Question about Panther

[timmckenna]

Hi,
I am new to the forum. I have a ~ 4 months old. He has proven to be a little difficult. I use to have a veiled and then a jackson. After they passed away, I have not had a Chameleon for awhile. Both my old chameleons lived a good life so I am familiar with the required care. My new chameleon has been a bit more difficult rather than easier than the other two. I am a little upset at the breeder at not being as responsive to questions. I found out from her that the cage has gaps in the frame where the crickets can hide. I wish she had said something a week earlier. So, I think he has not been feeding well. I got some silkworms and he has picked up his eating again. I have given up just misting him by hand twice a day and have gone to an automatic mister going on 4 times during the day and once at night. I am dusting his feeder insects and gut loading them although life I said he may have been off his feed. I also have found him to be extremely territorial. He has finally gotten use to me and has fed off my hand with a silkworm. I am using a basking lamp and a 5.0 UVB.

My concern is his growth rate. I recieved him around three weeks ago and he has not shed which worries me because I seem to recall my veild shedding rather regularly when he was young. In fact, I named him Sharkey because he was a voracious eater (and because of his casque. Anyway, I would like some help determining if he is ok in terms of growth. He looks good after getting his eating up but I am still concerned. I will tell you that I dont't remember having so much concern. My jackson was smaller than this panther when I got him and never had a problem feeding. Anyway, his name is Larry. It just seemed to fit.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[dodolah]

hi Tim,
let us know your feeding regimen.
how much? what kind of supplements used and how often?
what kind of lights used for Larry?

also, i advise you to not do the misting during the night.
it's not good to mist during Larry's sleeping hour.

 

[dectr6]

I agree with dodolah on the night misting. I wouldn't worry about his shedding. My youngest veiled has grown faster than any other of my chameleons but only sheds about once every month. I've had veiled that shed every 10 days or more. Don't know why for the variables but their both healthy chams. Good luck with him. You might want to post all the info in the how to ask for help section. Everybody will be able to evaluate your setup and give you better info. David

 

[timmckenna]

thanks for the quick replies.
setup:
terrarium 2'x2'x12"
UVB 5.0 fluorescent
75w basking lamp
rainking jr auto-mister
ficus
umbrella plant
branches
60w heat emmitter (live in San francisco)
planning on getting big apple temp dimmer

Feed:
small cricket x 12 to 15
small / medium silkworms depends upto 4 (handfed sometimes)
occasional waxworm

Misting 4 a day and I will stop the night one (thanks)

Tim

 

[dodolah]

hello,
when you say terrarium, do you mean all glass cage?
also do you dust your crickets with calcium and vitamin?
as far as the uvb, is it compact or linear tube?

 

[dectr6]

Would also get rid of the heat emmiter. Chams need a good drop in temps at night. It's healthy for them and actually required by some species. If you have a good basking bulb and a Linear 5.0 tube light (not the compact curly kind) your good to go. Good luck with him. David

 

[Dave Weldon]

... ~ 4 months old.

...I found out from her that the cage has gaps in the frame where the crickets can hide.

...My concern is his growth rate. my veild ...he was a voracious eater

Howdy,
Now is a good time to start charting his weight. It's a good tool to spot problems. Get a scale that can resolve 1 gram or 0.1 gram and weigh up to around 500 grams. They can be found for as little as $10-$20. Example: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93543

I'm assuming that you silicone sealed the cricket hiding spots .

Panthers don't usually grow as fast as Veileds. I'd guess that your Panther should weigh around 15-20 grams at 4 months. If he weighs less than 10 grams then he might be smaller than he should be. If you can, it never hurts to get a fresh poop sample tested for parasites. Even if parasites are not found, it's a good chance to get a baseline test for future reference.

What part of the world are you located?

 

[timmckenna]

You guys are great with both quick responses and good info. His terrarium is all screen with aluminum frame. I dust his crickets with calcium/D3 and vitamins.

I have turned off the heat emitter. I live in San francisco, California.
Tim

 

[dectr6]

be careful with the d3. I would give it no more than twice a month. Use calcium without d3 the rest of the time. As long as your temps don't get below 60 at night, your fine without the emmitter. I wish I could get my temps in the 60's at night. Good luck.
david

 

[RhettusMaximus]

night mist

Why not mist at night?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Why not mist at night?

They need to be able to warm up after misting.
It just makes them too cold.

-Brad

 

[timmckenna]

Thanks for the info abou the Calcium with D3. I will get some without it. I'll have to get the scale this weekend. I have been pretty busy. Since this weekend after putting up the mister and sealing the gaps in the frame, I think he is looking much better. His skin does not have a slight wrinkled look to it that he had last week.

I noticed that he has bit a the edge of a branch in his terrarium. It was very deliberate and more like trying to get a bite rather than just biting it out of "anger" or so. I am curious about this. I saw this once before with him. He is also terratorial and licks various branches and leaves. He even display with open mouth at my girlfriend. I told her that he was just saying that this is his area."Larry" has gotten use to me now after I handfed him some silkworms and he had a chance to lick me and see that I was ok.

Anyway, I hope to have some pictures of him soon. My girlfriend will have to take it from her camera since mine is acting up. Larry is very "cute" as my girlfriend said.

Tim