Misting schedule for baby panther

[Lostzen71]

Hey everyone, I got my first chameleon today! He's an Ambanja panther from FlChams, and I've decided to call him Silas. I was told he is 2 months old. He is currently in an 18x18x36 Reptibreeze enclosure. I was fortunate enough to be able to get some quality gear from another member, so I believe he's off to a good start. He is under a Light Your Reptiles 24" quad fixture with a 6% uvb bulb, 2 plant lights and I forget what the other one is but it's good. I also have a 60w incandescent bulb for basking. I'm also very happy that I was able to get a Mistking pump and the tubing and nozzles from the same member (Thanks Josh! @joshuadh2310 ) I have a single sprayer in the enclosue, and I was wondering what kind of schedule you guys recommend for a baby. I can program this thing to go off up to 9x a day. Here's a couple pics

Thanks!

 

[Lostzen71]

Here are the others...

 

[RedMountainHome]

He's a cutie! Kinda young though... Hope he does alright for ya

Nice work on scoring that gear, and setting up the cage. Looks like a good home!

 

[Lostzen71]

Yes, he is younger than I would have liked to get my first one; but I am impatient and did not wait for the answer to the question before paying. So any suggestions on misting? duration? # of sessions? Right now I have it set to come on 30 minutes after lights on for 3 minutes; then every 2 hours for 5 minutes with the last one about 2 hours before lights out for a total of 6 sessions. Maybe too much?

 

[Tortdad]

I'm subscribing to this.... building my first enclosure now and getting a baby panther in 1 week.... looking for an answer too

 

[etclement]

What I use and still use for my Veiled that works for him is 8mins at 7:00 8mins at 12:00 8.5 mins at 4:00 8mins at 7:20 and 8mins at 8:40. You might want to put some 30-45 sec sessions in there because panthers need more humidity.

 

[jamest0o0]

That might be overkill^ but wouldn't hurt. Might just use more water than necessary and get fungus gnats if it doesn't dry out much. Really depends on humidity though. I've noticed my Chams don't really drink late in the day, only in the morning when they wake up. I have 3 panthers and usually try to do 1 heavy 10 minute misting in the morning to drink then 2 more 3-5 minute mistings for humidity and bathing.

 

[etclement]

Oh yeah I should probably mention my cage is not covered at all so humidity was a problem for me

 

[Lostzen71]

That might be overkill^ but wouldn't hurt. Might just use more water than necessary and get fungus gnats if it doesn't dry out much. Really depends on humidity though. I've noticed my Chams don't really drink late in the day, only in the morning when they wake up. I have 3 panthers and usually try to do 1 heavy 10 minute misting in the morning to drink then 2 more 3-5 minute mistings for humidity and bathing.

What size enclosure are you using? I did notice he was kind of licking his lips this morning like he was looking for something to drink.

Another question. Does anyone heat their water supply before misting. Just waking up it's in the low 70s in my place and the water is probably pretty chilly. I noticed it looked like he was taking cover when the mister came on.

 

[RedMountainHome]

Mist schedules vary by location and humidity needs. Keep an eye on your humidity, and any fungus or mold buildup, and adjust as necessary.

That lip licking was probably him drinking. Mine aren't often terribly overt about drinking unless they're thirsty.

I've heard of people warming their water with an aquarium heater, but be careful if you try it. It would suck to burn your house down because your aquarium heater overheated your water container or ran dry.

 

[jamest0o0]

@Lostzen71 I wouldn't bother heating the water. It comes out room temp from the mister anyway. Plus heat leads to bacteria and nasties. I have about a 2'x4'x6' free ranges for my chams.

 

[Lostzen71]

Thanks. Yeah it sounds like something that is kind of specific to the setup. I'm sure I'll work it out. I will definitely lessen the duration of the misting in the afternoon.