jcarlsen
Chameleon Enthusiast
Chameleon Info:
I do see him drink, but not every time. He doesn't seem to rush for the water from what I can see.
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The last couple of months I’ve slowly noticed he hasn’t quite been shooting his tongue like he used to, and in particular hasn’t gotten it farther out than a few inches and has missed his prey more and more from my hand and the feeder cup. By missed I mean he simply won't shoot it far enough, not off target per se. He'll typically get his face in close either in the feeder cup or to my hand to half shoot/grab it with the tongue. This past month in particular I've really noticed his mobility take a decline, where he won't really reach out past his neck with his front arms and he seems to have trouble finding the branches with his rear feet, particularly when trying to turn around and go the other way. His grip still feels strong, but I've observed him slip when trying to reach for a branch or turn around and save himself with his tail.
Quick disclaimer: It's gonna be another week or two minimum before I can get him to the vet (about an hour away). I've just undergone spine surgery about 2 weeks ago and shouldn't be riding in a car for more than 30 mins at a time until the recovery period is over. So definitely any actionable things I can do at home be it changing the supplements, trying again to just deny him worms and see what he does for a period longer than I described, changing the lighting out...whatever I can do in the meanwhile would be helpful. I had a brief interaction with one of the staff members here who said they use Rep Cal Plus LoD every feeding with the same lighting as mine, so I've ordered that in hopes that it might help. Recent pics of enclosure and Jasper below.
Current Problem - The last couple of months I’ve noticed he hasn’t quite been shooting his tongue like he used to, and in particular hasn’t gotten it farther out than a few inches and has missed his prey more and more from my hand. At first I figured it was because I don’t have the steadiest hand or the worm is about to fall off, but still a bit concerning. At almost 4 years old, I guess he’s kind of approaching the lifespan-ish of a panther, but I wouldn’t expect this to be age related unless you all think it could be.
- Your Chameleon - Male ambilobe panther chameleon. 4yrs 1month old. Been in my care about 3.75 years or so.
- Handling - Maybe once or twice a week. I put my hands in daily for a hand feed or to clean a poop and the occasional chin scratch.
- Feeding - Feeding mainly superworms every 2-3 days. He will eat hornworms and silkworms just not as much. I can occasionally get him to eat a dubia if it’s on the branch and moving. Offering 10-12 and he'll usually take between 3-8. I'm gutloading primarily with Repashy’s bug burger in both powder and gel form along with apples, carrots and sometimes greens.
- Supplements - lightly using repashys calcium plus on every feeding
- Watering - I primarily use a mistking with a rain dome set up above the pothos and a nozzle in the cage. My misting schedule is:
- 730am/5 mins
- 10am/30 seconds
- 1pm/5 mins
- 3pm/1min
- 5pm/2 min
I do see him drink, but not every time. He doesn't seem to rush for the water from what I can see.
- Fecal Description - Fecals have mostly been normal. Last two
- History - Other than coccidia a couple years ago he hasn't had any other major problems. He's a bit small for his age and unfortunately due to my desire for hand feeding I got him hooked on supers. I tried offering others for up to 10 days but no takers, so I gave up. This past summer there was blood in one of his poops, but after an emergency vet visit and a round of antibiotics, he seemed to return to normal.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - 24x24x48 dragon strand keeper screen cage.
- Lighting - I'm using a double 22" fluorescent fixture with 6% Arcadia and a 6500k plant bulb, both T5HO. It's on at 7:15 am and off at around 7:15pm.
- Temperature - Floor is in low 70s, low 80s under uv and 85-87 right under basking spot. I have a probe for the basking and a heat gun to measure the rest. Lowest overnight temp wouldn't be below 70.
- Humidity - have an analogue humidity gauge and it is around 40%, but during the winter it's dipped down to 20 at times right before a misting. I wrapped several panels on 3 sides with plastic to retain spray and help with humidity.
- Plants - Just a large pothos in the rear left opposite the basking spot. Fake foliage and branches cover the rest.
- Placement - Cage is in living room, it is next to but not blown on by heat vents which are to the left of it and above and below cage level. Top of cage is about 6 or so feet off the ground so basking spot is eye level.
- Location - Boston, MA
Current Problem - The last couple of months I’ve slowly noticed he hasn’t quite been shooting his tongue like he used to, and in particular hasn’t gotten it farther out than a few inches and has missed his prey more and more from my hand and the feeder cup. By missed I mean he simply won't shoot it far enough, not off target per se. He'll typically get his face in close either in the feeder cup or to my hand to half shoot/grab it with the tongue. This past month in particular I've really noticed his mobility take a decline, where he won't really reach out past his neck with his front arms and he seems to have trouble finding the branches with his rear feet, particularly when trying to turn around and go the other way. His grip still feels strong, but I've observed him slip when trying to reach for a branch or turn around and save himself with his tail.
Quick disclaimer: It's gonna be another week or two minimum before I can get him to the vet (about an hour away). I've just undergone spine surgery about 2 weeks ago and shouldn't be riding in a car for more than 30 mins at a time until the recovery period is over. So definitely any actionable things I can do at home be it changing the supplements, trying again to just deny him worms and see what he does for a period longer than I described, changing the lighting out...whatever I can do in the meanwhile would be helpful. I had a brief interaction with one of the staff members here who said they use Rep Cal Plus LoD every feeding with the same lighting as mine, so I've ordered that in hopes that it might help. Recent pics of enclosure and Jasper below.
Current Problem - The last couple of months I’ve noticed he hasn’t quite been shooting his tongue like he used to, and in particular hasn’t gotten it farther out than a few inches and has missed his prey more and more from my hand. At first I figured it was because I don’t have the steadiest hand or the worm is about to fall off, but still a bit concerning. At almost 4 years old, I guess he’s kind of approaching the lifespan-ish of a panther, but I wouldn’t expect this to be age related unless you all think it could be.
