Chameleon and cage info (constructive criticism please)

[Sky11]

I don't know where I'm supposed to post this but more than one person told me I should fill this out so I posted it in my about on my profile and here. constructive criticism would be very helpful thank you!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - I will be getting a male Nosy Faly Panther Chameleon at 5 months old. I'm waiting to set up my enclosure before they send him to me.
• Handling - I would like to try and tame him.
• Feeding - I was thinking of getting him pinhead crickets, flightless fruit flies, black soldier fly larvae and 1/4" Dubia Roaches. Probably start with 12-18 bugs once or twice a day. Gutload with sweet potatoes, carrots, collard greens, etc. Dust with bee pollen and Repashy superload. All done at least 24 hours before feeding.
• Supplements - Im going to use bee pollen everyday, calcium without D3 3 times a week, calcium with D3 once a week, switch between sticky tongue outdoor miner-all and Herptivite multi vitamin once a week.
• Watering - I have a MistKing that goes off for 3 minutes at a time at 8:30am, 12:30pm, 4:30pm, 8:30pm, 12:30am, and 4:30am. I also am using an exoterra plant dripper for my dripping system but the motor is in my MistKing reservoir so there is no bowl of standing water in the enclosure.
• Fecal Description - I don’t have him yet so I am not sure.
• History - Not sure yet but I am getting him from a breeder and he will be a juvenile.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - I have a 2x2x4 pvc hybrid cage with a screen at the bottom and a screen top, everything else is made of pvc.
• Lighting - I am using the vivarium electronics T5 HO fixture with an Arcadia 6% UVB T5 HO. A 100w basking bulb in a zilla black reflector dome lamp. I’m also using the bio dude glow and grow 6” LED for my plants. I have my lights set up to a timer to turn on at 8:30am and turn off at 8:30pm.
• Temperature - The cage floor is at 70 degrees F for the most part, the ambient temperature is usually around 72-80 degrees and the basking spot is about 80-90 degrees. I’ll update on temps at night. I measure my temperatures using a heat gun and a digital thermometer.
• Humidity - My humidity levels fluctuate between 50%-95%. I create and maintain these levels by using my mist king, having a dripper and using live plants in my enclosure. I use a digital hygrometer to measure humidity.
• Plants - I use pothos, bromeliad, yucca cane in paradise, croton Petra Mojave, Dorado, Umbrella tree, creeping fig, rosy maidenhair fern and Rosso,
• Placement - I put my cage in my room. It is next to a vent but I’m not worried about it because it doesn’t seem to effect my enclosure probably because mine is mostly made of pvc. I have a fan in my room but the back of it is facing the area my Cham is and not even close to the enclosure. The top of my cage is only about 2 feet under my ceiling so it’s pretty far off the ground. I have the enclosure on a table so it’s not sitting on the floor.
• Location - I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

[NashansCamos]

pictures?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi! Just have a couple of comments/questions for you.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - I will be getting a male Nosy Faly Panther Chameleon at 5 months old. I'm waiting to set up my enclosure before they send him to me. You could set it up now and that way can make sure temps and humidity are perfect for when he arrives.
• Handling - I would like to try and tame him. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - I was thinking of getting him pinhead crickets, flightless fruit flies, If he’ll be 5 months old, that’s much too old for such tiny feeders. Until you see how big/small his size is, you could have 1/4” crickets and go from there black soldier fly larvae and 1/4" Dubia Roaches. Probably start with 12-18 bugs once or twice a day. Again, that would be a regimen for a little baby. At 5 months old feeding once per day of about 6-8 buggies would be enough. Gutload with sweet potatoes, carrots, collard greens, etc. Dust with bee pollen and Repashy superload. All done at least 24 hours before feeding. You’ll want to dust with your supplements right before feeding so the supplement doesn’t come off the buggies.
• Supplements - Im going to use bee pollen everyday, calcium without D3 3 times a week, calcium with D3 once a week, switch between sticky tongue outdoor miner-all and Herptivite multi vitamin once a week. I’m a bit confused as to why you’ll be using so many different supplements. While there are as many regimens as there are supplements, I suggest using the bee pollen just one or twice a week. You’ll want to use the calcium without D3 at every feeding except once per week. For that one feeding, one week you’ll use calcium with D3 and the next, a multivitamin. The D3 and multivitamins should each only be given once every other week. Over-supplementing can be just as bad as under-supplementing.
• Watering - I have a MistKing that goes off for 3 minutes at a time at 8:30am, 12:30pm, 4:30pm, 8:30pm, 12:30am, and 4:30am. You could reduce the time to 2 minutes each time and during the night I just mist for 15-30 seconds...just enough to simulate dew. I also am using an exoterra plant dripper I’m not at all a fan of these. You may want to return it and instead get a little dripper. Honestly, I doubt you’d even need the dripper. I don’t use one and my chams are well hydrated. for my dripping system but the motor is in my MistKing reservoir so there is no bowl of standing water in the enclosure.
• Fecal Description - I don’t have him yet so I am not sure. I’m a believer in having an initial vet wellness check and a fecal when getting any new animal.
• History - Not sure yet but I am getting him from a breeder and he will be a juvenile.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - I have a 2x2x4 pvc hybrid cage with a screen at the bottom and a screen top, everything else is made of pvc.
• Lighting - I am using the vivarium electronics T5 HO fixture with an Arcadia 6% UVB T5 HO. A 100w basking bulb in a zilla black reflector dome lamp. I’m also using the bio dude glow and grow 6” LED for my plants. I have my lights set up to a timer to turn on at 8:30am and turn off at 8:30pm.
• Temperature - The cage floor is at 70 degrees F for the most part, the ambient temperature is usually around 72-80 degrees and the basking spot is about 80-90 degrees. I’ll update on temps at night. I measure my temperatures using a heat gun and a digital thermometer.
• Humidity - My humidity levels fluctuate between 50%-95%.95% is quite high during the day. For panthers, ideal humidity is between 50-70%. I create and maintain these levels by using my mist king, having a dripper and using live plants in my enclosure. I use a digital hygrometer to measure humidity.
• Plants - I use pothos, bromeliad, yucca cane in paradise, croton Petra Mojave, Dorado, Umbrella tree, creeping fig, rosy maidenhair fern and Rosso,
• Placement - I put my cage in my room. It is next to a vent but I’m not worried about it because it doesn’t seem to effect my enclosure probably because mine is mostly made of pvc. I have a fan in my room but the back of it is facing the area my Cham is and not even close to the enclosure. The top of my cage is only about 2 feet under my ceiling so it’s pretty far off the ground. I have the enclosure on a table so it’s not sitting on the floor.
• Location - I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota

All else looks pretty good! Where are you getting your chameleon from?
If you aren’t already aware of it, do check this out https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/ Also check out the podcasts available from the home page. I love that not only do you learn the what and how, but also the why.
Now, most important of all...when you get your chameleon, you need to be posting lots of pics. ?
*edit guess it was more than a couple of comments/questions.

 

[Sky11]

Here are pictures of my enclosure

 

[Flick boy]

Hi sky looks good the only one thing I would say is if you could try running a support from the sides for your hanging plants as your new baby will be be going up to the top to investigate and be close to the lights

 

[MissSkittles]

Very nice! I was wondering how a Zen could be set up to hang branches. Is the bottom of the front screen or plexiglass?

 

[Sky11]

Very nice! I was wondering how a Zen could be set up to hang branches. Is the bottom of the front screen or plexiglass?

I used the screen!

 

[Arpretty]

Hey, this is great!! I'm in a similar boat as you - trying to set everything up before bringing a new cham home. This enclosure was suggested to me today, and I'm interested...how is it working for you so far?

 

[Sky11]

Hey, this is great!! I'm in a similar boat as you - trying to set everything up before bringing a new cham home. This enclosure was suggested to me today, and I'm interested...how is it working for you so far?

I like it a lot. If you have a mistking you have to make your own drainage system and have to come up with some creative way to hang your plants and branches. Otherwise everything else works flawlessly!