First time owner of a new Panther Cham

[Tonzo91]

Like the tittle says this is my first Chameleon, (he/she) is a Panther Chameleon. Today is day 1 with having the Panther Chameleon. I would love it if you could look over my Chameleio's (my 4 year old girl name it) Cage/Set up.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Type Panther, Sex N/A, Age N/A (guess 3/6 months)
• Handling - First day owning it. But don't plan on holding it vary much. (maybe once a week if that)
• Feeding - Crickets, Super Warms, Cockroaches. As much as it wants to eat.
• Supplements -Repti Calcium w/ out D3 every feeding, Repti Calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Exo Terra Multi Vitamin once a month. (again that's my plan today is day one of owning the new chameleon)
• Watering - I have a Little Dripper(dripping once every 5 sec's or so) Mister is a Monsoon Solo ( every 3 hours for about 60 sec's), Zoo Med Fogger (runs when I mist or if Humidity drops), High Pressure Hand Mister (once to twice a day) Today when I first got home I put the Chameleon in the Cage and turned on the Mister and fogger.... He was drinking straight from the mister tip (he kept putting is mouth over the tip as is sprayed)
• Fecal Description - Has not had a movement yet (first day owning it) And probably not been tested for parasites
• History - Bought it from Petco.... (I have heard the horror stories about them and seen first hand just they keep them in the store. Makes me happy to save a little fella and hopefully provide a better home.)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Retpi Breeze 16x16x30 Screen
• Lighting - Zoo Meds Tropical UVB & Heat Lighting Kit (Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB 13w Compact, Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w)…….. (I Just picked up a Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture with a Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w... Should I use this one?)
• Temperature - Cage Floor 70F Basking Spot 90F.
• Humidity - Holds between 40-60 and when I mist jumps to 85%
• Plants - Fake plants on walls and fake vines. Picked up a Live plant today(Devil's Ivy) on floor of cage w/ vines going up.
• Placement - Living Room, High Traffic, Next to two windows, Top of Cage from floor is 5ft.
• Location - Central Oregon Coasts USA

So I have some questions about lights... Right now I have as you read above

-Zoo Med 5.0 UVB Repti Sun 13w Compact
-Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w

That is what is on right now on the cage. I also just bought a

- Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture w/ Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w (long tube type)

Would the Zilla Slim Line be a better light to use? or use all of the lights????

At night I keep my house cold 65F ish.. So I also have a Ceramic 60w heater on the top keeps the cage at night around 70F.

Here is a picture of the Set up.

 

[ERKleRose]

Like the tittle says this is my first Chameleon, (he/she) is a Panther Chameleon. Today is day 1 with having the Panther Chameleon. I would love it if you could look over my Chameleio's (my 4 year old girl name it) Cage/Set up.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Type Panther, Sex N/A, Age N/A (guess 3/6 months)
• Handling - First day owning it. But don't plan on holding it vary much. (maybe once a week if that)
• Feeding - Crickets, Super Warms, Cockroaches. As much as it wants to eat.
• Supplements -Repti Calcium w/ out D3 every feeding, Repti Calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Exo Terra Multi Vitamin once a month. (again that's my plan today is day one of owning the new chameleon)
• Watering - I have a Little Dripper(dripping once every 5 sec's or so) Mister is a Monsoon Solo ( every 3 hours for about 60 sec's), Zoo Med Fogger (runs when I mist or if Humidity drops), High Pressure Hand Mister (once to twice a day) Today when I first got home I put the Chameleon in the Cage and turned on the Mister and fogger.... He was drinking straight from the mister tip (he kept putting is mouth over the tip as is sprayed)
• Fecal Description - Has not had a movement yet (first day owning it) And probably not been tested for parasites
• History - Bought it from Petco.... (I have heard the horror stories about them and seen first hand just they keep them in the store. Makes me happy to save a little fella and hopefully provide a better home.)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Retpi Breeze 16x16x30 Screen
• Lighting - Zoo Meds Tropical UVB & Heat Lighting Kit (Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB 13w Compact, Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w)…….. (I Just picked up a Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture with a Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w... Should I use this one?)
• Temperature - Cage Floor 70F Basking Spot 90F.
• Humidity - Holds between 40-60 and when I mist jumps to 85%
• Plants - Fake plants on walls and fake vines. Picked up a Live plant today(Devil's Ivy) on floor of cage w/ vines going up.
• Placement - Living Room, High Traffic, Next to two windows, Top of Cage from floor is 5ft.
• Location - Central Oregon Coasts USA

So I have some questions about lights... Right now I have as you read above

-Zoo Med 5.0 UVB Repti Sun 13w Compact
-Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w

That is what is on right now on the cage. I also just bought a

- Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture w/ Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w (long tube type)

Would the Zilla Slim Line be a better light to use? or use all of the lights????

At night I keep my house cold 65F ish.. So I also have a Ceramic 60w heater on the top keeps the cage at night around 70F.

Here is a picture of the Set up. View attachment 218519

Could you post a pic of your cham? That way we can sex it and give you an approximate age. Only use superworms for variety, not as a staple. What type of roaches? Add in more variety, like silkworms, other types of roaches, black soldier flies and larvae, hornworms, butterworms, blue bottle flies, mantids, and small helix aspersa, to name a few. Types and age of feeders depends on your cham’s size. What do you gutload with? Exo Terra vitamins aren’t the best, get Zoo Med Reptivite without D3 and use it every two weeks. Or get Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 and use that every two weeks and toss the calcium with D3, then you only have to deal with two supplements instead of three. Or use an all in one supplement every feeding instead (like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall-gutload feeders the night before with Sticky Tongue Farms Vitall if using Minerall). Change the mister to have each misting for 2 minutes each time. Cage size and basking temp depends on sex, either way, you’ll need a bigger cage, preferably 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall or bigger. If female, you’ll need a lay bin. The panther care sheet here has lots of great info, including info on lay bins! Either sex, basking is too high, males should be 85-87*F or 80-85*F for females. Get rid of the blue bulb and get a regular white light heat basking bulb (pro tip- white light incandescent heat bulbs from the hardware store are cheaper and last longer than reptile basking bulbs). Get rid of the compact coil uvb. Just use the T8 with the Zoo Med 5.0 uvb for his/her uvb light. Humidity should be 50-70%. Longer mistings will help raise it up. Hang the pothos up near the top so it’s vines can hang down for your cham to crawl on. Make sure to thoroughly rinse off the plant and repot it in organic soil before putting in your cham’s cage. Do you have a better room to move him/her into? High traffic and loud noises aren’t good for chams. They need to be in a calm and quiet room. As long as the temp doesn’t drop below 60*F at night, you don’t need a nighttime heat source (if it ever drops below that, use a low wattage ceramic heat emitter).

 

[Keke6438]

Like the tittle says this is my first Chameleon, (he/she) is a Panther Chameleon. Today is day 1 with having the Panther Chameleon. I would love it if you could look over my Chameleio's (my 4 year old girl name it) Cage/Set up.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Type Panther, Sex N/A, Age N/A (guess 3/6 months)
• Handling - First day owning it. But don't plan on holding it vary much. (maybe once a week if that)
• Feeding - Crickets, Super Warms, Cockroaches. As much as it wants to eat.
• Supplements -Repti Calcium w/ out D3 every feeding, Repti Calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Exo Terra Multi Vitamin once a month. (again that's my plan today is day one of owning the new chameleon)
• Watering - I have a Little Dripper(dripping once every 5 sec's or so) Mister is a Monsoon Solo ( every 3 hours for about 60 sec's), Zoo Med Fogger (runs when I mist or if Humidity drops), High Pressure Hand Mister (once to twice a day) Today when I first got home I put the Chameleon in the Cage and turned on the Mister and fogger.... He was drinking straight from the mister tip (he kept putting is mouth over the tip as is sprayed)
• Fecal Description - Has not had a movement yet (first day owning it) And probably not been tested for parasites
• History - Bought it from Petco.... (I have heard the horror stories about them and seen first hand just they keep them in the store. Makes me happy to save a little fella and hopefully provide a better home.)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Retpi Breeze 16x16x30 Screen
• Lighting - Zoo Meds Tropical UVB & Heat Lighting Kit (Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB 13w Compact, Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w)…….. (I Just picked up a Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture with a Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w... Should I use this one?)
• Temperature - Cage Floor 70F Basking Spot 90F.
• Humidity - Holds between 40-60 and when I mist jumps to 85%
• Plants - Fake plants on walls and fake vines. Picked up a Live plant today(Devil's Ivy) on floor of cage w/ vines going up.
• Placement - Living Room, High Traffic, Next to two windows, Top of Cage from floor is 5ft.
• Location - Central Oregon Coasts USA

So I have some questions about lights... Right now I have as you read above

-Zoo Med 5.0 UVB Repti Sun 13w Compact
-Day Light Blue Reptile Bulb 60w

That is what is on right now on the cage. I also just bought a

- Zilla Slim Line Tropical Fixture w/ Zoo Med Repti Sun 5.0 UVB T8 15w (long tube type)

Would the Zilla Slim Line be a better light to use? or use all of the lights????

At night I keep my house cold 65F ish.. So I also have a Ceramic 60w heater on the top keeps the cage at night around 70F.

Here is a picture of the Set up. View attachment 218519

Looks good, just a few things that I would recommend.

First, getting a 10.0 linear uvb light from your local pet store. The uvb bulbs that come in the kit are not strong enough and the heat bulb is dangerous to chameleons. I would recommend going to your local Walmart and buying a soft white bulb(not LED) and that should do the trick.

 

[ERKleRose]

Looks good, just a few things that I would recommend.

First, getting a 10.0 linear uvb light from your local pet store. The uvb bulbs that come in the kit are not strong enough and the heat bulb is dangerous to chameleons. I would recommend going to your local Walmart and buying a soft white bulb(not LED) and that should do the trick.

A 10.0 uvb is too strong for a panther and for her size of cage.

 

[Thehippie]

for feeders I would use hornworms, super worms and butterworms as a treat and stick to dubia roaches crickets silkworms and BSFL/BSF as a staple diet, vary his or her diet early on so he or she will accept any or all types of feeders

 

[celeste_knitter]

If you use butterworms, watch closely for an autoimmune reaction that looks like bruising. If this occurs, stop using butterworms immediately.

 

[Tonzo91]

Could you post a pic of your cham? That way we can sex it and give you an approximate age. Only use superworms for variety, not as a staple. What type of roaches? Add in more variety, like silkworms, other types of roaches, black soldier flies and larvae, hornworms, butterworms, blue bottle flies, mantids, and small helix aspersa, to name a few. Types and age of feeders depends on your cham’s size. What do you gutload with? Exo Terra vitamins aren’t the best, get Zoo Med Reptivite without D3 and use it every two weeks. Or get Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 and use that every two weeks and toss the calcium with D3, then you only have to deal with two supplements instead of three. Or use an all in one supplement every feeding instead (like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall-gutload feeders the night before with Sticky Tongue Farms Vitall if using Minerall). Change the mister to have each misting for 2 minutes each time. Cage size and basking temp depends on sex, either way, you’ll need a bigger cage, preferably 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall or bigger. If female, you’ll need a lay bin. The panther care sheet here has lots of great info, including info on lay bins! Either sex, basking is too high, males should be 85-87*F or 80-85*F for females. Get rid of the blue bulb and get a regular white light heat basking bulb (pro tip- white light incandescent heat bulbs from the hardware store are cheaper and last longer than reptile basking bulbs). Get rid of the compact coil uvb. Just use the T8 with the Zoo Med 5.0 uvb for his/her uvb light. Humidity should be 50-70%. Longer mistings will help raise it up. Hang the pothos up near the top so it’s vines can hang down for your cham to crawl on. Make sure to thoroughly rinse off the plant and repot it in organic soil before putting in your cham’s cage. Do you have a better room to move him/her into? High traffic and loud noises aren’t good for chams. They need to be in a calm and quiet room. As long as the temp doesn’t drop below 60*F at night, you don’t need a nighttime heat source (if it ever drops below that, use a low wattage ceramic heat emitter).

So if I got Repashy Calcium Plus LoD That would be the only thing I would have to use for dusting my feed for my Chameleon and would be able to get rid of my calcium w/ and w/out d3 and my Exo Terra vitamins? ill post get what I gut load with tomorrow as its under the cage and don't want to bug my chameleon as it sleeps right now.

Now Lighting. Just use my new Zoo Med 5.0 uvb T8 light and get a Soft white light for my basking light correct?

And for a better room its kind of hard with a "better room" only other place I could think of would by my bedroom. He was vary scared today after the 1 and half hour drive home in a box..... It stayed down lower and hiding the hole time it was in the cage with the light on. After "lights out" it went to the top and went to sleep right away 8pm is lights out and 7am is lights on for him. Type of roach im not 100% sure the local guy told me its what he feeds his he said the name but I cant remember right now. Ill give him a call tomorrow and ask.

More pics of him I will try tomorrow to get some snaps of the Chameleon of the side/tail and face if it warms up and moves around from hiding.


THANKS AGAIN for all the info and help!

I orderd some Dragon Ledges to make it easier to get my plan up higher and off the bottom of the cage!

 

[ERKleRose]

So if I got Repashy Calcium Plus LoD That would be the only thing I would have to use for dusting my feed for my Chameleon and would be able to get rid of my calcium w/ and w/out d3 and my Exo Terra vitamins? ill post get what I gut load with tomorrow as its under the cage and don't want to bug my chameleon as it sleeps right now.

Now Lighting. Just use my new Zoo Med 5.0 uvb T8 light and get a Soft white light for my basking light correct?

And for a better room its kind of hard with a "better room" only other place I could think of would by my bedroom. He was vary scared today after the 1 and half hour drive home in a box..... It stayed down lower and hiding the hole time it was in the cage with the light on. After "lights out" it went to the top and went to sleep right away 8pm is lights out and 7am is lights on for him. Type of roach im not 100% sure the local guy told me its what he feeds his he said the name but I cant remember right now. Ill give him a call tomorrow and ask.

More pics of him I will try tomorrow to get some snaps of the Chameleon of the side/tail and face if it warms up and moves around from hiding.


THANKS AGAIN for all the info and help!

I orderd some Dragon Ledges to make it easier to get my plan up higher and off the bottom of the cage!

Yes, you’d get rid of all other supplements if using Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, same with Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall (which I prefer, just make sure to gutload feeders the night before with Vitall if using Minerall). Use either one every feeding. Yes, just use the T8 for uvb and get a white incandescent heat bulb, you’ll have to play with the wattages until you get the right basking temp. Could you move him/her into your bedroom (doesn’t mean the feeders have to be in there, though)? Are the roaches dubia, red runner, ivory headed, orange headed, lobster, green banana, etc?

 

[NickTide]

Best advice I give to new owners which you seem to have a real good start.... Pothos (devils ivy) really helps with the humidity and lots of different feeders for nutrition and to prevent boredom. I am a big fan of Black soldier flies. Buy the larvae. I get 1000 - 2000 at a time and keep them in a wine fridge set at 56 degrees. They are still living and pupating and they have been in there for almost 8 months. Very cost efficient and good for them.

 

[Tonzo91]

Yes, you’d get rid of all other supplements if using Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, same with Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall (which I prefer, just make sure to gutload feeders the night before with Vitall if using Minerall). Use either one every feeding. Yes, just use the T8 for uvb and get a white incandescent heat bulb, you’ll have to play with the wattages until you get the right basking temp. Could you move him/her into your bedroom (doesn’t mean the feeders have to be in there, though)? Are the roaches dubia, red runner, ivory headed, orange headed, lobster, green banana, etc?

Okay, So I ordered Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. Also ordered some Repashy SuperLoad.

I went and got a New heat light to replace the Blue Light I have. Ill watch the temp and see if its too much or to little. I started in the middle of what my pet shop had a 75w, They have 50w and 100w in the same brand and some other brands and other watts. Ill see what happens as the day goes on.

I set up the T8 uvb light too.

Im going to be moving/rearranging my room to make a spot for the cham might take a day or two for that.

He/She drinks, I got he/she to eat today SuperWarms. He/she wont touch the crickets yet. They are in a cup, as I put the Superwarms in a different cup and he/she ran to them.

As he/she came out to eat the SuperWarms I got some pictures as before you asked to get some pictures of the Cham to help I.D. sex/age.

One last thing, Is it normal/okay if he puts his mouth over the mister? It was vary amusing to watch and nice to see he/she drink, He/she also drinks off the branches/leaves too.

 

[ERKleRose]

View attachment 218563 View attachment 218564 View attachment 218565 View attachment 218566 View attachment 218567 View attachment 218568 View attachment 218569 View attachment 218570 View attachment 218571

Okay, So I ordered Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. Also ordered some Repashy SuperLoad.

I went and got a New heat light to replace the Blue Light I have. Ill watch the temp and see if its too much or to little. I started in the middle of what my pet shop had a 75w, They have 50w and 100w in the same brand and some other brands and other watts. Ill see what happens as the day goes on.

I set up the T8 uvb light too.

Im going to be moving/rearranging my room to make a spot for the cham might take a day or two for that.

He/She drinks, I got he/she to eat today SuperWarms. He/she wont touch the crickets yet. They are in a cup, as I put the Superwarms in a different cup and he/she ran to them.

As he/she came out to eat the SuperWarms I got some pictures as before you asked to get some pictures of the Cham to help I.D. sex/age.

One last thing, Is it normal/okay if he puts his mouth over the mister? It was vary amusing to watch and nice to see he/she drink, He/she also drinks off the branches/leaves too.

I’d say female, but could be male, only time will tell, unless another member chimes in with a definite answer. Do you have a lay bin

 

[salty dog]

To tell what sex it is you need a clear close up picture of his/her tail base legthwise and upside down also wouldn't hurt