How am i doing - New panther owner?

[Deathadder791]

Hi Guys, i got my panther chameleon in april 2014 and it is the first time for me dealing with panthers. His currently 2 and a half years old and is a Nosy Be panther chameleon (or so i was told). He came in a bit of a small cage 600mm(width) x 600mm(length) x 1000cm(height). He seemed a bit unhappy as he would sit in the back of the cage and not move at all, also he did not have a lot of color when sitting there. So, i built him a new cage, 2000mm(width) x 800mm(length) x 1700mm(height). Got some nice live plants mixed with artificial vines, UVB 10.0 bulb with reflector and a night heating emitting lamp. I did not bother creating a door for the cage as i did not want him to feel completely caged up. There are 2 branches at the top that are leading outwards by 30cm for him to sit on and check everything out. Over the past few months he seems to be doing alot better and seems to be liking the new large cage and his colors are alot more vivid now. He doesn't mind me touching him at all and he doesn't show any signs of stress when handling him, no constant staring me in the eye, no tight grip, no cowering. I have done my best to associate myself as something that brings heat, sunlight and food & water. He gets fed a variety of insects, mainly crickets, meal worms, silkworms, superworms and drinks from a spray bottle.

He has a bit of a bad eye as the previous owner told me that a cricket leg got stuck in his eye when he was eating one when he was younger. He can see out of it but i don't think very well. With his bad eye and all, his aim isn't spot on, he often needs to get very close to the food in order to catch it so i just hand feed him, he would open his mouth, get ready to shoot then i would gently just press the food against his tongue and munches it. The current issue i have is that i think he has a bit of a prolapse. Unfortunately in my area there are no qualified vets to deal with chameleons :/. So im trying my damn well best to care for this little guy and i love him to bits.

So i just want to check with the pro's(you guys) to see how i am doing, and any advice or recommendations will always help

Pic 3 shows his bad eye.
Pic 4 shows his foam bed that gets warmed up by the heat light, he sleeps there 90% of the time.
Pic 5, was a very very cold day, so i put him in my jacket and fell asleep there.

 

[Deathadder791]

Ok so thanks to googling and this site i can 85% confidently say that he doesnt have a prolapse, just hemiphenes. thats alot of stress of my shoulder

 

[Leslie11]

Nosy

Very nice, does he have a name?

 

[Deathadder791]

Yeah, "Ego"

 

[foshizzle11]

Do you have pics of his indoor enclosure?

 

[Ocelot357]

wow good job!. Any pics of setup?. are you dusting his food?

 

[Deathadder791]

Yep, i dust his food twice a month. Here are some pics of his enclosure. Please excuse the wires. The enclosure is built using aluminum and has a hardboard backside and mesh on the sides and top. His cage enclosure is due a clean this weekend and i also forgot to mention he has a mister that regulates humidity on a timer. He has a dripper aswell but im busy making some modifications to that at the moment. I still need to get him a basking light, so thatls next buy.

 

[Ocelot357]

i could be wrong, but isnt better to use a LINEAR bulb for UVA?

 

[Deathadder791]

yeah, i would say its definitely better as it covers a wider area.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

i could be wrong, but isnt better to use a LINEAR bulb for UVA?

Yes and no. A linear bulb is preferred by many chameleon keepers for UVB not UVA. UVA is basically just heat. That being said, a linear bulb is not a necessity, just preferred.

Deathadder, I would also get rid of the black light, while it provides heat, it is not real useful to chameleons. They recognize light as a source of heat, so a simple 40-60 watt incandescent bulb (like you use to light your house) is actually sufficient and best, not to mention cheapest. Otherwise the cage looks great, as does Ego.

 

[Deathadder791]

Awesome, thanks Lpsouth1978, i will go get a 60 watt today and replace the black light.

 

[Deathadder791]

Installed a 60 watt light, seems to be doing the job Thanks.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Looks good, he should appreciate that new bulb. I bet you see him spending a good amount of time basking under it.

 

[MJKowal]

Yep, i dust his food twice a month. Here are some pics of his enclosure. Please excuse the wires. The enclosure is built using aluminum and has a hardboard backside and mesh on the sides and top. His cage enclosure is due a clean this weekend and i also forgot to mention he has a mister that regulates humidity on a timer. He has a dripper aswell but im busy making some modifications to that at the moment. I still need to get him a basking light, so thatls next buy.

I'm sorry, just to clarify.... you are only dusting his food twice a month?

 

[Deathadder791]

Yes, i offer him dusted(calcium + d3) crickets every 2 weeks so basically twice a month + he gets time outside everyday as well.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Yes, i offer him dusted(calcium + d3) crickets every 2 weeks so basically twice a month + he gets time outside everyday as well.

Do you dust with calcium Without D3? He should be getting that at every feeding.

 

[Deathadder791]

Nah, only calcium+d3, i don't have calcium separately, will go get some today but he does luckily get time outside everyday. At what age do you classify a panther as an adult, Ego is 2 & half years old. How does that affect the amount of food that is to be dusted.

 

[Viv]

Should be dusting with plain calcium at every feeding. D3 every 2 weeks and multivit every 2 weeks.

Adult Panthers need about 10 medium-large crickets every other day.

 

[Juliaf3]

Just so you know, chameleons that get outdoor exposure every day do not need as many supplements. Now as to what supplements are cut back when given lots of sun light I am not sure on that. I live in a state where we have very short summers and long very cold winters. I know that friends I have in Florida do not supplement near as much as I do due to the amount of natural light they are able to give their chameleons. A chameleon can be just as easily over supplemented as it can be under supplemented. A good reptile vet could help you out in that area, as well as the vets and experienced owners we have on here! There is no such thing as a universal supplement schedule. How I supplement my chameleons in Minnesota will be very different then someone in say Africa, or Florida where the chameleon gets lots of natural sun light.


Also- just my own observation with my chameleons, the better I gut load their crickets and insects, the more vibrant they display colors. Even at resting. They are what they eat after all! I didn't see anything about a gut loading so I thought I'd mention it just incase you were not aware. I typically do not feed my chameleons large crickets. Especially the ones that have wings. Rule of thumb is nothing wider then the length from eye to eye on your chameleon. There are exceptions of softer bugs such as a horn worm. Crickets are an excellent staple. Don't be afraid to offer some variety. I actually use worms (butter, horn, supers, pheonix to name a few) as treats. Panthers are prone to worm addictions so you want to be careful how often you give them or they may go on a hunger strike. I never was fazed by the hunger strikes lol eventually, they always get hungry enough for the crickets and cave.


He looks great to me! Nice straight limbs, looks good and hydrated. The jacket pick looks a little iffy health wise, but the other pictures he looks to be in great health! I love your set up as well. Pothos are a great plant to have in a chameleon cage. They hold water on the leaves so well.


To give you an exact answer to your question, I think you are doing great

 

[Deathadder791]

awesome, thanks for the info Juliaf3 . The pic of the jacket is about 3 days after i got him, he slept there for about an hour, until Explorer Mode was activated. He gets about 2 hours a day of pure sunlight on his plant outside, today he actually climbed down onto the grass and just laid there catching a tan for about 10-15 minutes, did not even try to walk away. lol i need to start breeding my own crickets, im depleting the pet stores stock rapidly. Only the best of the best for my buddy.