Thoughts on this strange behavoir.

[Saldarya]

Evening All,

One of my Male Panthers has shown some strange behavoir over the past few days and today was enough for me to look a lil deeper and then get some feedback.

We will start with the needed info:



Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Male Panther, 18 months old, had him since he was 3 months old.
Handling -seldom, once a month when I need to weigh him.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Various insects from crickets, roaches, worms, etc. Homemade dry gutload as well as fresh veggies and fruits for insects. eats probably 3 times a week +/- a day
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Standard Panther schedule. Cal with each feeding, w/ Vit D 2xmonth, mineral and herpivite on alternate weeks.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Mistking misting twice a day. Sometimes I see him
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? As should be, brown with white urates.
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? 2x2x4 screen cage
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? T5 6% Arcadia with T5 lighting for plants. 12/12
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? upper 80's at bask spot to 74 near bottom. 61-63 at night. Temp gun and digital thermometer.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 65-80%

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Live, Schefflera.

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? In room with other Chams (not visible) minimal traffic.

Location - Where are you geographically located?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

As of three days ago he woke up in his normal sleeping spot and has not moved from there. during the daylight hours he is awake and alert anf on all accounts, looks great.

This afternoon, after him have not moved, I decided to see how he would respond when I tried to move. Using a stick, I tried to coax him onto it. He did not want to move but was not resistant. I did get him on the stick, and then simply moved him to another spot, which he did step onto.

Problem is, he has not moved from that position. When I say not moved, I mean no body part has moved. His grip is very strong and although hard to explain, his body muscle seems very rigid. This may of course be because he hasn't warmed up.

The best word to use is that he seems almost paralyzed, although as mentioned, he can move.

I will try and grab a pic, but again, physically speaking, he looks great.

Appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Saldarya]

Here is a pic from just now. A bit over exposed from the iphone, and misters just went off.

 

[Kath44]

Is he eating ok and drinking? Does he move to eat or wait for feeders to come to him?
Hope someone with more experience can help you more.
Kath.

 

[djfishygillz]

I would provide him with more foliage so he isn't nervous and so he can feel more hidden.

I would also up the temps and that should increase his activity. I would do low 90's for basking and have the lowest ambient in the 80's. If you check the weather in madagascar it rarely ever is in the 60s and also the average day temp isn't in the 70's it is in the lower to mid 80's.

 

[Saldarya]

thanks for the comments, but keep in mind the cage and conditions have been this way for 18 months for him, nothing has changed that would cause him to change his behavior.

Concerning the temps, he wont move to his basking spot regardless of the temp. Again, all of a sudden in the last 3 days.

I am looking for any possible medical causes for this type of behavior.

 

[Justin18]

Have you made any changes to your cham lately? (i.e. temps, diet, etc.)

 

[kplatvoet]

Since your a long term member I doubt it's anything habitat related - unless he ate something weird - it does sound to me to be something he ate- or possibly an infection somewhere - I would take him in for an x ray-and blood work-

 

[Decadancin]

I know this may sound a bit weird, but can he see a window from his enclosure? I'm wondering if its been cloudy the past couple days. If that is the case, and the temperature in the enclosure is down a degree or two, it could bring on this type of reaction. My veiled will occasionally sit in the lower portion of his cage and is very dark. At times he will not even come out to bask. Usually this happens when my room temp is a bit cooler and there are a bunch of clouds around. It could be a possibility.

 

[Saldarya]

Thanks for the feedback all. He cannot see out a window, but this does strike me as something that could be related to the seasons, although we have been cooler for a couple of months now.

It could of been something he ate, but again, I feed all of the chams out of the same feeders, which I breed myself, so not sure.

I have a vet appointment this afternoon for a wellness check on another cham and will just take him along to rule out any obvious physical issues that I may have missed.

 

[djfishygillz]

If it is colder outside, then typically it is also colder inside at least by a few degrees. So like I said, upping the ambient temp would most likely increase his movement again.

 

[Justin18]

If it is colder outside, then typically it is also colder inside at least by a few degrees. So like I said, upping the ambient temp would most likely increase his movement again.

Valid point. If he's right it could save you a trip to the vet and some $$$. Worth a shot lol

 

[Saldarya]

Although I do agree and understand the point about the cooler temps affecting them, the temps here have not fluctuated in the last 6 weeks. Again, something has changed in the last 5 days, not since the season change.

Anyhow, went to the vet, had him check all of the potential physical issues and there are no issues. Got him home, placed him near basking spot where he hung out for a while, and then when lights got ready to go out, he headed to his normal sleeping spot.

I also weighed him this morning and he has gained weight since the last weighing 6 weeks ago, so, that seems to be going well.

dunno, since there is nothing wrong that can be directly assessed, I will keep an eye on him and see if anything changes. Maybe he is just in a 'mood'.

Thanks for listening, the comments, and letting me vent.

 

[ZachG]

I have zero cham experience, but do you think it could have anything to do with the weird weather patterns we've had for the past week or so? We've been dry and cold to wet and warm, back to wettish and cold. I can see the effects on my frogs as the weather shifts back and forth...maybe the same is happening with the chams. Perhaps something with the barometric pressure? Obviously, one would expect multiple individuals to be affected if that were the case though.

Just throwing out some thoughts...