hatchling Panther chameleon enclosure questions

[Raphael1047]

Panther chameleon hatchling enclosure questions

I have been buying the babies' setups and so far i got 66qt bins, uvb light, plant light and light fixture. What is still on my shopping list is hardware cloth, bamboo sticks, live plants, and a rack for the bins. If there is anything that i need please let me know.
I also have been researching more than usual and came up with a few questions that have been asked before, but the answers have been different or unclear.
1.Should i have a basking light, if so 30-40w?
2.When should i start giving supplements and what kind of schedule?

I had a few more questions, but i dont remember them. i will post again if i remember.

Thanks

 

[Raphael1047]

1 of 3 done!

I finished 1 of the 3 cages, here is a top view. Hopefully someone can answer my questions above.

 

[talvarez527]

not to burst ur bubble, but i basically did the same setup as u and it can prove terrible. The babys unless great cup feeders wont eat the crix as much as u or i would like. The screen cages allow crix to crawl walls which will incease chances of eating

 

[Raphael1047]

not to burst ur bubble, but i basically did the same setup as u and it can prove terrible. The babys unless great cup feeders wont eat the crix as much as u or i would like. The screen cages allow crix to crawl walls which will incease chances of eating

Thanks for your input, but I put hardware cloth along the walls, so the crickets can climb them.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Exo Terras are the best. (Or Zoo Med, I prefer Zoo Med but they aren't available here).

I pack the bottom with sphagnum moss because baby chameleons love to fall. I have had one die from bruising on his nose which swelled up and basically closed his air passage so I use sphagnum on the bottom for the first 3 months.

Small insects also breed in the sphagnum and I add tropical woodlice which are great for natural calcium.

5.0 UVB light I use for the first 2 weeks only and I leave the plants and sticks low enough that they can get good UVB but can't climb the screen (I don't want them falling even with the sphag) Then I add a heat light which is 40 watts and I raise the plants/sticks up so they can get as close as they like and climb the screen to get maximum heat & UVB if they so choose.

The wide open space at the top left is where I direct my spray. Spraying young ones directly can cause lung problems so I mostly spray the enclosure and not the chams at this age.

The glass keeps the humidity really great, and keeps the ambient temperature PERFECT for babies, and keeps the bugs in, and provides lots of droplets for the chams to drink from...better than screen IMO and I don't have to spray them directly.

Between 2-3 months they are upgraded to a 18x18x24, at 4 months they are segregated by size into separate screen enclosures in groups of 4-6.

I keep full clutches this way which are always around 20 chams.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

As for supplement schedule, I use mostly calcium on hydeii fruit flies for the first month, which I raise on Repashy Superfly.

They also get some pinhead crickets occasionally and the bugs that live in the sphagnum moss, which are all gutloaded.

I use Calcium Plus or other multivitamins usually mixed with plain calcium once a week for the first month or as I feel necessary, and then cut back to once every two weeks for females and only once to twice a month for males. Their diet changes at this point so that's why I dust less with the multivitamins.

I don't give additional D3 other than the Calcium Plus (and even then it's mixed with plain calcium).

Goodluck! Raising chameleons is the best.

 

[Raphael1047]

Thank you Zen Reptiles this helps out a lot! Here is another question, i made these diy rain domes and they should be perfect for babies right?

 

[nick barta]

For your water, you could use 1/4inch soaker hose strung over your cage and not have to mess with nozzles and domes.

 

[Raphael1047]

For your water, you could use 1/4inch soaker hose strung over your cage and not have to mess with nozzles and domes.

Ok thanks i will go buy some.

 

[haksui]

Zen Reptiles. What did you mean, "5.0 UVB light I use for the first 2 weeks only"? Does this mean you only use the 5.0 UVB light as both a full spectrum light and basking light?

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Zen Reptiles. What did you mean, "5.0 UVB light I use for the first 2 weeks only"? Does this mean you only use the 5.0 UVB light as both a full spectrum light and basking light?

Yes, after the first two weeks he adds one.

 

[haksui]

Thank you for the clarification