Jevin
Chameleon Enthusiast
First off, I would like like to apologize for the length of this post.
So I've been inactive for a few years due to not having a chameleon for a few years after my first reptile, Daisy, a veiled chameleon passed away from old age. She lived to the average age for female veiled chameleons despite laying eggs almost nonstop.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago, and I was really missing having a chameleon and had been taking care of a Bearded Dragon for about two years. As I was getting feeders for the beardie, I habitually looked at the reptile section, and spotted a single panther chameleon, that was not only healthy, unstressed and active, but also kept in the proper conditions and much to my relief, not impacted as well. It actually turns out that the person in charge of the reptile section at the pet store owns chameleons themselves, although they were not present at the time I got Chandler. After some convincing from my girlfriend, I decided to go ahead and get the male panther chameleon.
What made it an easy decision is because in my city, there are hardly any chameleon breeders anymore and I don't feel comfortable with getting a live animal shipped as I have university classes and work full time, in addition to already having a lot of the required equipment for a chameleon.
However, I also learned a lot from my first chameleon, namely that the breeder I bought my veiled off of and also got my cage setup by did not know a lot about chameleons. The original setup of the cage had very few climbing routes, sphagnum moss covering the bottle, and I was given a zoomed reptirain to help control the humidity levels (I always thought it was useless). But the original setup also had two pothos and a ficus plant.
I have since revamped the cage to be a better setup overall. I have removed the sphagnum moss from the bottom, gotten rid of the the reptirain, setup a dripper system, do regular hand mistings like before, and gave more hiding spots and climbing routes, and rather than rely on a mist system to control humidity, have simply placed the cage in my room which was kept humidifed for my comfort at around 50-55%.
The cage has now setup for about two weeks and conditions in it have stabilized. The basking spot sits at around 85-90° and the coldest part of the cage sits at around 70°. The humidity stays at around 60-70%, and the drip system is setup so that whatever drunk is watering on of the two pothos in the cage.
Finally, to the newest addition to my small reptile family, Chandler Bing. First off, he has a lot of spunk and is way more active than veiled chameleon ever was. I have guessed his age to be around four months old as he is just starting to get his colours. When I first got him, he would catch his prey and hold it in his mouth for a little bit, now he just gulps them down. He also refuses to eat his prey from a food bucket setup, he insists on hunting them down. He is also completely fine with handling, although he insists on sitting on people's heads. The only issue he has is the people at the pet store picked him up from above, rather than approach from the front like I've been taught, so he isn't quite used to bring taken out of his cage properly. He shed for the first time since I got him two days ago.
Attached pictures of the both him and his current enclosure, I'm currently in the process of building his adult cage. I'm also currently building a stand kind of setup to hold the lights. The uv light I would like to mount inside the cage but I have determined it is unfeasible to do that, however it does have a curved polished reflector.
So I've been inactive for a few years due to not having a chameleon for a few years after my first reptile, Daisy, a veiled chameleon passed away from old age. She lived to the average age for female veiled chameleons despite laying eggs almost nonstop.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago, and I was really missing having a chameleon and had been taking care of a Bearded Dragon for about two years. As I was getting feeders for the beardie, I habitually looked at the reptile section, and spotted a single panther chameleon, that was not only healthy, unstressed and active, but also kept in the proper conditions and much to my relief, not impacted as well. It actually turns out that the person in charge of the reptile section at the pet store owns chameleons themselves, although they were not present at the time I got Chandler. After some convincing from my girlfriend, I decided to go ahead and get the male panther chameleon.
What made it an easy decision is because in my city, there are hardly any chameleon breeders anymore and I don't feel comfortable with getting a live animal shipped as I have university classes and work full time, in addition to already having a lot of the required equipment for a chameleon.
However, I also learned a lot from my first chameleon, namely that the breeder I bought my veiled off of and also got my cage setup by did not know a lot about chameleons. The original setup of the cage had very few climbing routes, sphagnum moss covering the bottle, and I was given a zoomed reptirain to help control the humidity levels (I always thought it was useless). But the original setup also had two pothos and a ficus plant.
I have since revamped the cage to be a better setup overall. I have removed the sphagnum moss from the bottom, gotten rid of the the reptirain, setup a dripper system, do regular hand mistings like before, and gave more hiding spots and climbing routes, and rather than rely on a mist system to control humidity, have simply placed the cage in my room which was kept humidifed for my comfort at around 50-55%.
The cage has now setup for about two weeks and conditions in it have stabilized. The basking spot sits at around 85-90° and the coldest part of the cage sits at around 70°. The humidity stays at around 60-70%, and the drip system is setup so that whatever drunk is watering on of the two pothos in the cage.
Finally, to the newest addition to my small reptile family, Chandler Bing. First off, he has a lot of spunk and is way more active than veiled chameleon ever was. I have guessed his age to be around four months old as he is just starting to get his colours. When I first got him, he would catch his prey and hold it in his mouth for a little bit, now he just gulps them down. He also refuses to eat his prey from a food bucket setup, he insists on hunting them down. He is also completely fine with handling, although he insists on sitting on people's heads. The only issue he has is the people at the pet store picked him up from above, rather than approach from the front like I've been taught, so he isn't quite used to bring taken out of his cage properly. He shed for the first time since I got him two days ago.
Attached pictures of the both him and his current enclosure, I'm currently in the process of building his adult cage. I'm also currently building a stand kind of setup to hold the lights. The uv light I would like to mount inside the cage but I have determined it is unfeasible to do that, however it does have a curved polished reflector.
Last edited:
