Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a 2 1/2 year old panther who keeps
going down to the bottom of his cage, trying to get out.
He started doing this about 4 months ago, so i tried a few things... placed his cage higher off the ground, added
a misting nozzle in his cage, covered up the bottom of the
cage so he can't see out.. but nothing helps.
He's in a 24x24x48" the top of the cage is about 6'
off the ground. He seems healthy otherwise, eating and drinking
normally. He'll eventualy fall asleep on the bottom when he gets tired of trying to get out. (and wearing all his claws off on the screen )
Could he be looking for a female, or just not liking his cage?
He's got good lighting, temps, everything.
kp

He might be trying to get to someplace in your house he can see, such as a big indoor potted plant? Or, he's trying to get to trees outside a window. Is he showing stress colors? Can he see other animals or chams? He may feel his cage is too small. Once in a while I have turned a cage so the longest length is horizontal instead. He may need more climbing routes in the cage to give him an outlet for energy and to get access to all parts of the cage.

Thanks Carlton,
Yea i figured it out,.. he could see my large parsonii enclosure,
I guess it looks better to him than his small cage!
I'm going to place him in a spare 260 reptarium, should give
him a little more breathing room. I've let him free
roam around the living room a few times, he seems to really enjoy it. Just wondering if anyone else had experienced this.
It seems like the largest commercially available screen cages are 24x24x48,(other than reptariums) and everyone recommends this size for "large" chameleon species (vieled, panther etc.) most people are using this standard size. Seems too small from what i've noticed.
gw

I think that size is too small also. I have always had larger cages than that or free ranged larger species such as melleri. Personally I think they do best with the largest space you can give them. Some chams do OK in smaller cages, often shyer more stressy ones. Some are just really mellow and content, others are quite demanding (often called cage hogs). I had a small B. fischeri multituberculatum who wasn't happy in an entire bedroom and would find ways to squeeze out of any container, cage, holding box, etc. Your panther is just resenting the nicer quarters the parsoni "rates" and demanding the same treatment!