Young panther screen climbing all day and night

[DavidSanmi]

Hello!
I just got a panther chameleon yesterday in the afternoon, and he has been climbing on the screen walls and ceiling since then. I don’t think he has slept tonight and I’m worried as to why he isn’t walking on the leafs and branches like a normal chameleon. I don’t think it is a temperature problem, as it has a hot spot of 95 Fahrenheit (35 ºC) and an average temperature of 75 Fahrenheit (24 ºC). The terrarium has plenty of branches, leafs and three natural plants, one big and two smaller ones. Does anybody know why this could be happening? Should I be worried?
Thank you in advance.

 

[Shanar808]

To figure out what’s the matter with your baby you will need to fill out this form: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
But for a young chameleon screen climbing isn’t completely abnormal, however your basking temperature is too high. Also to sleep well chameleons need NO light, high humidity, and a temperature drop. (Light and temp being most important)
The chameleon academy care sheet for panthers can be found here: https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/care-sheet-Panther-Chameleon-022020.pdf
It is possible that your chameleon is not used to his/her new home yet but to make sure you have everything on point please fill the form and provide full pics of the chameleon and enclosure.

 

[DavidSanmi]

CHAMELEON INFO:
Furcifer pardalis, few months all (not sure), male. It has been at my home for one day.
I haven’t handled it yet, except for when I put him in the terrarium.
He has eaten 2 cockroaches this morning. i’ve given him the insects with calcium.
I have an automated misting systemfor 20 seconds every three hours.
CAGE INFO:
It is a screen cage of 18x18x36 in.
I have a Exo Terra Sun Glo 125W and a ceramic 50W. The light is on for 12 hours a day.
The temperature is 95 Fahrenheit (35 celsius) in the hot spit with an average temperature in the terrarium of 75 Fahrenheit (24 Celsius).
I have three natura plants, two smaller one and one Pottum.

 

[DavidSanmi]

However, he isn’t climbing anymore and he has eaten fine, thanks for the response.

 

[Rhea’s mum]

I am going to ask a lot of questions to try and get a better picture of things. As said screen climbing is normal but we want to try and get everything else correct.

Is the basking bulb 125w? If so that is a very high wattage. Unless it gets below about 10c then I would scrap the ceramic as it will be pointless. Chams need a good nighttime drop.
What uvb are you using?
As said basking spot is too hot.

Make sure his food is appropriately sized. General rule of thumb is no bigger than space between eyes. Are you going to feed anything else? Are you gutloading the insects?
What exactly are the supplements you are using and how often do you plan to use them?

Could you post a picture of the whole setup just so we can get a better idea of things.

 

[DavidSanmi]

The basking bulb is 125 W, but it is separated like 6 inches from the screen so the chameleon doesn't get burn, and due to this separation the basking apot didn’t reach more than 80 Fahrenheit, so I added the ceramic bulb.
The insect are the right size by your measurement of the distance between the eyes and I have crickets, cockroaches and worms. I give them vegetable and fruits to gutload them.
I plan tosupplement woth calcium every time he eats and calcium with d3 once a week.

 

[Rhea’s mum]

I don’t see a UVB there. You need to get a T5ho with either a 6% or 5.0 bulb. These are long tube bulbs that will run diagonally across the top of the cage. This is an essential piece of kit that you need ASAP.
You will need to add in a multivitamin to your supplements that contains vit A but not d3 if you are going to continue with the calcium with d3. If you use this regime then you will dust 6 days a week with only calcium. Then on the 7th day you alternate each week between the d3 and multivitamin. This way you have 2 doses of d3 a month and 2 of vitamin a month.

Variety is the key in a chams diet. And you want to make sure that the bugs get a variety too.

I would try and get some more cover in there so he has more places to hide.
Just keep an eye on him with the eco terra vines the black bits flake off and when they shed they can rub and the bits can get into their eyes and cause problems.

Keep an eye on your humidity levels. You want 30-50% during the day and high at night. Most advise misting at lights on and lights off generally. If you are worried about hydration keep an eye on the urates (white part of poop). If it’s fully white or partially (less than 50%) yellow then hydration is good.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I don’t see a UVB there.

The Exo Terra [Solar] Glo (mentioned in post #3) is an "all-in-one" mercury vapor bulb that puts out UV A&B as well as white light & heat. There are pros & cons, the main con (IMO) being that you can't balance or adjust those outputs as easily or precisely as with separate basking & UV-B sources.
EDIT: It's also more difficult to establish gradients.

I would try and get some more cover in there so he has more places to hide.

+1. More cover, more climbing opportunities (branches & perches).

I also agree the enclosure is too small, and temps too high. Removing the CHE may help.

 

[DavidSanmi]

Thanks for the info, I will add more plants and take all of this into consideration.

 

[Rhea’s mum]

Thanks @Klyde O'Scope for the info on the uvb bulb. I’ve never come across them before so didn’t know about it

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Thanks @Klyde O'Scope for the info on the uvb bulb. I’ve never come across them before so didn’t know about it

They're described in the Lighting section of Resources. Probably more familiar to free-rangers, and not usually the first choice for us average bears.

Mercury Vapor/ Metal Halide UVB
These specific bulbs are only stable at high wattages and thus put off too much heat and light for typical enclosures and should only be used in very large free range settings (10’x10’ or larger). These bulbs may require special fixtures and are much more expensive than other UVB options.

 

[.Luke.]

I don’t see a UVB you need a t5 linear HO 5 UVB and you can put that on the screen

 

[Beman]

The solar glo 2 in 1 bulb should not be used. These produce high UVI levels and high heat levels. Without a solarmeter 6.5 to know what your exact levels are these become very dangerous for over exposure.

 

[AmandaS]

I don’t see a UVB you need a t5 linear HO 5 UVB and you can put that on the screen

Did you read the thread before posting? You're killing me here, man! Lol.