Panther chameleon hatchling care

[MikeyAutrey]

So I’ve been looking on Craigslist for anyone trying to rehome a panther chameleon. I stumbled across a local breeder with some eggs for sale! (100$) he seems very responsible and has answered all of my annoying questions. I have about six to twelve months to prepare so I’ve been trying to do research on hatchlings. THING IS: I can find very little info on how to care for a hatchling. There’s a lot of debate.

Does anyone have any experience/advice for hatchling care? I’m mainly concerned with enclosure size as that’s what I’m having the most trouble finding info on. Thank you!

 

[TayloredExotics]

I've seen people selling eggs before, but I don't think it's a very responsible practice. Especially for someone who has little to no chameleon experience, keeping a hatchling would be difficult... Most responsible breeders don't sell until at least 3 months old, as there is a much higher mortality rate/probability of things going wrong I would recommend you find an older one to purchase, rather than trying to start with an egg.

 

[MikeyAutrey]

oh yeah I’m aware of the risk! He’s local so no worries about the egg getting damaged in transportation. I’m home all the time so I have the time to be there 24/7

 

[TayloredExotics]

Alrighty, just know it is a big risk. Also, studies show that babies raised in groups (usually 2-5) are better adjusted socially (I'll have to look up the study), so that's another consideration. Babies have far different needs; higher humidity, frequent watering, obscene numbers of tiny feeders... I'm currently raising 10, and going through a little over 1000 Turkistan/dubia roaches and nearly that many superworms each week , plus a sprinkling of other feeders
To answer your original question, a lot of people keep baby groups in bins or solid sided enclosures for humidity retention. I keep them in 18*18*24 with the front and top screened. Theyll need bigger, single cages by 3 months old, though

 

[TayloredExotics]

Ah, here's the study (it's on Veileds rather than panthers, though)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213005186
The excerpt:
"Animal Behaviour
Volume 88, February 2014, Pages 1-6
Effects of early social isolation on the behaviour and performance of juvenile lizards, Chamaeleo calyptratus
Author links open overlay panelCissyBallenMatsOlsson
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.11.010
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Highlights
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Early social interactions affect a lizard's subsequent social responses.

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Those reared in isolation express different colours to those reared in groups.

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Group-reared animals are less submissive than those reared in isolation.

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Animals reared in isolation forage less effectively than group-reared animals.

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Social rearing affects the development of reptiles as it does in mammals and birds.


Although reptiles have traditionally been viewed as asocial, the recent discovery of complex social systems in lizards suggests that an animal's social behaviour may be shaped by its interactions with conspecifics early in life, as occurs in endothermic vertebrates. We reared hatchling veiled chameleons, Chamaeleo calyptratus, either in isolation or in groups of four, using a split-clutch design. Social interactions during the first 2 months of life substantially affected a chameleon's subsequent responses to newly encountered conspecifics in standardized trials: animals reared in isolation were more submissive, and adopted darker and duller colours. Isolation-reared lizards also performed less well in a foraging task. Thus, social isolation early in life can impair the development of squamate reptiles, as it does in mammals and birds."

 

[MikeyAutrey]

Alrighty, just know it is a big risk. Also, studies show that babies raised in groups (usually 2-5) are better adjusted socially (I'll have to look up the study), so that's another consideration. Babies have far different needs; higher humidity, frequent watering, obscene numbers of tiny feeders... I'm currently raising 10, and going through a little over 1000 Turkistan/dubia roaches and nearly that many superworms each week , plus a sprinkling of other feeders
To answer your original question, a lot of people keep baby groups in bins or solid sided enclosures for humidity retention. I keep them in 18*18*24 with the front and top screened. Theyll need bigger, single cages by 3 months old, though

Thank you so much! This helps