Mistaken Chameleon?

[JohnMcNic]

Hello, I do not yet have a chameleon, and was just wondering if a panther chamelon would be a wise choice as my first. I understand they are difficult animals to take care of at times and I have had amphibions in the past. Your opinions please! On the topic of Pnathers, I was wondering what the average size was out there (from nose to base of tail). Another thing I was interested was about how long it took to start showing good coloring and how long it takes to reach adult size.

John

 

[herpluv]

In the same boat

Hey,
I am in the same boat as you. I have never had a chameleon. I have had iguanas, snakes, geckos etc. but never a chameleon. I have been doing some research and there are plenty of care sheets out there that you should look at. Many of the breeders' websites have them as well as places such as Kingsnake.com. Panthers seem to be a hardy animal, but they are difficult at times as I have read. Veileds have also been said to be a hardy one, but I am not sure which would be better, both will take a lot of TLC. Good luck, let me know what you decide. I am probably going with Ambilobe Panthers myself.

 

[JohnMcNic]

Panthers plenty!

I agree, so far I think I want to get a panther, more so either a Ambanja, Ambilobe, Sambava, but most of all a Nosy Be. Altough I think I would be happy with any panther. The only reason I have been steering away from Veilds was the reported aggression.

John

 

[Drake]

The general size of Adult Male Panthers is around 12-18 inches in captivity. Male Panthers do not attain there full colors until they reach adult hood, which is around 1 year in age.

Heres the link where I got some my info from.

http://www.screameleons.com/site/3398/default.aspx

as well as here
http://www.chameleonsonline.com/species-results.php?comname=Panther Chameleon

 

[Prism Chameleons]

Panther Chameleons are known to be one of the hardiest of the chameleons. They are not hard to take care of at all, IF you have the right equipment. Lighting, caging, and misting/drippers are the biggest components that is needed to care for a panther chameleon. They typically get used to one owner and after trust is earned that you are not a predator to harm them, they will be a wonderful and friendly pet. I have one that turns bright blue (he's a Nosy Be) when he sees me, drinks and eat out of my hand, and sleeps in a tree next to my bed everynight! He's a sweetie.

They are known however, to be one of the most expensive chameleons to purchase, so prepared for the cost of obtaining the proper equipment AND getting a panther chameleon from a reputable private breeder. I HIGHLY recommend this (even though I'm a private breeder, I'm not saying this to get you to buy from me - there are many good private panther chameleon breeders out there, so look around). Private breeders tend to have pure quality and healthier chameleons that have a family history to show what you are buying. If a breeder will not tell you who the sire and dam are, or seem to avoid the question, avoid the breeder is my opinion. Typically, male chameleons will start to show colors around 5 months (some earlier) and continue to gain coloration up to 1.5 yrs.

I personally take care of my chameleons EVERY day (which is quite a job with the number of chameleons I have, but I still do it) and they are vet checked as well in order to provide my customers with healthy chameleons. Ask the breeder if they do this and find out if they crossbreed their chameleons across locales or interbreed between brothers and sisters, etc. If they do? Well, that is a personal choice, but my personal feelings are that no panther chameleons should be crossbred across locales, nor interbred between the same bloodlines.

A very good site I recommend for anyone interested in buying a panther chameleon is www.chameleonsdish.com. They have very good information there about care, equipment, health, as well as links to other information sites.

I am still working on my site, however, I do have a bit of information about the different locales of panthers and what their typical colorations are should you need to know this information as well.

If any of you have any questions, I'd be happy to help. I just love panther chameleons! Sigh...