Finally, I'm ready to post my set up stats!

[Tawannapc]

I tried to get as much perfect before I posted. Koodoos to all who have already posted. This was a lot to type.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon ( His name is Smeagol. ) - Male- 3months old. I had recieved him at 2.5 months so I only had him for about 3 .5 weeks now
• Handling - I,ve only took him out of cage within the 1st week for vet check up and unpacking. I've never physically touched him.
• Feeding - He eats about 10 small crickets a day from Petsmart. I was free-feeding but recently switched to cup feeding. I fill the cup at 8 am and check if the cup is empty by 5pm. Usually, there are 1 -2 crickets left. I gut load all the crickets with the orange cricket cubes and carrots. I did introduce both a mealworm and sm. dubia roaches. They stayed in the cup for 2 days and I removed them.
• Supplements -The first 2 weeks dusted with Zoomed calcium w/d3 because that's what he came with. I recently purchased the same brand without d3 and repashy superCal Nod3 for everyday dusting. I tried the dusting in the cup ( made a mess) and have now swtiched to a saltshaker and a ziplock bag. Either way, I have not found a method of not getting powder everywhere. Today was the first day I dusted with Rep-Cal herptivite Multivitamin. My schedule plan is to dust w/out d3 6 days ; 7th-day w/ d3 one week ... and w/out 6 d3 and 7th day multivitamin 2nd week.
• Watering - I use Mistking Ultimate system with 2 nozzles and Distilled baby water. Timer set 7 days a week 7:30 am/ 1 min 30 sec - 1 pm /30 sec - 7:30 pm / 1 min 30sec. I never saw him drink water. However, I do see him wet.
• Fecal Description - Poop was one end white and the other dark brown. He was too young for parasite testing, and the poop drooping I have caught where harden. I am waiting on a fresh sample to test.
• History - I purchased him from FLChams and most of my cage set up from there.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -Reptibreeze, 18x18x36 screen
• Lighting - 8am on - 8pm off ; 5.0 Uvb in a T8 20-inch fixture and 75 watts Exo Terra spot light - dome .
• Temperature - I have 2 temperature gauges at the front of the cage. ( 6.12 pm) Top 79 F - bottom 74.5 F ; handheld laser thermometer basking temp 92.5 f. At night when lights are off, we sleep between 68-70 f
• Humidity - temp is 53% at the top and the bottom is 69%. They are the same electronic gauges with temperature. We use misting and live plants. The cage is draped on the sides with a shower curtain.
• Plants - I have one baby pothos and bromeliad at the bottom. One Dracena Cane Plant that fills the middle. 2 fake somewhat smaller resembling pothos plant on each side of the cage from the top.
• Placement - It is located in a spare universal room. Its only high traffic on the weekend because kids are out of school. During the week only used for an hour when I workout. It's on the opposite end of airvents and not directly near a window. The ceiling fan does not get used in this room. It is on top of a cabinet ( I am 5'2 and it stands just high enough so I can move the lights with my arms straight up)
• Location - Our climate community is humid in the swampland of Baton Rouge, LA.

Mic Drop! I did it! Boom! Now let's hear it. Because these darn crickets need their own setup post next!

 

[PoseidonTheChameleon]

I do not have a panther, @MissSkittles might be able to review it for you

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a little bit and I’ll give you a full review.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll be putting my feedback in red.

• Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon ( His name is Smeagol. ) - Male- 3months old. I had recieved him at 2.5 months so I only had him for about 3 .5 weeks now
• Handling - I,ve only took him out of cage within the 1st week for vet check up and unpacking. I've never physically touched him.
• Feeding - He eats about 10 small crickets a day from Petsmart. I was free-feeding but recently switched to cup feeding. I fill the cup at 8 am and check if the cup is empty by 5pm. Usually, there are 1 -2 crickets left. I gut load all the crickets with the orange cricket cubes and carrots. I did introduce both a mealworm and sm. dubia roaches. They stayed in the cup for 2 days and I removed them. Attaching gut load and feeder sheets. Crickets and roaches are great...mealworms, not so great. Try some silkworms and bsfl...you can order from forum sponsors. The orange cubes are a mistake so many of us have made. Really all they are good for is hydration. Is much better to feed your buggies a variety of healthy produce. Fresh greens - dandelion, collards, watercress, chard, etc. Various squashes, sweet potato, bell pepper, etc. A little bit of fruit...raspberries, melons, apple, etc. The healthier your feeders are, the more nutritious they will be for your chameleon. The orange cubes can serve a purpose though. If any crickets may have escaped into your enclosure and avoided being eaten, they will be hungry and could bite your cham. I’d leave an orange cube in there just in case...remove/replace every couple of days.
• Supplements -The first 2 weeks dusted with Zoomed calcium w/d3 because that's what he came with. I recently purchased the same brand without d3 and repashy superCal Nod3 for everyday dusting. I tried the dusting in the cup ( made a mess) and have now swtiched to a saltshaker and a ziplock bag. Either way, I have not found a method of not getting powder everywhere. Today was the first day I dusted with Rep-Cal herptivite Multivitamin. My schedule plan is to dust w/out d3 6 days ; 7th-day w/ d3 one week ... and w/out 6 d3 and 7th day multivitamin 2nd week. Very good! I use old yogurt containers or deli cups to dust my feeders. I put a pinch of supplement in, add the bugs and gently swirl/shake. Then I can pull the lid back just enough to grab a bug with tongs. I have a couple of the containers...one for each supplement.
• Watering - I use Mistking Ultimate system with 2 nozzles and Distilled baby water. Timer set 7 days a week 7:30 am/ 1 min 30 sec - 1 pm /30 sec - 7:30 pm / 1 min 30sec. I never saw him drink water. However, I do see him wet. Eventually you may want to invest in a reverse osmosis filter and make your own water. I’d say to increase your misting times to 2 minutes in the morning and evening. It’s pretty normal not to ever see a cham drink...many are very secretive about it.
• Fecal Description - Poop was one end white and the other dark brown. He was too young for parasite testing, and the poop drooping I have caught where harden. I am waiting on a fresh sample to test. Sounds good.
• History - I purchased him from FLChams and most of my cage set up from there.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -Reptibreeze, 18x18x36 screen You’ll want to give him bigger as he grows. You could replace with a 2x2x4’ or even get another of the same size you have and connect the two together, making a nice big enclosure.
• Lighting - 8am on - 8pm off ; 5.0 Uvb in a T8 20-inch fixture and 75 watts Exo Terra spot light - dome . Your uvb needs to be upgraded. Preferably get a T5 with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Then your basking area would be about 8” below. If you keep the T8, you’ll need a 10.0 or 12% uvb and basking area would need to be about 6” below.
• Temperature - I have 2 temperature gauges at the front of the cage. ( 6.12 pm) Top 79 F - bottom 74.5 F ; handheld laser thermometer basking temp 92.5 f. At night when lights are off, we sleep between 68-70 f Basking temp needs to come way down to around 80-82. Do keep in mind that the temp guns only measure surface temps. To measure air temps, you need a digital thermometer with a probe. Your other temps are great.
• Humidity - temp is 53% at the top and the bottom is 69%. They are the same electronic gauges with temperature. We use misting and live plants. The cage is draped on the sides with a shower curtain. Perfect! The live plants create little pockets of humidity that your cham can travel in/out of as he wants or needs. At night, you could increase your humidity for more naturalistic hydration (simulate fog) either thru use of a cool mist humidifier run for a couple of hours or add a couple of 15 sec mistings.
• Plants - I have one baby pothos and bromeliad at the bottom. One Dracaena Cane Plant that fills the middle. 2 fake somewhat smaller resembling pothos plant on each side of the cage from the top. Although he won’t eat his plants as veileds do, I still prefer all live plants. Perhaps add another live plant or two and then hang the fake ones on the outside door of his enclosure for added privacy.
• Placement - It is located in a spare universal room. Its only high traffic on the weekend because kids are out of school. During the week only used for an hour when I workout. It's on the opposite end of airvents and not directly near a window. The ceiling fan does not get used in this room. It is on top of a cabinet ( I am 5'2 and it stands just high enough so I can move the lights with my arms straight up)
• Location - Our climate community is humid in the swampland of Baton Rouge, LA.

So everything is good except for a few things. You’re off to a great start! I would suggest starting to build some trust with him to help promote ability to handle him. It does take time and patience. Here’s a great blog on it.https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ I have been hand feeding silkworms to build my chams trust. I haven’t needed them to come out on their own, so I keep the worms on my hand. My veileds will still hiss and lunge at me if I get too close too fast, but they do trust me. I got my panther as an adult and he is already super sweet and easy to handle, but I still hand feed silks to maintain trust. It’s a bit of a fine line of respecting their desire to be left alone while building trust and preventing them from becoming cage-aggressive. You can do it though!
I’m sure you’ve probably already been directed to chameleon academy. If not, do check it out. It is an incredible resource for learning more.