COMPARISON

[AMdoubleER]

Anyone can comment, but I made this thread specifically for the sibling owners of my guy Smurf. I’m curious if its actually genetics or does it come down to the different practices in care on how it affects your Chameleons change/growth? @jamest0o0 ,@distortionz ,@Scottsquatch @Chameleomom

I know you all have been caring for Chameleons longer then me and have more knowledge of good practices, which is a major factor. I’ve only had two chams so far, an Ambilobe and now an Ambanja with no deaths under my belt, thank God! With my Ambilobe in which I ended up giving away to whom I felt was a worthy Chameleon owner already, due to me moving from California to Orlando Fl. He was about a year old and I didn’t want to chance stressing him out.

I know you have special gut load recipes in which @jamest0o0 shared with me though I have yet to practice(long story). After seeing the progress in y’all siblings I more want to change my ways! Other then that I was wondering what type of lightning methods y’all are using? With my Ambilobe I used double domes with one side a combination Mega Ray UVB/UVA and a night lamp(it was much colder in California) plus a strip UVB lamp. In Florida with Smurf its always 75 degrees at night inside my apartment so I tried a different method still going with double dome, but one side is UVB 5.0 Reptisun and otherside a heat/basking bulb plus the exact same UVB strip lamp.

The difference I’m noticing between my two guys is the progress of color development growth in which I was thinking was local based, but now after seeing the growth with Smurf’s siblings Im kinda of confused!?! What are you all all using combination UVA/UVB or do you have them separate? Any advice will help, thanks!

 

[AMdoubleER]

My Ambilobe: Shotta

 

[AMdoubleER]

My Ambanja: Smurf

 

[jamest0o0]

You're ambanja is looking good! IME ambanjas take a very long time to brighten up and stay that way. My one is going on 2 years old and is only now starting to show consistent coloring.

For gutloading, you can get some dry premade mix like bug buffet or cricket crack from fullthrottle feeders. I think some members here make some too that I'm sure is high quality. Any of this should last a long time. And throw different greens/veggies in for the wet portion.

I'd use the linear uvb hood with just the basking bulb for lighting. There are other lights out there too that'll brighten up the cage more like jungle dawn or Arcadia T5s from lightyourreptiles. Sometimes it's just the lighting that makes the chameleon look brighter too.

Random question, but how do you like FL compared to Cali? I might be moving to one of them in a year or two.

 

[Scottsquatch]

+1 on what James said about the lighting. Also about colors. I really like to joke about my boys "turd tones" but I see his potential when he does color up so I know it's in there. We just gotta be patient.

 

[jamest0o0]

Here's my tree candy boy's color fired up. When he's not he's still pretty bland. Goes from pretty dull look to some of the best color I've seen. I think more or less that's many ambanja. But I wouldn't judge too much until they reach 2 years of age.

 

[AMdoubleER]

You're ambanja is looking good! IME ambanjas take a very long time to brighten up and stay that way. My one is going on 2 years old and is only now starting to show consistent coloring.

For gutloading, you can get some dry premade mix like bug buffet or cricket crack from fullthrottle feeders. I think some members here make some too that I'm sure is high quality. Any of this should last a long time. And throw different greens/veggies in for the wet portion.

I'd use the linear uvb hood with just the basking bulb for lighting. There are other lights out there too that'll brighten up the cage more like jungle dawn or Arcadia T5s from lightyourreptiles. Sometimes it's just the lighting that makes the chameleon look brighter too.

Random question, but how do you like FL compared to Cali? I might be moving to one of them in a year or two.

Right on for the response @jamest0o0 , I appreciate all the info thanks! Cali or Florida, man thats a tough one! I like them both. I feel like Cali has more to offer as far as stuff to do, but I guess that would come down to what your into as a person. If your into mostly water activites, boating, fishing, canoeing, lakes/beach life, jogging/running, relaxing, then Florida is the spot to be. If your into partying, snowboarding, wineries, social media, technology, festivals, etc. then Cali is the spot. Cali has beach/water activities places too more in Southern California, but in Florida its more of what people are into. Repticon comes out here alot in which I’m going to check out for the first time this weekend and I’m super siked about that! The people in Florida are a little more chill and friendly, but theres crazies everywhere! I’m here temporarily trying to finish up my degree in Web design/development, but once Im done I’ll probably be heading back towards Southern California (San Diego/LA) area because theres more of a high demand for graphic artist/creatives which fits me in the end, but we’ll see!

 

[AMdoubleER]

+1 on what James said about the lighting. Also about colors. I really like to joke about my boys "turd tones" but I see his potential when he does color up so I know it's in there. We just gotta be patient.

Right on for the feed back @Scottsquatch, I really appreciate it! Guess I’ll be awaiting !

 

[jamest0o0]

@AMdoubleER thank you for that response. We really like Florida. I'm all about the tropical/swamp/beach life. The wildlife, parks, etc are awesome. We go to Orlando usually 1-2x a year and drive around to different places. My buddy also lived in Bradenton so I stayed there a lot. California has a lot of pull too because my entire family lives around LA in the San Bernardino/fontana area. So it'd be cool to have people we know around. Both have awesome weather from what I've seen. Anyway, good luck with the schooling, hope it goes well!