New Panther owner

[mdkelty66]

Hello everyone,

So this past weekend I got my first panther chameleon. He is a Ambilobe Blue Bar and is three months old. I made sure I had everything I needed before I got him from a breeder here in MI. I've been into reptiles and arachnids for 25-30 years and finally decided to take the leap and get one of the reptiles I've always wanted.

I'm currently looking for a young female of the same type. Please let me know if you recommend anyone. I'm sure there are plenty of great breeders on the forum.

The only thing that isn't perfect yet in his enclosure is humidity. Real quick, I have a Reptibreeze 18x18x36, proper lighting and an umbrella plant in there. I think today, I'm going to wrap three sides in visqueen and see how that works.

Any words of wisdom/advice would be appreciated!

Thank you,
Michael

 

[inkdguy35]

Maybe start with two sides and see how that does. I covered two sides of my 24x24x48 and helped alot and the three open sides left for plenty of air flow while maintaining my humidity

 

[mdkelty66]

That's a great idea, thank you!

 

[NHenn]

We have some great Ambilobe females from our Marley line. You might want to check them out as they are similar in age and will make for a great pairing in the future.

We have them listed on our website: www.canvaschameleons.com

 

[mdkelty66]

Thank you for getting back with me so quickly. Are the females $295? Marley is amazing by the way!!!

 

[NHenn]

Thank you for getting back with me so quickly. Are the females $295? Marley is amazing by the way!!!

You are very welcome. Yes they are $295 and shipping is free right now so that will save you the $50 which would normally be on top of the cost.

Thank you, everyone really loves Marley. He is certainly something special.

 

[Angelwolf]

What a cutie! Going to have some beautiful colors, later!

 

[mdkelty66]

Thank you! I'll have to post the sire and dams sire when I can, amazing colors! He's quite docile and adventurous too.

 

[RedMountainHome]

He's adorable, and has nice distinct patterns for such a young'un! That pic makes me nostalgic for when my guy was tiny like that.

I'd recommend you keep you mind open about getting a bigger cage not too far down the line. Their growth kinda sneaks up on ya.

Also, what kinda arachnids do you keep? I'm a burgeoning tarantula keeper

 

[Briguy234]

If you have an automatic misting system then you can put a dropping pan underneath the cage and drill holes on the bottom of the cage. It acts as a resovour for water and when water goes in the pan it evaporates around the cage and it increases the humidity, when emptying the dropping pan use a shopvac and suck up the excess water.

 

[mdkelty66]

He's adorable, and has nice distinct patterns for such a young'un! That pic makes me nostalgic for when my guy was tiny like that.

I'd recommend you keep you mind open about getting a bigger cage not too far down the line. Their growth kinda sneaks up on ya.

Also, what kinda arachnids do you keep? I'm a burgeoning tarantula keeper

Thank you. I'm going to be taking many pics along the way. Both sires were stunning!

I'm going to purchase a 24x24x48 for him in the near future. He went from a group enclosure (breeders) to the one I have him in now, but he had absolutely no issues to the new upgrade of his own pad. The funniest part of the experience so far is him asking for more crickets after he's already had his allotted amount of daily crickets. (15, 1/4").

Arachnids-my go to favorite. Between my wife and I we used to have over 200 arachnids! I used to breed them on a regular basis. I now only have 15 and am probably going to sell some of them to focus more on my new Panther. I prefer mostly old world arboreals, i.e poecilotheria, but really I love all of them!

 

[mdkelty66]

If you have an automatic misting system then you can put a dropping pan underneath the cage and drill holes on the bottom of the cage. It acts as a resovour for water and when water goes in the pan it evaporates around the cage and it increases the humidity, when emptying the dropping pan use a shopvac and suck up the excess water.

Thanks for the idea! I've been thinking about purchasing a misting system because in the near future I'm going to be purchasing a future girlfriend for this guy and who knows what in the future. Right now I have a live planted umbrella plant in there and some vines. If I had that plant off the base, it would be much easier to clean.

 

[RedMountainHome]

Sounds like Ike you've got a friendly, healthy little dude looking forward to your future pics!

I've only got 6 tarantulas, and they're mostly new world terrestrials I like them big, slow, and showy. Part of the reason I like them is how little maintenance they require.

 

[mdkelty66]

Sounds like Ike you've got a friendly, healthy little dude looking forward to your future pics!

I've only got 6 tarantulas, and they're mostly new world terrestrials I like them big, slow, and showy. Part of the reason I like them is how little maintenance they require.

Lol, yep! Even when I had 200 it only took me a couple of hours to do weekly maintenance and they took up minimal space. Any questions, feel free to message me. Yes, this little guy is awesome and off to a great start! I'll post plenty of pics as he grows!

 

[mdkelty66]

If you have an automatic misting system then you can put a dropping pan underneath the cage and drill holes on the bottom of the cage. It acts as a resovour for water and when water goes in the pan it evaporates around the cage and it increases the humidity, when emptying the dropping pan use a shopvac and suck up the excess water.

 

[mdkelty66]

Thanks for the idea! I've been thinking about purchasing a misting system because in the near future I'm going to be purchasing a future girlfriend for this guy and who knows what in the future. Right now I have a live planted umbrella plant in there and some vines. If I had that plant off the base, it would be much easier to clean.

 

[mdkelty66]

What kind of misting system would you recommend? I'm using the Little Dripper and spraying, but the little dripper seems to be all or nothing.

 

[RedMountainHome]

I've a mist king automatic mister and can't recommend it highly enough. One of my chameleons prefers drinking from drippers, though, since the mist king spray always sends him running. I've found the commercial "little dripper" type products are over priced, tough to dial in, and over time they lose the ability to drip - all or nothing, as you say. Here are a couple of tips that may help with the dripper situation.

1st, the only special thing on those drippers are the little spigot, otherwise known as an airline valve. You can pop that out and use it on a larger container, like a gallon water jug or 2 liter soda bottle. Even better, if you haven't purchased a commercial dripper yet you can save some money by buying some airline valves and installing them onto the water container of your choice ($1.50 for a pair of valves on petmountain). I recommend using a dab of silicone around the hole where you plug the valve into the container to prevent leaks, and don't forget to poke a hole somewhere in the top of your container to allow air exchange or else the water won't flow freely out the valve!

2nd, if you're having a hard time dialing in the drip speed, just plug some flexible airline tubing into the valve. Tie a loose knot into the airline tubing, turn the spigot to full blast, then slowly tighten the knot till drips at your preferred speed. Gravity and hard water can bind the knot over time, especially if the knot is hanging, but all you have to do is un-knot it and tie a new knot somewhere else in the tube to get your preferred drip back.

 

[mdkelty66]

I've a mist king automatic mister and can't recommend it highly enough. One of my chameleons prefers drinking from drippers, though, since the mist king spray always sends him running. I've found the commercial "little dripper" type products are over priced, tough to dial in, and over time they lose the ability to drip - all or nothing, as you say. Here are a couple of tips that may help with the dripper situation.

1st, the only special thing on those drippers are the little spigot, otherwise known as an airline valve. You can pop that out and use it on a larger container, like a gallon water jug or 2 liter soda bottle. Even better, if you haven't purchased a commercial dripper yet you can save some money by buying some airline valves and installing them onto the water container of your choice ($1.50 for a pair of valves on petmountain). I recommend using a dab of silicone around the hole where you plug the valve into the container to prevent leaks, and don't forget to poke a hole somewhere in the top of your container to allow air exchange or else the water won't flow freely out the valve!

2nd, if you're having a hard time dialing in the drip speed, just plug some flexible airline tubing into the valve. Tie a loose knot into the airline tubing, turn the spigot to full blast, then slowly tighten the knot till drips at your preferred speed. Gravity and hard water can bind the knot over time, especially if the knot is hanging, but all you have to do is un-knot it and tie a new knot somewhere else in the tube to get your preferred drip back.

Thank you so much Red Mountain Home, much appreciated!!! After work today, I'm off to the pet/fish store to get supplies to make my own dripper. It will be fun, I like projects like this. I'm also going to do some research on the Mist King.

 

[Briguy234]

If you like "diy-ing" things I made my own misting system with a diaphragm pump water mister, a solenoid valve, and a timer.

Thank you so much Red Mountain Home, much appreciated!!! After work today, I'm off to the pet/fish store to get supplies to make my own dripper. It will be fun, I like projects like this. I'm also going to do some research on the Mist King.