My first chameleon!

[thestoneofdoom]

Hello! My name is Emily (you can call me Stone or Emily) and I just got my first reptile about 2 weeks ago. He is actually my first reptile, though I’ve been wanting a chameleon for some time and have been doing some research.

For a while now I had decided to adopt over buying a baby for my first chameleon. I was lucky enough to be working at my store (Petco) the day one of our regulars came in. Turns out he had been looking for a home for his Cham and after talking to my family I was able to adopt him! This gentleman has been great, giving me as much Information about this little guy as possible and giving me literally everything he had for this chameleon!

He is a 2 year old panther chameleon, I’m assuming he’s a nosy be due to his colors. He’s very docile and pretty healthy looking so far! His only concerns are a small mass on his wrist, but that hadn’t gotten any bigger and is rather mobile nor is it hard. He doesn’t seem bothered by it either.

His name was Jonathan but I’m thinking of renaming him to Kodama (tree spirit.)

Currently he is in a reptibreeze enclosure and I’m saving up to buy him a bigger house. I’ve already made him a small free roam area on my desk so he can get some sun rays through the window when it’s too cold to go outside.

If anyone has any tips or advice please throw them at me!! I’m more than willing to learn as mfcc as possible!

 

[ERKleRose]

UVB can’t pass through windows, only heat. I would take him to the vet for the mass, though. Good job on not buying one from Petco! Welcome to the forums! If you could fill out the ask for help form and post a pic of his enclosure, we can make sure your husbandry is on point! The free range looks great!

 

[ERKleRose]

Here’s the link to ask for help
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Awesome thanks! I’m in charge of the animals (companion animal leader/manager) at my Petco and I can promise you I take as much care as I can if my Petco-kids. I pulled an all nighter studying up on guinea pigs and geckos one time lol. What I HATE is our VENDORS. If I could strangle them I would. I tell each of our animals they are little miracles for making it this far..

I plan on eventually getting a second Cham later on. Separates out and probably far far across my room.

So I hope I can provide a lot of care for my guy. I think I’ve got a semi-ok enclosure picture. I’ll take another when I get home.

He currently has a Fogger and monsoon mister.

 

[ERKleRose]

Awesome thanks! I’m in charge of the animals (companion animal leader/manager) at my Petco and I can promise you I take as much care as I can if my Petco-kids. I pulled an all nighter studying up on guinea pigs and geckos one time lol. What I HATE is our VENDORS. If I could strangle them I would. I tell each of our animals they are little miracles for making it this far..

I plan on eventually getting a second Cham later on. Separates out and probably far far across my room.

So I hope I can provide a lot of care for my guy. I think I’ve got a semi-ok enclosure picture. I’ll take another when I get home.

He currently has a Fogger and monsoon mister.

Looks good! I can’t really tell, but maybe add some more branches (I can’t see through the plants and the shadows). Also filling out the form will make sure your little guy has everything he needs! When you get home, could you possibly post a another enclosure pic and fill out the form, please? Do you have an exotics vet with chameleon experience near you for the mass on his wrist?

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 2 - 2 1/2 year old Male Panther Chameleon.
  
• Handling - Once or twice a week, dependent on him deciding to climb up me or if I need to adjust something in his cage to which he could be in the way.
  
• Feeding - 6 Large crickets every other day, some superworms (about 1-3) as a snack from time to time and the occasional hornworm. I just now offered him some collard, mustard and parsley to see if he'd like it.
  
• Supplements - Crickets dusted with Zoo Med's Repti-calcium w/o d3 just about every feeding. Twice a month he gets a mixed dusting of Rep-cal Calcium w/D3 and Zoo med's Reptivite.
• Watering - A dripper when I'm not at home, I manually mist 2-3 times daily and plan to get his Monsoon Auto-mister set up by the weekend.
  
• Fecal Description - About average. soft yet firm, brown with white urates.
  
• History - He was purchased from Petco by the previous owner.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Reptibreeze kit, 16x16x30. Looking into upgrades as I type this.
  
• Lighting - Two blue bulbs, 1 uvb strip light. I believe them both to be exo-terra, but as they have not blown or stopped putting out heat, I've yet to replace them. I'd love some advice on good bulbs.
  
• Temperature - The top part/basking area stays around 82-85 depending on time of day. On hotter days it can reach 90 but never goes past. On the lower level it averages 80-82 with the lowest I've seen it at about 75-78.
  
• Humidity - It is currently about 74%, but stays average around 60-65%. My room is the most humid room in the house so it stays put pretty easily.
  
• Plants - No live plants.
  
• Placement - My cage sits ontop of my cube-shelf, which at the bottom of the cage, it floats about 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall and the top of his cage is about 5'11 or 6'0. I do have a ceiling fan that stays on a majority of the day. It is near one of my room vents, however it is able to be properly angled away from him.
  
• Location - US, Virginia near the chesterfield area.

Current Problem - I'm unsure of any vets in the area that are good with chameleons. I've heard of a few exotic vets but not all of them do reptiles. I would like to get that small mass checked out to be 100% sure its no problem to him.

Edit:
https://dragonstrand.com/product/large-breeder-cage/

Is this a good cage for him?

 

[JoshD49]

Dragon strand is one of the best cages available so I would get one if you can. Try and get a real plant and you won't need the fogger. With where your humidity is you probably don't need the fogger anyway.

I would check Yelp and see what the reviews are for the few you have. I did that and asked my dogs vet for a recommendation since I figure a vet would know another good vet.

 

[thestoneofdoom]

I typically have the fogger come on for about 1 hour in the morning starting at 7am. The humidity stays the same throughout the day. The lights are timed at 7:10am and off at 7pm. This routine seems to work for him.
Hes quite angry with me right now though, had to adjust his cricket cup as he knocked it down so he decided to crawl up my arm--immediately decided that my lamp from six feet away was within his arm length and tried to reach for it..He slipped down my back and thank god for my reflexes, I caught the bugger (gently to my own surprise as quick as I moved) and put him back in his cage. He was all poofed up at me, no color change but poofed. He was certainly telling me off about his spook.

Yelp is a good idea. I've asked my vet for my dog and she spoke of a vet that was more than an hour away..I'd prefer a closer vet to prevent stressy car rides.

Edit:
About that dragon strand I linked--is that the appropriate size for him?

 

[Syreptyon]

I typically have the fogger come on for about 1 hour in the morning starting at 7am. The humidity stays the same throughout the day. The lights are timed at 7:10am and off at 7pm. This routine seems to work for him.
Hes quite angry with me right now though, had to adjust his cricket cup as he knocked it down so he decided to crawl up my arm--immediately decided that my lamp from six feet away was within his arm length and tried to reach for it..He slipped down my back and thank god for my reflexes, I caught the bugger (gently to my own surprise as quick as I moved) and put him back in his cage. He was all poofed up at me, no color change but poofed. He was certainly telling me off about his spook.

Yelp is a good idea. I've asked my vet for my dog and she spoke of a vet that was more than an hour away..I'd prefer a closer vet to prevent stressy car rides.

Edit:
About that dragon strand I linked--is that the appropriate size for him?

It's a little smaller than the recommended 24x24x48, but DS cages are very high quality. He will be very very happy to have more space when he does. Sounds like he's been living in a cramped space for over a year and a half

 

[ERKleRose]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 2 - 2 1/2 year old Male Panther Chameleon.
  
• Handling - Once or twice a week, dependent on him deciding to climb up me or if I need to adjust something in his cage to which he could be in the way.
  
• Feeding - 6 Large crickets every other day, some superworms (about 1-3) as a snack from time to time and the occasional hornworm. I just now offered him some collard, mustard and parsley to see if he'd like it.
  
• Supplements - Crickets dusted with Zoo Med's Repti-calcium w/o d3 just about every feeding. Twice a month he gets a mixed dusting of Rep-cal Calcium w/D3 and Zoo med's Reptivite.
• Watering - A dripper when I'm not at home, I manually mist 2-3 times daily and plan to get his Monsoon Auto-mister set up by the weekend.
  
• Fecal Description - About average. soft yet firm, brown with white urates.
  
• History - He was purchased from Petco by the previous owner.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Reptibreeze kit, 16x16x30. Looking into upgrades as I type this.
  
• Lighting - Two blue bulbs, 1 uvb strip light. I believe them both to be exo-terra, but as they have not blown or stopped putting out heat, I've yet to replace them. I'd love some advice on good bulbs.
  
• Temperature - The top part/basking area stays around 82-85 depending on time of day. On hotter days it can reach 90 but never goes past. On the lower level it averages 80-82 with the lowest I've seen it at about 75-78.
  
• Humidity - It is currently about 74%, but stays average around 60-65%. My room is the most humid room in the house so it stays put pretty easily.
  
• Plants - No live plants.
  
• Placement - My cage sits ontop of my cube-shelf, which at the bottom of the cage, it floats about 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall and the top of his cage is about 5'11 or 6'0. I do have a ceiling fan that stays on a majority of the day. It is near one of my room vents, however it is able to be properly angled away from him.
  
• Location - US, Virginia near the chesterfield area.

Current Problem - I'm unsure of any vets in the area that are good with chameleons. I've heard of a few exotic vets but not all of them do reptiles. I would like to get that small mass checked out to be 100% sure its no problem to him.

Edit:
https://dragonstrand.com/product/large-breeder-cage/

Is this a good cage for him?

How long do you manually mist him? Panthers are strictly insectivores, don’t feed them fruits or veggies! What do you gutload with? Vary up his diet some; I feed crickets, red runner roaches, dubia roaches, hornworms, silkworms, butterworms, bsfl, and the occasional superworm (I’m getting orange-headed, ivory-headed, and green banana roaches, and I’m about to pupate bsfl. I’m looking into painted lady butterflies and snails, too!). Adult male panthers need a minimum size screen cage of 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall. You need a white light heat bulb- heat bulb for chicks from the hardware store works good- get rid of the blue lights and make sure it’s pitch black at night! The ambient temp. is a hair high at 80* (I would try to get it down to 78* at most). Do you have a pic of his enclosure? I would turn the fan off or at least on low. Did you read the panther chameleon care sheet here?

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Ahh ok. I saw like a few panther cham feeding guides that suggested collards. They lie! Good to know!

Anyway, I plan on getting some more types of insects soon as I want him to have a bunch to choose from.

He has no night lights so its pretty much as dark as the room gets at night. Both those blue bulbs are currently in a double dome, should I abandon that double dome and get a single when I get the white bulb or just use one side?

Ok, I'll try to aim for a dragon strand thats more appropriately sized, I want him as happy as can be! He tends to climb the walls quite a lot so I know hes not happy with the enclosure, I try to put him on his free-roam once a week, though its primarily up to him on if he wants to stay on it.

The fan is almost always on low when it is on. I'm thinking once I get a bigger cage, the heat problem may drop some, but ill be trying to adjust those today.

I have not! I'll do that right now!

 

[ERKleRose]

Ahh ok. I saw like a few panther cham feeding guides that suggested collards. They lie! Good to know!

Anyway, I plan on getting some more types of insects soon as I want him to have a bunch to choose from.

He has no night lights so its pretty much as dark as the room gets at night. Both those blue bulbs are currently in a double dome, should I abandon that double dome and get a single when I get the white bulb or just use one side?

Ok, I'll try to aim for a dragon strand thats more appropriately sized, I want him as happy as can be! He tends to climb the walls quite a lot so I know hes not happy with the enclosure, I try to put him on his free-roam once a week, though its primarily up to him on if he wants to stay on it.

The fan is almost always on low when it is on. I'm thinking once I get a bigger cage, the heat problem may drop some, but ill be trying to adjust those today.

I have not! I'll do that right now!

The double dome is fine, just use one of the sides, leave the other side empty unless it gets insanely cold at night, then use a ceramic heat emitter

 

[mae_day]

Ahh ok. I saw like a few panther cham feeding guides that suggested collards. They lie! Good to know!

Collard greens are great for gutloading crickets, though!

 

[Jesspete]

I'm loving his free roam setup.

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Finally got some more pictures of his enclosure! Plus 2 additional pictures of him on his free roam--newly added vine too, he didnt like the free roam at first but the vine seems to help.

Unfortunately hes quite miffed with me since his almost-fall earlier today. Hes pacing a lot in his cage...The current pics of him on his free roam were from about 5 mins ago..Had to put him back as he was determined to climb my curtains and I dont want to risk a fall for him.

Just noticed he is missing a claw as well. o-o Though it could be a birth defect or from his sibling at petco as they normally house 2 juvies.

 

[ERKleRose]

Move his feeding bowl at least halfway up the cage, just wedge it in between some vines; good job on the diy feeding jug! It’s hard to tell, but maybe remove the middle fake plant in the middle of the cage and add some more branches/vines there

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Found a better-sized cage..More in my price range. I desire a breeder or clear one but my budget cant go over $200 but im willing to pay the shipping for a good cage.
https://dragonstrand.com/product/large-keeper-screen-chameleon-cage-kit/

Thats a good idea. The DIY feeder cup was made by the previous owner. The feeding bowl is a temp for his worm snacks, plan on making a floater soon. The clay pot on the bottom is for drainage catching from his dripper when im at work.
Any tips on how to calm him down? Hes still pacing at his cage walls. He really wants to gtfo of there but doesnt stay on his free roam right now..Hes quite miffed at me still I guess.

 

[ERKleRose]

Found a better-sized cage..More in my price range. I desire a breeder or clear one but my budget cant go over $200 but im willing to pay the shipping for a good cage.
https://dragonstrand.com/product/large-keeper-screen-chameleon-cage-kit/

Thats a good idea. The DIY feeder cup was made by the previous owner. The feeding bowl is a temp for his worm snacks, plan on making a floater soon. The clay pot on the bottom is for drainage catching from his dripper when im at work.
Any tips on how to calm him down? Hes still pacing at his cage walls. He really wants to gtfo of there but doesnt stay on his free roam right now..Hes quite miffed at me still I guess.

Leave him be. DIYCages.com has good sized cages for cheap!

 

[ERKleRose]

Leave him be. DIYCages.com has good sized cages for cheap!

They’re on sale right now!

 

[thestoneofdoom]

Oohhh, sales! <3