DIY.com 24" dual light hood(one Zilla T8 Tropical UVB 25 bulb and the other is for the plants and is a GE aquaray 6500K bulb), a deep dome for heat and is a Zilla day white 75W, lights are on timer for 14 hours per day(7am to 9pm), 2 live photos plants close to top and a live large photos totem in center, many vines (fake and real wood and/or grapevine) scattered throughout as well as fake plants, MistKing with 2 nozzles at top/back on left and right for ample watering a humidity control(on every 3 hours for 1 minute), I use aquarium API stress coat(takes chlorine out and makes safe for fish) as recommended by pet store, it is fed primarily crickets which I dust with Zoomed reptivite w/o D3 everyday except Monday, Zoomed repticalcium with D3 every Monday, and just started Exoterra multivitamin(tiny bit every feeding mixed in with other supplement), crickets are fed papaya, carrots, greens, apples, grapes, mango, orange, and romaine lettuce(I just recently found that lettuce is a no-no, so I have stopped the lettuce) will start using greens and or green beans soon, typically put about 5 in his cage a day and there are usually a few left over(if I find that there are several in there, I remove them), occasionally I take him outside for about 30 minutes to bask in the TN sun on a dogwood tree, I clean out the poo everytime I see it as well as any dead crickets or dead plant leaves.

Any comments or help from the pro's would be greatly appreciated!!!


Thanks

 

[bigcappa]

Well first she's definitely a female which is why she isn't showing much color. Females are not, typically, as colorful as males. Don't worry about poop, that's a main topic on this board and important part of chameleon health. Go ahead and take a picture of the poop if you can. Also as she gets older she will be eating less and therefore pooping less. However she may be backed up. Also females can lay unfertilized eggs, so going forward you will want to keep an eye on her and have a laying bin ready to go. If you have any more questions please feel free to pm me or reply away.

 

[peacenlove]

Ya im sorry to tell you but thats a she not a he but she looks very good, males will start to show faint color at about 4-5 months. she will stay this color. also what you should worry about in poo is if the white part is yellow that means she dehydrated, by looking at the pics her eyes seem very full and that means she is healthy and not dehydrated (there eyes sink in when dehydrated) You are doing everything right and her cage looks awesome

 

[Trillian]

She looks a little skinny and a little dehydrated from these pictures, though it's tough to tell. How are the fat pads on her head? They should be fairly full, but they don't look to be in these pictures. It sounds like you're providing her really good care, so I'm not sure what you could do to improve things. What sort of temperatures and humidity are you getting in there?

It may be an idea to cut down the amount of time the lights are on too, usually it's recommended to try to match the natural daylight times, which will gradually change throughout the year, obviously. At the moment my lights go on at about 7am, and switch off at about 7pm, but I'll adjust them every few months or so. Does she go to sleep before the lights switch off?

You could try a bit more variety with the feeders too, that might perk her up a bit. My female panther loves dubia roaches, silkworms, horn worms, meal worms and the moths and beetles that those things turn into. The more varied a diet you can offer her the better her health will be.

You're right about the poop too, there should be a white part and a dark part, both should be fairly solid and smooth. Don't feel weird about posting poop pics, there are plenty on this forum if you look!

 

[Trillian]

Is anyone else able to add a comment or observation?

 

[KatiLemons]

Just a little more info since your just finding out shes a female. She will at somepoint start to produce eggs. Doing some research now might help you be prepared for when this happens. If she isn't given a proper laying bin. she could retain the eggs and then become eggbound and die.. All of your husbandry sounds good though. I would also follow the advice from the above members aswell!

 

[chelms865]

kolorburst chams dishonest

Thanks for all the replies. I am absolutely furious at this point but very glad I at least know it is a she. I paid extra from Kolorburst Chams for a male. The guy I got it from hasn't got back to me recently so I am not sure what can be done at this point. Does anyone know anything about "Kolorburst Chams"? When I was researching to buy, Kolorburst Chams was communicating alot via this site. Since there are no stores that sale panther chams in my area, the internet was the only way to go. I thought this guy was legit.

Is there any action that can be taken when this happens? I wanted a male for all the obvious reasons and will not be raising chams. My wife is a teacher and this is our first lizard(and likely the last). The intention, was to take a male panther for her 7th and 8th grade science students to school a few times a year. I have spent well over $1,000 on this only to find that I have been screwed over. To be honest, not sure what to do at this point. I made the cage and enclosure myself and took over 2 months to complete. A female just isn't what I signed up for. This may sound bad, but is there a such a thing as a trade or something? Will she ever turn green or get any colors?

As for the poo, I just cleaned a bit out. And she does start to sleep before the lights go out. I can adjust that. I will try to get a poo pic later. Not sure what I am going to do at this point. Very disappointed.

 

[KatiLemons]

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363419&page=6

I thought the name sounded familiar.... This guy sold a friend of mine some chameleons that were in HORRIBLE shape. Don't be surprised if he isn't going to respond to you.

 

[chelms865]

Thanks Katilemons. Unfortunately, I also read this from Faunaclassifieds. Is there anything that can be done at this point or what did your friend do to resolve the situation? I have contacted via email and cell and have not heard back. I want to give him the benefit of doubt, but it is not looking good for now.

 

[KatiLemons]

did you pay through Paypal at all? The right thing for him to do is to refund the extra money that you paid for a male. But after its been so long I'm sure he will come up with some excuse. Good luck. Keep us post.

 

[chelms865]

Thanks Kati. I just sent him another email. Payment was with a credit card and not paypal. I hope he makes this right.

 

[chelms865]

poo pics

Here are the poo pics. Sorry, it took a while for me to get one that wasn't dried up. Please let me know if you think this is normal or not.

 

[camimom]

She looks like shes already developed eggs.

You need to get a lay bin in that cage for her asap.

She's very chunky.

what are you supplementing with?

 

[chelms865]

I was afraid of the egg thing. Since I just found out that he is as a she, I am caught completely off guard and really don't know what to do. I have read that they need something to lay eggs in but not shure what. I have also read that live pothos plants will provide an area for this. Is this true or what should I put in for egg laying and where in the cage? Supplementation is as follows: Zoomed Reptivite w/o D3 every feeding, Zoomed Repticalcium with D3 once a week, and I just started with Exoterra Multivitamin mixed in with her other supplements. I use a tiny bit of the Multivitamin.

 

[Trillian]

Don't panic. For now, get the deepest container you can find (big flower pot, plastic storage bin, clean garbage can) and if you have any to hand, put in a soil and sand mixture moist enough that she can dig a tunnel to the bottom without it collapsing on her.

Here is a blog with thorough info, I'm assuming you may need to go out and buy some things: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
Here is a video about setting up lay bins: https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/#post726338

 

[chelms865]

Where in the cage do I put this stuff or do I have to remove her and put her in there for some period of time? Will the ground up coconut fiber stuff work? I read somewhere in the forums, that they will lay eggs in the pothos plants. Is that true or bs? I also thought that she would go to bottom of the cage if she was looking for somewhere to lay the eggs. I have never seen her near the bottom.

 

[camimom]

The bucket for laying goes on the bottom of the cage.

removing her wnt help because you wont know when exactly she has to lay.

that's why we let females have 24/7 access to lay buckets.

She might lay in her plant, but most need at least 10 inches to dig down into to lay.

 

[chelms865]

I have never seen her go near the bottom of the cage???

 

[camimom]

I have never seen her go near the bottom of the cage???

SHe may not need to lay yet.

or she doesn't care about going ot the bottom.

Some females do, some don't.

the signs can change from one cycle to another.

which is why we allow 24 hour access to lay bins.

 

[Dez]

If you feel her belly you should be able to feel eggs. They feel like little marbles. If all you feel is squish then she may not be ready to lay yet.

That being said, a lot of the times infertile eggs are softer and smaller than fertile eggs. Sometimes they are even absorbed back into the body and never laid at all.

Females can be a bit complicated at times. Some will lay in tiny opts with hardly any dirt and others want you to set up a huge trash can with deep dirt and anything else just wont do