5 month old panther cham screen climbing, can anyone give input?

[CelestialGarden]

Hi all. I’m a long time reptile keeper but new to chameleons. I’m frankly terrified to post. I’ve been through the Facebook groups and the incredibly intimidating and kind of mean cham subreddit and hope I don’t get torn apart or anything. I researched a ton and kind of just did the best I could with the conflicting info I found as well as breeder guidance.

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here.

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home.

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%
Humidity at night: 65-75%
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side).

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated.

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself.

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally.

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

Thanks for your hopefully gentle feedback.

 

[Beppo]

Hi all. I’m a long time reptile keeper but new to chameleons. I’m frankly terrified to post. I’ve been through the Facebook groups and the incredibly intimidating and kind of mean cham subreddit and hope I don’t get torn apart or anything. I researched a ton and kind of just did the best I could with the conflicting info I found as well as breeder guidance.

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here.

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home.

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%
Humidity at night: 65-75%
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side).

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated.

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself.

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally.

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

Thanks for your hopefully gentle feedback.

I will let someone else review your husbandry. I just wanted to say welcome and what a cutie! I have a panther from Frams chams and he did quite a bit of screen climbing when I got him. I did have to make a few adjustments but for the most part I think it is pretty normal. But I also understand your concerns. People on the forums are very friendly and helpful so don’t worry there @elizaann2 @Beman @MissSkittles could one of you help

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and welcome! I think you will have a wildly different experience here rather than on the social media sites you mentioned in your previous post. I'm currently going over your husbandry now and will share any feedback I have

 

[CelestialGarden]

I will let someone else review your husbandry. I just wanted to say welcome and what a cutie! I have a panther from Frams chams and he did quite a bit of screen climbing when I got him. I did have to make a few adjustments but for the most part I think it is pretty normal. But I also understand your concerns. People on the forums are very friendly and helpful so don’t worry there @elizaann2 @Beman @MissSkittles could one of you help

Thanks so much @Beppo! I think Reddit scarred me. Anytime someone posts there everyone tells them it’s a death trap, so I’ve been afraid to ask advice anywhere for fear of being told I was abusing this little doofus I love so much.

 

[Beppo]

Thanks so much @Beppo! I think Reddit scarred me. Anytime someone posts there everyone tells them it’s a death trap, so I’ve been afraid to ask advice anywhere for fear of being told I was abusing this little doofus I love so much.

Yeah, I haven’t used Reddit I’ve never heard anything really good about it but seriously everyone here just wants to see chameleons thrive and do well, I’ve had a number of things I’ve needed help with and no one’s ever been judgemental or rude

 

[CelestialGarden]

Yeah, I haven’t used Reddit I’ve never heard anything really good about it but seriously everyone here just wants to see chameleons thrive and do well, I’ve had a number of things I’ve needed help with and no one’s ever been judgemental or rude

Yeah, it’s rough over there sometimes. I don’t really post, just lurk. Brian from FramsChams told me to head over here and chameleon academy to get ideas and talk to nicer people. I gotta do the best for this guy, he’s Aslan’s First son!

 

[Flick boy]

Hi all. I’m a long time reptile keeper but new to chameleons. I’m frankly terrified to post. I’ve been through the Facebook groups and the incredibly intimidating and kind of mean cham subreddit and hope I don’t get torn apart or anything. I researched a ton and kind of just did the best I could with the conflicting info I found as well as breeder guidance.

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here.

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home.

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%
Humidity at night: 65-75%
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side).

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated.

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself.

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally.

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

Thanks for your hopefully gentle feedback.

Hi and welcome to the forum you are in good hands here , I'm not in the USA but don't believe reddit is a great place , obviously this forum is the best we have lots of great friendly, experienced members

 

[elizaann2]

See my feedback below in red

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here. Deep breaths...its totally normal to be stressed with a new chamily member, they need specific care and come with the stigma that they are 'fragile'. Really if you give your chameleon what it needs to thrive you will find that they are really quite hardy animals. I have been in this hobby for almost 2 years now and I still find myself freaking out over anything new I come across with my 3 babies. Just stick around, post your concerns and know that we want you to be sucessful and for your baby to thrive and will do our best to support you during this exciting adventure. Frams Chams is a FANTASTIC breeder btw

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home. How exciting that your baby will already eat from your hands, most chams take quite a bit of time to get comfortable enough with their humans to eat out of their hands. Silks are fantastic feeders, you may want to consider giving your baby a variety in his diet. Other great staple feeders are grasshoppers, crickets, dubia roaches and bsfl. Great treat bugs are superworms, and wax worms. (I feed my chams their treat bugs on Saturdays)

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing. Beautiful! It looks like you created your cham enclosure out of some form of cabinet. You will want to make sure that the top of the enclosure has a screen top and that you've got screen either on the door or those sides by the door to help create airflow. Airflow is essential because stagnant air can cause respiratory infections.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%. Perfect!
Humidity at night: 65-75%. Great! If you can get it higher by using a fogger after you have created an 'airflow' you can even go to 80-100% humidity levels at night, just make sure that your night time temp drops are no higher than 68 degrees. We have found that chameleons get the bulk of their hydration from the night time fog that rolls in in the early mornings.
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side). Lovely!

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated. I currently hand mist and my schedule is much different due to my conditions in my home and I use a fogger at night @MissSkittles or @Beman can you advise on the misting schedule? Do you see your baby drink?

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself. Basking can be 80-85. Where he is so young I think you want to stay closer to 80 degrees. I also have a temp gun but I found that the sticks measured different temps than the other sensors I use. I personally like these ones myself. The other thing to be aware of is babies and juvenilles will just screen climb. My boy is currently 8 months old and he still occasionally screen climbs. Just make sure he can't burn himself under the lights. We don't know why our young ones do this, maybe they like the lights...maybe they like to just stress us out because they are jerks....who knows? He is new to his home so he is probably also exploring

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed. This should be fine, once you notice he doesn't screen climb as much make sure to lower it so he gets the UVB he needs. If you are home a lot (like me) consider raising it when you notice he is screen climbing but when he is not, put it back. Its tedious but it worked for me.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally. Perfect!

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

A few questions I have:
What are his ambient temps during the day and at night?
What is your supplement schedule? What supplements do you use?

 

[CelestialGarden]

Hi and welcome to the forum you are in good hands here , I'm not in the USA but don't believe reddit is a great place , obviously this forum is the best we have lots of great friendly, experienced members

Don’t get me wrong, I did learn a lot over there; however, the entire subreddit seems to subscribe to one moderator’s system of husbandry that I haven’t really seen promoted elsewhere. It obviously works great for them in their particular situation, but I’d rather “poll the audience”. Definitely some good advice and chameleon lovers over there, but there is a lot of curt and critical reactions if you do things any other way than theirs.

 

[elizaann2]

See my feedback below in red

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here. Deep breaths...its totally normal to be stressed with a new chamily member, they need specific care and come with the stigma that they are 'fragile'. Really if you give your chameleon what it needs to thrive you will find that they are really quite hardy animals. I have been in this hobby for almost 2 years now and I still find myself freaking out over anything new I come across with my 3 babies. Just stick around, post your concerns and know that we want you to be sucessful and for your baby to thrive and will do our best to support you during this exciting adventure. Frams Chams is a FANTASTIC breeder btw

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home. How exciting that your baby will already eat from your hands, most chams take quite a bit of time to get comfortable enough with their humans to eat out of their hands. Silks are fantastic feeders, you may want to consider giving your baby a variety in his diet. Other great staple feeders are grasshoppers, crickets, dubia roaches and bsfl. Great treat bugs are superworms, and wax worms. (I feed my chams their treat bugs on Saturdays)

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing. Beautiful! It looks like you created your cham enclosure out of some form of cabinet. You will want to make sure that the top of the enclosure has a screen top and that you've got screen either on the door or those sides by the door to help create airflow. Airflow is essential because stagnant air can cause respiratory infections.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%. Perfect!
Humidity at night: 65-75%. Great! If you can get it higher by using a fogger after you have created an 'airflow' you can even go to 80-100% humidity levels at night, just make sure that your night time temp drops are no higher than 68 degrees. We have found that chameleons get the bulk of their hydration from the night time fog that rolls in in the early mornings.
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side). Lovely!

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated. I currently hand mist and my schedule is much different due to my conditions in my home and I use a fogger at night @MissSkittles or @Beman can you advise on the misting schedule? Do you see your baby drink?

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself. Basking can be 80-85. Where he is so young I think you want to stay closer to 80 degrees. I also have a temp gun but I found that the sticks measured different temps than the other sensors I use. I personally like these ones myself. The other thing to be aware of is babies and juvenilles will just screen climb. My boy is currently 8 months old and he still occasionally screen climbs. Just make sure he can't burn himself under the lights. We don't know why our young ones do this, maybe they like the lights...maybe they like to just stress us out because they are jerks....who knows? He is new to his home so he is probably also exploring

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed. This should be fine, once you notice he doesn't screen climb as much make sure to lower it so he gets the UVB he needs. If you are home a lot (like me) consider raising it when you notice he is screen climbing but when he is not, put it back. Its tedious but it worked for me.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally. Perfect!

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

A few questions I have:
What are his ambient temps during the day and at night?
What is your supplement schedule? What supplements do you use?

Oh also, I would consider taking out the glass water cup, chameleons do not naturally drink from standing water so this is just an extra thing you have to maintain that is not really necessary. I know other people in this hobby swear buy it so maybe do your homework and do what feels best for you.

I like these podcasts that explain how chameleons get their hydration in nature.
Fogging Pt 1
Fogging PT 2
Chameleon Hydration Strategy

I've also attached some helpful documents for you to review regarding safe plants, other feeders and gut loads for those feeders.

This website was super helpful for me to learn more about chameleons: https://chameleonacademy.com/

And lastly....this is the care sheet I use for my panther...you may find it helpful as well

Welcome again! I am glad you are here and your panther is darling

 

[CelestialGarden]

Beautiful! It looks like you created your cham enclosure out of some form of cabinet. You will want to make sure that the top of the enclosure has a screen top and that you've got screen either on the door or those sides by the door to help create airflow. Airflow is essential because stagnant air can cause respiratory infections.

Yes indeed! All cut outs you see as well as the top are screened in. I just have the plexiglass over top the screen portions on the left and right at the moment to keep the humidity up.

Great! If you can get it higher by using a fogger after you have created an 'airflow' you can even go to 80-100% humidity levels at night, just make sure that your night time temp drops are no higher than 68 degrees. We have found that chameleons get the bulk of their hydration from the night time fog that rolls in in the early mornings.

Sounds good. I’ll look into a fogger. Night temps are hovering around 67-69°. Forgot to include that, sorry!

Basking can be 80-85. Where he is so young I think you want to stay closer to 80 degrees. I also have a temp gun but I found that the sticks measured different temps than the other sensors I use. I personally like these ones myself. The other thing to be aware of is babies and juvenilles will just screen climb. My boy is currently 8 months old and he still occasionally screen climbs. Just make sure he can't burn himself under the lights. We don't know why our young ones do this, maybe they like the lights...maybe they like to just stress us out because they are jerks....who knows? He is new to his home so he is probably also exploring

Thanks I’ll check those out! I appreciate that you shared that yours still does too. Our breeder told me that some of the babies are just more curious and daring than others and he will most likely grow out of it.

This should be fine, once you notice he doesn't screen climb as much make sure to lower it so he gets the UVB he needs. If you are home a lot (like me) consider raising it when you notice he is screen climbing but when he is not, put it back. It’s tedious but it worked for me.

Awesome. I work from home so I’ll try to do that when he’s behaving!

What are his ambient temps during the day and at night?
What is your supplement schedule? What supplements do you use?

Ambient temps during the day in the rest of the enclosure are about 77 toward the bottom of his one basking branch. The shade areas are more around 70-72°, then lower in the enclosure they’re about 68-70°.
Night temps are about 67-69°.

Supplements: 3x a week light dusting at AM feeding with miner-all indoor calcium supplement.
2x a month light dusting with herptivite by rep-cal.

 

[elizaann2]

Yes indeed! All cut outs you see as well as the top are screened in. I just have the plexiglass over top the screen portions on the left and right at the moment to keep the humidity up.


Sounds good. I’ll look into a fogger. Night temps are hovering around 67-69°. Forgot to include that, sorry!



Thanks I’ll check those out! I appreciate that you shared that yours still does too. Our breeder told me that some of the babies are just more curious and daring than others and he will most likely grow out of it.





Awesome. I work from home so I’ll try to do that when he’s behaving!



Ambient temps during the day in the rest of the enclosure are about 77 toward the bottom of his one basking branch. The shade areas are more around 70-72°, then lower in the enclosure they’re about 68-70°.
Night temps are about 67-69°.

Supplements: 3x a week light dusting at AM feeding with miner-all indoor calcium supplement.
2x a month light dusting with herptivite by rep-cal.

@Beman can you give advise on the supplements? I don’t know enough out them all yet to be able to offer support.

Can you provide more information on why you don’t use calcium daily apart from when you supplement with D3 and multivitamins?

 

[CelestialGarden]

@Beman can you give advise on the supplements? I don’t know enough out them all yet to be able to offer support.

Can you provide more information on why you don’t use calcium daily apart from when you supplement with D3 and multivitamins?

Sure. I read in a few places that it could be difficult for them to digest if they got too much calcium every day and a few things I read mentioned 3x a week. We also have super hard water here, and that was another concern. The calcium supplement I use does have d3 in it and no phosphorous. I’d be happy to do it at every feeding if the info I read was bad. My leopard gecko gets her feeders dusted at every feeding and she’s almost 10, but then again, she’s not a chameleon. Haha!

 

[Gloriawood]

I just want to say hi and welcome! You’ll find everyone here is so kind and welcoming. My guy was in rough shape when I got him and I knew NOTHING. Yet I was still welcomed with open arms and no judgement.

Your little guy is absolutely adorable! and I’m jealous of that enclosure! A lovely little jungle for your baby

 

[Flick boy]

See my feedback below in red

I’ve had my chameleon for about 5 days now. He is screen climbing and I am stressed. I raised the lights to avoid burns and I did reach out to his breeder (FramsChams) for a review of my enclosure and he said it looked great, but I’d also like to ask here. Deep breaths...its totally normal to be stressed with a new chamily member, they need specific care and come with the stigma that they are 'fragile'. Really if you give your chameleon what it needs to thrive you will find that they are really quite hardy animals. I have been in this hobby for almost 2 years now and I still find myself freaking out over anything new I come across with my 3 babies. Just stick around, post your concerns and know that we want you to be sucessful and for your baby to thrive and will do our best to support you during this exciting adventure. Frams Chams is a FANTASTIC breeder btw

My guy is a bit more than 5 months old and on a diet of silkworms. He has a healthy appetite and is readily taking them either from the branches or my hand (his screen feeder got held up in USPS). I attached a photo of him and I believe he’s beginning his first shed since I’ve had him home. How exciting that your baby will already eat from your hands, most chams take quite a bit of time to get comfortable enough with their humans to eat out of their hands. Silks are fantastic feeders, you may want to consider giving your baby a variety in his diet. Other great staple feeders are grasshoppers, crickets, dubia roaches and bsfl. Great treat bugs are superworms, and wax worms. (I feed my chams their treat bugs on Saturdays)

Custom Enclosure: 45” tall, 43” wide, 22” deep. Screened on all sides with removable plexiglass on the two ends because my home gets super dry in the winter with the heater on. Lots of vines and plant cover, lots of horizontal branches and walkways, although if I need to add more branches or adjust vines I’d absolutely be willing. Beautiful! It looks like you created your cham enclosure out of some form of cabinet. You will want to make sure that the top of the enclosure has a screen top and that you've got screen either on the door or those sides by the door to help create airflow. Airflow is essential because stagnant air can cause respiratory infections.

Humidity during the day: currently between 50-65%. Perfect!
Humidity at night: 65-75%. Great! If you can get it higher by using a fogger after you have created an 'airflow' you can even go to 80-100% humidity levels at night, just make sure that your night time temp drops are no higher than 68 degrees. We have found that chameleons get the bulk of their hydration from the night time fog that rolls in in the early mornings.
Mist King set up currently on one side (adding a second nozzle soon to the other side). Lovely!

Misting schedule is 1.5 min just before lights on at 7am, 1.5 min at 12pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 3:30pm, 1.5 min at 7pm lights off, 1.5 min at midnight. I know they need it higher at night. I have it running a lot right now because again, my house is super dry. I have a clear glass of water in there I change and clean every day because according to Reddit, they’ll drink out of these too. I just want to be sure he’s hydrated. I currently hand mist and my schedule is much different due to my conditions in my home and I use a fogger at night @MissSkittles or @Beman can you advise on the misting schedule? Do you see your baby drink?

Lights:
Basking spot is 85° with a 100 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp light set at an angle to be raised a little so he doesn’t burn himself since he’s been climbing the top. I’ll attach a photo, I don’t know if it’s still too close, but any further away makes the basking spot too cool. I used a 75 watt originally but the basking location wasn’t getting warm enough. He is still light seeking though, climbing near the heat lamp. I’ve used 2 temp guns to test the spots and they’re both accurate so I don’t understand why he’s still climbing toward the light. It’s like he wants to boil himself. Basking can be 80-85. Where he is so young I think you want to stay closer to 80 degrees. I also have a temp gun but I found that the sticks measured different temps than the other sensors I use. I personally like these ones myself. The other thing to be aware of is babies and juvenilles will just screen climb. My boy is currently 8 months old and he still occasionally screen climbs. Just make sure he can't burn himself under the lights. We don't know why our young ones do this, maybe they like the lights...maybe they like to just stress us out because they are jerks....who knows? He is new to his home so he is probably also exploring

UVB is a T8 5.0 set diagonally. It’s 8” above the screen currently because of screen climbing. I originally had it on the screen with the basking spot lower, but had to adjust because of his behavior. I didn’t use a T5 because I don’t have room to lift a T5 up that many inches above my cage where it’s supposed to be safely placed. This should be fine, once you notice he doesn't screen climb as much make sure to lower it so he gets the UVB he needs. If you are home a lot (like me) consider raising it when you notice he is screen climbing but when he is not, put it back. Its tedious but it worked for me.

I have 2 Barrina LED plant lights that put off very very little heat. One on the bottom back for my lower plants and one across the top horizontally. Perfect!

I attached some photos of what I have going on. I just want to be sure the screen climbing is a phase like his breeder says. Any advice to discourage this would be helpful. I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.

A few questions I have:
What are his ambient temps during the day and at night?
What is your supplement schedule? What supplements do you use?

The one thing I would add is I'm not sure what percentage of uvb from a t8 5% would be 8 inches above the screen then distance to basking it would provide?

 

[elizaann2]

Sure. I read in a few places that it could be difficult for them to digest if they got too much calcium every day and a few things I read mentioned 3x a week. We also have super hard water here, and that was another concern. The calcium supplement I use does have d3 in it and no phosphorous. I’d be happy to do it at every feeding if the info I read was bad. My leopard gecko gets her feeders dusted at every feeding and she’s almost 10, but then again, she’s not a chameleon. Haha!

Most of us use RO water or some kind of filtered water purchased at the store. It helps your mist system last longer.

This is what I do:
- Phosphorous free calcium dusted on every feeding

- I use Repashy LoD on the 1st and 15th which is a multi vitamin and D3 supplement together. I know yo want to be careful with what type of vitamin A you supplement your chameleon with, but I couldn’t tell you for sure which one it is. Some supplements out there don’t have the right vitamin A for our chams which is why I bring up the supplementation. @Beman could give you more detailed info. Your supplements very well may be fine I just wanted to be proactive and check them so you don’t run into issues down the road with your little guy

 

[CelestialGarden]

The one thing I would add is I'm not sure what percentage of uvb from a t8 5% would be 8 inches above the screen then distance to basking it would provide?

The reason I have it so high is because of the top screen climbing. This is where I’m not sure what to do. If I leave it at the proper height above his basking space, he is still screen climbing, so that then makes him too close to the light. So to be safe I read to raise it above the screen since he refuses to get off of the top. See where I’m stuck? I want to discourage the behavior, but I also want to be sure he isn’t getting burned. So I don’t exactly know what the best choice is here. Proper light or burns?

 

[elizaann2]

The reason I have it so high is because of the top screen climbing. This is where I’m not sure what to do. If I leave it at the proper height above his basking space, he is still screen climbing, so that then makes him too close to the light. So to be safe I read to raise it above the screen since he refuses to get off of the top. See where I’m stuck? I want to discourage the behavior, but I also want to be sure he isn’t getting burned. So I don’t exactly know what the best choice is here. Proper light or burns?

That’s why I just moved mine when he screen climbed. You don’t want to get him down when he is up there, it could make him more scared of you, he could fall or he could rip out a claw moving quickly from being upside down. It’s tough for a bit but eventually they stop.

 

[Beppo]

I use to sit here and turn the lights off and on when he was on the screen (off while he was climbing it) I’m not suggesting this is what you do… just basically saying we’ve all been there…

 

[elizaann2]

I use to sit here and turn the lights off and on when he was on the screen (off while he was climbing it) I’m not suggesting this is what you do… just basically saying we’ve all been there…

The pains us chameleon lovers go through