Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am watching a friends panther and veiled chameleon for several months while he travels abroad, and within the past two weeks the panther has started acting strange. Both are in similar cages with the uva/uvb and heat bulbs. I feed crickets dusted in miner-all once or twice a week with a mix of goliath worms, silk worms, and butter worms intermittently. They are misted with purified water twice a day for five min. and on a 10-12 hour light cycle. The veiled is doing great, but the panther has recently become lethargic and stays mostly to the bottom of the cage. He eats fine, but doesn't seem to want to climb at all. Even after cleaning his cage and placing him in the branches, he finds his way to the bottom and just sits there. He also seems to have difficulty moving and grasping with his hind legs. The only changes we have made since we received him was to put him in a more appropriate cage. His old cage was canvas mesh with a single plant in it, very dark. I really hope someone can offer a little idea of what i should do, because i don't know of any reptile vets around here and am inexperienced with reptiles. thank you so much for any help you can offer.

You said they both have "the uva/uvb and heat bulbs"...can you tell me the brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear tube)? How old are the bulbs? Does the UVB light pass through glass or plastic? (Did it on the old cage?

You said...."I feed crickets dusted in miner-all once or twice a week with a mix of goliath worms, silk worms, and butter worms intermittently"...do you gutload the insects? With what? Is it Mineral I (indoors) or O (outdoors)?

Are they males or females? How old?

You said..."He also seems to have difficulty moving and grasping with his hind legs"...this might be and indication of MBD but it could also be an indication of constipation or impaction or a number of other things.

You said..."The only changes we have made since we received him was to put him in a more appropriate cage"...can the chameleon still get close enough to the UVB light? How long has it had the new cage?

I really would suggest a visit to the vet so it can be properly determined what the problem is.

first off, thank you for your response to my post. To answer your questions, the bulb I have is a brand new solar glo 125 watt mecury vapor bulb, and it is placed about 1 1/2 inches above a metal mesh. It was on a mesh in the old cage as well. It is approxomately 1 1/2 feet from the bulb to the bottom of the cage, with vines, wood, and artifical plants throughout for mobility and shade if needed. The crikets are gut loaded on total bites from nature zone (little green cubes) and dusted with miner-all 1 (indoor). As far as sex is concerned, i was told that the panther is a male, about 2-3 years old, but purchased from a less than reputable supplier. The cage was swithced about 2 months ago, and there are multiple levles of exposure to the light offered, but a climb is needed to get anywhere but the floor. The panther is not really motavated to move, but if he chose he could get to withing 4 inches of the actual light source. Defication is regualar, with feces appearing every 2 days or more. My major concern with taking him to the vet is that when transported to my house ( only 2 blocks) it took him almost three days befor he would eat again. I dont know if my concern is warrented or not, but the closest vet i can find with reptile experence is almost an hour drive. Once again, thank you and anyone with some feedback for my inexpierenced self.

Can you post a picture of the chameleon please?

Unless there are definite "signs" of what is wrong with it (like deformed bones,etc.)its hard to know what's wrong...you really need a vet.

you said..."The crikets are gut loaded on total bites from nature zone (little green cubes) and dusted with miner-all 1 (indoor)"...
I feed my crickets an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, mustard greens, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet red peppers, sweet potatoes, etc.)

You said...."As far as sex is concerned, i was told that the panther is a male, about 2-3 years old"....what color is it?