Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello - I need your advice!

I have several panther chameleons. The oldest is Simon, at seven years. He is slowing down, his front feet do not grip well anymore (he slips) and his tongue doesnt have the same umph it used to. Is this a sign of age? His tail and rear feet are still strong. He still eats and drinks daily. His colour is still lovely. And he still comes to the door of his enclosure to greet me each morning, though sometimes he almost falls doing so.

Vet found nothing amiss, but I wouldnt say any of the vets in my area know much about chameleons so it's hard to trust.

I feed him a variety: crickets, silworms, butter worms, roaches (home grown), kingworms, mealworms (home grown), and occasionally stick insects (home grown), wood sows (home grown), grasshoppers, waxworms and vary rarely hornworms. Food is mineral / vitamin dusted weekly (separate days for vit and min). UVB artificial lighting changed every six months. Temperature range from 77F/23C at bottom of enclosure (2.5'w x 2.5'd x 4'heigh) to 95F/35C at the hot spot daytime, lower at night but never below 65F. Humidty 40-65% (I have trouble keeping it above 50% in the winter). He Drinks twice daily. Misting is once or twice daily to leaves and such but he never drinks the droplets, always prefers the dripper (which also hits the leaves and branches). Simon is about 6 inches/ 15cm from tip of snout to base of tail, and his tail is another 6 inches/15cm or so.

Has anyone any thoughts as to why his grip is going?

If it's age, that's one thing. But if its something else I need to know so that I can correct it AND so that my others do not suffer the same fate.

What is the typical age range for NosyBe Panther chameleons? I've read anything from 3 years to 7, which is why I am thinking that age is Simon's problem.

Thanks.

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

I haven't heard of very many panther chameleons living to be seven, so I would bet on the weak grip thing being old age. I suspect, that just like people, chameleons lose muscle tone and develop something akin to arthritis....just my feelings...no proof. I have seen this weak grip thing happen in panthers that are old though.

I have also seen the pads on their heads "deflate" in old age...not just on panther chameleons, but on other species too...and there is nothing that seems to stop it...it reminds me of people becoming more fragile in their last years. (I notice yours doesn't have that happening yet...so hopefully will still be with you for some time).

I think you have done very well with this chameleon for him to have lived so long!

Just my thoughts on it...no real proof...

Congratulations on keeping him thriving for so long! Not an easy task. I have seen a similar behavior out of a Quad that was imported as an adult and has been in captivity for 10 years. Another amazing feat. The woman who owns that Quad, Ardi Abate, seemed to think he was suffering from a form of Arthritis. Maybe it is the same, maybe not, but perhaps you can try and reach out to her for her opinion on your situation. What I can tell you is she set up little "balchonies" with soft padding at various levels in the enclosure for the Quad to rest on as he had a really touch time gripping and would fall off branches. Not sure if this will work in your case but it worked fairly well for the Quad, so I guess worth a shot. You might be able to dig up Ardi's contact info on Adcham. Good luck!

What I have done for my old weak-footed chameleons is to lay pieces of maple tree bark on an angles in the cage sort of like ramps. They can grip these better because of their rough texture and because they are on a slope.

I agree. rougher surfaces give them more grip with less effort. Also a few larger diameter branches will give the cham some variety in perches and let him select those to relax his toes on flatter surfaces. I had a very old wc verrucocus who showed similar signs. He had some mild vision problems off and on, less active, slower, etc. I offered him more soft bodied feeders to help digestion and got him out in "real" sunlight as often as I could. It always gave him a boost.

I think 7 years old is very good for a panther. I would say it is most definately old age related problems. I currently have an old Veiled chameleon, aged over 6 years old, and he is slowing right down now and I have made him a soft bed (using tea towels)to sleep on at night so that he doesn't fall from his branches. I have been known to lower the heat lamp and place it over the bed area so that my chameleon doesn't get cold on the ground. He is still eating and drinking and most importantly, does not sleep during the day. He is not very active though and spends most of his day in the one position.
My vet confirmed there is nothing that can be medically done for my Veiled chameleon. You can't help old age...

Well done on 7 years btw

Forgot to add, my Veiled chameleon has poor grip in his front arms but excellent grip still in his rear legs.

Having a Panther live to be seven means you're doing nearly everything right. I've had a lot of Panthers and only a couple have lived to be seven or eight. By the time they reach that age, they didn't look as good as yours does. They look like old men in the face. Another illness that Panthers suffer is a gout like condition which I think is extremely painful for them. I had an old Tamatave which lived to be eight. He had gout and would hold his front legs up off the vines when resting. I think even allowing his front feet to touch the vines was very painful for him. He kept his appetite right up to the day he died though. His tongue didn't shoot anymore, he would just roll it out a bit and I would put the cricket (or whatever) on the end. I heard that Panthers in Madagascar don't have a very long life because they fight so much. I don't know for sure if this is true, Ardi Abate would probably know. I think your Panther is suffering mostly from old age, but his sysmptoms don't sound as severe as what I have seen. (Falling is definitely one of those symptoms.) I think he looks pretty good, he may last a while longer than any of mine did.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I appreciate the input.

Yesterday, Simon had a fall and hurt his snout; it bled.
This freaked me out. So I have now modified his enclosure to better accomodate his lesser grip. I have taken your suggestions about ramps, he has two gentle slopes now. He's had a preference for those coated tube "vines" one can buy (easier to grip I suppose) so I bought him a couple more. I've got a towel on the bottom of the enclosure, and none of the available climbing materials go more than a foot off the ground. Unfortunately, asking him to almost be a "ground lizard" means he has much less room to wander and his mental health may suffer. Though so far, no sign of concern/stress. The other problem with this set-up is how to give him an adequate temperature range. His spot light is a much smaller one, in the far corner. But still the range now is only 79-85F. I think I may have to purpose build him a new encolsure, with more horitzontal space and less vertical space.

I'll let you all know how things go.

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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Your devotion to your guy and his long life are an example for chameleon keepers everywhere. Kudos and keep up the good work.