Female Panther Chameleon Setup

[RcManChild]

So for boxing day I got myself a beautiful female Panther Ambilobe Chameleon.

She does not like to be handled as per usual with any chameleon so after reading some tips on here I have a good idea of how to get her to warm up to me.

She seems to constantly be wondering around her cage...

Here is what I have:

1x 75 watt Basking daylight bulb
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/daylight_basking_spot.php

2x Repti Glo 5.0 Bulb 12"
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/linear_fluorescent_bulbs.php

1x 40 watt Ceramic heat
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/ceramic_heater.php

1 starter setup by mist king
http://www.mistking.com/Starter-Misting-System-v4-MKMSS-125-50.html

1x Skull medium waterfall
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...7czoxOiIwIjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF95IjtzOjE6IjAiO30=

1x Zoo med starter kit - no longer using lights
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...zOjE6IjAiO3M6ODoiU2VhcmNoX3kiO3M6MToiMCI7fQ==

1x mossy vine
http://www.leachianus.com/galapagos-mossy-vine.html

1x extra fake plant Rukus
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/hanging_rainforest_plants.php

Now for how I use the setup:

-Basking spot light and UVB are on for 12 hours a day.
-Mist King goes off every 2 hours for 2 mins while awake... 8 am is for 1 min and midnight for 1 min.
-40 watt bulb stays on 24/7

Stats:

General temp seems to be around 80 fahrenheit during the daytime.
Night time temp 6" below the 40 watt heater is right around 70 fahrenheit... lower in the cage elsewhere. I tried the setup without a night heat source and gets around 60 but no lower.
Basking spot seem to be right around 90.
Humidity gets to be around 35-45% depending where in the cage the sensor is right before mist king goes off.

My Concerns:

Not enough humidity or water for her to drink from. I am not trying to rely on the water fountain for drinking. Nor do i want her too. I want her to rely on the misting. I got the mossy vine to try to help with the humidity but it does not seem to help as much as I want. Ideally I do not want the humidity to go below 60%. I know mist king makes a separate controller that relies on humidity but If it malfunction my 5 gallon buck of water will be all over the place.

Is there enough UVB for her. The compact fluorescent seems to put out more light than the fluorescent bulb do.. Any recommendations there or does this just come down to personal preference?

She seems to eat plenty, although all the crickets seem to hangout at the top of the cage away from her.

I am gut loading cricket with Flukers with Calcium for 24 hours before feeding to her.

Calcium W. D3 x2 a week
Calcium dusted x2 a week
multivitamin x2 a week.

I also already want to increase the size of the tank, seems very insufficient for a adult chameleon.

keeping in mind I would like a male because they are just amazing to look at. If anyone knows of a good breeder anywhere near Calgary, AB, Canada. Please let me know.

Now some pics:

P.S. I was quite unhappy with how unsubstantial the zoo med starter kit was. I am guessing this is because I bought a panther chameleon and not a veiled.

 

[JamesB88]

Your gonna get a lot of haters on your waterfall lol looks cool though. For your humidity problem live plants up the humidity quit a bit, along with longer mistings, even a humidifier in the room will help to bump up the humidity.

 

[RcManChild]

Yeah... I found this forum after i setup everything. I dont necessarily want live plants although that may be the only solution..

 

[JamesB88]

Yeah... I found this forum after i setup everything. I dont necessarily want live plants although that may be the only solution..

why no live plants?

 

[RcManChild]

I dont like have a huge ugly pot at the bottom of the cage... I did go to the local greenhouse today and none were of size that was usable with the tank i currently have.,.... will have to wait anyways

 

[JacksJill]

I only have live plants and I don't have a single ugly pot on the bottom of my cage or any where in my viv. One of the site sponsors has a great tutorial on hanging/hiding plant pots. http://dragonstrand.com/principles-chameleon-cage-setup/ If you don't have a green thumb then forget it. My guy has higher humidity needs so for me it's more important to make the effort.

 

[JamesB88]

I dont like have a huge ugly pot at the bottom of the cage... I did go to the local greenhouse today and none were of size that was usable with the tank i currently have.,.... will have to wait anyways

I agree I also have a bare bottom cage easier to clean. Dragon strand ledges can hold potted plants off the floor of your enclosure, a bit pricey though. I just zip tied a majority of my smaller potted plants to sturdy branches in my set up.

 

[JamesB88]

I see you leave one of your lights on 24/7...I don't have a panther Cham but I believe the 12 hour day 12 hr Night aplies to all chams. Also does your mistking go off while your Cham is sleeping? At night? Says one of your sessions is at midnight. My only concern with that is a uri in your Cham and disrupting your chams sleep cycle. I know it rains at night in the wild but if you can prevent a uri and or sleep deprivation I'd prob consider no misting while she's sleeping, that's my personal opinion though. The light you keep on 24/7 I'm guessing is to keep temps up at night if so id ask for some help on the forum about heat emitters for a replacement because lighting 24/7 will in the long run cause health issues.

 

[RcManChild]

The dragon stand idea is fantastic, but now I need a bigger cage

I am thinking of upgrading already... why ooo why....

anyways....

EXO terra 36 x 18 x 36

2-3 misters per cage... Yes thats alot but bigger cage requires more misting...

a dripper system for 2 spots in the cage... Wouldn't be too hard to make one...

2 x 35 watt sunray fixtures - any thoughts on these, they are expensive but if they light up the cage nicely provide heat and UVB it would be awesome for me.. This allows for two decent basking spots and a better overall heat variant in the cage... yay or nay on doing two for the cage?

some fake vines all over the place

1x pothos live plant

1x jungle flower... would it survive?

1 x another flower

1x another plant

will have to do some research on plants and flowers....

1 mossy vine and 1 or 2 other fake vines...

lots of braches to hold everything

This would be a 1-2 month project as I need to research and get some funds together

 

[JacksJill]

Oh, I forgot I made my own ledges for less than 20 bucks. Sorry wasn't trying to crack your wallet. My biggest expense was the black spray foam and the plants. everything else came out of my garage or off local trees.

 

[RcManChild]

It is not your fault by any means...

The cage I have now is the medium repti breeze 18x18x32 - Not the greatest to setup with ledges and plants

I could keep the lighting setup and everything, upgrade the cage and get some branches...
$200 for the cage
$100 for the plants
$20 - ledges homemade from home depot
$320 for the sun ray lights if I want them

 

[JamesB88]

The dragon stand idea is fantastic, but now I need a bigger cage

I am thinking of upgrading already... why ooo why....

anyways....

EXO terra 36 x 18 x 36

2-3 misters per cage... Yes thats alot but bigger cage requires more misting...

a dripper system for 2 spots in the cage... Wouldn't be too hard to make one...

2 x 35 watt sunray fixtures - any thoughts on these, they are expensive but if they light up the cage nicely provide heat and UVB it would be awesome for me.. This allows for two decent basking spots and a better overall heat variant in the cage... yay or nay on doing two for the cage?

some fake vines all over the place

1x pothos live plant

1x jungle flower... would it survive?

1 x another flower

1x another plant

will have to do some research on plants and flowers....

1 mossy vine and 1 or 2 other fake vines...

lots of braches to hold everything

This would be a 1-2 month project as I need to research and get some funds together

thats a lot of misters in one cage lol, and why not just buy a large cage 24x24x48? height is more important and also screened cage like you have is better, exoterra 36x18x36 is a glass enclosure if I'm not mistaken. Plants I'd look at the safe list and most will survive if potted properly for heavy drainage.

 

[JacksJill]

I'm having the same impulses. My current 18x18x36 is adequate for now but I want to get a 24x24x48 when my guy gets to be a year old. Then use the old cage to add a female or two (in another 18x18x36) or use as an outdoor cage. $$$

 

[chitzkoy]

It is not your fault by any means...

The cage I have now is the medium repti breeze 18x18x32 - Not the greatest to setup with ledges and plants

I could keep the lighting setup and everything, upgrade the cage and get some branches...
$200 for the cage
$100 for the plants
$20 - ledges homemade from home depot
$320 for the sun ray lights if I want them

Don't go for the sun ray. Get quad light from lightyourreptiles.com for 189.99usd. 320usd lights is to expensive for me.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ho...5k-daylight-bulbs-and-arcadia-plant-pro-bulb/

Since you will have extra money for not getting the sun ray bulbs, would suggest order the large atrium cage from dragonstrand for 298usd

http://dragonstrand.com/product/large-atrium-enclosure/

Note that if shipping is to expensive you can always use 36x18x36 exo terra xl screen terrarium and go diy on the ledges

 

[chitzkoy]

If humidity is still a problem after adding live plants and longer misting sessions, try putting shower curtains on the back and sides of the cage.

 

[RcManChild]

I do have plastic vinyl... I think... on the sides of the tank... Its the stuff they use for the fish backgrounds... makes the tank look better and does the same job....

Problem with anything I order from the states is

1) shipping

2) I have to pay duty

Keep in mind I live in Canada.

The $320 for the sunray is for 2 sunray fixture for the same chameleon cage. Giving the cham two excellent basking spots.
the $320 is in CAD as well, which is $240 USD....

the tropic blaze lights would be $240 dollars, excluding shipping and duty. I have ordered enough from the states that shipping and duty would be anywhere from $60-$100.

As for the dragon stand that is a $380 CAD tank without shipping and duty. Sit will not allow me to add my address to even calculate shipping.

So at the local store the Exo terra Xl tall cage is $199.99 which is 36x18x36

Zoo med also makes a excellent cage 24x24x48...

Which cage would you go with and why?

The size I want 36x18x48 which they make for an Iguana, which crickets can get out of easily.

The 48" quad light looks amazing. Why this and not the Sun ray fixture? I've heard great things about the sun ray...

 

[chitzkoy]

I do have plastic vinyl... I think... on the sides of the tank... Its the stuff they use for the fish backgrounds... makes the tank look better and does the same job....

Problem with anything I order from the states is

1) shipping

2) I have to pay duty

Keep in mind I live in Canada.

The $320 for the sunray is for 2 sunray fixture for the same chameleon cage. Giving the cham two excellent basking spots.
the $320 is in CAD as well, which is $240 USD....

the tropic blaze lights would be $240 dollars, excluding shipping and duty. I have ordered enough from the states that shipping and duty would be anywhere from $60-$100.

As for the dragon stand that is a $380 CAD tank without shipping and duty. Sit will not allow me to add my address to even calculate shipping.

So at the local store the Exo terra Xl tall cage is $199.99 which is 36x18x36

Zoo med also makes a excellent cage 24x24x48...

Which cage would you go with and why?

The size I want 36x18x48 which they make for an Iguana, which crickets can get out of easily.

The 48" quad light looks amazing. Why this and not the Sun ray fixture? I've heard great things about the sun ray...

Good thing I put that shipping disclaimer lol

If you can get the exoterra locally then go for it! Ledges are easy to diy anyway. Regarding cage size I would suggest you get the biggest that fits the budget and the space you're putting it into.

The quad is linear and has all the lights you need. Also covers the whole cage. Coil uvb also tends to cause eye problems for chams. In my opinion you only need one basking spot. Just provide he necessary level for the cham.

 

[Dumzy]

The zoo med 24x24x48 cages are great, i use one myself, the Petco website is 50% off the 24x24x48 reptibreeze.

 

[Dumzy]

Get the biggest size cage your gonna get at first, so that you dont have to spend extra money.

 

[RcManChild]

yeah, shoulda done that when I got the panther... now i have a medium cage for a baby male that I plan to get though...

Unfortunately petco does not ship to Canada and is not in Canada

As for compact fluorescents i"m not a fan of those