My Panther - a few questions!

[johnk]

Hi All

I have recently taken on an unwanted Panther, what I believe to be a Nosy Be. I have experience of keeping reptiles although never a chameleon before! I've been 'instructed' in the basics but have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you good folk will provide answers to (or show me where I can find them).

1) The amount he eats; I've rarely seen him eat crickets (that are free roaming in the terrarium) although he will take mealworms, wax worms, etc offered to him on a small tray. He won't take many (1 or 2 at a sitting) so I'm presuming that he's not hungry - or can he be off his food? My Water Dragon was 'rampant' in his eating so maybe I've just got to get used to the Chameleons eating habits?

2) Colour changes; until now I've seen him go from a dark green up to a brightish cyan/blue. Can I be assured that these aren't 'stressed' colours? Is there anywhere that lists the colour phases (for want of a better term)? I'm not too worried about seeing him change colour all the time unless of course he's trying to tell me something!

I'm really enjoying the little fella - not as active as my water dragon was but fascinating all the same.

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[lbesok]

How big is your panther and/or how old do you suppose him to be? My adult male Nosy Be Chameleon eats about 3-5 items every other day, like super worms, silkworms, hornworms, or dubia (Vega doesn't do crickets either).
His stressed or unhappy colors would prob include dark bars and darker almost black coloration.
Happy:

Unhappy:

 

[dodolah]

the terrarium word u used kinda worries me.
Is the cham in a glass cage?

 

[ColorCham427]

Sorry, but we'd need just a little more info. Could you take a pic of his set-up? His daily scheduele...exploring this forum's history is rather easier than waiting for answers. You could also PM one of the sponsors of the forum who are well experienced in the care and breeding of Panthers.

- check to see whose online

 

[johnk]

Thanks for coming back to me.

The setup; perhaps 'terrarium was the wrong word! Its a regular commercially sold 'vivarium' measuring 36inch wide, 36inch high and 18inch deep. I've replaced the bottom glass with mesh to aid with air-flow and there is ventilation in the roof. The top half of the front is still sliding glass doors. Within are living plants - Picus and Polydendrons - climbing vines and bark on the floor. I've just set up a water drip system. Lighting-wise there are two spotlights with sunning spots at differnet levels below and a UVB striplight across the top/front. Temperature is around 28c, humidity starts at about 20% early morning, averaging about 45-50% during the day - obviously rising when misting is carried out.

The chameleon itself is, I'm told, 15 months old. Measurement wise he is about 12 to 14-inches overall. He looks healthy, up on his legs, eyes bright, etc. He'll happily eat from a tray presented in front of him, but as I've said not large amounts - he looks neither overweight nor skinny.

His daily routine is lights on at 7.00am with a misting before I go to work at 8.00am. On my return he gets another misting (late afternoon/early evening). During the day I suppose he does what chameleons do!

Here he is:

Like I've said I'm new to chameleons but want to learn about whats best for him - I don't want him just to 'exist'!

I'll have a look around the forum but in my experience forums are like large supermarkets - sometimes it's just easier to ask somebody

Thanks

John

 

[lbesok]

His health looks pretty good, he is a very nice looking cham! Since he is mature in size it would be acceptable to consider feeding him every other day, to stimulate his appetite a bit more when he does eat. Feeding every other day also decreases the chances of him loosing interest and going on a food strike.
The temperature sounds good, while the humidity could prob be a little higher.
How does the bark work with screen? I would also consider removing the bark from the bottom of the cage, in case it were to be accidentally ingested, plus it is easier to keep clean.

 

[spatulars]

Dark green will be the stress color, I believe. If it's very deep and dark forest green color. He looks good in the picture though. Mealworms aren't a very nutritious feeder for chameleons, and waxworms are considered to be a treat item due to the fat content. Here's a good nutrition chart: http://www.chameleonnews.com/new/?page=article&id=92. Superworms are great for chameleons if that would be easy for you to pick up, and they're easy to gutload. Adult male chameleons can control their food intake to meet their needs; I believe at 15 months it would be fine to feed him every other day. Free-ranging crickets can actually chew on chameleons. If he doesn't like them, I'd take them out, but just my opinion. I'd take the bark off the screen floor of the cage, and I'd keep just one sunning spot at the top of the cage. The basking lights should always have screen protecting the chameleon from burning himself or climbing on the fixtures/bulbs; I couldn't tell from your description where his *sunning lights are, exactly.

*Also, he's very pretty. I like him a lot.

 

[meatslim]

that is one nice healthy looking cham. haha something about that pic makes him look slightly parsonii. how long have u had him? sorry if i missed it. if its not long, he may just still be adjusting.

 

[johnk]

that is one nice healthy looking cham. haha something about that pic makes him look slightly parsonii. how long have u had him? sorry if i missed it. if its not long, he may just still be adjusting.

Thanks for the replies.

I've had him about 10 days now.

Slightly 'parsonii' - I had to look that one up

The floor is solid on top of which is the bark - would it be better to use the 'just add water in a bucket' type of substrate that is available or leave the floor clear?

The basking lights are actually inside of the enclosure although I have made sure that he is unable to reach them. Currently I have two, each with a 'Sun-Glo' 50w bulb under which are basking spots at different distances from the lamps. It has been suggested to have just one sunning spot - would I therefore need to up the wattage of the single bulb or is 50w adequate? If so I'll maybe remove one tonight to see how it goes.

I think it's clear I need to do some adaptations to the enclosure! I will remove a good section of the solid roof, mesh it and place the basking light(s) above the mesh. This will give him more space, more ventilation and no chance of coming in touch with the bulb(s). Of course the humidity may drop but I can then sort that out.

Food wise I have not fed him since I read your replies late Friday night. I have noticed that the crickets have gone from his viv so he must be happy eating them (it wasn't crawling with them anyway but they have gone). I'll maybe offer him something later this evening (Sunday) although I won't do a full feed unless he seems over hungry. I think he's probably been left with so many crickets in the cage that he has just ate at will hence the kind of blase attitude towards food. Hopefully I can regulate his feeding from now on.

Thanks again for the replies, I'm now off to do some more reading!

John

 

[kinyonga]

Are you gutloading the insects and feeding them a nutritious diet?
Are you dusting/supplementing the insects before giving them to the chameleon?
Regarding watering...you could also use a dripper to give him more time to drink.

Here are some sites you might like to read...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/

Hope you will enjoy him!

 

[johnk]

Are you gutloading the insects and feeding them a nutritious diet?
Are you dusting/supplementing the insects before giving them to the chameleon?
Regarding watering...you could also use a dripper to give him more time to drink.

Yes on all three counts.

Thanks for the links.

John