Prepping to get my first chameleon

Yay!! Congrats @RyanBRZ and glad to see he looks alright despite spending FOUR days in a box! Still so sorry about that experience! I'm sure it's not the first mishap, but it's the first I've ever heard of. Have you named him yet?! If you can find hornworms locally they're good hydration boosts (good idea after 4 days in a box!), but I don't recommend buying a lot since they grow big FAST and your guy is still young and small. You'd only want to give him smaller hornworms. In any case definitely monitor the poo and urates (forever lol). It's one of the easiest ways to monitor the health of your little guy. :) Congrats again!!
 
amfire125 said:
Yay!! Congrats @RyanBRZ and glad to see he looks alright despite spending FOUR days in a box! Still so sorry about that experience! I'm sure it's not the first mishap, but it's the first I've ever heard of. Have you named him yet?! If you can find hornworms locally they're good hydration boosts (good idea after 4 days in a box!), but I don't recommend buying a lot since they grow big FAST and your guy is still young and small. You'd only want to give him smaller hornworms. In any case definitely monitor the poo and urates (forever lol). It's one of the easiest ways to monitor the health of your little guy. :) Congrats again!!
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Putting them in a fridge or wine fridge between 50-60 slows/stops their growth. I just keep mine in the fridge once they grow to the right size
 
RyanBRZ said:
Thanks! No, not yet, still trying to think of a name. He has been relatively active all day but for the last 2 or so hours he has been hiding in the umbrella plant. Hope he is feeling ok.
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Hopefully just settling in. Again, he is a stunner!
 
He finally moved, not by much but he moved! I also have a cage update: I bought a camera off of Amazon for $25 which allows 1080 video to stream to an app..its my Cham Cam. Here's a link if anyone is interested: http://a.co/d/9hi5w4G

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Love the Cham Cam trend lately, especially when you have gravid females. You scared me, for a second there I thought you were posting a link to the cameras live feed!
 
I thought it was neat to be able to see what he's doing whenever I wanted, for $25 why not. My brother actually suggested I set it up as a youtube feed, not sure about that idea yet.
 
Love the cham cam idea! I've been considering it lately haha. I think I had my cham for 2 full weeks before naming him. It's natural for him to hide a bit as he settles in and gets used to his new home. My cham still likes his privacy and I've had him 3-4 months lol.
 
I just found it weird how he was walking around the top area and eating from a cup I was holding to hiding in the umbrella plant for hours. Maybe he was just very tired from getting bad sleep for 4 days ?
 
amfire125 said:
Love the cham cam idea! I've been considering it lately haha. I think I had my cham for 2 full weeks before naming him. It's natural for him to hide a bit as he settles in and gets used to his new home. My cham still likes his privacy and I've had him 3-4 months lol.
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I expected him to hide but upon first letting him into his new home he seemed normal -- roaming around, eating from a cup I was holding, laying around the top part of his cage hardly hidden. Then out of nowhere he turned into a recluse. I am glad I am using the Cham Cam, I was able to see that he moved out of the umbrella tree to bask and lay around different areas of the upper part of his cage again. When I got home from work he was back in the umbrella plant. I know it's probably just the stress catching up with him, but I hope he ventures out while I'm not at work so I can feed him. I leave a cup of worm available to him but I haven't seen him eat out the cup yet. Only luck I've had with feeding is hand feeding.
 
RyanBRZ said:
I expected him to hide but upon first letting him into his new home he seemed normal -- roaming around, eating from a cup I was holding, laying around the top part of his cage hardly hidden. Then out of nowhere he turned into a recluse. I am glad I am using the Cham Cam, I was able to see that he moved out of the umbrella tree to bask and lay around different areas of the upper part of his cage again. When I got home from work he was back in the umbrella plant. I know it's probably just the stress catching up with him, but I hope he ventures out while I'm not at work so I can feed him. I leave a cup of worm available to him but I haven't seen him eat out the cup yet. Only luck I've had with feeding is hand feeding.
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Are you planning to let him hunt at all?
 
I am willing to, I just need to seal the bottom so nothing can sneak out. Do i just let crickets loose in the live plants? Thinking of picking up some hornworms this weekend.
 
Yep, toss them in and step back to watch the show! Your going to see a totally different side of your Cham, they go all primal hunter on them. You’ll get a good reaction with any loose feeder but flying prey REALLY get them going, especially dragonflies.
 
You literally just throw them in and then the crickets wander around on the screen and within the plants? I definitely want to try this, just need to seal up a small gap between the floor and bottom slider door on the the reptibreeze so they cannot sneak out. I'm going to petco this weekend to see if they have small hornworms in stock to give them a try.

Tuesday and today afternoon I saw him wandering around while I was at work, I'm really glad I have that camera on him so I can check on him during the day. When I got home from work I fed him 3 dubia roaches and I saw him take a few droplets of water down. He is loving the umbrella plant, he turned it into his bedroom. Around 5-6pm the last 3 nights he finds a spot and passes out. I hope he's eating enough, after his 3rd dubia roach I attempted to give him mealworms but he refused so I left him alone. He's still understandably skiddish so I'm trying to leave him alone as much as I can, I only go in there attempting to feed him.

A few questions regarding lights:
  • Should I adjust the 12 on 12 off to 14 off 10 on to account for shorter days in the winter, or can I keep it 12/12 year round?
  • Will he be affected if I turn the lights on in the morning for an hour or so while I get ready for work? The last 2 days I've been keeping it completely dark which is a pain when I'm trying to pick out a watch to wear, socks, etc.

He cracks me up, he goes horizontal on a branch trying to hide:
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RyanBRZ said:
I have been wanting a chameleon for years and decided to finally go for it. I have owned and bred leopard geckos in the past and also had an iguana as a kid. I've been lurking for a few days now as I have been trying to understand everything I'll need for a chameleon. I'm planning on going with a Panther male, 4 months old or so.

So far I have below on my list of things to buy before buying a chameleon. I plan to have the cage setup and running and then order the chameleon.
  • ZooMed ReptiBreeze cage - 24"x24"x48" - Wanted LLLReptile cage but they not longer sell them. Is DIYCages better?
  • MistKing 22251 Starter Misting System
  • MistKing Rain Nozzle
  • MistKing T fitting to allow 1 mister nozzle + rain nozzle
  • ZooMed digital temp + humidity gauge
  • ZooMed Dripper
  • Repashy Calcium Plus
  • ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 T5 bulb + bulb fixture
  • Ceramic heat bulb + bulb fixture
  • 2x Emours Small Animal Bend-A-Brand jungle vine (on amazon)
Things I am not sure about:
  • Setting up the cage. Should I buy bamboo sticks or something to give framework within the cage to attach vines too etc? Without doing this I don't understand how to attach vines and stuff to the cage. I prefer to not cut into the screen if I can avoid it.
  • Where do I get leaves that will suit a chameleon well for lurking in and drinking off of. Is Michaels craft store a good place to look?
  • Is the drip system needed if I will have the MistKing Rain nozzle set up?
  • Where do I buy a chameleon? Every where I go seems sold out of the nice looking males. Looking for an exotic colored one. I'm in NJ and would like to pick up locally if possible, but I know this may be a long shot.
  • How old of a cham should I get? I'd like to get one on the younger side but read putting a tiny cham in a huge cage can stress them out. I'd also like one that is a little older so I can see the coloration better.
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You’re gonna also need to figure out drainage. you can create your own or you can go with a drainage tray from Dragonstrand, it’s a great company that actually has products that can fit some repti breeze cages
 
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