New owner of Panther Chameleon

[BrandyJ]

I am a new Chameleon owner and first time posting. We adopted our Panther Chameleon on Saturday, May 21, 2011. We do not know if our new family member is male or female or what type of Panther Chameleon. I am posting our little guy and his habitat for advice and tips to make sure we are doing everything needed to ensure a long healthy life.

Our Chameleon is 1 3/4 inches.

Coloration varies from tan to dark brown. Has light dash markings down both sides that turn yellow. Throat has red markings.

Habitat is screened 18w x 36h x 18d. Has a Ficus plant, butterfly bush branches, and artificial vines.

Lighting is by ZooMed. Double dome, with Powersun 100w uv bulb for daytime and a red heat bulb for night. We are swithing lights every 12 hours.

Heat is between 72 degrees am and 74-75 degrees pm. This will probably increase as the temperature outside increases. We do use air conditioning in the summer to keep the house about 75 degrees, but not all rooms stay this temp.

Humidity is 15% naturally. When misting this increases to 17-19%. We were using the Exo Terra Untrasonic Fog Generator; however, we stopped using it Monday May 23rd when the over splash was flooding the bottom of the habitat. Humidity level with fogger in use was about 19-20%. Definitely need some advise on proper equipment to maintain the humidity level needed.

Diet consists of fruit flies. We are feeding 3-4 times per day with a total of 15-20 fruit flies put in enclosure per day.

Suppliment is ZooMed's Reptivite with D3. It's nearly impossible to coat the fruit flies with the vitamin suppliment so I am dusting the ficus tree leaves with the powder.

Any and all comments/helpful tips appreciated!

Brandy

 

[bigcappa]

Here is a quick response:

You shouldn't need a heat bulb for night unless the temps are going below 65f. At night you would not want any light, so if you need a lil extra heat get a ceramic heat bulb, but im guessing you won't need anything. Also what is your basking temp for the little guy? That 100w seems a bit to strong, for babies most of us use a 40watt house buld. You also need to get a linear tube uvb bulb for his uvb consumption, most of us use a Reptisun 5.0. You need to get a mister like Mist King, to raise your humidity and give the cham something to drink. You would want to mist, 2-4 times a day for 3-5 minutes depending on your needs of humidity.

 

[VeiledChams]

Welcome To the Forums!

I am a new Chameleon owner and first time posting. We adopted our Panther Chameleon on Saturday, May 21, 2011. We do not know if our new family memeber is male or female or what type of Panther Chameleon. I am posting our little guy and his habitat for advice and tips to make sure we are doing everything needed to ensure a long healthy life.

Our Chameleon is 1 3/4 inches.
Do you have the age?
Coloration varies from tan to dark brown. Has light dash markings down both sides that turn yellow. Throat has red markings.

Habitat is screened 18w x 36h x 18d. Has a Ficus plant, butterfly bush branches, and artificial vines.
I know the ficus is a safe plant, i dont know if the butterfly bush is.Check on the FLChams website, there is a list of safe plants.
Lighting is by ZooMed. Double dome, with Powersun 100w uva bulb for daytime and a red heat bulb for night. We are swithing lights every 12 hours. You should have a Reptisun 5.0 LINEAR/TUBE bulb for UVB and a basking bulb. Since he is so small, the basking bulb could probably neglected for now since the UVB bulb will provide enough heat for him. Absolutely NO light at night. Chameleons need their sleep. There are no lights at night where they live in the wild, right? why put them in captivity?

Heat is between 72 degrees am and 74-75 degrees pm. This will probably increase as the temperature outside increases. We do use air conditioning in the summer to keep the house about 75 degrees, but not all rooms stay this temp. As he grows up, temperatures will need to be raised to a basking spot of about 90 (not very sure on panthers), and you'll need to create a temperature gradient allowing the cham varying temperatures for him to thermoregulate. For now, the temperature should be around 78.

Humidity is 15% naturally. When misting this increases to 17-19%. We were using the Exo Terra Untrasonic Fog Generator; however, we stopped using it Monday May 23rd when the over splash was flooding the bottom of the habitat. Humidity level with fogger in use was about 19-20%. Definitely need some advise on proper equipment to maintain the humidity level needed. That is WAY too low. You have to mist a few times a day and get the humidity up into the 70% range. I bought a humidifier from walgreens and transformed it into a fogger for my cages. I use it from time to time, but misting is a priority. If you cannot mist a few times a day because you're busy or whatever, get the MistKing. It is an automated misted, expensive, but worth the $$.

Diet consists of fruit flies. We are feeding 3-4 times per day with a total of 15-20 fruit flies put in enclosure per day. You should feed him a little more, IMO. Give him as much as he'll eat in 5 minutes, and then leave some more inside the cage for him to eat later. Overfeeding when he is a baby isnt as big of a deal as when they are adults, IMO. They need as much energy to grow up to be healthy and strong chams.

Suppliment is ZooMed's Reptivite with D3. It's nearly impossible to coat the fruit flies with the vitamin suppliment so I am dusting the ficus tree leaves with the powder.
You will have to change this supplementation schedule ASAP.

You need:
Calcium WITHOUT D3
Calcium WITH D3
Reptivite.

Dust the feeders on every feeding with the calcium W/O D3. Twice a month with the calcium WITH D3 and twice a month with the reptivite.
What I do is Monday- Saturday is calcium W/O D3, and alternate Calcium w/ D3 and the reptivite every Sunday.

Any and all comments/helpful tips appreciated!

Brandy

 

[carol5208]

Why are you dusting the ficus tree leaves? You chameleon is not going to eat the leaves and how are the fruit flies going to get the calcium by putting it on the leaves??? I think you are wasting your supplement. Put the flies in a bag and put some calcium powder in there and shake it up. Do what VeildChams said about the supplements and lighting.

 

[BrandyJ]

Shopping list

Thanks for the advice!! Apparently the pet shop isn't as informed as I thought.

I'm planning my shopping list for the pet store.

Is a Reptisun 5.0 bulb okay to use on a baby?

Regarding feeding: What is IMO?

Supplements: Carol5208, thanks for the bag tip. My intention with dusting the leaves was to have him drink the powder when I mist the habitat.
On list is Calcium w/D3 and w/o D3

Humidity, I'll look for a humidifier until we can get an auto mister set up. In the meantime I have been misting the habitat 6-8 times during the day.


VeiledChams - I have removed the butterfly bush twigs and will look for something off the list you referred. Also, I called the pet shop and they do not know how old the Chameleon is but guessed at 2 months. He said they are about the same size when born. (?)

 

[DavidBuchan]

Thanks for the advice!! Apparently the pet shop isn't as informed as I thought.

Heard that one before...... IMO means In My Opinion. You might like to mix up the diet a bit with some crickets (a better staple food, esp for later) From the pic 2 months is a good guess, but stupid pet shop shouldn't have to guess. The reptisun is good for all ages, but replace the bulb every 6 months or so, because the uv gets weaker.
P.s. welcome to the forum and you have a sweet little chameleon, so hopefully he'll grow big and strong (I'm guessing he, I've never kept panthers)

 

[chamzilla91]

The reptisun 5.0 is what you should use for chameleons. Try to get the linear tube bulb and not the compact because the compact light can cause blindness. IMO means "in my opinion" at least I'm pretty sure that's what it means. I also think that it is good to let the cage dry out a good amount before misting again to reduce the chances of ri's. Try searching around the forum for panther care threads, it'll do wonders on getting you the info you need

 

[VeiledChams]

Thanks for the advice!! Apparently the pet shop isn't as informed as I thought. Yeah, 99.9% of the time, they will not know what they are talking about.

I'm planning my shopping list for the pet store.

Is a Reptisun 5.0 bulb okay to use on a baby?
Yes it is.
Regarding feeding: What is IMO?
In My Opinion lol
Supplements: Carol5208, thanks for the bag tip. My intention with dusting the leaves was to have him drink the powder when I mist the habitat.
On list is Calcium w/D3 and w/o D3
Just dust the feeders, not the plants. Easier
Humidity, I'll look for a humidifier until we can get an auto mister set up. In the meantime I have been misting the habitat 6-8 times during the day.


VeiledChams - I have removed the butterfly bush twigs and will look for something off the list you referred. Also, I called the pet shop and they do not know how old the Chameleon is but guessed at 2 months. He said they are about the same size when born. (?)

A newborn and a 2 month old are not the same size. Those little piggies grow fast. If he is is younger than 2 months, you gotta be even more vigilant with your husbandry because they are even more delicate.

 

[BrandyJ]

Shopping Trip

I was able to find the Reptisun hood, but not the long tube bulb.
I was able to find Supplimental Calcium w/ D3 but not without.

I will have to order these online. What should I do regarding the UV and calcium in the meantime?

Thanks!
Brandy

 

[BrandyJ]

Humidifier

Should I get a cold mist or warm mist humidifier?

Thanks,
Brandy

 

[bigcappa]

If you plan on ordering your items today/tomorrow and getting fairly quick shipping(1-3 days) you should be ok until then. Depending on your weather and free time, I would say take him outside for a little bit each day and let him get some real sun rays(UVB). Since he is so young, just be careful on outside temps it could be to hot or get to hot to quickly.

 

[bigcappa]

Should I get a cold mist or warm mist humidifier?

Thanks,
Brandy

Not sure how hot, warm is?? But they seem to like warm water better.

 

[DavidBuchan]

I was able to find the Reptisun hood, but not the long tube bulb.
I was able to find Supplimental Calcium w/ D3 but not without.

I will have to order these online. What should I do regarding the UV and calcium in the meantime?

Thanks!
Brandy

What's the weather like in Nevada atm? (at the moment ). If you can get a mesh/ screen viv, or just take your current one carefully outside in the sun for a couple of hours each day it will help.

 

[BrandyJ]

Reno, Nevada

Temps here are in the low 60s and extremely windy. I found a Repti-Glo bulb by Zilla close by and will purchase that while I wait for the Reptisun to arrive.

Now, what to do about the calcium suppliment.

I'm so glad that I posted here. I appreciate all the advice!!!

Thanks,
Brandy

 

[javsto]

Thanks for the advice!! Apparently the pet shop isn't as informed as I thought.

I'm planning my shopping list for the pet store.

Is a Reptisun 5.0 bulb okay to use on a baby?

Regarding feeding: What is IMO?

Supplements: Carol5208, thanks for the bag tip. My intention with dusting the leaves was to have him drink the powder when I mist the habitat.
On list is Calcium w/D3 and w/o D3

Humidity, I'll look for a humidifier until we can get an auto mister set up. In the meantime I have been misting the habitat 6-8 times during the day.


VeiledChams - I have removed the butterfly bush twigs and will look for something off the list you referred. Also, I called the pet shop and they do not know how old the Chameleon is but guessed at 2 months. He said they are about the same size when born. (?)

just so you understand the reptisun 5.0 is 18 inches long, like an fish aquarium tank bulb but for UVB nor florescent but used in the same type of canopy/hood lighting fixture.

 

[javsto]

Temps here are in the low 60s and extremely windy. I found a Repti-Glo bulb by Zilla close by and will purchase that while I wait for the Reptisun to arrive.

Now, what to do about the calcium suppliment.

I'm so glad that I posted here. I appreciate all the advice!!!

Thanks,
Brandy

you can always go to www.lllreptile.com for anything you cant find locally if you can afford the overnight shipping. as far as a panther chameleon care sheet go to www.screameleons.com and sign up for thier free online tutorial and checklist which they email to you daily. Also if you do happen to take them outside make sure you take it WITH the cage and not let it free roam by itself or you will lose it, either to a predator or it would just walk away and you'll have to call The wonder Pets to help you look for him.

 

[javsto]

another thing, when you mist 6-8 times a day do you just give it a quick two or three shots from the mister or do you completely wet down the entire habitat including your new little baby?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Temps here are in the low 60s and extremely windy. I found a Repti-Glo bulb by Zilla close by and will purchase that while I wait for the Reptisun to arrive.

Now, what to do about the calcium suppliment.

I'm so glad that I posted here. I appreciate all the advice!!!

Thanks,
Brandy

He'll cope without for a short while. Just since nobody mentioned it yet, I think you could do with a bit more leafiness towards the top so he can feel hidden even while basking. Also, it's never too early to start introducing new foods and feeding the foods (gutloading). Crickets can be bought really small (micro crickets). Feed them leafy green stuff and calcium flakes. Chameleons are what they eat, and what their food eats!