New keeper

[Bwian]

Hello,
Im a little new to this and have just purchased a pair of panthers that are a few months old, the guy I got them from seemed quite knowledgeable but a lot of what he says conflicts with what I am reading, he said to feed them purely on locusts yet I see from this forum there are lots of options? he supplied me with some calcium powder to dust them with but I would like to give my animals as wide and varied a diet as I can, he also mentioned to not feed crickets as apparently they come out in the dark and can bite the reptiles causing minor flesh wounds by nipping at them, any thoughts or comments welcomed, not sure if its a climate thing either as I am in the UK but he uses enclosed viv's whereas most sites suggest using mesh cages (I can maintain humidity and temperatures better in this climate with an enclosed viv and would struggle with a mesh cage). He has two male abibilone panthers that seem very healthy
thanks
Paul

 

[byari1234]

SO I AM VERY NEW AT THIS ASWELL!! just a disclaimer lol

as long as you GUTLOAD your crickets and worms they are very good for them!! crickets are the most readily available and I've read silkworms are very nutritious for them. Fruit flies are also recommended for very young chams. When you say a few months old what are we talking? 2, 3 ?
A General rule to follow is that you never feed them any food that is bigger then the span between their eyes or it will be a choking hazard for them. Depending on how young they are gives you an idea as to how often you need to dust their food. I highly recommend a mesh cage, enclosed cages higher their risks for lung infections because of the stagnant ambient air. To help control the Humidity you can get a shower curtain or plastic wrap and place it on 2-3 sides to help retain moisture. (that's what I did). NEVER put multiple chameleons in the same cage or viv. I don't agree with locusts if your chams are young just because of how hard the exoskeleton is, that's more for adult chams. I really recommend reading allot of these threads they were extremely helpful.

I AM NOOOO EXPERT, this is all what I've learned over the past 2 weeks.

Here's a link to the page that really helped me learn what's best for them and some general rules:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/

Hope I was able to help!

 

[guanagator]

Variety is good, crickets are fine. A solid walked enclosure is also good especially in your climate just be sure you have a good amount of air exchange stagnant air is bad for them. Just a heads up since not sure what you were told/ what your doing now but they should be housed separately.

 

[Bwian]

thanks guys, very useful information indeed, I was told they would be ok together as they are male and female for about 6 months then need separating when the male begins to harass her? the stale air comment might explain why he has taken his panther to the vets, it was blamed on someone else spraying it with the misting bottle watching it drink which the vet said gave it the respiratory infection but there is no obvious ventilation source which could also explain it , I have just ordered a pair of mini temp controlled fans after reading this which I will fit to the viv to ensure some air exchange for them, the males body is about 2 inches and the female is around 3 if that's any indication of age? no obvious colouring yet, I hope I don't have to shell out another £300 for a second viv just yet ! ill investigate further regarding the age, thanks again for the replies and please keep em coming as these creatures are seem rare and hard to come buy in the uk given the climate, I think there are only 2 or 3 breeders in the country and these were the first babies to come on a livestock list for 12 months! the current viv is about 3 ft high and 2 ft wide, I was going to get one that is 4 ft wide for the male as soon as he grows a little more