Help Identifying Hyde

[chamoflage]

Hello,

This is Hyde. We're pretty certain that Hyde is a female panther chameleon, but wanted to get some more experts to weigh in just to be absolutely sure. I have been working on the husbandry form so I can post it for further more in depth review and more pictures of Hyde. Thank you so much in advance and I'm so glad to be able to join the forum, I've been reading information off of it for probably about 9 months on and off.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hyde is a beautiful lady!

 

[chamoflage]

Hyde is a beautiful lady!

Thank you! She's super sassy and is always giving prime side eye. I'll be posting my husbandry form soon to get it reviewed to give Miss Hyde the best care

 

[chamoflage]

Since I'm new to actually making posts on the forum would it be better to post the husbandry form here or make a separate post?

 

[ERKleRose]

Since I'm new to actually making posts on the forum would it be better to post the husbandry form here or make a separate post?

Whichever is easier for you!

 

[chamoflage]

I'll post it here then I have pictures of the enclosure, her supplements and most recent fecal dropping, and some recent photos of her. I'll also add a selection of pictures of her from when we brought her home to now, she's been serving up side eye since day 1 in the next post

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Species – Ambanja Panther Chameleon. Sex – Female. Age – Approximately 6 months and has been in our care for 4 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Almost never. Hyde is particularly sassy when it comes to leaving the enclosure even to go outside. We have been working on our people skills so more field trips outside can happen and so it will be easier to take Hyde to the vet.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Once a day. For the last few weeks only about 6-8 insects a day, although this past week we have been switching to about 5-6 insects a day with the intent of going to every other day (which happens if I give her dubia roaches). Primarily feeding medium sized crickets with mixing in some hornworms, wax worms, mealworms and soldier fly larvae, tried dubia roaches but Hyde doesn’t seem to be a fan (will continue to keep trying though to see if I can get a better reaction). We have been gut-loading with cricket food and fruits and veggies and just purchased some bug burger to add more nutrients to my gut-load (as I have been reading so much on the forums about how much a quality gut-load can impact overall chameleon health).
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal without D3 done every other feeding. Repti-Cal with D3 twice a month. Reptivite Vitamins without D3 twice a month.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? 4 minute misting session in the morning before feeding time along with having the fogger on high for at least an hour and then turning it off or down to low (depending on whether it is a bit drier out or not). After the 4 minute misting session the automatic mister goes off every 3 hours for a minute at a time (as I work during the day and want to ensure Hyde has ample opportunity to drink in privacy). Hyde sometimes drinks off the leaves and also sits right under the misters and foggers. We do have a little dripper which is not set up just yet, once we can get that sorted out and deal with the excess water I will reduce the automatic misters.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Most recent droppings have been small (possibly due to the smaller amount of food going in) and looked a bit drier (I’m not sure they could have been older droppings and I just discovered them, Hyde doesn’t poop in the same place each time). I have been continuing to monitor them. Will include a picture of the last dropping I found.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No other known history, came from LLL, estimated that Hyde was 2 months old at time of purchase.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen. 2 feet wide, 2 feet in length and 38 inches from top to soil, 4 feet from top to bottom. Approximately 10 inches of soil.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lights on at 5:45am and lights out at 5:45pm. 1 ZooMed T5 HO 5.0 UVB Reptisun light on the right side of the cage and 1 ZooMed Reptisun UVA/UVB hood with a T5 HO 5.0UVB light on the left side of the cage, one ZooMed 100watt basking bulb (located closest to the front of the cage with a farther distance as to not burn Hyde), 75watt basking bulb (not sure of the brand but most likely ZooMed) located towards the middle of the cage with branches to reach up closer.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp range 60-80 F. Lowest overnight temp is about 62 F. I have one thermometer on the basking spot underneath the 100watt bulb, planning on getting a second one for underneath the 75watt bulb, both hygrometers also measure temperature as well so I can monitor temperature in the top away from the basking bulbs and the lower part of the cage. Ceramic heater located in the back top part of the cage that comes on intermittently throughout the night to maintain an ambient lower 60 F temperature (just for winter).
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Overall humidity around 55% throughout the day. We have 3 hygrometers (two digital and one analog), one located in the top portion near one of the misters, one analog hygrometer in the back middle of the cage, and the last one in the bottom of the tank. The top one typically ranges in the high 50% humidity and a high of 70% humidity (after misting and with the fogger on). The lower one will range in the low 60% humidity to 80% humidity after misting and fogging.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? All live plants that are planted in the vivarium. Benjamin ficus, orchids, Spanish moss, umbrella plant, pepperomia, croton, moss on the ground floor and air plants.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located upstairs in my room about 5 feet from the window. Not near any air vents or a high traffic area. Cage is raised up onto a table about 2 feet from the floor, the top of the cage is probably about 6.5-7 feet from the floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located? San Diego, California

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. At this time I just want to have my husbandry reviewed for feedback to make Hyde’s habitat the best that I can.

 

[chamoflage]

Here's some more pictures of sassy Hyde, serving up side eye since day 1, pictures range from when we brought her home up until having her in our care for the past 3 months (her most recent photos are from her 4th month being in our care).

 

[ERKleRose]

Hi there, and welcome to the forums! You have a gorgeous girl! My questions and feedback will be in red

I'll post it here then I have pictures of the enclosure, her supplements and most recent fecal dropping, and some recent photos of her. I'll also add a selection of pictures of her from when we brought her home to now, she's been serving up side eye since day 1 in the next post

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Species – Ambanja Panther Chameleon. Sex – Female. Age – Approximately 6 months and has been in our care for 4 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Almost never. Hyde is particularly sassy when it comes to leaving the enclosure even to go outside. We have been working on our people skills so more field trips outside can happen and so it will be easier to take Hyde to the vet.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Once a day. For the last few weeks only about 6-8 insects a day, although this past week we have been switching to about 5-6 insects a day with the intent of going to every other day (which happens if I give her dubia roaches). Primarily feeding medium sized crickets with mixing in some hornworms, wax worms, mealworms and soldier fly larvae, tried dubia roaches but Hyde doesn’t seem to be a fan (will continue to keep trying though to see if I can get a better reaction). We have been gut-loading with cricket food and fruits and veggies and just purchased some bug burger to add more nutrients to my gut-load (as I have been reading so much on the forums about how much a quality gut-load can impact overall chameleon health). There are other species of non-climbing and non-flying roaches besides dubia that are more active and colorful and elicite better feeding responses! How often are you feeding the mealworms and waxworms? What type of fruits and veggies do you use? Repashy Bug Burged is a great commercial food! I’ll attach feeder and gutload charts at the end, as well as some helpful links! I’m not the most knowledgeable on female panthers, so someone else will have to post to see about her feeding amount and which days she should be fed for her age.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal without D3 done every other feeding. Repti-Cal with D3 twice a month. Reptivite Vitamins without D3 twice a month. Perfect!
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? 4 minute misting session in the morning before feeding time along with having the fogger on high for at least an hour and then turning it off or down to low (depending on whether it is a bit drier out or not). After the 4 minute misting session the automatic mister goes off every 3 hours for a minute at a time (as I work during the day and want to ensure Hyde has ample opportunity to drink in privacy). Hyde sometimes drinks off the leaves and also sits right under the misters and foggers. We do have a little dripper which is not set up just yet, once we can get that sorted out and deal with the excess water I will reduce the automatic misters. Do you run her humidifier during the day? They should only be run at night! I’d bump up her daytime mistings to a minimum of two minutes. Though it is preferred to water chams in the morning and late afternoon/night for their daytime mistings if your humidity allows it. Does her cage have a drainage system?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Most recent droppings have been small (possibly due to the smaller amount of food going in) and looked a bit drier (I’m not sure they could have been older droppings and I just discovered them, Hyde doesn’t poop in the same place each time). I have been continuing to monitor them. Will include a picture of the last dropping I found. I would definitely do a fecal float from an experienced chameleon vet since you got her from LLL Reptile. It’s recommend to do fecal floats from a new chameleon anyway and should be repeated 3-4 times a year. Make sure to bring a fresh fecal to the vet to test it, as well as dropping off a few more after that, since parasites don’t always show up in just one. If you take her to the vet, make sure she gets a general check-up as well, with x-rays and bloodwork, etc, too. Her fecal does look a little dry in the photo, so maybe feed a few extra hornworms and balance out her hydration methods.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No other known history, came from LLL, estimated that Hyde was 2 months old at time of purchase.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen. 2 feet wide, 2 feet in length and 38 inches from top to soil, 4 feet from top to bottom. Approximately 10 inches of soil. Is it bioactive or just plain substrate? Size of cage and depth of soil (for when she lays) are good.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lights on at 5:45am and lights out at 5:45pm. 1 ZooMed T5 HO 5.0 UVB Reptisun light on the right side of the cage and 1 ZooMed Reptisun UVA/UVB hood with a T5 HO 5.0UVB light on the left side of the cage, one ZooMed 100watt basking bulb (located closest to the front of the cage with a farther distance as to not burn Hyde), 75watt basking bulb (not sure of the brand but most likely ZooMed) located towards the middle of the cage with branches to reach up closer. She only needs one linear UVB fixture and one heat bulb in her cage! Try to get the UVB fixture to go over the middle of her cage (laid straight across or diagonal). How far away is her UVB bulb (and her heat bulb) away from her top basking branch? Her UVB bulb will need to be replaced within the next month. Zoo Med 5.0 linear UVB bulbs are only good for five months, while Arcadia’s 6% linear UVB bulbs are good for a year. If you can afford it, definitely get a UVI Solarmeter 6.5! It’ll help you make sure her UVI levels are perfect and when to replace your UVB bulb!
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp range 60-80 F. Lowest overnight temp is about 62 F. I have one thermometer on the basking spot underneath the 100watt bulb, planning on getting a second one for underneath the 75watt bulb, both hygrometers also measure temperature as well so I can monitor temperature in the top away from the basking bulbs and the lower part of the cage. Ceramic heater located in the back top part of the cage that comes on intermittently throughout the night to maintain an ambient lower 60 F temperature (just for winter). Ambient and nighttime temps are great! Again, not the most knowledgeable on female panthers, so someone else will have to comment on their correct basking temps. Is the ceramic heater a ceramic heat emitter bulb? What is its wattage? Are your thermometers and hygrometer-thermometer combos all digital?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Overall humidity around 55% throughout the day. We have 3 hygrometers (two digital and one analog), one located in the top portion near one of the misters, one analog hygrometer in the back middle of the cage, and the last one in the bottom of the tank. The top one typically ranges in the high 50% humidity and a high of 70% humidity (after misting and with the fogger on). The lower one will range in the low 60% humidity to 80% humidity after misting and fogging. Great humidity level for during the day! What are her nighttime levels? How often do you clean the humidifier and its tubes? Is the humidifier’s output tube near/at the top of her cage or somewhere else?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? All live plants that are planted in the vivarium. Benjamin ficus, orchids, Spanish moss, umbrella plant, pepperomia, croton, moss on the ground floor and air plants. I would take out the Spanish moss. And probably the ground moss, too, depending on if she can lay her eggs in the soil from where the moss is? All the other plants sound great!
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located upstairs in my room about 5 feet from the window. Not near any air vents or a high traffic area. Cage is raised up onto a table about 2 feet from the floor, the top of the cage is probably about 6.5-7 feet from the floor? Perfect!
• Location - Where are you geographically located? San Diego, California

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. At this time I just want to have my husbandry reviewed for feedback to make Hyde’s habitat the best that I can. I’d personally add more branches, vines, and plants in her cage, too. For the most part, you’ve done an overall great job!

 

[ERKleRose]

Here are some helpful links if you haven’t seen them already! Sorry, I couldn’t fit it in the post!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://www.madcham.de/en/
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/

 

[chamoflage]

I was trying to add my responses to your feedback and questions and it said there were too many characters, so I will try this to see if it works. I'll put a brief description of the topic and then attach my responses. I hope that clarifies things and gives more information so Miss Hyde can have the very best.

Food - The mealworms and wax worms are now only offered sparingly (I learned on the forums that those are treat bugs and shouldn't be given too often, so in the past month they've been cut down significantly. Currently am out of wax worms but have only offered the treats maybe once or twice a week, been shifting to focusing more on crickets, soldier fly larvae and hornworms. Right now for fruits we've done apples and carrots, I was using lettuce but then realized that that wasn't a great gut load as it does not offer any nutritional value. Thank you so much!

Vitamins - She just got her D3 and vitamins today for her biweekly dose.

Watering - I usually only run the humidifier for about an hour or 2 in the morning and turn it off before I put in her food, and then if the ambient air (our room typically stays at about 60% humidity due to locale and lots of live plants) seems like it has been a bit drier I will leave the humidifier on low in her cage while I'm at work (and sometimes also run a humidifier in my room as well). I work during the day so I am not able to do a second thorough misting session in the afternoon, and wasn't sure if it was too late do do so right before the lights come out. The mister that we have currently only has a 1 minute maximum setting, so in the morning I have been putting it on and off so it runs for a total of 4 minutes to get everything nice and wet. Her cage does have drainage, the bottom of the cage has a plant cover with a hole at the bottom and then that connects to a rock and string to help with the excess water to go into a cup.

Fecal - A vet visit is definitely next on my list and I put in a nice juicy hornworm for her today to help her out with hydration.

Cage Type - Bioactive, we have springtails and other isopods inside (I believe cow isopods and orange powders).

Lighting - Thank you! I will take out one of the basking bulbs and make adjustments with the linear UVB fixtures. The basking bulb in the back (75 watt) is about 3 inches from the branch, the screen is cool to the touch, the other basking bulb is about 8.5 inches from her branch. I will add a UVI Solarmeter 6.5 to my list, where would you recommend buying one of those?

Temperature - Ceramic infrared heat emitter and I believe it was a 40watt. We have two combo hygrometer-thermometers and one that's just a thermometer and one that's just an analog hygrometer.

Humidity - Nighttime levels are typically in the low 60% to high 50%. I have not yet cleaned out the humidifier tubes, how often do you recommend cleaning out the humidifier and the tubes and what method would you recommend to do so?

Plants - I will go ahead and remove the Spanish moss, the ground moss is only in a couple small spots so there is still plenty of room for her to lay, one patch of ground moss is 4 inches wide at the widest part and about 10 inches long, the other small patch is in the corner and is about 3 inches by 3 inches. Do you think that would be okay?

Current Problem - Thank you, we will work on getting more branches, vines and plants for her as well. My boyfriend is the one who set up the cage and built everything up, I'm sure he'll be excited to add more things for Miss Hyde to climb on! I did also add in another photo that's a little bit closer up of her current set up for the plants and branches.

 

[chamoflage]

Here are some helpful links if you haven’t seen them already! Sorry, I couldn’t fit it in the post!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://www.madcham.de/en/
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/

Thank you I will save those and use them to keep improving

 

[ERKleRose]

I was trying to add my responses to your feedback and questions and it said there were too many characters, so I will try this to see if it works. I'll put a brief description of the topic and then attach my responses. I hope that clarifies things and gives more information so Miss Hyde can have the very best.

Food - The mealworms and wax worms are now only offered sparingly (I learned on the forums that those are treat bugs and shouldn't be given too often, so in the past month they've been cut down significantly. Currently am out of wax worms but have only offered the treats maybe once or twice a week, been shifting to focusing more on crickets, soldier fly larvae and hornworms. Right now for fruits we've done apples and carrots, I was using lettuce but then realized that that wasn't a great gut load as it does not offer any nutritional value. Thank you so much! Sounds good! I’d add more leafy greens and stuff into the gutload, too!

Vitamins - She just got her D3 and vitamins today for her biweekly dose. Perfect!

Watering - I usually only run the humidifier for about an hour or 2 in the morning and turn it off before I put in her food, and then if the ambient air (our room typically stays at about 60% humidity due to locale and lots of live plants) seems like it has been a bit drier I will leave the humidifier on low in her cage while I'm at work (and sometimes also run a humidifier in my room as well). I work during the day so I am not able to do a second thorough misting session in the afternoon, and wasn't sure if it was too late do do so right before the lights come out. The mister that we have currently only has a 1 minute maximum setting, so in the morning I have been putting it on and off so it runs for a total of 4 minutes to get everything nice and wet. Her cage does have drainage, the bottom of the cage has a plant cover with a hole at the bottom and then that connects to a rock and string to help with the excess water to go into a cup. 60% humidity is perfect for the day! Anywhere from 50-60/70% is what’s recommended for panthers. I’d only use the humidifier at night.

Fecal - A vet visit is definitely next on my list and I put in a nice juicy hornworm for her today to help her out with hydration. Awesome!

Cage Type - Bioactive, we have springtails and other isopods inside (I believe cow isopods and orange powders). Love it! You can also add fly larvae (among other things), too! Once the flies pupate and hatch out, your chameleon gets a nice snack!

Lighting - Thank you! I will take out one of the basking bulbs and make adjustments with the linear UVB fixtures. The basking bulb in the back (75 watt) is about 3 inches from the branch, the screen is cool to the touch, the other basking bulb is about 8.5 inches from her branch. I will add a UVI Solarmeter 6.5 to my list, where would you recommend buying one of those? Does your UVB linear fixture hold one bulb or more? If it has more, how many separate reflectors are there? On average, a single bulb T5 HO linear fixture with reflector needs to be around 9” away from the top basking branch when using a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb, as well as the heat bulb so there are not severe temperatures from the heat bulb being so close to the branch that she could burn herself if she’s too close.

Temperature - Ceramic infrared heat emitter and I believe it was a 40watt. We have two combo hygrometer-thermometers and one that's just a thermometer and one that's just an analog hygrometer. As long as her nighttime temps don’t go below 60*F, a ceramic heat emitter isn’t really needed. Some keepers don’t like their cages to go below 65*F and use a very small wattage ceramic heat emitter in a top corner of the cage if needed to raise the temp up a few degrees in that one area.

Humidity - Nighttime levels are typically in the low 60% to high 50%. I have not yet cleaned out the humidifier tubes, how often do you recommend cleaning out the humidifier and the tubes and what method would you recommend to do so? Nighttime levels can go up to 100% humidity (which is where the humidifier comes in). The humidifier unit itself, along with any and all tubes and accessories that you use, need to be deep-cleaned at least once to twice a week at the bare minimum, if not more. There are many ways to clean them, and lots of keepers use different methods. Use the search bar on here, look at The Chameleon Academy’s module info and podcasts on it, Google it, etc.

Plants - I will go ahead and remove the Spanish moss, the ground moss is only in a couple small spots so there is still plenty of room for her to lay, one patch of ground moss is 4 inches wide at the widest part and about 10 inches long, the other small patch is in the corner and is about 3 inches by 3 inches. Do you think that would be okay? It should be fine as long as she doesn’t eat it or drink water off of it or wants to lay in that area when the time comes. I’d just keep an eye on it.

Current Problem - Thank you, we will work on getting more branches, vines and plants for her as well. My boyfriend is the one who set up the cage and built everything up, I'm sure he'll be excited to add more things for Miss Hyde to climb on! Haha, I‘m sure he will! Even though I enjoy it, not everyone does! Also, great job by the way, again! Miss Hyde is lucky to have you!

 

[chamoflage]

I was trying to add my responses to your feedback and questions and it said there were too many characters, so I will try this to see if it works. I'll put a brief description of the topic and then attach my responses. I hope that clarifies things and gives more information so Miss Hyde can have the very best.

Food - The mealworms and wax worms are now only offered sparingly (I learned on the forums that those are treat bugs and shouldn't be given too often, so in the past month they've been cut down significantly. Currently am out of wax worms but have only offered the treats maybe once or twice a week, been shifting to focusing more on crickets, soldier fly larvae and hornworms. Right now for fruits we've done apples and carrots, I was using lettuce but then realized that that wasn't a great gut load as it does not offer any nutritional value. Thank you so much! Sounds good! I’d add more leafy greens and stuff into the gutload, too!

Vitamins - She just got her D3 and vitamins today for her biweekly dose. Perfect!

Watering - I usually only run the humidifier for about an hour or 2 in the morning and turn it off before I put in her food, and then if the ambient air (our room typically stays at about 60% humidity due to locale and lots of live plants) seems like it has been a bit drier I will leave the humidifier on low in her cage while I'm at work (and sometimes also run a humidifier in my room as well). I work during the day so I am not able to do a second thorough misting session in the afternoon, and wasn't sure if it was too late do do so right before the lights come out. The mister that we have currently only has a 1 minute maximum setting, so in the morning I have been putting it on and off so it runs for a total of 4 minutes to get everything nice and wet. Her cage does have drainage, the bottom of the cage has a plant cover with a hole at the bottom and then that connects to a rock and string to help with the excess water to go into a cup. 60% humidity is perfect for the day! Anywhere from 50-60/70% is what’s recommended for panthers. I’d only use the humidifier at night. I will start running it at night, just wasn't sure if that would be too much water for the plants. Thank you again for the advice.

Fecal - A vet visit is definitely next on my list and I put in a nice juicy hornworm for her today to help her out with hydration. Awesome!

Cage Type - Bioactive, we have springtails and other isopods inside (I believe cow isopods and orange powders). Love it! You can also add fly larvae (among other things), too! Once the flies pupate and hatch out, your chameleon gets a nice snack!

Lighting - Thank you! I will take out one of the basking bulbs and make adjustments with the linear UVB fixtures. The basking bulb in the back (75 watt) is about 3 inches from the branch, the screen is cool to the touch, the other basking bulb is about 8.5 inches from her branch. I will add a UVI Solarmeter 6.5 to my list, where would you recommend buying one of those? Does your UVB linear fixture hold one bulb or more? If it has more, how many separate reflectors are there? On average, a single bulb T5 HO linear fixture with reflector needs to be around 9” away from the top basking branch when using a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb, as well as the heat bulb so there are not severe temperatures from the heat bulb being so close to the branch that she could burn herself if she’s too close. We have the one fixture that holds one T5 HO bulb and also has the red LED lights (I apologize if I'm not using the correct term), it's the fixture to the far left in the photo and those are not hot to touch (are those the ones that should have a larger distance as she does not bask under them?). She does not sit close under the heat bulb she maintains the about 8.5 to about 9 inches from the bulb (she sits a bit lower on the branch). I just want to ensure I am understanding you clearly.

Temperature - Ceramic infrared heat emitter and I believe it was a 40watt. We have two combo hygrometer-thermometers and one that's just a thermometer and one that's just an analog hygrometer. As long as her nighttime temps don’t go below 60*F, a ceramic heat emitter isn’t really needed. Some keepers don’t like their cages to go below 65*F and use a very small wattage ceramic heat emitter in a top corner of the cage if needed to raise the temp up a few degrees in that one area. Hers is located in the back middle of the cage and only comes on pretty sparingly, for about a couple hours throughout the night, but I'm not opposed to omitting it. I was checking her ambient temps right when the lights go on and have checked them at night and it does not seem like the ceramic heat emitter has been making any drastic changes just maintaining the ambient temp.

Humidity - Nighttime levels are typically in the low 60% to high 50%. I have not yet cleaned out the humidifier tubes, how often do you recommend cleaning out the humidifier and the tubes and what method would you recommend to do so? Nighttime levels can go up to 100% humidity (which is where the humidifier comes in). The humidifier unit itself, along with any and all tubes and accessories that you use, need to be deep-cleaned at least once to twice a week at the bare minimum, if not more. There are many ways to clean them, and lots of keepers use different methods. Use the search bar on here, look at The Chameleon Academy’s module info and podcasts on it, Google it, etc. Thank you I will look into that and add it to my Sunday cleaning chores (I already clean out fish tanks that day so it would be a perfect add to the list)

Plants - I will go ahead and remove the Spanish moss, the ground moss is only in a couple small spots so there is still plenty of room for her to lay, one patch of ground moss is 4 inches wide at the widest part and about 10 inches long, the other small patch is in the corner and is about 3 inches by 3 inches. Do you think that would be okay? It should be fine as long as she doesn’t eat it or drink water off of it or wants to lay in that area when the time comes. I’d just keep an eye on it. Will do.

Current Problem - Thank you, we will work on getting more branches, vines and plants for her as well. My boyfriend is the one who set up the cage and built everything up, I'm sure he'll be excited to add more things for Miss Hyde to climb on! Haha, I‘m sure he will! Even though I enjoy it, not everyone does! Also, great job by the way, again! Miss Hyde is lucky to have you! I'm not definitely not the one who is into that, I like buying plants though and usually am on Miss Hyde duty while her cage gets worked on, she gets outside time when it's time to work on her cage.

 

[ERKleRose]

The T5 HO fixture with the LED strip in it (you used the correct terms!) needs to be repositioned to where the UVB bulb in it either goes over the middle of the cage or over her basking branch or both. The distance requirement is for giving her safe UVI levels, so she’s not over or under exposed. It sounds perfect for her distance from her heat bulb! Just make sure her temps are appropriate where her basking branch is. Thank you for asking questions to understand everything clearly, it’s much appreciated! If you continue to use the ceramic heat emitter, move it to a corner of her cage. Ooh, what fish do you have!? Sounds like you get the better end of the bargain when her cage gets tinkered on!

 

[chamoflage]

The T5 HO fixture with the LED strip in it (you used the correct terms!) needs to be repositioned to where the UVB bulb in it either goes over the middle of the cage or over her basking branch or both. The distance requirement is for giving her safe UVI levels, so she’s not over or under exposed. It sounds perfect for her distance from her heat bulb! Just make sure her temps are appropriate where her basking branch is. Thank you for asking questions to understand everything clearly, it’s much appreciated! If you continue to use the ceramic heat emitter, move it to a corner of her cage. Ooh, what fish do you have!? Sounds like you get the better end of the bargain when her cage gets tinkered on!

Okay perfect thank you for clarifying. I just took out the ceramic heat emitter and moved the lower watt basking bulb to where the higher watt one was (removed the higher watt). I will see if I can move the T5 HO fixture, I know the cords are all nicely bundled in the back so I may need to wait until my boyfriend gets home so he can help me with that part.

We have two tanks, the 10 gallon tank has a betta fish, nerite snails, an assassin snail, bumble bee gobies, and some cherry shrimp. The second tank is a 38 gallon tank with fancy tail guppies (and lots of little babies), nerite snails, an assassin snail, a rabbit snail, cory catfish and one neon tetra.

Yes I definitely do get the better end of the bargain She gets to go out on the china doll tree which was formerly in the cage but it got too big so it's our moveable playground for her now.

 

[ERKleRose]

Okay perfect thank you for clarifying. I just took out the ceramic heat emitter and moved the lower watt basking bulb to where the higher watt one was (removed the higher watt). I will see if I can move the T5 HO fixture, I know the cords are all nicely bundled in the back so I may need to wait until my boyfriend gets home so he can help me with that part.

We have two tanks, the 10 gallon tank has a betta fish, nerite snails, an assassin snail, bumble bee gobies, and some cherry shrimp. The second tank is a 38 gallon tank with fancy tail guppies (and lots of little babies), nerite snails, an assassin snail, a rabbit snail, cory catfish and one neon tetra.

Yes I definitely do get the better end of the bargain She gets to go out on the china doll tree which was formerly in the cage but it got too big so it's our moveable playground for her now.

We’ve got a turtle tank (150 extra tall) with some large goldfish (almost the size of the turtle) as tank mates. Currently working on a pond for her. I’ve got a few shrimp tanks (Amano, Neocaridina-setting up at the moment, ghost shrimp-turtle food), two snail tanks (ramshorn in one and have ordered mystery and apple snails for another-all three as turtle food), a fancy guppy and endlers tank with plants ordered for it (all turtle food, as well), and two community reef tanks (one is being set up, the other has been running for over 20 years)!

 

[chamoflage]

We’ve got a turtle tank (150 extra tall) with some large goldfish (almost the size of the turtle) as tank mates. Currently working on a pond for her. I’ve got a few shrimp tanks (Amano, Neocaridina-setting up at the moment, ghost shrimp-turtle food), two snail tanks (ramshorn in one and have ordered mystery and apple snails for another-all three as turtle food), a fancy guppy and endlers tank with plants ordered for it (all turtle food, as well), and two community reef tanks (one is being set up, the other has been running for over 20 years)!

That's awesome! You have quite the set up! We have some Amano shrimps in our bigger tank. Both tanks also have all live plants (both underwater and each have a pothos cutting growing out of them which is fun to watch). I haven't heard of endlers (I'll have to look them up). Our roommate had pond with goldfish, danios, mystery and nerite snails, paradise, and mosquito fish but it got ravaged by a neighborhood raccoon unfortunately, so once she rebuilds I'm sure some of my guppy babies will be in there as we have so many and that's where I tend to toss in my extra snails as we had two nerites and now have a million.

That's awesome, what kind of turtle do you have? I always love looking at the turtles at the pet stores. I really want to get a pac man frog as well but we need to find another spot before we get that set up.

 

[ERKleRose]

That's awesome! You have quite the set up! We have some Amano shrimps in our bigger tank. Both tanks also have all live plants (both underwater and each have a pothos cutting growing out of them which is fun to watch). I haven't heard of endlers (I'll have to look them up). Our roommate had pond with goldfish, danios, mystery and nerite snails, paradise, and mosquito fish but it got ravaged by a neighborhood raccoon unfortunately, so once she rebuilds I'm sure some of my guppy babies will be in there as we have so many and that's where I tend to toss in my extra snails as we had two nerites and now have a million.

That's awesome, what kind of turtle do you have? I always love looking at the turtles at the pet stores. I really want to get a pac man frog as well but we need to find another spot before we get that set up.

Sounds cool! Enders guppies are a subspecies of guppies and are basically the wild type version of fancy guppies that people selectively bred to make fancy guppies, like carp to koi or goldfish (I believe). That pond sounds awesome! I have a 7 year old female red-eared slider (named Squirt) who is currently the size of a dinner plate! I’ve had her since she was small as the size between a half dollar coin and a quarter! It’s hard to build a basking site that she can lay in, so outside she goes!

 

[chamoflage]

Sounds cool! Enders guppies are a subspecies of guppies and are basically the wild type version of fancy guppies that people selectively bred to make fancy guppies, like carp to koi or goldfish (I believe). That pond sounds awesome! I have a 7 year old female red-eared slider (named Squirt) who is currently the size of a dinner plate! I’ve had her since she was small as the size between a half dollar coin and a quarter! It’s hard to build a basking site that she can lay in, so outside she goes!

Oh wow! Thank you for letting me know. Yeah it was cool to have in our backyard, such a bummer about the raccoon though. Wow, Squirt got huge and sounds like she's definitely grown a lot in the time that you've had her.

 

[chamoflage]

Bumping this back up to get another husbandry review. I have been working on the suggestions (it's taken a little longer than planned due to life getting in the way but I'm making steps). Some of the suggestions I had implemented right away, I moved the lights and added the plants today. I have refilled out the husbandry form for another check. I am currently awaiting my Jungle Dawn light to come in (just ordered it today so it should be in next weekend so I will be able to re configure the lights again then. I also am a little bit concerned that she may have gular edema, I am still getting a handle on the lightly dusting (being still relatively new to the hobby). I haven't been sure if she was getting ready to lay, it seemed as if she was showing gravid colors a couple weeks ago and I would love some advice on whether I should just switch to just plain calcium for a little while to see if that makes a difference (but if I should wait until after her clutch or start sooner rather than later).

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Species – Ambanja Panther Chameleon. Sex – Female. Age – Approximately 9 months and has been in my care for 7 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Almost never. Hyde is particularly sassy when it comes to leaving the enclosure even to go outside. I have been working on our people skills so more field trips outside can happen and so it will be easier to take Hyde to the vet.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? MWF feeding schedule with the occasional treat on the weekend (for example when I was in messing with her cage, she got a small treat as a reward). Typically about 4-5 medium feeders. Array of feeders offered: crickets, mealworms (only on rare occasion), dubia roaches, hornworms, wax worms (only occasionally), black soldier fly larvae, and superworms (just introduced in April to use as treats). I have been gut-loading with fruits and veggies (currently carrots and apples) and bug burger to add more nutrients to my gut-load. Will be adding more leafy greens to the gutload (plan to get some leafy green plants and trim them to use for gutload rather than buying huge bundles from the store and tossing them).
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal without D3 done Mondays and Wednesdays. Repti-Cal with D3 twice a month. Reptivite Vitamins without D3 twice a month. D3 and Vitamins are on alternating Fridays.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? 2-4 minute misting session in the morning right before lights on (sometimes within a couple minutes of the lights turning on) and again 2-4 minute misting session in the evening after lights out. Also have a little dripper that is running throughout the day dripping on several of her ficus leaves. Hyde sometimes drinks off the leaves and also sits right under the misters. Reptifogger runs from about 11pm-5am on medium fog, and is cleaned out weekly.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Recent fecals have looked normal, brown and well formed with white urates with a tinge of orange. Negative test for parasites in January 2021.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No other known history, came from LLL, estimated that Hyde was 2 months old at time of purchase.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen. 2 feet wide, 2 feet in length and 38 inches from top to soil, 4 feet from top to bottom. Approximately 10 inches of soil.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lights on 7am-7pm. 1 ZooMed T5 HO 5.0 UVB Reptisun light on the back of the cage (old bulb so just used for light), ZooMed Reptisun UVA/UVB hood with a T5 HO 5.0UVB light in the middle of the cage, one 60watt incandescent bulb about 8in from basking branch, Sansi 24watt grow light in middle of the cage (awaiting the arrival of my Jungle Dawn next weekend).
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp range 68-80 F. Lowest overnight temp is about 62 F. I have one thermometer on the basking spot underneath the 60watt bulb, both hygrometers also measure temperature as well so I can monitor temperature in the top away from the basking bulbs and the lower part of the cage.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Day time humidity around 55-65%, night time currently around 80-100%. I have 3 hygrometers (two digital and one analog), one located in the top portion near one of the misters, one analog hygrometer in the back middle of the cage, and the last one in the bottom of the tank.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? All live plants. Benjamin ficus, orchids, umbrella plant, croton, camellia japonica, golden pothos, tradescantia zebrina.

Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located upstairs in my room about 5 feet from the window. Not near any air vents or a high traffic area. Cage is raised up onto a table about 2 ft.