New Oustalets Chameleon owner

[Zebco]

I'm the proud new owner of a 4 month old Oustalets Chameleon. He isn't my first Chameleon as I have owned a Panther Chameleon 5 years ago, so I'm not a newbie.

I am having a hard time finding a care sheet on this beautiful reptile. I know the basking spot needs to be 80º-90º and a night-time drop to 60º-70º. Its been a long time since I've raised a baby and I'm not quite sure how to regulate his vitamins. I have Zoo Med Calcium w/ D3 and Reptivite. How often should I dust his food? I plan on feeding him a whole lot of fruit flies and crickets to get him into adulthood. I find the little ones really, really enjoy the fruit-flies as a treat.

Any more information you guys wanna give me about the Oustslets would be greatly appreciated!

 

[drjco]

I have two males that I have raised since they were 3 months. I can say that they will move on to larger food relatively quickly and they eat a great deal when compared with chameleons of similar size. That being said, they are hardy and mine have been rather docile compared to other species. I am in Florida and keep mine outside with the exception of the coldest months and they do great.

 

[Zebco]

I have two males that I have raised since they were 3 months. I can say that they will move on to larger food relatively quickly and they eat a great deal when compared with chameleons of similar size. That being said, they are hardy and mine have been rather docile compared to other species. I am in Florida and keep mine outside with the exception of the coldest months and they do great.

Thanks for the info. Whats your chameleons favorite food besides crickets?

Its also my understanding that the Oustalets eat anoles and smaller lizards?

 

[VeiledChams]

I'm the proud new owner of a 4 month old Oustalets Chameleon. He isn't my first Chameleon as I have owned a Panther Chameleon 5 years ago, so I'm not a newbie.

I am having a hard time finding a care sheet on this beautiful reptile. I know the basking spot needs to be 80º-90º and a night-time drop to 60º-70º. Its been a long time since I've raised a baby and I'm not quite sure how to regulate his vitamins. I have Zoo Med Calcium w/ D3 and Reptivite. How often should I dust his food? I plan on feeding him a whole lot of fruit flies and crickets to get him into adulthood. I find the little ones really, really enjoy the fruit-flies as a treat.

Any more information you guys wanna give me about the Oustslets would be greatly appreciated!

As far as basking, for a young one, stay above 85 degrees, but dont exceed 95. Mimic the weather in florida for them. They are thriving here wild, so you may want to have everything more or less that way.

You have to dust CRICKETS and other feeders with calcium w/o D3 every feeding, with D3 2x a motnh and multivitamins 2x a month. Not just the one with w/ D3 otherwise you'll give him too much D3. He is too old already to be just feeding on fruitflies. they should have long been taken out of his menu. Give him crickets, worms, roaches, etc. Fruitflies are not the best source of nutrition for a growing chameleon.

You say you've kept panthers for 5 years, so you should be familiar with lighting setups. I'm gonna tell you anyways: You need a reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and a basking light. You also need to mist his enclosure quite a bit (3x a day at least) in order for him to get his water requirements.

you will also need to invest in a pretty big cage soon on that guy. Oustalets are in the battle for the biggest chameleon in the world. If I'm not mistaken, they are the longest.

 

[eriksorg]

They LOVE grasshoppers!!! I have fed mine "feeder" lizards in the past but its just kinda tuff watching that!!! Try to get the little one outside as much as possable...their appetite will increase and they will color-up more.(for an Oustalet!!!)..I have allways considered mine to be like mini Saint Bernards!!!

 

[Lizardlover]

They love anything big, especially large grasshoppers as eriksorg stated. Stay away from mice, they will eat lizards on occasion but they should be fed sparingly. They have big appetites, and love to roam. My adult cages are a minimum of 3x3x6.

 

[Zebco]

As far as basking, for a young one, stay above 85 degrees, but dont exceed 95. Mimic the weather in florida for them. They are thriving here wild, so you may want to have everything more or less that way.

You have to dust CRICKETS and other feeders with calcium w/o D3 every feeding, with D3 2x a motnh and multivitamins 2x a month. Not just the one with w/ D3 otherwise you'll give him too much D3. He is too old already to be just feeding on fruitflies. they should have long been taken out of his menu. Give him crickets, worms, roaches, etc. Fruitflies are not the best source of nutrition for a growing chameleon.

You say you've kept panthers for 5 years, so you should be familiar with lighting setups. I'm gonna tell you anyways: You need a reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and a basking light. You also need to mist his enclosure quite a bit (3x a day at least) in order for him to get his water requirements.

you will also need to invest in a pretty big cage soon on that guy. Oustalets are in the battle for the biggest chameleon in the world. If I'm not mistaken, they are the longest.

Thank you for that information, very helpful.

I do have everything that is needed regarding caging and lighting. I ordered from www.FLChams.com and bought the complete cage set-up. I purchased the medium @ 18x18x36 and I hope that will get him through 6 months to a year. I planed on buying the 260 Gallon Reptarium when he gets older because I want him in the biggest cage I can get.

Yea, I guess the fruit flies are just too small now for him, they were actually for my amusement lol.

I'm also happy that he is CB and not WC.

 

[Zebco]

Like I said I had a Panther Chameleon that I raised from a tiny baby, but had to give him to my sister because I started a new job that required me to be gone from home a couple weeks at a time.

I took exceptional care of him and he never had a health problem until I gave him up. He died a few months later because no one could take care of him like I did. =(

 

[Zebco]

Whats the best place to buy large or unique feeder insects?

I also don't like feeding other reptiles to other reptiles, but it's nature and the way things work. I know at least a few times a year he will be receiving an anole or house gecko as a treat.

 

[allencg101]

i have an oustalets and he is mighty yeah they get up to 2 1/2 feet so a big enclosure is needed when my guy was a wee baby growing up i was going through 3-5 dollars of crickets a day but its slowed down quite a bit now for him.

basking temps should be 80-85
non basking temps 70-75
dust with calcium w/o d3 every feeding
dust with d3 and reptivite vitamins well i do once a week seeing i'm not down south like cali or florida but if you are and let him outsite alot you can do without the d3 seeing he is getting more then enough of it with that florida sun
he will eat alot as a baby so buy your crickets in bulk i get 1500 a week but i got a total of 11 chams
hornworms are a tasty treat for these guys so feed him them like once a week cause if they get a real liking for them they will stop eating crickets and only want the hornworms then you have to starve the gentle giants till they start eating crickets again ive had to do this several times with my veileds and moe i give them crickets but nothing else till they break down and start eating them again, anything else just ask

 

[eriksorg]

For what its worth....I've kept Oustalets on and off for many years....10++....these are very tough animals...I've kept them outside when its in the mid to upper 90s to lows in the 50s with NO ill effects....I've talked to a Florida biologist how was studying the wild population there...he said that the Oustalets there have been surviving near freezing temps and breeding like mad!!!!

 

[Zebco]

For what its worth....I've kept Oustalets on and off for many years....10++....these are very tough animals...I've kept them outside when its in the mid to upper 90s to lows in the 50s with NO ill effects....I've talked to a Florida biologist how was studying the wild population there...he said that the Oustalets there have been surviving near freezing temps and breeding like mad!!!!

Good news! They are just such an impressive lizard, I can't wait for him to get here.

 

[drjco]

I find they love almost anything I given them in addition to crickets including hornworms, silkworms, super worms and occasionally giant mealworms. They also do love anoles but I only allow those in moderation. I have their large walk in cages in my screened in pool area which has trees and plants in it. When I take them out and put them on trees in the pool area (when I am cleaning their cages) they eat any anoles that happen to venture to close(we have them everywhere in Fl). They love mid summer when they anoles are hatching as the babies are all over the place all of the time for them to eat. They are one chameleon species that seems to eat anything that you will give them.

 

[HUNYANGOAKO]

Mine love dubia roaches.they love to eat those big crunchy adult roaches.oh they love mealworms too!

 

[tadeusz]

Yeah, I have 3 males and they LOVE Dubia Roaches, Supers, and Large Crickets. They are awesome and very, very easy going. Basically, idiot proof care and like eric said, they survive. I keep my guys in the low to high 90s for basking temps and they have been doing awesome. Congrats, I love Oustalet's very easy going species.

 

[eriksorg]

Hey Tad....for what its worth... your ousties dad went to that big tree in the sky.....I hope maybe in the future you my want to breed them with another c.b. female....

 

[tadeusz]

Oh man.... That really sux Erik!! Are you thinking about getting another one? I was thinking about giving breeding a shot maybe in a year or so... I would need to find a prime C.B. Female for one of my guys. One of my guys has some really interesting green/turquoise to him around his face and almost like a stripe of green down his side (like a green bar type color). He has the normal brown/white/reds, but I occasionally see him showing these brilliant greens when he is super calm... Its interesting cause none of my other guys show the greens I see occasionally with him - He was one I really was interested in breeding... The colors are almost like a verrocosus male - but not as prominent.

 

[eriksorg]

As far as Oustalets go, I am done....with all the "cheap" w.c. ones coming out of Florida I cannot compete!!!...just a fact of life!!!

 

[Zebco]

How long do CB Oustalets live for, average?

 

[tadeusz]

I hear you on that Erik! I remember 2 years ago... I was hard pressed to find a single Oustalet and now... Since they have been discovered in Florida... They are like pennies on the dollar. It is sad, but I still think they are awesome. Maybe I'll give breeding a shot in a year or two...