Restless Male Panther Chameleon

prisecheck

New Member
I handle him and let him out of his cage frequently. He is very active, not shy, likes people, is well socialized, and loves to explore. Lately he just seems like he wants to be in his enclosure less and less, and he will climb walls and look for ways to try to get out. I thought we were over the wall-climbing thing, but he's started back up again. I am concerned for the health of his feet and nails. Should I be taking him out of his enclosure less? Is it a reward response that I should not be encouraging that I let him out if I see him getting restless in his enclosure and trying to get out?

I've got cotton rope and large nets coming in to make my room essentially an entire free-roam area, so he can move and be as active as he wants, but I do want him to be comfortable in his enclosure when I'm not here and when he can't roam the room freely.




Your Chameleon - Male panther, about 1.5 years old. I have had him since October of last year.

Handling - frequent (daily) handling with clean hands. He's a very social little guy and he likes to go outside/hang out in his free-roam area.

Feeding - He gets about 4 horn/silk worms per week and lives on a diet of crickets and superworms. ~4 crickets/worms per day. Crickets are gutloaded with reptashy bug burger.

Supplements - 6 days a week with Repticalcium w/o D3, alternating seventh day with Exoterra multivitamin and Repticalcium w/D3.

Watering - monsoon mister on for 1.5 minutes every 4 hours, fogger/humidifier on 12-16 hours a night, though I've been keeping it on some portions of the day lately to make sure he's getting hydrated because I haven't seen him physically drink in a while. Sometimes I hand mist.

Fecal Description - today he passed a sizeable stool, mostly white urea, solid, single piece.

History - no known health issues thus far. just took to the vet, who said he was healthy.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 24x24x48 reptibreeze, full mesh screens.

Lighting - Arcadia Jungle dawn 6500k led bar. Dual t5 6% uvb+6500k fluorescent from lightyourreptiles.com. 65w basking bulb. 18in LED Bar from biodude. 12 on 12 off timer from 8am-8pm.

Temperature - basking spot varies between 83-89, low daytime temps range from 70-75. Lowest overnight temp is 65. I have two thermometer/hygrometers in the enclosure measuring basking/ambient temps. I have a thermometer/hygrometer in my bedroom to gauge ambient temp/humidity of the entire room.

Humidity - humidity stays between 20 (low humidity spots when fogger is off) and 80 (high humidity spots when fogger is on) percent, but averages at about 50%. Humidity is created through a fogger/mister setup and maintained by live plants in the enclosure.

Plants - center plant is a ficus benjamina, which he's had since I got him. I just incorporated two cane dracaena, one Japanese aralia, and a creeping fig. There are also pothos and scindapsis.
Placement - cage is in my bedroom. There is minimal traffic and there are no vents in this room other than a window AC unit that I use when/if it gets too hot. Top of cage is 76 inches off of the floor.
 
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I handle him and let him out of his cage frequently. He is very active, not shy, likes people, is well socialized, and loves to explore. Lately he just seems like he wants to be in his enclosure less and less, and he will climb walls and look for ways to try to get out. I thought we were over the wall-climbing thing, but he's started back up again. I am concerned for the health of his feet and nails. Should I be taking him out of his enclosure less? Is it a reward response that I should not be encouraging that I let him out if I see him getting restless in his enclosure and trying to get out?

I've got cotton rope and large nets coming in to make my room essentially an entire free-roam area, so he can move and be as active as he wants, but I do want him to be comfortable in his enclosure when I'm not here and when he can't roam the room freely.




Your Chameleon - Male panther, about 1.5 years old. I have had him since October of last year.

Handling - frequent (daily) handling with clean hands. He's a very social little guy and he likes to go outside/hang out in his free-roam area.

Feeding - He gets about 4 horn/silk worms per week and lives on a diet of crickets and superworms. ~4 crickets/worms per day. Crickets are gutloaded with reptashy bug burger.

Supplements - 6 days a week with Repticalcium w/o D3, alternating seventh day with Exoterra multivitamin and Repticalcium w/D3.

Watering - monsoon mister on for 1.5 minutes every 4 hours, fogger/humidifier on 12-16 hours a night, though I've been keeping it on some portions of the day lately to make sure he's getting hydrated because I haven't seen him physically drink in a while. Sometimes I hand mist.

Fecal Description - today he passed a sizeable stool, mostly white urea, solid, single piece.

History - no known health issues thus far. just took to the vet, who said he was healthy.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 24x24x48 reptibreeze, full mesh screens.

Lighting - Arcadia Jungle dawn 6500k led bar. Dual t5 6% uvb+6500k fluorescent from lightyourreptiles.com. 65w basking bulb. 18in LED Bar from biodude. 12 on 12 off timer from 8am-8pm.

Temperature - basking spot varies between 83-89, low daytime temps range from 70-75. Lowest overnight temp is 65. I have two thermometer/hygrometers in the enclosure measuring basking/ambient temps. I have a thermometer/hygrometer in my bedroom to gauge ambient temp/humidity of the entire room.

Humidity - humidity stays between 20 (low humidity spots when fogger is off) and 80 (high humidity spots when fogger is on) percent, but averages at about 50%. Humidity is created through a fogger/mister setup and maintained by live plants in the enclosure.

Plants - center plant is a ficus benjamina, which he's had since I got him. I just incorporated two cane dracaena, one Japanese aralia, and a creeping fig. There are also pothos and scindapsis.
Placement - cage is in my bedroom. There is minimal traffic and there are no vents in this room other than a window AC unit that I use when/if it gets too hot. Top of cage is 76 inches off of the floor.
I would recommend you try to lower the basking temp a little bit, I keep mine around 80-85.

Is your fogger ever on during the day?
 
If I notice the basking spot at or above like, 87, I run the ac for a little bit and get it back down to between 81-83.

Keep the room an ambient 73.

Run the fogger sometimes during the day, for very brief periods of time. His poo looks healthy but I'm worried he might be a lil dehydrated, so I try to keep the humidity up, the fogger also creates droplets to drink from.
 
If I notice the basking spot at or above like, 87, I run the ac for a little bit and get it back down to between 81-83.

Keep the room an ambient 73.

Run the fogger sometimes during the day, for very brief periods of time. His poo looks healthy but I'm worried he might be a lil dehydrated, so I try to keep the humidity up, the fogger also creates droplets to drink from.
don't run the fogger during the day because
Heat+Humidity=Respiratory infection or RI.

The reason why we all fog at night is bc the temps are lower.
 
You said "I've got cotton rope and large nets coming in to make my room essentially an entire free-roam area, so he can move and be as active as he wants, but I do want him to be comfortable in his enclosure when I'm not here and when he can't roam the room freely."


I wouldn't suggest using these as they are a hazard and can damage your chams nails. Use flukes or any foam or natural vines. I will always and forever advocate pothos as it is the PERFECT plant for cham keepers. They grow fast and are essentially care free! As far as the "restlessness" usually a cham wanting out of their cage is a good indicator something is not right in the enclosure. Looks like you got A LOT of light which MIGHT be it? Can I ask why you have the LED bar too when you already have the jungle dawn?
 
My feedback and any questions will be in red. I’ll also post helpful links and images at the end:

I handle him and let him out of his cage frequently. He is very active, not shy, likes people, is well socialized, and loves to explore. Lately he just seems like he wants to be in his enclosure less and less, and he will climb walls and look for ways to try to get out. I thought we were over the wall-climbing thing, but he's started back up again. I am concerned for the health of his feet and nails. Should I be taking him out of his enclosure less? Is it a reward response that I should not be encouraging that I let him out if I see him getting restless in his enclosure and trying to get out?

I've got cotton rope and large nets coming in to make my room essentially an entire free-roam area, so he can move and be as active as he wants, but I do want him to be comfortable in his enclosure when I'm not here and when he can't roam the room freely. @Kamikaze Chameleon has already addressed this. How long is he out for? If it is long enough, you need another UVB bulb and heat bulb the appropriate distances away.

Your Chameleon - Male panther, about 1.5 years old. I have had him since October of last year. Could you post a picture of him, as well (along with his cage)?

Handling - frequent (daily) handling with clean hands. He's a very social little guy and he likes to go outside/hang out in his free-roam area. Is this because he wants to get out because he’s uncomfortable in his cage, looking for ladies, both, or other?

Feeding - He gets about 4 horn/silk worms per week and lives on a diet of crickets and superworms. ~4 crickets/worms per day. Crickets are gutloaded with reptashy bug burger. At that age, he should be having around 3 large crickets (or the equivalent of) either every other day or three times a week. It never hurts to add more variety to his gutload and feeders! I’ve attached gutload and feeder images at the end.

Supplements - 6 days a week with Repticalcium w/o D3, alternating seventh day with Exoterra multivitamin and Repticalcium w/D3. Get the Zoo Med Reptivite without D3 instead of the Exo Terra multivitamin, it is a much better quality.

Watering - monsoon mister on for 1.5 minutes every 4 hours, fogger/humidifier on 12-16 hours a night, though I've been keeping it on some portions of the day lately to make sure he's getting hydrated because I haven't seen him physically drink in a while. Sometimes I hand mist. That mister has up to 2 minute long sessions, so switch it to that setting. If your humidity allows it, lengthen the time apart mistings. Your fogger should only be used around 10 pm until 6 am or something like that, not 12-16 hours. Is your fogger cool mist? How often do you clean it, its tubes (if it comes with any), and any other accessories used? If there is tubes, is the output tube placed at the top of the cage or somewhere else?

Fecal Description - today he passed a sizeable stool, mostly white urea, solid, single piece.

History - no known health issues thus far. just took to the vet, who said he was healthy. When was the last time he had a fecal, bloodwork, and x-rays done?

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 24x24x48 reptibreeze, full mesh screens.

Lighting - Arcadia Jungle dawn 6500k led bar. Dual t5 6% uvb+6500k fluorescent from lightyourreptiles.com. 65w basking bulb. 18in LED Bar from biodude. 12 on 12 off timer from 8am-8pm. How far away is your UVB bulb from his basking branch?

Temperature - basking spot varies between 83-89, low daytime temps range from 70-75. Lowest overnight temp is 65. I have two thermometer/hygrometers in the enclosure measuring basking/ambient temps. I have a thermometer/hygrometer in my bedroom to gauge ambient temp/humidity of the entire room. His basking spot (which should be measured with a digital thermometer with a probe where his casque/top of his back is when he’s on his basking branch) shouldn’t go over 85*F max! Most keepers have basking temps between 80-85*F for their male panthers, like @NashansCamos said. If 85*F is too cold for him, you can raise the temp up to 86-87*F max. If he’s too hot, lower the temp. How far away is his heat bulb from his basking branch?

Humidity - humidity stays between 20 (low humidity spots when fogger is off) and 80 (high humidity spots when fogger is on) percent, but averages at about 50%. Humidity is created through a fogger/mister setup and maintained by live plants in the enclosure. Humidity should be between 50-60/70% during the day and up to 100% at night. Wrap the back and both sides of his cage with shower curtain, PVC board, window sealing film, etc. to help raise daytime levels. If that still isn’t enough, use a whole room cool mist humidifier during the day (not a cage fogger!), which will in turn raise cage levels.

Plants - center plant is a ficus benjamina, which he's had since I got him. I just incorporated two cane dracaena, one Japanese aralia, and a creeping fig. There are also pothos and scindapsis.
Placement - cage is in my bedroom. There is minimal traffic and there are no vents in this room other than a window AC unit that I use when/if it gets too hot. Top of cage is 76 inches off of the floor. Does his cage get hit by or has drafts coming from the window A/C unit?

Here are the links and images (read through every care module and the panther species profile, along with listening to as many podcast episodes as possible from The Chameleon Academy, they have the most up-to-date and accurate info!):

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/
https://www.madcham.de/en/
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/
 

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