Worried about my new panther

[Claritali]

Hi all,

I am a compete newbie owner - I got my first chameleon 3 days ago. He is a panther chameleon around 3-4 months old.

Currently I am a little worried if he is doing ok. Basically he has not eaten for the last two days and sleeps during the day as well as during the night. He ate some crickets on the day that I got him (even from my hand), but nothing since.

I read on some other threads that it takes them some days to settle in and that I shouldn't worry about him not eating. However I'm a little concerned about the amount that he is sleeping.

Also I wonder what you think about his body condition? he looks a bit skinny to me. At the shop where I got him they fed him 4 crickets a day, but I read here that he could easily have 10 as he is growing.

He is drinking a lot and pooping fine (white and brown - looks normal). Also when I come to the enclosure to mist it or check on him he opens his eyes and will also walk around.

Thank you so much for any advice I just hope there is something I can do to make him feel better!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 3-4 month old male panther chameleon, in my care since wednesday (3 days)
• Handling - I do not handle him.
• Feeding - Feeding him crickets, as that is what he had at the shop where I brought him. Currently he eats size 5-6. I put more than enough crickets in his cage freely (they did it like that at the shop where he was before). This morning I also got him a little bird feeding cup and put crickets in. Crickets are being fed apple/banana/basil leaves at the moment but I plan on switching food items every day.
• Supplements - I dust te crickets in Reptivite Reptile vitamins with D3 (as this is what they gave him at the shop)
• Watering - I mist by hand in the morning and in the evening, and that is when he drinks off of the leaves. If the leaves dry up completely I mist a bit in between so he has access to water at all times. I also have a fogger that runs 3 times a day for 1 hour. He drinks at least 3 times a day.
• Fecal Description - Color and consistency a bit similar to bird poop, with dark brown part and white, runny part. I don't see any insect remains in the poop. He has not been tested for parasites.
• History - He comesfrom a specialized reptile seller who got him and his siblings from a breeder. He was previously housed in a smaller glass enclosure together with his sister.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoomed Reptibreeze XL (60x60x120 cm) screen enclosure
• Lighting - ExoTerra Daylight basking spot 150 w and the Arcadia 39W Pro T5 UVB Kit 12% UV Lamp. Both go on at 8 am and shut off at 8 pm.
• Temperature - On the basking branch tmp is around 26°C. Cage floor probably around 20°. At night the lowest temperature is 18.5. I have a thermometer/Hygrometer (see photos).
• Humidity - Humidity is 90% after misting, and goes down to about 50%. When I wake up in the morning humidity is around 60%, so maybe I have to figure out how to increase humidity more during the night.
• Plants - I have live plants, a ficus, a big schefflera and some bromeliads. They are planted in the enclosure (bioactive, I got all kinds of isopods too)
• Placement - In my bedroom, not near fans but it is next to the door so I walk past it when getting in and out of the room. The cage is on the floor.
• Location - Netherlands

Current Problem - New panther chameleon sleeping a lot and not eating.

The day I got him:

Also the day I got him

Yesterday, sleeping awkwardly during the day (around 2 pm)

The enclosure:

Temp and Humidity:

Sleeping last night (around 8 pm, just before lights went out):

 

[Andrew1283]

Definitely get the enclosure off the floor and up on a table or stand so he feels secure. They like to be higher than we are so they feel safe in a canopy.

 

[Andrew1283]

When I brought home my first chameleon, a female veiled, she didn’t eat for a few days either. My second chameleon though ate like a monster from day one. For some of them, the rehoming process can be a shock. Offer him some different feeders to see if he’s interested. Also, try letting the crickets run up the screens of the enclosure and see if his predatory instinct kicks in. If the crickets are just sitting in a cup, that may not do it for him.

 

[Andrew1283]

Just put the crickets in a cup and tilt the cup up against the screen. The crickets will run right up the screen. Good luck

 

[GrannyK]

One thing that pops out to me is the supplement. Routinely it’s calcium’s without d3 every feeding and a vitamin and d3 rotation 2x month. Hopefully an expert will chime in, there’s a few other things that caught my attention but I’ll leave it to them!
Welcome to the forum! You have a cute little guy there!

 

[Ghostbirb]

Does he sleep during the day?

 

[Claritali]

Definitely get the enclosure off the floor and up on a table or stand so he feels secure. They like to be higher than we are so they feel safe in a canopy.

We just lifted the enclosure up and put it on a desk (also not in view of the door anymore) I hope this will help, thank you so much!

 

[Claritali]

Does he sleep during the day?

He does, quite a lot. is that a sign of stress?

 

[Claritali]

One thing that pops out to me is the supplement. Routinely it’s calcium’s without d3 every feeding and a vitamin and d3 rotation 2x month. Hopefully an expert will chime in, there’s a few other things that caught my attention but I’ll leave it to them!
Welcome to the forum! You have a cute little guy there!

Thank you! I also was a little surprised when the lady told me to give him the one with D3. Well he hasn't had a lot of it obviously so there is still time to switch.

 

[GrannyK]

Thank you! I also was a little surprised when the lady told me to give him the one with D3. Well he hasn't had a lot of it obviously so there is still time to switch.

I have a panther as well and I use Repashy calcium plus lod 2x a month and it covers the vit and d3 need. And plain Repashy super cal no d for every daily feeding. Works well for us but there is other ones out there that work great also.

 

[Claritali]

Update: I left him alone yesterday afternoon and I think he ate some crickets as there were less of them in the cage this morning. He looks fine, but still drinking a lot and taking naps during the day with his head up and eyes closed. I read that that might be a sign of a respiratory infection, so I will take him to a vet tomorrow (today is sunday). Fingers crossed

 

[Flick boy]

Update: I left him alone yesterday afternoon and I think he ate some crickets as there were less of them in the cage this morning. He looks fine, but still drinking a lot and taking naps during the day with his head up and eyes closed. I read that that might be a sign of a respiratory infection, so I will take him to a vet tomorrow (today is sunday). Fingers crossed

Hi as mentioned you want to use calcium no d3 like panga every feed then twice a month a multivitamin with d3 like reptivite. You could also add a variety of feeders like dubia and red runner roaches, locusts, black soldier fly larve, silkworms. No fogger during the day this can lead to respiratory problems, you could add a dripper. 90 % humidity during the day is to high 60,70 max. If your night time temps are 65 or below you could run your fogger fo a couple of hours then . What kind of basking bulb? 150 seems a bit high. Where is your probe placed?

 

[GrannyK]

Update: I left him alone yesterday afternoon and I think he ate some crickets as there were less of them in the cage this morning. He looks fine, but still drinking a lot and taking naps during the day with his head up and eyes closed. I read that that might be a sign of a respiratory infection, so I will take him to a vet tomorrow (today is sunday). Fingers crossed

So glad he’s eating, by the sounds of things you may be right on that ri. he does well at the vet and it gets figured out. Thanks for updating and let us know how it goes.

 

[Claritali]

Hi as mentioned you want to use calcium no d3 like panga every feed then twice a month a multivitamin with d3 like reptivite. You could also add a variety of feeders like dubia and red runner roaches, locusts, black soldier fly larve, silkworms. No fogger during the day this can lead to respiratory problems, you could add a dripper. 90 % humidity during the day is to high 60,70 max. If your night time temps are 65 or below you could run your fogger fo a couple of hours then . What kind of basking bulb? 150 seems a bit high. Where is your probe placed?

Thank you so much for your feedback, it is very much appreciated!

I ordered some different bugs and a dripper, they should arrive soon. My night temperatures are around 18 (which is 65 fahrenheit I guess) So I changed the schedule for the fogger to go on at night. During the day the humidity stays 55-60%. I have changed the bulb to a 75 watt exo terra daylight bulb (the other one was indeed a bit hot). Both lamps are lifted about 15cm (6 inch) off the top of the cage. Temperature at the highest branch is around 27 degrees all day. He basks in the mornings when the lights go on.

After some crickets disappeared yesterday, today he didn't eat again... calling the vet tomorrow.

 

[Andrew1283]

I just use a thumb tack to poke a hole in the bottom of a plastic bottle as my dripper. It’s a good way to recycle a plastic bottle and works great.

 

[Flick boy]

Thank you so much for your feedback, it is very much appreciated!

I ordered some different bugs and a dripper, they should arrive soon. My night temperatures are around 18 (which is 65 fahrenheit I guess) So I changed the schedule for the fogger to go on at night. During the day the humidity stays 55-60%. I have changed the bulb to a 75 watt exo terra daylight bulb (the other one was indeed a bit hot). Both lamps are lifted about 15cm (6 inch) off the top of the cage. Temperature at the highest branch is around 27 degrees all day. He basks in the mornings when the lights go on.

After some crickets disappeared yesterday, today he didn't eat again... calling the vet tomorrow.

Your welcome it can take a bit of time for them to settle ,just making sure everything is on point, has he ever had a fecal done ?

 

[JackRipper]

i recommend misting in the morning and before bed let the enclosure dry out during the day, toss 10 crickets in the enclosure and give him privacy for a day or 2. I sneak up on mine to check on them and observe, if they see me I run away lol. once they've established the territory you can reintroduce yourself. most likely he feels on display and unsafe atm. good looking boy there I'm sure he'll come around

 

[Lt.WorfReportingForDuty]

One thing that pops out to me is the supplement. Routinely it’s calcium’s without d3 every feeding and a vitamin and d3 rotation 2x month. Hopefully an expert will chime in, there’s a few other things that caught my attention but I’ll leave it to them!
Welcome to the forum! You have a cute little guy there!

Agreed. Also consider a multivitamin 2x a month (I like reptivite brand) especially because we don’t know if the breeder/shop he was at was giving gutloaded bugs or not.

 

[Flick boy]

i recommend misting in the morning and before bed let the enclosure dry out during the day, toss 10 crickets in the enclosure and give him privacy for a day or 2. I sneak up on mine to check on them and observe, if they see me I run away lol. once they've established the territory you can reintroduce yourself. most likely he feels on display and unsafe atm. good looking boy there I'm sure he'll come around

I would use a feeder as crickets just tossed in . No 1 you can't keep track of how much you cham is eating no 2 hungry crickets can and will both upset your cham and also bite / nibble your cham and cause damage I never leave uneaten feeders in , the only feeder I free range are locusts as r they are diurnal , crickets are nocturnal

 

[JackRipper]

I would use a feeder as crickets just tossed in . No 1 you can't keep track of how much you cham is eating no 2 hungry crickets can and will both upset your cham and also bite / nibble your cham and cause damage I never leave uneaten feeders in , the only feeder I free range are locusts as r they are diurnal , crickets are nocturnal

I recommend only 10 at a time so they don't swarm the cham and stress it. depending on the size of the enclosure 10 shouldn't pose a problem. I agree I would also offer a feed cup with some dubias or a horn worm.