Critique my setup!

[OptimusCham]

As the title suggests, I'm after your opinions, thoughts and general feedback on the setup I have for my 7/8 month old male Panther.

Is there anything you can see that I should remove or add? Anything you can see I can improve? Anything you'd like to know more details about? Just let me know!

All feedback (unless rude/ignorant) is very helpful & appreciated

 

[VCMan]

Wow thats really cool what light do you use ? also whats that water bottle for ?

 

[camimom]

Im betting the bottle is his cricket feeder.

How big is that cage?

Are those lights inside or outside the cage?

 

[OptimusCham]

Wow thats really cool what light do you use ? also whats that water bottle for ?

Im betting the bottle is his cricket feeder.

How big is that cage?

Are those lights inside or outside the cage?

Thanks c: the heat lamp is (I think) just a standard 60 watt halogen bulb on a stat & the small UVB lights are one exo terra reptiglow 5.0 & one exo terra UVB100. I'm not 100% certain what the lights are as I got Optimus & the basic equipment (lights, vivarium carpet stuff & vines) as an unexpected present. I shall look into them more later on for you though

Aha yeah, the bottle is the cricket feeder & he loves it! Just stapled some mesh to the back & bottom of the bottle to give them a floor & something to climb up on. Works a treat!

The viv is 24" x 24" x 35"

The lights are on the outside the viv resting on the mesh roof.

 

[camimom]

You dont need 2 uvb bulbs.

1 will suffice.

We recommend Panthers live in screen cages as they need air flow.

What is your basking temp?

What supplements do you use?

 

[OptimusCham]

You dont need 2 uvb bulbs.

1 will suffice.

We recommend Panthers live in screen cages as they need air flow.

What is your basking temp?

What supplements do you use?

There was just one UVB bulb in there originally but it looked too dark in there so I added a second to brighten things up.

I know they need the air flow & I know all screen cages are spoken highly of, but over here in the uk the ambient temps would make it extremely difficult to achieve the desired temps. To balance that I've added some vents on the sides and top front, and I use an all mesh front door and all mesh roof. The adult enclosure I'm planning will have even more mesh and less wood for increased air flow

I lightly dust the crickets with Komodo cricket dust before putting them in the feeder each morning.

 

[camimom]

Use a grow light if you want more light, but too much UVB can harm their eyes.

What is the basking temp?

Hes close to adult age now, so he should be in a 2x2x4 foot cage.

 

[OptimusCham]

Use a grow light if you want more light, but too much UVB can harm their eyes.

What is the basking temp?

Hes close to adult age now, so he should be in a 2x2x4 foot cage.

Okay thanks, I'll look into getting one of them

The basking temp is around 26.5 degrees Celsius.

Don't worry, I'll be making a larger cage for him soon. It's currently in the planning & designing stages. Finding a suitable place is a big challenge but it's looking like there's a great area in my room which also gets hit with the afternoon sun

 

[camimom]

His basking temp is only 80 deg F?

Thats way too low.

A good basking temp is between 85 and 90 F.

 

[OptimusCham]

His basking temp is only 80 deg F?

Thats way too low.

A good basking temp is between 85 and 90 F.

He never/rarely spends time in the basking spot so I thought it was too warm for him so I turned it down a little bit today. Should I turn it back up tomorrow even if he doesn't spend time there?

 

[camimom]

They cannot digest food when it is too cold for them.

Even if they dont spend all day thre, they still need the right basking temp.

 

[FlChamMom]

I know they need the air flow & I know all screen cages are spoken highly of, but over here in the uk the ambient temps would make it extremely difficult to achieve the desired temps. To balance that I've added some vents on the sides and top front, and I use an all mesh front door and all mesh roof. The adult enclosure I'm planning will have even more mesh and less wood for increased air flow

I have read that in the UK people do have more success with the ExoTerra glass/mesh or a wood mesh combo- always interesting to see how people in different countries keep their chams! I also use one plant light and one UV light to brighten things up. The plant bulbs are cheap and will fit the fixture you already have. What a cool unexpected present!

 

[OptimusCham]

I have read that in the UK people do have more success with the ExoTerra glass/mesh or a wood mesh combo- always interesting to see how people in different countries keep their chams! I also use one plant light and one UV light to brighten things up. The plant bulbs are cheap and will fit the fixture you already have. What a cool unexpected present!

I shall be investing in a plant light as soon as pay day comes around then & see how much that helps

Indeed it was! I've wanted a cham for a little while now & had been planning the viv & setup for several months but was waiting until I had enough money before I started building the viv etc, so this totally caught me off guard & I've been having to do little improvements here & there. The new viv though, I have massive ideas for it so keep an eye out for progress over at my build thread!

 

[OptimusCham]

Great news! As we were out today, we went to SeaPets & whilst we were there I decided to buy a plant light The light colour already looks much better in there now, as the previous light which it's replaced gave off a really yellow light. This is a daylight bulb so it's much more natural looking now Only time will tell if it does the job!

 

[OptimusCham]

Setup Update!

Since I was last active, lots has been going on with the pets. Several of our snakes have been sold, two of which we in one 4x3x2 ft viv. As that viv is now vacant, it's become the future home for Optimus and planning for the conversion is now underway!

In the meantime, I've made some adjustments to his current home & the two biggest improvements have been the recent purchase of a Monsoon Mister & a Zoo Med ReptiFogger. The fogger is on for an hour in the morning (starts when the lights come on) then an hour after the fogger stops, the mister goes on for 20 seconds every 4 hours, then 45 minutes after the last misting the fogger goes on for an hour again before the lights go out 45 minutes later. This means he's getting regular mists now even when I'm at work which I'm very happy about

And here's the little fella earlier this evening enjoying his fog