Dynamaxion
New Member
Your Chameleon - 7 month old panther chameleon, in my care for 30 days.
Handling - Once a week to take him outside
Feeding - I feed him twice a day, a dubia or two per meal with a superworm or phoenix worms as replacement treats on occasion. Then a silk or hornworm every 4 days, he is now tired of hornworms.
Supplements - Reptical without d3 daily, with d3 every 2 weeks, multivitamin every 2 weeks.
Watering - I set the mister to 2 minutes every two hours, its max setting(Exo Terra). I run a dripper all day via Big Dripper.
Fecal Description - Urates are orange, poop itself looks normal
Gutloading: Arugula, oats, carrots, and apple for the dubia roaches.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 2x2x4 screen cage
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB Tropical Bulb, 35w Halogen full flood bulb (used to use 50w but its 90 degrees on average outside right now)
Temperature - Basking spot peaks out at 93-94, night time gets down to about 70.
Humidity - Humidity is 20-30% in between mistings, about 65%-75% after mistings.
Plants - Yes, one Ficus Benjamina
Placement - In my room, take care to protect it from air drafts. He is on a two foot stand, making the top of the cage 6' tall.
Location - Central California
Okay so I have been having a lot of trouble getting my chameleon to drink, his urates are orange unless I feed him a horn/silkworm. He is active and eats well and has nice coloring, but his urates are orange meaning he doesn't drink enough.
I called the breeder I bought him from to ask about watering methods so I can replicate what he was raised in. The breeder responded very angrily, saying that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was an idiot, that he knew he shouldn't have sold the chameleon to me and that even his wife knew I was a fool, all because I said I had trouble getting him to drink. I apologized for my "offenses" and said I'd send him a picture of my enclosure. After seeing the pictures he FLIPPED, saying he TOLD me to NEVER put a live plant in a chameleon enclosure, began cursing at me, saying that "it's not what I did, it's what you did!" (I never had any finger pointing, I just asked how he watered my chameleon when he was younger and said he has trouble drinking. That's it.)
He then told me that he won't help me since I didn't listen to the life plant advice. I apologized profusely, said I would take my ficus benjamina out of the cage and replace it with more fake vines/branches, and promised to do everything he recommended. He would have none of it and no longer responds to my calls, telling me I'm on my own.
The whole thing seems very strange, what is this guy's problem? Have I really done something so terrible by putting a Ficus in my chameleon's cage? The last thing he said, and I quote, "you didn't listen and now your poor chameleon is sick from the tree you put in the cage. All of this drama is caused by you and your mistakes." I apologized and asked again for misting advice, he didn't respond. Geez, all that just because I asked for misting advice.
This guy is clearly pretty mentally unstable/insane, but I want someone to tell me if I have really committed a terrible grave offense by putting a ficus in his cage. I also want someone to give me the misting advice that all this drama was aimed at.
Any advice is MUCH appreciated, seriously ANY advice, I am desperate here and am honestly very sad/upset that a professional breeder insulted me in this way.
He also said I was an idiot for using Reptical instead of Repashy, and that "you need to stop reading bull**** advice on those bull**** forums. Every time I tried to tell you not to put a live plant you said 'but I read this and that.' You don't know anything, I'm not offering any more help." Sorry Mr. Breeder, but sometimes these forums are all I have to turn to, especially when you are so unnecessarily hostile.
I wasn't expecting to get so much hate and am quite shaken up. I have NEVER heard of a chameleon disease where he would eat fine, walk around fine, look fine, do everything fine just not drink, so I don't think this drinking problem is caused by a disease transmitted by the ficus.
Can someone please try to explain all this to me?
Thanks.
Handling - Once a week to take him outside
Feeding - I feed him twice a day, a dubia or two per meal with a superworm or phoenix worms as replacement treats on occasion. Then a silk or hornworm every 4 days, he is now tired of hornworms.
Supplements - Reptical without d3 daily, with d3 every 2 weeks, multivitamin every 2 weeks.
Watering - I set the mister to 2 minutes every two hours, its max setting(Exo Terra). I run a dripper all day via Big Dripper.
Fecal Description - Urates are orange, poop itself looks normal
Gutloading: Arugula, oats, carrots, and apple for the dubia roaches.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 2x2x4 screen cage
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB Tropical Bulb, 35w Halogen full flood bulb (used to use 50w but its 90 degrees on average outside right now)
Temperature - Basking spot peaks out at 93-94, night time gets down to about 70.
Humidity - Humidity is 20-30% in between mistings, about 65%-75% after mistings.
Plants - Yes, one Ficus Benjamina
Placement - In my room, take care to protect it from air drafts. He is on a two foot stand, making the top of the cage 6' tall.
Location - Central California
Okay so I have been having a lot of trouble getting my chameleon to drink, his urates are orange unless I feed him a horn/silkworm. He is active and eats well and has nice coloring, but his urates are orange meaning he doesn't drink enough.
I called the breeder I bought him from to ask about watering methods so I can replicate what he was raised in. The breeder responded very angrily, saying that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was an idiot, that he knew he shouldn't have sold the chameleon to me and that even his wife knew I was a fool, all because I said I had trouble getting him to drink. I apologized for my "offenses" and said I'd send him a picture of my enclosure. After seeing the pictures he FLIPPED, saying he TOLD me to NEVER put a live plant in a chameleon enclosure, began cursing at me, saying that "it's not what I did, it's what you did!" (I never had any finger pointing, I just asked how he watered my chameleon when he was younger and said he has trouble drinking. That's it.)
He then told me that he won't help me since I didn't listen to the life plant advice. I apologized profusely, said I would take my ficus benjamina out of the cage and replace it with more fake vines/branches, and promised to do everything he recommended. He would have none of it and no longer responds to my calls, telling me I'm on my own.
The whole thing seems very strange, what is this guy's problem? Have I really done something so terrible by putting a Ficus in my chameleon's cage? The last thing he said, and I quote, "you didn't listen and now your poor chameleon is sick from the tree you put in the cage. All of this drama is caused by you and your mistakes." I apologized and asked again for misting advice, he didn't respond. Geez, all that just because I asked for misting advice.
This guy is clearly pretty mentally unstable/insane, but I want someone to tell me if I have really committed a terrible grave offense by putting a ficus in his cage. I also want someone to give me the misting advice that all this drama was aimed at.
Any advice is MUCH appreciated, seriously ANY advice, I am desperate here and am honestly very sad/upset that a professional breeder insulted me in this way.
He also said I was an idiot for using Reptical instead of Repashy, and that "you need to stop reading bull**** advice on those bull**** forums. Every time I tried to tell you not to put a live plant you said 'but I read this and that.' You don't know anything, I'm not offering any more help." Sorry Mr. Breeder, but sometimes these forums are all I have to turn to, especially when you are so unnecessarily hostile.
I wasn't expecting to get so much hate and am quite shaken up. I have NEVER heard of a chameleon disease where he would eat fine, walk around fine, look fine, do everything fine just not drink, so I don't think this drinking problem is caused by a disease transmitted by the ficus.
Can someone please try to explain all this to me?
Thanks.
