Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - He is not growing at all and he has his eyes closed sometimes during the day. He has shed twice now since I’ve had him, but he has weighed 4-5 grams the entire time. I know growth rates vary, but the fact he is eating so little and his eyes have been closed is very worrying. His mouth is pale yellow, which is also very worrying and makes me think liver or kidney issues. He peruses the cage a few times a day, but most time is spent either under the basking bulk with his eyes closed or hiding on top of the tallest plant with his eyes closed. I previously had a veiled, so this isn’t my first baby cham, but this is the first time I’ve encountered problems like this. I want to take him to a vet, but it might be several days or several weeks until I can get in to my trusted exotics vet and I would really like some input on what I can do in the meantime.
I gave him a day’s worth of Fluker’s Repta Boost several days ago. This was before I had seen him eat anything at all and I already had him for something like a week and a half at that point. He’s so tiny that I really did not want to risk starvation and I had already tried tong feeding and putting various feeders in his mouth, but he either runs off to hide or spits out the feeders every time. I don’t want to do it again if I don’t have to, since obviously it's very stressful for such a tiny baby, but I’d rather him be alive and afraid of me than dead.
- Your Chameleon - Panther chameleon named Walnut, male, exact age is unknown but probably something like 2-3 months now, I’ve had him since Jan 8.
- Handling - I try to do it as little as possible, only to weigh him and check his body condition every few days right now.
- Feeding - I have offered him A LOT of variety (mealworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, waxworms, superworms, soldier fly larvae) but he has only ever eaten crickets. I put about 15-20 of them (medium) in there every day, by the next morning there’s usually only like 5 left but there is definitely some getting out (seen them in my bathroom). I’ve seen him eat once only. Dubias and mealworms are always available in a cup, but I really don’t think he’s eating those. Currently also offering waxworms in the cup every few days, also not eating those. I gutload the roaches, crickets and mealworms with Nature Zone Total Bites, I just leave it in their containers and they devour it.
- Supplements - I dust everything offered with Rep-Cal calcium w/o D3 or Phos every other day and Rep-Cal Herptivite once a week.
- Watering - I have a dripper that goes through a fake vine 24/7, a fogger that goes 30 min off 30 min on 24/7, and I mist twice a day morning/dusk until everything except for the area he’s sitting at is dripping… so for about 1-2 minutes. I’ve seen him lick water off his nose and he hangs around the dripper vine sometimes, so I’m pretty confidant he’s drinking. I live in a pretty dry area so I do have to introduce quite a bit of water through my various methods.
- Fecal Description - I’ve only found one dropping since I’ve had him, but there could definitely be more I haven’t found. It looked good: wet, urates nice and white, feces dark brown. He’s never been to a vet (yet), so he has not been tested.
- History - I got him from a local reptile store that is pretty reputable, they seemed knowledgeable about panther chams, but I can’t say with 100% certainly that he is captive bred. See, the cage next to his was labeled CBB, but his was not. It might’ve just been a slip-up, and they really do seem to care about the health of their reptiles there, but I don’t want to write off the possibility that he might be wild-caught. He was in with several other of the same age, which makes me think CBB, but he’s having issues, which makes me think wild-caught… y’know?
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Screen cage, 24 x 18 x 36. It’s against a corner and the two sides facing the wall are covered up to help with humidity.
- Lighting - For UVB I’ve got the Zoo Med 5.0 compact fluorescent in a reflector dome taking up about a quarter of the top. I am planning on getting a T5HO. For heat I BELIEVE I have an Exo Terra 60 watt daylight heat lamp, but I could be wrong. This one is in an adjustable reflector dome that also takes up a quarter of the top and I dim it to the proper temp. I do 12 hours on, 12 hours off for both lights.
- Temperature - Bottom of the cage temp is about 70 degrees, basking temp is about 82-86, and overnight temp is about 68. I measure with a digital probe.
- Humidity - Humidity is consistent at about 64%. The fogger I mentioned is what does the brunt of the humidity work. I measure with an analog gauge.
- Plants - No live plants right now, but I’m planning on getting a ficus in there.
- Placement - Cage is in the corner of my animal room/office on the other side of the room from the vent. I’m the only person who goes in there regularly, so traffic is low. Top of the cage is 66” from the floor.
- Location - I live in the front range of Colorado, so pretty dry.
Current Problem - He is not growing at all and he has his eyes closed sometimes during the day. He has shed twice now since I’ve had him, but he has weighed 4-5 grams the entire time. I know growth rates vary, but the fact he is eating so little and his eyes have been closed is very worrying. His mouth is pale yellow, which is also very worrying and makes me think liver or kidney issues. He peruses the cage a few times a day, but most time is spent either under the basking bulk with his eyes closed or hiding on top of the tallest plant with his eyes closed. I previously had a veiled, so this isn’t my first baby cham, but this is the first time I’ve encountered problems like this. I want to take him to a vet, but it might be several days or several weeks until I can get in to my trusted exotics vet and I would really like some input on what I can do in the meantime.
I gave him a day’s worth of Fluker’s Repta Boost several days ago. This was before I had seen him eat anything at all and I already had him for something like a week and a half at that point. He’s so tiny that I really did not want to risk starvation and I had already tried tong feeding and putting various feeders in his mouth, but he either runs off to hide or spits out the feeders every time. I don’t want to do it again if I don’t have to, since obviously it's very stressful for such a tiny baby, but I’d rather him be alive and afraid of me than dead.
. I kept my veiled in pretty much the same setup, just with a different cage and some different plants. I used the same gutload for him as well, it's more of an obscure brand but it worked great for me. I will be giving them what you suggested in the graphic though. He lived 9 healthy years, no MBD or anything, went downhill in a matter of weeks despite medications. Not sure exactly what took him, we're thinking maybe a stroke, but I'm focusing on my new guy here.
