UrbanChameleon
New Member
It's been a few months since I've updated my boy health wise. So I figured I would post up-to-date information, and get some random questions out of the way.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Loki, Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. He's been in my care since the middle of April 2012. I was told the hatch date could have been Jan. 3rd, but I believe him to be younger than that. I am thinking he is about 6-7 months old, however that was the date I was told.
Handling - Maybe once a month. It's pretty random so it's hard to say. He does very well with being handled when the time comes.
Feeding - His staple is crickets. They are mostly gutloaded with Cricket Crack and Repashy Superload. Depending on what he needs, they are also gutloaded with organic fruits and vegetables. Silkworms have been introduced into his diet also. I'm waiting for him to get a little bigger to start a roach colony. He eats about 12+ crickets a day. I've cut back a the Silks because his poop was becoming watery and white. I took that as a sign to cut back.
Supplements - Lightly dusted Repashy Calcium Plus daily. He occasionally has a break from that, where I give him plain calcium.
Watering - Hand spraying at the moment. I get his cage good and wet. He's a good drinker so I don't use a dripper. Although I have one, and a mister.
Fecal Description - White urates, and firm brown fecal as of now. As stated earlier, his poop had been watery and white from the Silkworms. So I cut back. His fecal is back to normal. He poops daily.
History - He was sick when he first came into my care. To this day I have no idea what the cause was. He didn't eat for a week and vomited once. Otherwise, he was a perfectly healthy looking baby Chameleon. It was a big scare, but I got him back into working shape. He has been fine ever since.. and babied.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - LLL screen cage. 16x16x30. Fake plants and vines.
Lighting - 40 watt heat bulb and a linear 5.0. 9AM-9PM.
Temperature - I've had a lot of temp fluctuations since summer hit. His average basking spot stays in the mid to high 80's. It's about 72+ at night.
Humidity - This is where it gets tricky. His humidity is on the lower side. It averages out around 48%. For the most part it's in the 40-50% range. The lowest before spraying gets to about 33%. This is the one thing I've had the hardest time with. My Veiled's cage is right next to his, and his humidity stays 60+. The gauge is positioned pretty high in Loki's cage, so this could be the reason. I've tried everything to no avail. The gauge itself could be off too. I realize it's not ideal, but was assured by some forum members that he would be fine.
Plants - No live plants. Because of the "scare" he had as a baby, I decided live plants were a no-go until his adult cage.
Placement - His cage sits on a shelving system. His basking spot is eye level to me when standing. No traffic other than me, no vents, or fans.
Location - North Eastern Kentucky.
Current Problem - No problems really. I just have a few random questions/concerns that don't need separate posts.
1) First of all is size. He is what I would say is.. small for his age. My Veiled was a monster when he was growing, so I thought maybe I was just comparing the two. I've recently seen a few pics of one of his siblings, which is larger than him. I never took size to be a big deal, but I am concerned. He should look like a juve-adult at this point. He looks more like a 4 month old. His colors look like an older male Ambilobe too.
I've taken it all with stride because of his illness as a baby. That couldn't have been easy on a growing boy. I never posted about it, because eventually he will be adult sized. But if his age is correct, he should look like a young adult, not a Panther growing out of his baby stage. I want to add that he has definitely grown since I've had him. However, it has gone by very slowly.
2) I noticed he was missing some spikes on his back a while ago. I immediately became panicked thinking he had been burnt in my care. I looked back to a pic of the day I got him and zoomed in. The spikes were missing before I got him. He has no signs of scarring at all. When he came to me, he had a big piece of shed stuck to his nose. And his spikes seem to be one of the last things shed. So after doing some digging, I came to the conclusion that he lost these during a bad shed (at approximately 1-2 months of age). Now that he's getting bigger, it's becoming more noticeable. Does the retained shed cause sound right, considering he doesn't have any scarring? It doesn't bother me or him, but this wouldn't have any kind of effect on him as an adult.. correct?
And that's about it. Just some concerns about Loki's slow growth rate and some missing spikes. Other than that he's all good. He's BY FAR been my easiest Chameleon (except for the beginning).. knock on wood. He has such an easy going spirit and not a care in the world. Other than my iPhone that is.
Recent:
About one month ago:
Two-three months ago:
And this is the day I got him:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Loki, Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon. He's been in my care since the middle of April 2012. I was told the hatch date could have been Jan. 3rd, but I believe him to be younger than that. I am thinking he is about 6-7 months old, however that was the date I was told.
Handling - Maybe once a month. It's pretty random so it's hard to say. He does very well with being handled when the time comes.
Feeding - His staple is crickets. They are mostly gutloaded with Cricket Crack and Repashy Superload. Depending on what he needs, they are also gutloaded with organic fruits and vegetables. Silkworms have been introduced into his diet also. I'm waiting for him to get a little bigger to start a roach colony. He eats about 12+ crickets a day. I've cut back a the Silks because his poop was becoming watery and white. I took that as a sign to cut back.
Supplements - Lightly dusted Repashy Calcium Plus daily. He occasionally has a break from that, where I give him plain calcium.
Watering - Hand spraying at the moment. I get his cage good and wet. He's a good drinker so I don't use a dripper. Although I have one, and a mister.
Fecal Description - White urates, and firm brown fecal as of now. As stated earlier, his poop had been watery and white from the Silkworms. So I cut back. His fecal is back to normal. He poops daily.
History - He was sick when he first came into my care. To this day I have no idea what the cause was. He didn't eat for a week and vomited once. Otherwise, he was a perfectly healthy looking baby Chameleon. It was a big scare, but I got him back into working shape. He has been fine ever since.. and babied.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - LLL screen cage. 16x16x30. Fake plants and vines.
Lighting - 40 watt heat bulb and a linear 5.0. 9AM-9PM.
Temperature - I've had a lot of temp fluctuations since summer hit. His average basking spot stays in the mid to high 80's. It's about 72+ at night.
Humidity - This is where it gets tricky. His humidity is on the lower side. It averages out around 48%. For the most part it's in the 40-50% range. The lowest before spraying gets to about 33%. This is the one thing I've had the hardest time with. My Veiled's cage is right next to his, and his humidity stays 60+. The gauge is positioned pretty high in Loki's cage, so this could be the reason. I've tried everything to no avail. The gauge itself could be off too. I realize it's not ideal, but was assured by some forum members that he would be fine.
Plants - No live plants. Because of the "scare" he had as a baby, I decided live plants were a no-go until his adult cage.
Placement - His cage sits on a shelving system. His basking spot is eye level to me when standing. No traffic other than me, no vents, or fans.
Location - North Eastern Kentucky.
Current Problem - No problems really. I just have a few random questions/concerns that don't need separate posts.
1) First of all is size. He is what I would say is.. small for his age. My Veiled was a monster when he was growing, so I thought maybe I was just comparing the two. I've recently seen a few pics of one of his siblings, which is larger than him. I never took size to be a big deal, but I am concerned. He should look like a juve-adult at this point. He looks more like a 4 month old. His colors look like an older male Ambilobe too.
I've taken it all with stride because of his illness as a baby. That couldn't have been easy on a growing boy. I never posted about it, because eventually he will be adult sized. But if his age is correct, he should look like a young adult, not a Panther growing out of his baby stage. I want to add that he has definitely grown since I've had him. However, it has gone by very slowly.
2) I noticed he was missing some spikes on his back a while ago. I immediately became panicked thinking he had been burnt in my care. I looked back to a pic of the day I got him and zoomed in. The spikes were missing before I got him. He has no signs of scarring at all. When he came to me, he had a big piece of shed stuck to his nose. And his spikes seem to be one of the last things shed. So after doing some digging, I came to the conclusion that he lost these during a bad shed (at approximately 1-2 months of age). Now that he's getting bigger, it's becoming more noticeable. Does the retained shed cause sound right, considering he doesn't have any scarring? It doesn't bother me or him, but this wouldn't have any kind of effect on him as an adult.. correct?
And that's about it. Just some concerns about Loki's slow growth rate and some missing spikes. Other than that he's all good. He's BY FAR been my easiest Chameleon (except for the beginning).. knock on wood. He has such an easy going spirit and not a care in the world. Other than my iPhone that is.
Recent:
About one month ago:
Two-three months ago:
And this is the day I got him:
