Husbandry Review

[Delef3]

Hello again. I've sent pics and gotten feedback on my enclosure, but I'd like to get a quick husbandry check just to ease my new cham paranoia. I have kept chameleons in the past, but the last one passed away about 15 years ago. I've been getting advice along the way, and felt that I had things pretty dialed in, but our little guy has been staying relatively dark for the past 48 hours we've had him, aside from feeding time. He is not spending much time under the basking lamp and seems pretty stressed. I get it - new environment, a bunch of potential predators constantly eyeing him (I'm trying to keep the kids (and this big kid!) from spending too much time close tot he enclosure etc. He pooped once yesterday and it did look a bit dehydrated in the sense that the fecal portion was a little dry and the urates had a bit too much yellow. Again... stressful trip, new place, new people, etc. But I just want to make sure I am on point with husbandry....

• Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther - 5 months. Got him two days ago from reputable breeder who is a sponsor.
• Handling - Not handling. One time I needed to assist him from getting down from the top screen which he was crawling on, by allowing him to use my hand as a branch. He was dangling by one leg and I did not want him to fall.
• Feeding - He has had two feeding thus far. He has eaten about 10-15 1/4-1/2 inch crickets each time, along with a few small dubias at the first feeding, and a few small silk worms each feeding. I also have BSF larvae but I have not given any to him. Crickets are gutloaded with a variety of leafy greens and a dry cricket gutload from my feeder supplier. I have some bug burger I will use as well. Dubias are gutloaded similarly with some added fruit. I am getting a colony started so I am trying not to go in there much.
• Supplements-
  • Calcium - Repashy Super Cal NoD - every feeding
  • Multivitamin - Repashy Calcium plus LoD - will be every two weeks.
  • Hydration schedule - Mister - 3 minutes before lights on, 3 minutes before lights out, 2 minute at 930pm, 2 minutes at 1230am as the fogger starts. Fogger - 1230am-6am 30 minute on 30 minutes off. Dripper - for now, I am offering one around 3pm daily to gauge his activity. I mentioned some of my current hydration hiccups in another thread. I plan to alter my fogger with the @Beman "McGyver" PVC fogger extension hack. My fogger is a digital 4L top fill model recommended by Bill Strand.
• Fecal Description - One poop. Mentioned above.

Cage info:

Cage type - Dragon Strand Large Atrium enclosure (48x24x48) placed on a large wire rack. Total height is around 8 feet I think.

• Lighting -
  • UVB - Arcadia 48" Luminize with 12% bulb (branch 12" from bulb)
  • Plant lights - two Arcadia 48" Luminize Jaungle Dawns
  • Schedule - 7am-7pm with a simulated sunrise and sunset via the app. FYI - the current version of this app is clunky and glitchy. Arcadia better step up their game for such an expensive product!
  • Heating bulb - 100w Exo Terra Daytime incandescent bulb in a deep dome fixture (wattage is not even near too much in this fixture. Im struggling to get high enough temps), hooked up to a Reptizoo mini dimming thermostat. Ive seen great reviews on here and elsewhere for this cheaper thermostat. I am hoping it is giving a correct reading, but it is differing from my temp gun a bit.
  • • schedule - as of right now it is 7am-630pm since I am struggling to keep temps high enough. Would rather shut this off after four hours or so.
• Temperature (as of right now 11:20am EST)
  • cage floor - 64F
  • Opposite end of cage - 71F
  • Basking spot - set at 82F and I find fluctuations within inches apart between 78-84F
  • Lowest overnight temp - 62F
• Humidity
  
  • daytime - between 50-60%
  • night - right now maxing at around 68%. Struggling to fix this. Mentioned in another thread.
• Plants - a variety of cham safe plants. I think ten plants in total, cleaned, and transplanted into organic soil
• Placement of Enclosure - in a finished basement used as a family room. The enclosure sits high above any human viewers.
• Location- PA US

 

[Delef3]

Forgot to mention I’m using two Govee wireless thermometer/hygrometers - one at the bottom left and one at the top right. Humidity levels may be off due to placement as mentioned by someone yesterday.

 

[Gloriawood]

Hi! I’m not familiar with panthers so I’ll let someone else do the actual review. I just want to say that I wouldn’t worry too much right now about his color and urates. If you’ve had 48 hours, it’s gonna be from stress. It can take him up to 2 weeks to fully settle in. And though I’m more familiar with veileds, nothing jumps out at me about your husbandry. Maybe give him a juicy hornworm and an extra long misting to jump start the hydration. Congrats!!!

 

[Beman]

Hey there. I can do the review in a bit. Stay Tuned

 

[Delef3]

Hi! I’m not familiar with panthers so I’ll let someone else do the actual review. I just want to say that I wouldn’t worry too much right now about his color and urates. If you’ve had 48 hours, it’s gonna be from stress. It can take him up to 2 weeks to fully settle in. And though I’m more familiar with veileds, nothing jumps out at me about your husbandry. Maybe give him a juicy hornworm and an extra long misting to jump start the hydration. Congrats!!!

Thanks so much for your reply and encouragement. Nothing stands out to me either, and I agree with your assessment completely. I’m just trying to dot all my I’s so to speak. I’ve been out of the hobby for a while!

 

[Beman]

See my feedback in Red bold. Let me know what questions you have.

Hello again. I've sent pics and gotten feedback on my enclosure, but I'd like to get a quick husbandry check just to ease my new cham paranoia. I have kept chameleons in the past, but the last one passed away about 15 years ago. I've been getting advice along the way, and felt that I had things pretty dialed in, but our little guy has been staying relatively dark for the past 48 hours we've had him, aside from feeding time. He is not spending much time under the basking lamp and seems pretty stressed. I get it - new environment, a bunch of potential predators constantly eyeing him (I'm trying to keep the kids (and this big kid!) from spending too much time close tot he enclosure etc. He pooped once yesterday and it did look a bit dehydrated in the sense that the fecal portion was a little dry and the urates had a bit too much yellow. Again... stressful trip, new place, new people, etc. But I just want to make sure I am on point with husbandry.... So sitting/staying in the room where he is would be perfectly fine. Hovering at the cage would not be recommended until he fully settles in. Dryer fecal/yellow urate would be normal after shipping. Really will not know hydration levels until baby has been there a few days. Dark is not abnormal. Dark means many things besides stressed including darkening up to absorb heat.

• Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther - 5 months. Got him two days ago from reputable breeder who is a sponsor. Perfect
• Handling - Not handling. One time I needed to assist him from getting down from the top screen which he was crawling on, by allowing him to use my hand as a branch. He was dangling by one leg and I did not want him to fall. This is fine not a big deal to have limited contact the first few weeks.
• Feeding - He has had two feeding thus far. He has eaten about 10-15 1/4-1/2 inch crickets each time, along with a few small dubias at the first feeding, and a few small silk worms each feeding. I also have BSF larvae but I have not given any to him. Crickets are gutloaded with a variety of leafy greens and a dry cricket gutload from my feeder supplier. I have some bug burger I will use as well. Dubias are gutloaded similarly with some added fruit. I am getting a colony started so I am trying not to go in there much. Try to stick to feeder sizes that are 1/4 of an inch right now rather than 1/2 inch. the larger they are the harder they will be for him to take down. Appetite is good along with what he is eating so far. At this age they are easily taking down 2 dozen feeders a day. Feed in the morning so he has the day to eat and digest/bask.
• Supplements-
  • Calcium - Repashy Super Cal NoD - every feeding Great
  • Multivitamin - Repashy Calcium plus LoD - will be every two weeks. Great. Remember with all supplements you use you are dusting all insects very lightly they should not look like powdered donuts. Only insect that can go without dusting are BSFL. They have a high calcium level on their own.
  • Hydration schedule - Mister - 3 minutes before lights on, 3 minutes before lights out, 2 minute at 930pm, 2 minutes at 1230am as the fogger starts. Fogger - 1230am-6am 30 minute on 30 minutes off. Dripper - for now, I am offering one around 3pm daily to gauge his activity. I mentioned some of my current hydration hiccups in another thread. I plan to alter my fogger with the @Beman "McGyver" PVC fogger extension hack. My fogger is a digital 4L top fill model recommended by Bill Strand. So I would include daytime lights on mistings. They will clean their eyes and drink during these. Typically in the morning about 15 minutes after lights on then late afternoon about an hour or two before lights kick off.
• Fecal Description - One poop. Mentioned above. See notes above about this.

Cage info:

Cage type - Dragon Strand Large Atrium enclosure (48x24x48) placed on a large wire rack. Total height is around 8 feet I think. Perfect.

• Lighting -
  • UVB - Arcadia 48" Luminize with 12% bulb (branch 12" from bulb) good
  • Plant lights - two Arcadia 48" Luminize Jaungle Dawns good
  • Schedule - 7am-7pm with a simulated sunrise and sunset via the app. FYI - the current version of this app is clunky and glitchy. Arcadia better step up their game for such an expensive product! good.
  • Heating bulb - 100w Exo Terra Daytime incandescent bulb in a deep dome fixture (wattage is not even near too much in this fixture. Im struggling to get high enough temps), hooked up to a Reptizoo mini dimming thermostat. Ive seen great reviews on here and elsewhere for this cheaper thermostat. I am hoping it is giving a correct reading, but it is differing from my temp gun a bit. So you want to base basking temps on gauges instead of temp guns. Temp gun is only going to give you surface temp. I want to add that a 100 Watt bulb should beyond easily provide a 80 degree basking temp. Watch this bulb and temps at the screen. 100 watt bulb can easily produce a thermal burn if a baby is on the screen below it. I do not use the thermostat you use. I use a herpstat dimming which is very accurate with its probe.
  • • schedule - as of right now it is 7am-630pm since I am struggling to keep temps high enough. Would rather shut this off after four hours or so.
• Temperature (as of right now 11:20am EST). Ok looking at all of this. What it tells me is your ambient room temp is running lower. If the bottom of the cage is sitting at 64 after 4 hours of lights on then this has a direct correlation to ambient room temp. I try to keep my ambient room temp about 70-72. for example my lights have now been on 3 hours and my floor temp is running 71 and the govee on my highest branch is running 77 which is positioned on the basking light side of the cage. Opposite side of the cage on top is running 73. My cage is 30 wide so less than yours. But I had to do this when I had an atrium as well. This is a very large space so you want to ensure your ambient room temps are assisting in the warm up process of the cage.
  • cage floor - 64F
  • Opposite end of cage - 71F
  • Basking spot - set at 82F and I find fluctuations within inches apart between 78-84F
  • Lowest overnight temp - 62F
• Humidity
  
  • daytime - between 50-60% This is fine. You will have pockets of different humidity. Closer to the lights it will be lower further away it will be higher. Looking for that sweet spot around 45-50% at the top branches during the day. Remember we can alter what we are getting based on when are misting sessions are. Too high humidity in the morning alter misting length in the morning prior to or right after lights on.
  • night - right now maxing at around 68%. Struggling to fix this. Mentioned in another thread. Keep in mind 70% is still good. Lately I see people trying to achieve 100% all night. High night humidity with cold temps provides another hydration method. You do not have to achieve 100% to do this. Tweak a few things then go from there. You will lose fog out the bottom. Personally I am not a believer in boxing them into a cage without airflow and filling it with fog. Everything we know about fog in the wild is there is air flow. I would be concerned about potential health risks. Additionally there is such a thing as over hydration. I myself have seen this when I was newer and I was told to block off so the fog is stuck in the cage. So remember too much of something is not good either. I would say if your levels are sitting above 70% your doing good for night time fogging.
• Plants - a variety of cham safe plants. I think ten plants in total, cleaned, and transplanted into organic soil perfect
• Placement of Enclosure - in a finished basement used as a family room. The enclosure sits high above any human viewers.
• Location- PA US

Note after about a week of baby settling in you can start working with gaining trust. I would only have one person start this rather than having kids involved. Now if baby backs off when you try this then give another week for him to settle in. Here is my blog about trust building. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

 

[Delef3]

See my feedback in Red bold. Let me know what questions you have.

Hello again. I've sent pics and gotten feedback on my enclosure, but I'd like to get a quick husbandry check just to ease my new cham paranoia. I have kept chameleons in the past, but the last one passed away about 15 years ago. I've been getting advice along the way, and felt that I had things pretty dialed in, but our little guy has been staying relatively dark for the past 48 hours we've had him, aside from feeding time. He is not spending much time under the basking lamp and seems pretty stressed. I get it - new environment, a bunch of potential predators constantly eyeing him (I'm trying to keep the kids (and this big kid!) from spending too much time close tot he enclosure etc. He pooped once yesterday and it did look a bit dehydrated in the sense that the fecal portion was a little dry and the urates had a bit too much yellow. Again... stressful trip, new place, new people, etc. But I just want to make sure I am on point with husbandry.... So sitting/staying in the room where he is would be perfectly fine. Hovering at the cage would not be recommended until he fully settles in. Dryer fecal/yellow urate would be normal after shipping. Really will not know hydration levels until baby has been there a few days. Dark is not abnormal. Dark means many things besides stressed including darkening up to absorb heat.

• Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther - 5 months. Got him two days ago from reputable breeder who is a sponsor. Perfect
• Handling - Not handling. One time I needed to assist him from getting down from the top screen which he was crawling on, by allowing him to use my hand as a branch. He was dangling by one leg and I did not want him to fall. This is fine not a big deal to have limited contact the first few weeks.
• Feeding - He has had two feeding thus far. He has eaten about 10-15 1/4-1/2 inch crickets each time, along with a few small dubias at the first feeding, and a few small silk worms each feeding. I also have BSF larvae but I have not given any to him. Crickets are gutloaded with a variety of leafy greens and a dry cricket gutload from my feeder supplier. I have some bug burger I will use as well. Dubias are gutloaded similarly with some added fruit. I am getting a colony started so I am trying not to go in there much. Try to stick to feeder sizes that are 1/4 of an inch right now rather than 1/2 inch. the larger they are the harder they will be for him to take down. Appetite is good along with what he is eating so far. At this age they are easily taking down 2 dozen feeders a day. Feed in the morning so he has the day to eat and digest/bask.
• Supplements-
  • Calcium - Repashy Super Cal NoD - every feeding Great
  • Multivitamin - Repashy Calcium plus LoD - will be every two weeks. Great. Remember with all supplements you use you are dusting all insects very lightly they should not look like powdered donuts. Only insect that can go without dusting are BSFL. They have a high calcium level on their own.
  • Hydration schedule - Mister - 3 minutes before lights on, 3 minutes before lights out, 2 minute at 930pm, 2 minutes at 1230am as the fogger starts. Fogger - 1230am-6am 30 minute on 30 minutes off. Dripper - for now, I am offering one around 3pm daily to gauge his activity. I mentioned some of my current hydration hiccups in another thread. I plan to alter my fogger with the @Beman "McGyver" PVC fogger extension hack. My fogger is a digital 4L top fill model recommended by Bill Strand. So I would include daytime lights on mistings. They will clean their eyes and drink during these. Typically in the morning about 15 minutes after lights on then late afternoon about an hour or two before lights kick off.
• Fecal Description - One poop. Mentioned above. See notes above about this.

Cage info:

Cage type - Dragon Strand Large Atrium enclosure (48x24x48) placed on a large wire rack. Total height is around 8 feet I think. Perfect.

• Lighting -
  • UVB - Arcadia 48" Luminize with 12% bulb (branch 12" from bulb) good
  • Plant lights - two Arcadia 48" Luminize Jaungle Dawns good
  • Schedule - 7am-7pm with a simulated sunrise and sunset via the app. FYI - the current version of this app is clunky and glitchy. Arcadia better step up their game for such an expensive product! good.
  • Heating bulb - 100w Exo Terra Daytime incandescent bulb in a deep dome fixture (wattage is not even near too much in this fixture. Im struggling to get high enough temps), hooked up to a Reptizoo mini dimming thermostat. Ive seen great reviews on here and elsewhere for this cheaper thermostat. I am hoping it is giving a correct reading, but it is differing from my temp gun a bit. So you want to base basking temps on gauges instead of temp guns. Temp gun is only going to give you surface temp. I want to add that a 100 Watt bulb should beyond easily provide a 80 degree basking temp. Watch this bulb and temps at the screen. 100 watt bulb can easily produce a thermal burn if a baby is on the screen below it. I do not use the thermostat you use. I use a herpstat dimming which is very accurate with its probe.
  • • schedule - as of right now it is 7am-630pm since I am struggling to keep temps high enough. Would rather shut this off after four hours or so.
• Temperature (as of right now 11:20am EST). Ok looking at all of this. What it tells me is your ambient room temp is running lower. If the bottom of the cage is sitting at 64 after 4 hours of lights on then this has a direct correlation to ambient room temp. I try to keep my ambient room temp about 70-72. for example my lights have now been on 3 hours and my floor temp is running 71 and the govee on my highest branch is running 77 which is positioned on the basking light side of the cage. Opposite side of the cage on top is running 73. My cage is 30 wide so less than yours. But I had to do this when I had an atrium as well. This is a very large space so you want to ensure your ambient room temps are assisting in the warm up process of the cage.
  • cage floor - 64F
  • Opposite end of cage - 71F
  • Basking spot - set at 82F and I find fluctuations within inches apart between 78-84F
  • Lowest overnight temp - 62F
• Humidity
  
  • daytime - between 50-60% This is fine. You will have pockets of different humidity. Closer to the lights it will be lower further away it will be higher. Looking for that sweet spot around 45-50% at the top branches during the day. Remember we can alter what we are getting based on when are misting sessions are. Too high humidity in the morning alter misting length in the morning prior to or right after lights on.
  • night - right now maxing at around 68%. Struggling to fix this. Mentioned in another thread. Keep in mind 70% is still good. Lately I see people trying to achieve 100% all night. High night humidity with cold temps provides another hydration method. You do not have to achieve 100% to do this. Tweak a few things then go from there. You will lose fog out the bottom. Personally I am not a believer in boxing them into a cage without airflow and filling it with fog. Everything we know about fog in the wild is there is air flow. I would be concerned about potential health risks. Additionally there is such a thing as over hydration. I myself have seen this when I was newer and I was told to block off so the fog is stuck in the cage. So remember too much of something is not good either. I would say if your levels are sitting above 70% your doing good for night time fogging.
• Plants - a variety of cham safe plants. I think ten plants in total, cleaned, and transplanted into organic soil perfect
• Placement of Enclosure - in a finished basement used as a family room. The enclosure sits high above any human viewers.
• Location- PA US

Note after about a week of baby settling in you can start working with gaining trust. I would only have one person start this rather than having kids involved. Now if baby backs off when you try this then give another week for him to settle in. Here is my blog about trust building. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

Thanks so much for the review and advice. Questions: how long of misting in the daytime sessions? 3 minutes? 2? Any advice on getting the ambient temp higher aside from turning the heat on? Basement stays around 65 normally without any intervention. I’m going to send a pic of my probe placement and Govee placements later for reference. The basking temp changes are bothering me. I assume we look at the reading on the branch and figure in a degree or so since he sits a little above that? Thanks again!!

 

[Beman]

Thanks so much for the review and advice. Questions: how long of misting in the daytime sessions? 3 minutes? 2? Any advice on getting the ambient temp higher aside from turning the heat on? Basement stays around 65 normally without any intervention. I’m going to send a pic of my probe placement and Govee placements later for reference. The basking temp changes are bothering me. I assume we look at the reading on the branch and figure in a degree or so since he sits a little above that? Thanks again!!

So misting session length would depend on your ambient humidity. If it runs higher during the day then do a shorter 1-2 minute after lights on then have your longer one the late day 2-3 min.

65 for an ambient temp down there is going to be really hard for you to work with. You simply will always struggle to get your ambient cage up to 70 minimum. So a portable radiator heater would be helpful in this situation. Put it a few feet away from the enclosure and see how well it helps. Unless you have the ability to control your heat for just your basement? If you do then you want to have it set on 69-70 down there.

Per basking. So yes if you have the probe set for 80 then it is going to be a few degrees hotter the higher they rise up. While small this may just be a degree warmer as an adult though they rise much higher off the branch. So it will sit hotter for them the bigger they get and closer they rise up off the branch.

 

[Delef3]

So misting session length would depend on your ambient humidity. If it runs higher during the day then do a shorter 1-2 minute after lights on then have your longer one the late day 2-3 min.

65 for an ambient temp down there is going to be really hard for you to work with. You simply will always struggle to get your ambient cage up to 70 minimum. So a portable radiator heater would be helpful in this situation. Put it a few feet away from the enclosure and see how well it helps. Unless you have the ability to control your heat for just your basement? If you do then you want to have it set on 69-70 down there.

Per basking. So yes if you have the probe set for 80 then it is going to be a few degrees hotter the higher they rise up. While small this may just be a degree warmer as an adult though they rise much higher off the branch. So it will sit hotter for them the bigger they get and closer they rise up off the branch.

Thanks. So my ambient humidity is at around 53% in the room. It is controlled by a dehumidifier by necessity. Temp right now in room is 68F. I moved the top Govee and now it reads 73F. Bottom Govee reading 67F. So maybe it was the placement? Ive attached a pic with the two Govee units circled. I initially thought it would get wet so moved it, but the original placement had since proven safe. Little guy looking ok right now!

 

[Beman]

Thanks. So my ambient humidity is at around 53% in the room. It is controlled by a dehumidifier by necessity. Temp right now in room is 68F. I moved the top Govee and now it reads 73F. Bottom Govee reading 67F. So maybe it was the placement? Ive attached a pic with the two Govee units circled. I initially thought it would get wet so moved it, but the original placement had since proven safe. Little guy looking ok right now!

Just continue to monitor the ambient room levels. Seasonally these will change this is when you may have to switch things up based on the season. The little man looks really good.

 

[Delef3]

Just continue to monitor the ambient room levels. Seasonally these will change this is when you may have to switch things up based on the season. The little man looks really good.

Thanks. Yes, I already brought a portable heater from my office to use once the weather changes in the fall. Basement has its own built in propane heater but I cannot keep it on constantly. Temps and humidity have been a bit better the past two nights. PVC hack is functional but not 100% complete. So far, it has made only a minimal difference. My question is in regards to the little computer fan I have going 24 hours. Can I set it to shut off at night when the fogger is on to keep it more contained? I would think yes, but I am double checking with you more knowledgeable folks. Little guys munched at least 20 crickets today and a couple of silkies. He wont touch BSF larvae at all. I think maybe the lack of movement or just too much variety for the beginning. He is used to just crickets. I attached a couple of more pics from today.

 

[Gloriawood]

Thanks. Yes, I already brought a portable heater from my office to use once the weather changes in the fall. Basement has its own built in propane heater but I cannot keep it on constantly. Temps and humidity have been a bit better the past two nights. PVC hack is functional but not 100% complete. So far, it has made only a minimal difference. My question is in regards to the little computer fan I have going 24 hours. Can I set it to shut off at night when the fogger is on to keep it more contained? I would think yes, but I am double checking with you more knowledgeable folks. Little guys munched at least 20 crickets today and a couple of silkies. He wont touch BSF larvae at all. I think maybe the lack of movement or just too much variety for the beginning. He is used to just crickets. I attached a couple of more pics from today.

They can be picky when trying new foods. Sometimes you have to offer it multiple times for them to take it. Lack of movement could also be a big factor. My guy loves BSFL, but only if they move. I hand feed from a shallow dish. If they aren’t moving much, I slightly shake the dish a bit so they roll around and he will go right after them.

 

[GrannyK]

Just wanted to pop in and say, he’s adorable and you’re off to a great start! He’s gonna be a beauty!!!

 

[Delef3]

Thank you!

 

[elizaann2]

Thanks. Yes, I already brought a portable heater from my office to use once the weather changes in the fall. Basement has its own built in propane heater but I cannot keep it on constantly. Temps and humidity have been a bit better the past two nights. PVC hack is functional but not 100% complete. So far, it has made only a minimal difference. My question is in regards to the little computer fan I have going 24 hours. Can I set it to shut off at night when the fogger is on to keep it more contained? I would think yes, but I am double checking with you more knowledgeable folks. Little guys munched at least 20 crickets today and a couple of silkies. He wont touch BSF larvae at all. I think maybe the lack of movement or just too much variety for the beginning. He is used to just crickets. I attached a couple of more pics from today.

I have my fans set only for specific times during the day to help with air flow and to allow the enclosure to dry out during the day. My fans aren’t on at night just because you want to up your humidity as close to 100% as you can and the fans will mess with your humidity levels.

 

[Beman]

Thanks. Yes, I already brought a portable heater from my office to use once the weather changes in the fall. Basement has its own built in propane heater but I cannot keep it on constantly. Temps and humidity have been a bit better the past two nights. PVC hack is functional but not 100% complete. So far, it has made only a minimal difference. My question is in regards to the little computer fan I have going 24 hours. Can I set it to shut off at night when the fogger is on to keep it more contained? I would think yes, but I am double checking with you more knowledgeable folks. Little guys munched at least 20 crickets today and a couple of silkies. He wont touch BSF larvae at all. I think maybe the lack of movement or just too much variety for the beginning. He is used to just crickets. I attached a couple of more pics from today.

you can turn it off at night to see if that helps. It will take him time to learn to eat new feeders. Just keep mixing them in.

 

[Delef3]

I have my fans set only for specific times during the day to help with air flow and to allow the enclosure to dry out during the day. My fans aren’t on at night just because you want to up your humidity as close to 100% as you can and the fans will mess with your humidity levels.

Thank you, This is what I was thinking as well. What type of fan schedule do you use? Right now I just have it turn on with lights on and turn off a little before lights out.

 

[Beman]

Remember your ambient levels will not be the same as others. I have run a PC fan all night while fogging living in very high ambient conditions. With the fan away from the inlet of the fogger it does not pull the fog out. So take bits of info and customize for your set up and conditions. Change one thing at a time so you know when something works or is not working.

 

[Delef3]

Thanks. This is exactly my plan. I like to see what different people are doing in different areas of husbandry knowing very well that it may not apply to my situation.
My fan has been well away from the inlet (over a foot) and still pulling some fog out. I have it on low too. Because of this, I will not keep it on at night for now. My ambient conditions are a little low at night anyway as you know. Tweaking will take time and will be continuous! Part of the fun

 

[Steve A]

Hello again. I've sent pics and gotten feedback on my enclosure, but I'd like to get a quick husbandry check just to ease my new cham paranoia. I have kept chameleons in the past, but the last one passed away about 15 years ago. I've been getting advice along the way, and felt that I had things pretty dialed in, but our little guy has been staying relatively dark for the past 48 hours we've had him, aside from feeding time. He is not spending much time under the basking lamp and seems pretty stressed. I get it - new environment, a bunch of potential predators constantly eyeing him (I'm trying to keep the kids (and this big kid!) from spending too much time close tot he enclosure etc. He pooped once yesterday and it did look a bit dehydrated in the sense that the fecal portion was a little dry and the urates had a bit too much yellow. Again... stressful trip, new place, new people, etc. But I just want to make sure I am on point with husbandry....

• Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther - 5 months. Got him two days ago from reputable breeder who is a sponsor.
• Handling - Not handling. One time I needed to assist him from getting down from the top screen which he was crawling on, by allowing him to use my hand as a branch. He was dangling by one leg and I did not want him to fall.
• Feeding - He has had two feeding thus far. He has eaten about 10-15 1/4-1/2 inch crickets each time, along with a few small dubias at the first feeding, and a few small silk worms each feeding. I also have BSF larvae but I have not given any to him. Crickets are gutloaded with a variety of leafy greens and a dry cricket gutload from my feeder supplier. I have some bug burger I will use as well. Dubias are gutloaded similarly with some added fruit. I am getting a colony started so I am trying not to go in there much.
• Supplements-
  • Calcium - Repashy Super Cal NoD - every feeding
  • Multivitamin - Repashy Calcium plus LoD - will be every two weeks.
  • Hydration schedule - Mister - 3 minutes before lights on, 3 minutes before lights out, 2 minute at 930pm, 2 minutes at 1230am as the fogger starts. Fogger - 1230am-6am 30 minute on 30 minutes off. Dripper - for now, I am offering one around 3pm daily to gauge his activity. I mentioned some of my current hydration hiccups in another thread. I plan to alter my fogger with the @Beman "McGyver" PVC fogger extension hack. My fogger is a digital 4L top fill model recommended by Bill Strand.
• Fecal Description - One poop. Mentioned above.

Cage info:

Cage type - Dragon Strand Large Atrium enclosure (48x24x48) placed on a large wire rack. Total height is around 8 feet I think.

• Lighting -
  • UVB - Arcadia 48" Luminize with 12% bulb (branch 12" from bulb)
  • Plant lights - two Arcadia 48" Luminize Jaungle Dawns
  • Schedule - 7am-7pm with a simulated sunrise and sunset via the app. FYI - the current version of this app is clunky and glitchy. Arcadia better step up their game for such an expensive product!
  • Heating bulb - 100w Exo Terra Daytime incandescent bulb in a deep dome fixture (wattage is not even near too much in this fixture. Im struggling to get high enough temps), hooked up to a Reptizoo mini dimming thermostat. Ive seen great reviews on here and elsewhere for this cheaper thermostat. I am hoping it is giving a correct reading, but it is differing from my temp gun a bit.
  • • schedule - as of right now it is 7am-630pm since I am struggling to keep temps high enough. Would rather shut this off after four hours or so.
• Temperature (as of right now 11:20am EST)
  • cage floor - 64F
  • Opposite end of cage - 71F
  • Basking spot - set at 82F and I find fluctuations within inches apart between 78-84F
  • Lowest overnight temp - 62F
• Humidity
  
  • daytime - between 50-60%
  • night - right now maxing at around 68%. Struggling to fix this. Mentioned in another thread.
• Plants - a variety of cham safe plants. I think ten plants in total, cleaned, and transplanted into organic soil
• Placement of Enclosure - in a finished basement used as a family room. The enclosure sits high above any human viewers.
• Location- PA US

The best thing I could potentially assist with here (And you may have replies on this already, if so, sorry!) is night time humidity.

If you are struggling with keeping the humidity raised, IMO you should keep the fogger on. Don't let it turn on/off. Just keep it on from 12:30-6:00am. I personally run mine from 1am to 6am.

Your humidity should be shooting up right at the moment your mister+fog turn on together and IMO (at least this is what I do) it should stay higher (80%+) throughout the night/morning. Mine goes from 70s (specifically in his resting area) to 80-99% and stays there the whole time. It does fluctuate throughout the night but it stays higher.

During the winter (we have forced heat/air and it comes from the ceiling) I had to raise my misting times from 1 min each session to 2 mins. Maybe either adding more misting sessions during those night/morning hours or simply increasing the sessions you're misting will help as well. But I would personally let the fogger run all night, and increase it's setting if you can. With your temps reaching the lower 60s at night... it should be just fine to do this. I've done it every single day since I've had Spike and we are approaching 1 year of me owning him soon. He is also a Sambava but I believe the care is the same.