About a six weeks ago I received my first chameleon in almost 20 years - a baby Parson's (~6 month). As a teenager in California I kept Jacksons and Panthers but had always longed for a Parson's. When I randomly decided that I wanted to get back into the hobby as an adult, I just went for it and ordered up a Parson's baby girl. I read everything I could get my hands on and may have gone a bit overboard with the planning, but I'm eager for feedback from the group on how I'm doing thus far.
Housing: Currently I've got her (I assume its a "her") in a 24" x 48" cylinder pvc coated screen cage. I built it to keep her in during the summer months, mostly outside, in my backyard. The cage has got a pothos and a jasmin plant, plus a few sanded manzanita branches. I've also built a second more permanent enclosure 24" x 36" x 72" , made of wood, acrylic and pvc coated screen. For the winter months I will move her into that cage which will sit in a custom greenhouse that I built attached to the side my house. The outdoor cylinder is actually in the greenhouse at the moment (see pics), since the weather was down into the 40s last night and I thought that even for a Parson's - which I understand are pretty cold hardy - that may too cold. I plan to move her back outside later this week when it moves into the 70s and 80s and will aim to keep her outside until October, unless it gets REALLY hot, which can happen where I live in Maryland. When Winter rolls around I'll have a space heater to keep the greenhouse toasty, two overhead heat lamps, and a T5 HO arcadia 12% UVB that I'll turn on for maybe a few hours a day for supplementary UV, since the greenhouse roof blocks most UV rays.
Food: She's eating a TON right now, which I take as a sign of good health. Yesterday she even ate out of my hand for the first time. Dubia roaches seem to be her favorite. Crickets not so much, but she's reluctantly eating them. I've just introduced orange head roaches from Nick Barta and she seems to like those, and she'll take a superworm a couple of times a week. I tried hornworms, but she completely ignored them. Same for waxworms and butter worms. She looked at those and then at me like I was crazy. I've also caught her eating some wild bugs that hang around the trees near her cage in my backyard. I even saw her pick a moth off a fence probably 18" away from her cage through the .5"x.5" hole in the screen. It was a sniper shot!
Supplementation: Almost none so far. As I understand it supplements are just that: they are used to supplement those areas where nutrition is lacking. Since she is mostly outside I figured calcium and D3 may be unnecessary at the moment. I've dusted with calcium w/o D3 maybe twice since she arrived. I have not introduced any vitamins. I've been gutloading all the feeders with cricket crack and my leftover vegetables and am using water crystals for hydration. I think I'll start adding some more calcium and other supplements into her diet once I move her inside for the winter, but for now I think the natural sunshine, gutloaded feeders, and the occasional wild bug should keep her healthy. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
Water: Everyone says that Parson's are drinking machines. But I have not encountered that yet. I'm speculating its because the humidity is so high where I live. It generally fluctuates between 50% and 90%. In any case, I've got a misting system hooked up to a garden hose that goes on twice a day, unless there is rain in the forecast (we get big downpours multiple times a week here). The mister runs in the morning about 5 minutes and then again in the afternoon for about 45 minutes. At most, she seems to drink for 2-3 minutes. After that she just sits in the mist looking pissed off. Again, I figure its better to give her more opportunities to drink than fewer, but it is strange that she doesn't seem to be drinking very much given everything that I've read about Parson's and their love of water.
Handling: Rarely. Basically only when friends come over. She doesn't seem to appreciate it.
Concerns so far: Not too many. There were two small things: 1. she seemed to have developed some kind of an abrasion on her knee (I noticed it was a little bloody one day) and 2. she was gaping and flailing around like a maniac for a whole day last week. The abrasion seems to be getting better. I don't plan to visit the vet unless things start to look worse/infected. But I have no idea what the gaping and flailing around was all about. I was worried it was a respiratory infection and then considered that she might have been letting out some pre-shedding tension. But she didn't shed...so...I have no idea what that was all about. I haven't witnessed the behavior since.
What do you Parson's or experienced keepers think of how I'm doing? Any room for improvement?
Housing: Currently I've got her (I assume its a "her") in a 24" x 48" cylinder pvc coated screen cage. I built it to keep her in during the summer months, mostly outside, in my backyard. The cage has got a pothos and a jasmin plant, plus a few sanded manzanita branches. I've also built a second more permanent enclosure 24" x 36" x 72" , made of wood, acrylic and pvc coated screen. For the winter months I will move her into that cage which will sit in a custom greenhouse that I built attached to the side my house. The outdoor cylinder is actually in the greenhouse at the moment (see pics), since the weather was down into the 40s last night and I thought that even for a Parson's - which I understand are pretty cold hardy - that may too cold. I plan to move her back outside later this week when it moves into the 70s and 80s and will aim to keep her outside until October, unless it gets REALLY hot, which can happen where I live in Maryland. When Winter rolls around I'll have a space heater to keep the greenhouse toasty, two overhead heat lamps, and a T5 HO arcadia 12% UVB that I'll turn on for maybe a few hours a day for supplementary UV, since the greenhouse roof blocks most UV rays.
Food: She's eating a TON right now, which I take as a sign of good health. Yesterday she even ate out of my hand for the first time. Dubia roaches seem to be her favorite. Crickets not so much, but she's reluctantly eating them. I've just introduced orange head roaches from Nick Barta and she seems to like those, and she'll take a superworm a couple of times a week. I tried hornworms, but she completely ignored them. Same for waxworms and butter worms. She looked at those and then at me like I was crazy. I've also caught her eating some wild bugs that hang around the trees near her cage in my backyard. I even saw her pick a moth off a fence probably 18" away from her cage through the .5"x.5" hole in the screen. It was a sniper shot!
Supplementation: Almost none so far. As I understand it supplements are just that: they are used to supplement those areas where nutrition is lacking. Since she is mostly outside I figured calcium and D3 may be unnecessary at the moment. I've dusted with calcium w/o D3 maybe twice since she arrived. I have not introduced any vitamins. I've been gutloading all the feeders with cricket crack and my leftover vegetables and am using water crystals for hydration. I think I'll start adding some more calcium and other supplements into her diet once I move her inside for the winter, but for now I think the natural sunshine, gutloaded feeders, and the occasional wild bug should keep her healthy. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
Water: Everyone says that Parson's are drinking machines. But I have not encountered that yet. I'm speculating its because the humidity is so high where I live. It generally fluctuates between 50% and 90%. In any case, I've got a misting system hooked up to a garden hose that goes on twice a day, unless there is rain in the forecast (we get big downpours multiple times a week here). The mister runs in the morning about 5 minutes and then again in the afternoon for about 45 minutes. At most, she seems to drink for 2-3 minutes. After that she just sits in the mist looking pissed off. Again, I figure its better to give her more opportunities to drink than fewer, but it is strange that she doesn't seem to be drinking very much given everything that I've read about Parson's and their love of water.
Handling: Rarely. Basically only when friends come over. She doesn't seem to appreciate it.
Concerns so far: Not too many. There were two small things: 1. she seemed to have developed some kind of an abrasion on her knee (I noticed it was a little bloody one day) and 2. she was gaping and flailing around like a maniac for a whole day last week. The abrasion seems to be getting better. I don't plan to visit the vet unless things start to look worse/infected. But I have no idea what the gaping and flailing around was all about. I was worried it was a respiratory infection and then considered that she might have been letting out some pre-shedding tension. But she didn't shed...so...I have no idea what that was all about. I haven't witnessed the behavior since.
What do you Parson's or experienced keepers think of how I'm doing? Any room for improvement?
