Jaimy
New Member
Hi,
So I got my Panther chameleon one week ago. He is 8 months old and lives in a reptibreeze Xl, the UVB is a Arcadia T5 6%, humidity 50-60% during the day and 70%> at night. (I build the walls myself with foam, dirt, tile grout ect to keep the humidity in.). He also has a dripper for easy water excess.
The breeder told me he was handeld every day so he’s uses to people and is calm when handeld, but I got him at an expo and I didn’t know the breeder so I dont know if that true or not.
Now he looks very calm, havent seen his stress colors yet, he did close his eyes a lot in the car on the way home but that could just be stress.
He spends a lot of time basking, the basking temp is around 28°c. (overall temp is 20°c) But he also spends a lot of time exploring his cage, I even saw him walk on the ground once.
He’s eating good he’s getting his insects with Repti calcium without D3 and I even saw him drinking for some time.
I’m taking him to a vet this weekend for a checkup but I just wanted multiple opinions. I also think hes a bit skinny.
Am I just being paranoid or is his behaviour a bit odd for a new chameleon? Please let me know!
So I got my Panther chameleon one week ago. He is 8 months old and lives in a reptibreeze Xl, the UVB is a Arcadia T5 6%, humidity 50-60% during the day and 70%> at night. (I build the walls myself with foam, dirt, tile grout ect to keep the humidity in.). He also has a dripper for easy water excess.
The breeder told me he was handeld every day so he’s uses to people and is calm when handeld, but I got him at an expo and I didn’t know the breeder so I dont know if that true or not.
Now he looks very calm, havent seen his stress colors yet, he did close his eyes a lot in the car on the way home but that could just be stress.
He spends a lot of time basking, the basking temp is around 28°c. (overall temp is 20°c) But he also spends a lot of time exploring his cage, I even saw him walk on the ground once.
He’s eating good he’s getting his insects with Repti calcium without D3 and I even saw him drinking for some time.
I’m taking him to a vet this weekend for a checkup but I just wanted multiple opinions. I also think hes a bit skinny.
Am I just being paranoid or is his behaviour a bit odd for a new chameleon? Please let me know!
Your chameleon may be active and overly friendly/wanting to come out because he is unhappy with his enclosure. Chameleons are arboreal and need lots of branches and/or vines to travel on. All of that empty air space is being wasted. I love the look and see that you prefer a natural aesthetic. You can use natural branches that you can collect - avoid pine and other sappy or aromatic wood. Give a good little scrub with some dish soap, rinse very well and let dry (in the sun if possible) and they’re good to go. I keep whatever doesn’t come off with a gentle scrub, like lichen on the branches. Fill that space, give lots of plant cover too so he has places to hide, take shade, etc. A vining plant like pothos is excellent. Is that a waterfall I see? Those are not advised as they tend to just become bacterial pools and your cham should be drinking droplets off the leaves when you mist. Also, that’s a cute little hide, but chams don’t use those. Are you fully bioactive - drainage layer, clean up crew, etc? Also, what multivitamin and vitamin D3 will you be using?
