Worried about my Panther

[Ashley]

I have a year and half old Ambilobe who is the love of my life. Lately he hasnt been eating like he used to. When we first got him he would eat out of my hand all the time, and he used to be a very active hunter, running around the cage and just having a great time. Now he wont eat out of my hand, he eats very lethargically and I am Just worried about him.

Heres the stats:
Cage : 30x30x18 (open air of course)
Foliage: Schefflera & Random Vines and Sticks ( using Wipe out on it every week)
Food: Crickets Dusted Every day with something different
Mon, Wed, Fri- Reptocal w/D3 (since its winter)
Tuesday and Thursday - 2:0 Calcium No Phos- or Bone Aid Calcium w/o D3
Once a week is Reptivite
We Feed him 5-10 Cricks a Day usually staying on the low side- And Super Worms to see if we can stimulate his appetite.
Lighting: Reptiglo 5.0 (we cant find reptisun....) and a Heat lamp which is
95° in the basking spot

he hasnt been pooping as much as he used to, we put him in the shower and he made a massive one the other day. And it looked normal. We just moved, about a week ago with a friend ( Boy Friend and I are 20, Friend is 40) and her kids are absolutly in love with him, but i think it has stressed him out a bit

any Suggestions on what we can do?

Do you think we are over Feeding/ Supplimenting
Do you think we should just leave him alone and let him cope?
Do you think we should try something else as a food for now?

thanks for reading my thread

 

[John33871]

try feeding him some silkworms, maybe he is just bored. i had my veiled feed with crickets and he to was not eating, so i got some silkworms and he loved them. unfortunately he is not not eating again so im trying butter worms, but he does not seem to like them. the supply of silkworm stores online are low right now so you just got to keep checking with them to see when they will have a new batch ready to go. anyways good luck with your little guy

 

[Justin Carl]

Pathers are more likely to go on a cricket strike.
you could try a different feeder.
Superworm
Roach
Silkworm
hornworm
Yea, a nice shower does help usually make them have a large fecal movement.

 

[Ashley]

heres a pic of the setup


and its not that he isnt eating its more of the fact that he takes 8 hours to eat 5 crix, and he used to just devour all of them in less than 5 minutes

 

[Justin Carl]

why dont you replace that ceramic/ red bulb you have with a house bulb.
House bulbs give of UVA that stimulate appetite.

 

[joefarah]

If it were me, I'd tinker with the diet and lighting as was previously stated.

I'm a big advocate of "variety is the spice of life" when it comes to their diet. They will eat guppies, pinkies, all types of feeder worms (including nightcrawlers which are very nutritious) so try mixing it up for him a bit.

Also, I firmly believe that diurnal lizards benefit psychologically from very bright lighting. I use a 4 foot fixture that holds 2 flourescent bulbs. One is a 5.0 UV and the other is a high-lumen house bulb that mimics the sun's spectrum. I also put a third light for basking which is a nice bright 75 watt incandescant.

When temps permit I try to bring them out for some unfiltered sun too.

I have read that its normal for healthy adult chameleons to go through a period of lower activity and feeding levels for a few months each year. I've seen it to a slight degree with my adult panthers.

I hope he is just in a little funk and its nothing serious...


- Joe

 

[joefarah]

Also Ashley,

I might suggest taking a break on the supplementation for a bit. Others may dissagree with me, but I guarantee he is just fine in terms of his vitamin/ mineral requirements and there is documentation that over-supplementation is just as bad. Try a more mixed diet and don't rely so heavily on supplements. Gut load the crix instead and feed some other types of small live prey.

For a male, once a week light vitamin supplementation is plenty. With a varied diet and proper lighting, you shouldn't need to supplement a male panther very often to meet his nutritional requirements. Obviously the female needs her calcium all the time and the juvies need more because they're growing, but that adult male shouldn't need much. You might be doing more harm than good.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[PardalisGirl]

Tinker Away..........

I agree with Joe's post.....I would cut down on the supplementation. I also add house lighting to my cages. I have two Reptisun tube lights over each cage. I add a heat bulb and a low heat emitting house type light to brighten things up. My house is very dark this time of year. Also, is there any way to limit the kids interaction with your little Ambilobe? I would imagine he is a magnet for these kids. I would not let them handle im or fuss with the cage until you feel he is acting more normally. Silkworms are hard to come by right now. You can get hornworm pods or butterworms at Mullberry Farms. Hope he perks up soon. Please keep us updated

 

[Dankmeleon]

its probably any number of combinations between, appetite slowing because of cooler winter temps, metabolic rate slowing gradually because of age, or slight dehydration

make sure to give him a good mist session, after a couple days without food, he should be starving...don't feed him the day after either, get him in the habit of wanting food and not having it that way when you present food he'll go right for it, and two days after a good feeding isn't life threatening as I've had chams go on hunger strikes for a week

 

[Ashley]

I can definitely change the lights and the type of food I give hime. I usually throw him something new every once in a while but he just really doesn't want anything. Usually wormy things don't move around enough for him to be interested, but it's worth a try. I gutload my crickets with romaine, collard greens, apple peels, and sometimes carrots, but we go easy on the carrots.

How much lower should I be going on the supplementing?
Once every 2 weeks or once a month for reptivite and 1 or 2 days a week for the calcium. I guess I am over compensating because in the summer I have him outside like everyday and now it's in the 30's if not lower so all he has is his uvb light inside.


This is our first winter with him so it's probably just a seasonal thing more than anything else, at least i'm hoping. He is drinking just like normal. Loves his showers a few times a week. The eating is the only issue i'm having and I guess the decreased amount of defecating is due to the lack of eating (duh) LOL

 

[Dankmeleon]

also make sure during this time that the water your giving him is clean and chlorine free so he can get a good flush of his system

 

[Ashley]

Well water is a beautiful thing... The water is nice and clean, no additives. Thanks for all the advice.