Preparing for a Baby Panther Chameleon

vaporwave

vaporwave

Member
Hello all! I am new here, and about to get my first panther chameleon. I've never owned a chameleon before, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything exactly right. He'll be about 1-2 months old when I get him, and I bought the reptibreeze chameleon kit for him. I know the enclosure is too small for his adult size, so I fully plan on upgrading as he grows. I bought a money tree for him today, and some willow branches, but I only have fake vines. The money tree I found was also very small. Should I put it in there anyway, or would he get confused between the edible and inedible plants? I picked up a mist bottle today, and I wanted to know if I should mist two or three times a day. I know not to directly mist him so he doesn't drown, but I worry I won't mist enough or I'll mist too often. I bought calcium with d3 and also without, and a reptile supplement. How often should I dust the insects with each calcium powder for a juvenile, and should I decrease it for an adult? Sorry for all the questions. I've been researching a lot but I still had a few questions...I'm just worried I'm going to do something wrong. Thank you for all your help!

Edit: So after reading some other threads, I've read that the chameleon kit UVB light is really weak. Can I buy a different UVB bulb and put that in the dome?
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forums!!

Couple of things:
1. I would not recommend a cham that is 1-2 months old. See if you can get a 3+ month old chameleon. They have a much higher survival rate.
2. Put the money tree in there and get more live plants. He will need lots of places to hide. Any empty space is unused space.
3. Do no use the reptile carpet in the kit.
4. I'd suggest starting out by misting 2x a day. 1x before lights turn on and 1x after lights turn off for 2-4 minutes. You may need to make adjustments based on your humidity levels. You will need to get a hygrometer to be able to measure that.
5. Chameleons don't like being sprayed. I've never heard of one drowning...
6. What is the reptile supplement you're talking about?
7. Below is a video about supplements.
8. Good job realizing you need a different UVB bulb. You will need a different UVB fixture and bulb. You'll want a 24" T5 HO 5.0 linear UVB. Video below goes into more detail.




 
Gingero said:
Welcome to the forums!!

Couple of things:
1. I would not recommend a cham that is 1-2 months old. See if you can get a 3+ month old chameleon. They have a much higher survival rate.
2. Put the money tree in there and get more live plants. He will need lots of places to hide. Any empty space is unused space.
3. Do no use the reptile carpet in the kit.
4. I'd suggest starting out by misting 2x a day. 1x before lights turn on and 1x after lights turn off for 2-4 minutes. You may need to make adjustments based on your humidity levels. You will need to get a hygrometer to be able to measure that.
5. Chameleons don't like being sprayed. I've never heard of one drowning...
6. What is the reptile supplement you're talking about?
7. Below is a video about supplements.
8. Good job realizing you need a different UVB bulb. You will need a different UVB fixture and bulb. You'll want a 24" T5 HO 5.0 linear UVB. Video below goes into more detail.




Click to expand...

Thank you so, so much for this information! I've already paid for the chameleon, but I'm going to research more on care for young chameleons. I'll definitely pick up the hygrometer, and I'll work on finding a place that carries some live, chameleon safe plants. The reptile supplement is fluker's liquid vitamin. If that won't work, I'll return it and get a different one. I'll watch the videos you provided. Thank you so much!
 
vaporwave said:
Hello all! I am new here, and about to get my first panther chameleon. I've never owned a chameleon before, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything exactly right. He'll be about 1-2 months old when I get him, and I bought the reptibreeze chameleon kit for him. I know the enclosure is too small for his adult size, so I fully plan on upgrading as he grows. I bought a money tree for him today, and some willow branches, but I only have fake vines. The money tree I found was also very small. Should I put it in there anyway, or would he get confused between the edible and inedible plants? I picked up a mist bottle today, and I wanted to know if I should mist two or three times a day. I know not to directly mist him so he doesn't drown, but I worry I won't mist enough or I'll mist too often. I bought calcium with d3 and also without, and a reptile supplement. How often should I dust the insects with each calcium powder for a juvenile, and should I decrease it for an adult? Sorry for all the questions. I've been researching a lot but I still had a few questions...I'm just worried I'm going to do something wrong. Thank you for all your help!

Edit: So after reading some other threads, I've read that the chameleon kit UVB light is really weak. Can I buy a different UVB bulb and put that in the dome?
Click to expand...
See if you can get the breeder to hang on to him until he's at least 3 months; he'll have a much better chance of survival.

I would return the chameleon kit. Not only is the enclosure too small, much of the rest of the kit is useless if not detrimental. IMO, it's just a waste of money. There's no reason a young chameleon can't/shouldn't start out in an adult-sized enclosure. Mine started out @ 3 months in a 48 x 24 x 48 and he loves it.

Please forget the fake vines; there are many live plants that grow as vines and will be more than strong enough to support him at any age—Pothos, Philodendron, Wandering Jew, Madagascar Jasmine and others.

If he's a panther chameleon, he shouldn't be eating any plants.

You'll need to mist often enough to maintain humidity requirements, but during the day it should dry out between mistings. An automatic mister is a good investment; the money you save on not buying the chameleon kit can go toward an automatic mister.

No, you cannot buy an adequate UVB for a dome unless it's mercury vapor, and they have their own caveats. The best UVB for an enclosure is a linear T5 HO—either Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%, running across the width of the enclosure. If you keep the kit, you'll either have to replace the UVB to match the larger enclosure or buy an oversized one now.

While waiting for your chameleon to reach 3 months, PLEASE read the material in the Resources section, the husbandry program at Chameleon Academy, and videos by Neptune the Chameleon on YT. Answers to the rest of your questions can be found in these references.

These will all aid you in succeeding with your new chameleon, and keep him happy & healthy. :)
 
Quick update: the person I was buying from turned out to be horrible at communicating, so I cancelled the order and bought what I believe is an older chameleon (working on verifying this) from FLChams. She should be arriving Tuesday, so I'll make sure to read the material in the resources section, as well as the PDF from Kammerflage that I had printed before she arrives. I'll also do some research into care requirements specifically for females. Thank you all!
 
vaporwave said:
Quick update: the person I was buying from turned out to be horrible at communicating, so I cancelled the order
Click to expand...
When I saw this, I thought you were talking about FLChams.

vaporwave said:
and bought what I believe is an older chameleon (working on verifying this) from FLChams. She should be arriving Tuesday, so I'll make sure to read the material in the resources section, as well as the PDF from Kammerflage that I had printed before she arrives. I'll also do some research into care requirements specifically for females. Thank you all!
Click to expand...
See: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/anyone-have-similar-experience-with-flchams.181754/

I sincerely hope this turns out better for you. 🤞
 
Some other great resources are
Caskabove.com : there is a lot of care guides and helpful and up to date information on this site

And
Chameleonacademy.com : they have a super helpful husbandry program that gives a lot of info!
 
suprdude said:
I don't blame them, I wouldn't like it either. :) However, if my mistking is going off 2/3 times a day, is there any way not to get wet? I don't think it hurts them but it may be mildly annoying.
Click to expand...
If you've got enough foliage, yes.

Sometimes mine likes to hide from the mister under a big leaf or lower down in the bushy trees, and sometimes he likes to just sit it out in the mist.

Sometimes he even sleeps up top where he gets misted 4-5 times throughout the night. 🤷‍♂️
 
Okay, so I couldnt find a panther chameleon breeder I liked. So I decided to start with a veiled, and get a panther later. I'm working on getting the UVB fixture and light, and I also ordered pothos to go with the money tree. Since they will eat the plants I especially didn't want to risk it with artificials. I think this will be good! I'm very excited for my little guy to arrive. Thank you for all your help! I've read over the chameleon resources already, so I think I'm well prepared. And while I wait for him to ship, I'll continue to research :D
 
vaporwave said:
Okay, so I couldnt find a panther chameleon breeder I liked. So I decided to start with a veiled, and get a panther later. I'm working on getting the UVB fixture and light, and I also ordered pothos to go with the money tree. Since they will eat the plants I especially didn't want to risk it with artificials. I think this will be good! I'm very excited for my little guy to arrive. Thank you for all your help! I've read over the chameleon resources already, so I think I'm well prepared. And while I wait for him to ship, I'll continue to research :D
Click to expand...
Yayyy!! Cant wait to see him! 🥰🥰
 
So the cancellation request never went through and I am being sent two chameleons 😬 I'm ordering another enclosure but I only have one linear uvb fixture at the moment...can I use it for both habitats if I fix it so the basking spot is underneath the uvb so when they bask they get uvb? I'll probably get another uvb fixture once I get enough money. Or should I just use the sun for now, for light and heat (window open, of course, for uvb), but monitor the temperature closely? Thank you!
 
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