New Baby Panther Chameleon -Feeding

[AshleyAndSean]

Hello all,

We brought home our first Chameleon yesterday and we're definitely very new at this so we need some help figuring a few things out! From what we've read vs what the pet store told us, we're getting a little confused.

We have a 2 month old Panther Chameleon and have some feeding questions.

1) How much / how often are they supposed to eat at this age?

2) How should we feed him? We've read a lot about feeding from a cup, etc. Are you supposed to do this or just put the crickets in his Terrarium? We want to make sure he's eating!!!

3) We've seen a lot on the web about gutloading... what is this?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thank you,

Ashley and Sean

 

[sharp229]

Welcome to the forums! Please see the following caresheet for Panther chameleons:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

Also, could you copy and paste and fill out the following form and post pictures of your chameleon and enclosure?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Two months old is very young to be sold. He should be given as much food during the day as he will eat until he is about a year old. They will usually eat between 10-15 food items a day. It may take up to a week or two before he will adjust and start eating normally.

The feeder insects should not be wider than the space between his eyes. At that age he will need very small crickets. They should be dusted with plain calcium (NO D3) at every feeding, and twice a month with calcium WITH D3, as well as multivitamins twice a month. Gutloading is what you feed the feeder insects. It is best to feed them with fresh fruits and vegetables such as kale, collard greens, carrots, etc. More are covered in the care sheet.

 

[AshleyAndSean]

Info

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Sex Unknown, 2 months old
Handling - Haven't handled him since we brought him home yesterday
Feeding - Pin head crickets 10 a day that the pet store recommended. We're feeding them vegetables
Supplements - They said not to dust for another 2 weeks :S
Watering - Monsoon misting system 4 times a day, He drinks
Fecal Description - Only brought him home yesterday, no feces yet


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass Terrarium with ventilation (exo terra make) 45 x 45 x 60 cm 18” x 18” x 24”
Lighting - 12 hours of light, 12 of dark. UVB light and basking light
Temperature - two thermometers and a hydrometer. Basking spot is about 90 and the rest is between 80-85.
Humidity - Humidity so far today has ranged from 50-70
Plants - Some live some fake, we couldnt find as many live as we wanted. We only have the pothos in now.
Placement - It's on a low dresser against a wall, no windows, vents or fans directly near it
Location - Canada, therefore we have all kinds of weather goin' on!


Also, will he be able to eat the crickets if we just put them in the terrarium or should we feed him in a separate container???

 

[AshleyAndSean]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Sex Unknown, 2 months old
Handling - Haven't handled him since we brought him home yesterday
Feeding - Pin head crickets 10 a day that the pet store recommended. We're feeding them vegetables
Supplements - They said not to dust for another 2 weeks :S
Watering - Monsoon misting system 4 times a day, He drinks
Fecal Description - Only brought him home yesterday, no feces yet


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass Terrarium with ventilation (exo terra make) 45 x 45 x 60 cm 18” x 18” x 24”
Lighting - 12 hours of light, 12 of dark. UVB light and basking light
Temperature - two thermometers and a hydrometer. Basking spot is about 90 and the rest is between 80-85.
Humidity - Humidity so far today has ranged from 50-70
Plants - Some live some fake, we couldnt find as many live as we wanted. We only have the pothos in now.
Placement - It's on a low dresser against a wall, no windows, vents or fans directly near it
Location - Canada, therefore we have all kinds of weather goin' on!


Also, will he be able to eat the crickets if we just put them in the terrarium or should we feed him in a separate container???

 

[jamjam]

i got mine at the exactly same age, from what ive been told from my breeder and also read the temps are too high that age want a basking about 80 and ambient of 75. feeding my guy at the time was eating several times a day 1/4 crickets about 8 each feeding as well as fruit flies.

gutloading in a nutshell is what you feed your feeders for more nutrients your cham gets by eating. supplements should not be the only source of most nutrients, could have wet and dry gutloads with fruits and veggies being the wet and some grains, nuts, alfalfa, spurilina, bee pollen etc for the dry.

 

[Kath44]

Some will take to the cup feeding right away, some don't.
Mine wouldn't use cup straight away, preferred to hunt but will now use the cup. I do both, put so many free roaming and rest in the cup.
Do you know how he/she was fed before?
Kath.

 

[AshleyAndSean]

How should we get the temp lower? We got like the lowest watt bulb for our basking light that was available. How often do you mist? My boyfriend had the monsoon system for his Boa so we're using that but how often should we set the time for cycle? Any ideas on how long to mist for each time?

 

[AshleyAndSean]

i got mine at the exactly same age, from what ive been told from my breeder and also read the temps are too high that age want a basking about 80 and ambient of 75. feeding my guy at the time was eating several times a day 1/4 crickets about 8 each feeding as well as fruit flies.

gutloading in a nutshell is what you feed your feeders for more nutrients your cham gets by eating. supplements should not be the only source of most nutrients, could have wet and dry gutloads with fruits and veggies being the wet and some grains, nuts, alfalfa, spurilina, bee pollen etc for the dry.

How should we get the temp lower? We got like the lowest watt bulb for our basking light that was available. How often do you mist? My boyfriend had the monsoon system for his Boa so we're using that but how often should we set the time for cycle? Any ideas on how long to mist for each time?

 

[jamjam]

How should we get the temp lower? We got like the lowest watt bulb for our basking light that was available. How often do you mist? My boyfriend had the monsoon system for his Boa so we're using that but how often should we set the time for cycle? Any ideas on how long to mist for each time?

Where in canada are you? Im in toronto and the weather has been so unpredictable here. Im constantly changing my basking light to get temps where I want em, I just started my 9-5 for the summer so its been a bit harder. Ive been adjusting the height of my light to get it lower. someone has told me to use frozen water bottle to get a cool spot, getting a lower ambient is sometimes my issue but planning on moving him to his adult cage next week. I hand mist so never the same if it is hot!! and im around I'll mist again once i notice everything is dried up. thats the important part.

 

[RonWhitmill]

I would definitely try to get the ambient temps down a little. Raising the light can help or use a lower watt bulb. Any bulb will do for heat. Doesn't have to be a "reptile" bulb. Your humidity seems pretty good. I would just try to keep the cage from drying out and make sure you're not using a substrate. I prefer to let my young ones hunt their crickets. But I also think it is good to try to give them a little variety in their diet. I use crickets, baby silkworms, and flightless fruit flies. I'm a huge fan of the silkworms if you can get them. High in calcium and they also get moisture from them.

 

[sharp229]

For that age and since he is in a new environment it is probably better to start with just putting crickets in the cage rather than trying to cup feed. The exception would be if the breeder was cup feeding and that is what he is used to. You could try both ways and see what he likes better.

If you want to switch to cup feeding after he's adjusted there are ways to train him. There are advantages and disadvantages to both cup feeding and free ranging the food, and some people do one or the other and some do both.

You can lower the temperature by increasing the height of the basking light above the cage. I have seen people on these forums use paper clamps to raise the lights if you do not have something to hang them from. These are the large metal clamps used for holding large stacks of paper together.

 

[AshleyAndSean]

Where in canada are you? Im in toronto and the weather has been so unpredictable here. Im constantly changing my basking light to get temps where I want em, I just started my 9-5 for the summer so its been a bit harder. Ive been adjusting the height of my light to get it lower. someone has told me to use frozen water bottle to get a cool spot, getting a lower ambient is sometimes my issue but planning on moving him to his adult cage next week. I hand mist so never the same if it is hot!! and im around I'll mist again once i notice everything is dried up. thats the important part.

We live in Montreal so we're definitely close enough to know what you mean about the weather! We also have the fact that we're on a island surrounded by water so the humidity some days just outside is crazy. It was at 97% yesterday afternoon! We're finding when we lower the heat of the basking light he tries to get up higher towards the UVB, as if he wants the heat. When it's a little hotter he'll go back under the basking light. We're just a little worried too because I'm at school and work and my boyfriend works so with the temp fluctuations in our area we're worried it'll get too hot or cold during the day.

Also, kind of a dumb question but whatever, do they usually defecate on the ground or should we be looking around the plants for it? At the pet store they were going on the ground but they didn't have very much foliage We're just wondering cuz we wanna figure out if it looks healthy!

Thanks so much!