Why is my panther chameleon so small?

[karmalover]

hi everyone,

this is karma, my 5 and a half old panther chameleon. he has been in my care for 3ish months. i think he’s very small for his age & it worries me.

info:
i handle him probably twice a month and feed him as many crickets or bsfl (gutloaded w/ carrots every night, dusted with calcium & bee pollen everyday, calcium d3 twice a month) as he’ll eat during the day. 9am-12pm specifically. (he gets 2-3 hornworms as a treat a week) i mist his enclosure for 3 minutes in the morning & 5 mins at night— humidity tends to go from 60% down to 40% from the morning until his next misting, humidity is 75% throughout night. he hasn’t had a vet visit yet (not tested for parasites).

his enclosure is a 24” x 18” x 36” exo-terra glass terrarium (glass as i live in canada & it’s hard to control his humidity & temperature with unpredictable weather) & there are holes in front and mesh at the top to have that “chimney effect”. there is a lot of foliage— a mix of fake (plastic not silk ) & real plants and real and fake vine/branches. i use a flukers basking bulb (75w) and his basking spot is approx 32° and throughout his enclosure during the day it’s approx range is between 22-26° & at night all lights off, i keep the enclosure anywhere between 15°-21°. he has a t5 linear uvb bulb, forgot the brand. don’t have a UVB meter but i believe it’s 6%, raised 2” from the top of his enclosure.
his cage is on a desk from ikea, it’s the highest thing in the room.

i attached a photo of him, he’s very cute and i do plan on going to see a vet if he doesn’t grow in the next month.

anything helps!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. I am not good at all at sexing panthers, but I do think you have a little girl. If I am correct, that would be one reason for your chameleon being petite. Having a fecal check to rule out parasites is a good idea.
How much and how often are you feeding?
I would suggest a larger variety of feeders and to improve what you are feeding them with. Attaching a couple of graphics for you.
Are you using a multivitamin? You should be lightly dusting one feeding every other week (alternating with the weeks you use the D3) with a good multivitamin such as Reptivite without D3.
Your temps are a bit too high. You don’t want basking temp to exceed around 26c.
I’m a night person and headed off to sleep, but the sun-loving members will be able to offer more and better assistance with your little cutie.

 

[MzLaurie11]

I just got a baby veiled at 4 months. The breeder said he would double in size About every two weeks. he is tiny too. After he shed he did double in size. I dont know about panthers though. But they seem to be almost the same size. Iput a pic at 4 months and one at 5.

 

[bruce the cham]

i believe you have a girl what did they say the sex was where you got her/him

 

[SerpeRoma]

Looks like a female to me too! The colors are a pretty evident sign and also the tail looks very thin for a male.. I have 2 females born at the same time and one is twice as big as the other one. I guess it's just genetics.. nothing to worry about anyway, the vet cannot make her grow faster

 

[Beman]

I agree with @MissSkittles on the parasite testing.... This is the most common issue linked to slow/lack of growth. So getting a fecal tested to ensure baby does not need to be treated for a parasite load would be my first step.

As far as the gender looking at the tail base I would say you have a female... But while females are smaller they do grow and they do mature which takes me back to getting a fecal test to rule out parasites. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2013/04/male-or-female-how-to-sex-baby-panther.html

 

[karmalover]

Hi and welcome. I am not good at all at sexing panthers, but I do think you have a little girl. If I am correct, that would be one reason for your chameleon being petite. Having a fecal check to rule out parasites is a good idea.
How much and how often are you feeding?
I would suggest a larger variety of feeders and to improve what you are feeding them with. Attaching a couple of graphics for you.
Are you using a multivitamin? You should be lightly dusting one feeding every other week (alternating with the weeks you use the D3) with a good multivitamin such as Reptivite without D3.
Your temps are a bit too high. You don’t want basking temp to exceed around 26c.
I’m a night person and headed off to sleep, but the sun-loving members will be able to offer more and better assistance with your little cutie.
View attachment 322782View attachment 322783

thank you so much for all your help! definitely going to get him/her tested for parasites asap, and hopefully sexed so i can be sure. definitely going to take in a lot of this info & apply it to the way i’m caring for karma (getting multivitamin, decreasing basking spot, various gutload for feeders). thank you again!

 

[karmalover]

i believe you have a girl what did they say the sex was where you got her/him

they let me know he was most likely a boy-- they did give me a heads up that they could be wrong as it's hard to tell when they're younger.

 

[MissSkittles]

Since I’m now not alone in believing you have a girl, I do have to ask if you’re aware that she will lay (infertile) eggs when she matures. Her colors will start to change to peachy, pink or lavender and that is when you want to prepare a lay bin and keep it as a permanent part of her enclosure. A plastic bin at least 12” wide and long filled to about 4” with play sand moistened enough to hold a tunnel is what you’ll need. It is best to drill some small drain holes in the bottom of the bin so it can drain excess water.

 

[karmalover]

Since I’m now not alone in believing you have a girl, I do have to ask if you’re aware that she will lay (infertile) eggs when she matures. Her colors will start to change to peachy, pink or lavender and that is when you want to prepare a lay bin and keep it as a permanent part of her enclosure. A plastic bin at least 12” wide and long filled to about 4” with play sand moistened enough to hold a tunnel is what you’ll need. It is best to drill some small drain holes in the bottom of the bin so it can drain excess water.
View attachment 322795

yes! luckily i was well aware of the risk of incorrect sexing & did my research on both male & females prior to taking karma home gonna get the bin set-up tomorrow to make sure i’m not too late. thank you for all your help!! i really appreciate it