Hey everyone! I am new and have a couple questions!

[Xyres]

So I have had my almost five month old panther chameleon for about two weeks now and just wanted to ask a couple questions that I have been thinking about. I hope you can help me answer them!

First I was just wondering what time is ideal for the lights to go on and off? Is it better to simulate natural daylight in the summer or just do a set time? ATM I have it set to 10-10.

Second my chameleons cage is in the same room as my TV and computer. Will he be bothered by the light produced by these even if all other light sources are off when he is trying to sleep? Noise isn't the issue as I wear headphones.

Third is when should I move him to his adult cage? I have heard a lot of debate about it so I am just wondering what everyone else thinks.

Fourth is about gut-loading. I feed my crickets only repashy superload right now but tomorrow I am finishing my cricket bin and I will be feeding greens, fruits and other veggies along with the superload. Is this alright?

Fifth is how many crickets to feed. I feed him once a day and I have noticed that he will eat anywhere between 6-12 crickets so I alternate between 6 one day and 10 the other as this seems to be the best way to get him to eat all of them without leaving many. Is this a good idea or should I just put in a set amount and leave them for the day?

Sixth is about misting. I have a mistking set to go off three times a day for 30 seconds. Is this a good amount? Should I be using my misting bottle and dripper in between these mistings?

And finally is the notorious question about handling! I bought my cham knowing he may never love me back but that doesn't mean that I don't want him to get used to me. Sometimes he will be coaxed onto my hand and other times he will want nothing to do with me in which cases I back off. Should I wait for more handling until he gets used to the sight of my hands bringing food? I just want to know how others have gotten their chams used to their hands as I don't want to stress out my little boy.

Thanks for the help everyone and I hope you will be able to answer to the best of your abilities! I hope you don't mind a picture of my little nameless boy. (Sorry for the blurry image! Dumb iphone...)

 

[Hoj]

hello, I will try to help with a few of your questions,

chams require lights on and off to replicate the natural sun, haveing a schedual that is as close to possible of your local sunrise/set often is best IMO. They do not have must in the way of hearing so noise is not an issue. Some of mine are bother but background lighting after lights out and others do not, covering the side of cage facing the light with a blanket is a easy fix.
As for going to his big boy cage I usually move them around 6-8 months for panthers.
You sound like you got the right idea on cricket gutload and there is tond of info you can search on here. Memeber sandrachameleon has some great info. I feed males about all they will eat untill around 6-8months and then slowly cut them back to 5 or so a day buy they are around a year old.
With misting I would up your schedual a bit. A few good long misitings 5-10min can help trigger your cham to drink and a few shorter sessions thrown in throughout the day will help maintain humidity. Again there is tons of searchable info on here in that regard.
I dont tend to handle my chams much but that has alot todo with having quite a few, however I have had a few that really enjoyed getting out of the cage and the special treats that a human had can provide. With consitant positve results of your presance most chams will learn you are a friend not foe

Hope that helps a bit

 

[Xyres]

hello, I will try to help with a few of your questions,

chams require lights on and off to replicate the natural sun, haveing a schedual that is as close to possible of your local sunrise/set often is best IMO. They do not have must in the way of hearing so noise is not an issue. Some of mine are bother but background lighting after lights out and others do not, covering the side of cage facing the light with a blanket is a easy fix.
As for going to his big boy cage I usually move them around 6-8 months for panthers.
You sound like you got the right idea on cricket gutload and there is tond of info you can search on here. Memeber sandrachameleon has some great info. I feed males about all they will eat untill around 6-8months and then slowly cut them back to 5 or so a day buy they are around a year old.
With misting I would up your schedual a bit. A few good long misitings 5-10min can help trigger your cham to drink and a few shorter sessions thrown in throughout the day will help maintain humidity. Again there is tons of searchable info on here in that regard.
I dont tend to handle my chams much but that has alot todo with having quite a few, however I have had a few that really enjoyed getting out of the cage and the special treats that a human had can provide. With consitant positve results of your presance most chams will learn you are a friend not foe

Hope that helps a bit

Awesome! Thank you so much for all the advice! It really does help! When I get my pan for the bottom of the cage later this week and set up my drain I will up the mistings a little bit each day until I get a couple minutes worth of time! Thanks again you were very helpful.

 

[KingJulian]

I have my panther's lights set as close to sunrise and sunset as I can get. They come on around 8 and turn off at 8.
I would recommend either covering his cage at night or moving him to a place where there aren't any lights while he's sleeping. We had mine down in the living room and would watch the tv while his lights were off and I noticed he would stay awake. We moved him up into our room and he's been doing so much better.
We also use the repashy gutload and use fruits and veggies as well.
He's in a 2x2x4 foot cage.
I mist 4 times a day usually. I get the humidity up to 65% and let it drop to 40% before misting again. Just make sure the cage dries up before misting again.
My cham LOVES being handled. He's to the point where I walk up to the cage and he climbs right out. I was misting the other day and he climbed right onto my arm. We associated our hand with food or something fun in the beginning and it took a good 2 months to get him fully comfortable. Anytime we took him out we would either put him on his free range, put him outside, or give him food.
I think I answered all your questions. Everybody has their own opinions on the way we should raise our chams, but just remember to enjoy him. Find a routine that works for both of you

 

[KingJulian]

I forgot to say how cute your cham is!! Love the blues

 

[Julija]

Hey there and welcome!

It is a lovely cham you got yourself, very nice blues

It seems like you've got most of your questions covered by now, but I would like to add a bit about taming and handling. There is a wonderful blog post by one of the forum members, check it out: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/psychobunny/746-taming-chameleon.html
From my own experience I can say - I used a similar approach with my first veiled chameleon and it worked just remember - patience is the key!

Best of luck,
Julija