What do you think of this set up?

[Ophelia_the_Panther]

Hello everyone! I’m a brand new chameleon mom and looking for your honest feedback on Ophelia’s enclosure. I really appreciate this forum and all that I’ve learned from you all so far! I’ve been reading lots!

We’ve had Ophelia a couple of weeks now and she seems to be adjusting well. I’m not sure of her exact age but we were told that she’s at least 8 months old. To me, she looks like she might have eggs, but I’m not 100% sure. Either way, I’ve got her a lay box with 6 inches of washed play sand and a little bit of organic dirt mixed in. She’s also got a pothos and a few Mexican beach pebbles in there so if she does lay, she’s got something to lay against. The pictures don’t show it, but she can easily get in and out of the box.

Her enclosure is 48 inches wide and 46 inches tall. I love that she has so much room! I have two t5 uvb bulbs and a ceramic heater. Her basking temp is 80-85, and the lower portion of the tank is typically 70-73 degrees. Do you all think she needs another basking bulb on the other side of the enclosure or do you think the one is fine? I don’t want it getting too hot in there for her, but wanted feedback on this please!

Her humidity levels during the day are 30-50% near the basking spot but run higher on the lower end of her enclosure, where the plants are- closer to 50-60%. I mist twice a day, morning and evening. She’s got a little dripper, dropping water on her monstera leaves, one drop every other second, in addition to the little water fall in the upper left corner of the enclosure. I plan to clean the waterfall weekly. It’s small and hangs, just in case she wants to drink from it too. I’ve read mixed reviews on having waterfalls in chameleon enclosures. I believe the general consensus is to not have one, but this one is very small. What are your thoughts about it? I actually watched her drink from standing water in a little hydroponic plant (very small vase that she can’t get into past a drink) and loves the moving water too. I was surprised to see her drinking from standing water, but she did! All water for her and all plants is treated with reptisafe.

She’s on a diet of crickets, dubia roaches and mealworms, daily. She loves horn worms but only gets 1 of those 2x a week. I’ve been feeding 2 Super worms twice a week as well. All bugs are dusted with calcium without d3 and bee pollen. I also have a duster that has calcium with D3, bee pollen and reptivite vitamins. I had planned to dust her bugs with that once a week, but please advise if that’s too much/too little.

I think that covers most of it! I do plan to add a few more climbing opportunities for her, but this is a good start, I think. The last thing I’ll add is that Ophelia seems to be one of the rare chameleons who likes to get out and hang with us. She climbs to the highest spot and stares at us until we come offer a hand for her to climb out on. She loves sitting on my hand in the sunshine. I’ve been hand feeding her during those times too, as a thank you.

TIA for any feedback!

 

[Gloriawood]

Hey there! I love the name and your gorgeous girl! I’m not going to give advice here since I’m not well versed on panthers or girls. I have a male veiled so husbandry is different. But nothing jumps out as wildly off to me. Probably a few tweaks here and there but you are for sure starting off better than lots that come here! What might be helpful to whoever does review this, is pictures of your supplements and the brand and strength of your uvb. Welcome and we are glad to have you!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! You’ve got a great start so far, but I do see some things to improve upon. Btw, I love her name, Ophelia…so pretty, just like she is.
By her coloring, I don’t think she looks gravid. Usually they darken up when they have eggs. Definitely always keep a lay bin for her though as better safe than sorry. The beach pebbles - they need to be big enough so that she can’t accidentally eat them (unless you mean they’re at the bottom of the plant for drainage).
I love that she’s got so much space. Even though males tend to be more active with their routine perimeter patrols, our ladies will use all of the space just as much. I do have a concern for your enclosure though and that is ventilation. Generally with glass or hybrid enclosures, there needs to be some ventilation holes at or near the bottom to create a chimney effect. Air gets drawn in as the warmer air rises and then exits the screen top. Inadequate ventilation can increase risks for respiratory infection. Your sides don’t look like glass, so you could maybe drill some tiny holes about 5-6” up from the bottom (that high would preserve your ability to go bioactive in the future if you wanted). Or, you could add a small fan on top to suck out the air from the enclosure.
With our ladies, we want to keep them a bit cooler at no higher than 80F. This, along with a careful diet will help keep the egg production reduced or can eliminate it completely. Producing and laying eggs takes a lot out of our girls and shortens their lifespans. Your cutie is still growing, so does need her nutrition. Just be mindful of not overfeeding. When she is around 10-12 months, you’ll want to reduce her diet to 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week, plus treats. All of mine, even my boys, are fed Mon, Wed & Fri and then on one of the weekend days they get some small treats, like a super/silk/hornworm, couple of wax worms, etc. My panther girl will be 4 in a few months and has never laid eggs. My veiled girl is 6 and hasn’t laid eggs in 3 years.
I’d say that your humidity is a tad low, but it is higher around the plants, which is great. You already know what I’m going to say about the waterfall…remove it. Even if you clean it daily, they tend to become bacterial breeding grounds and they aren’t needed. You want to provide drinking opportunities thru misting for at least 2 minutes, twice a day - right before lights go on and off. Using a dripper is fine for about 15-20 minutes per day. It is pretty normal if you were to never see her drink. Many chams are secretive when drinking.
For diet, variety is everything and you’re doing good on that, except for the mealworms. Those aren’t recommended staples. In a pinch or once in a blue moon, they’re fine, but just not on a regular basis. Attaching the graphics of feeders and what to feed them. Instead of the mealworms, try some bsfl. They are higher in calcium than phosphorus, so don’t need to be dusted. If you keep them long enough, they turn into tasty and fun flying treats. Silkworms are a great feeder and imho are the best for hand feeding to build/maintain trust. If you let them grow massive and then cocoon, they will become fun fluttering (they don’t fly) little mothy treats…if you can manage to overcome their adorableness.
I’m going to suggest giving the bee pollen to your feeders rather than dusting with it. Anecdotally, it has been linked to edema. If you are going to do a true gutload of your feeders, use bee pollen for that. You want to keep your insect feeders fed a good diet of fresh produce. Avoid the various cubes, jellies and high protein things.
For supplements, dust lightly with a phosphorus-free calcium without D3 at every feeding. For D3 and multivitamins there are two ways to give them. The first is to have 2 seperate products - a calcium without D3 and a multivitamin without D3 (like ReptiVite without D3). Each is to be used at one feeding every other week, but alternate their use. Ex: D3 used on 1st & 14th and multivitamin used on 7th & 28th. I much prefer the second and easier method of using a combination product of either Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3. This is used one feeding every other week (or twice a month if preferred).
Jumping back to your lights, you don’t need another basking light. It’s nice for her to be able to have a cooler side or area if she wants. Now we need to talk about your uvb, I’m afraid. This, you do want to span the width of the enclosure and I see that you have what appear to be ReptiZoo T5’s, if I ‘m not mistaken. I do hope they are T5’s and not T8’s. Anyhow, I was curious about the quality of ReptiZoo since they are becoming more prominent here now. I have one of their tanks and it’s wonderful…even better than ZooMed and Exo Terra. However, their uvb light is lacking. The fixture is fine and I’ve been using one for a couple of years now. The bulb was terrible though and brand new, was weaker than one of my Arcadia bulbs which has been in use for over a year. Unless you have a solarmeter 6.5 to test them, I advise replacing the uvb bulbs with either Arcadia or ReptiSun, which are well proven to be reliable. This is a fantastic vendor for lighting and if needed, will provide you with personalized advice. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia/ I like the Arcadia, so the link is for them and you will be wanting a 6% bulb (ReptiSun would be a 5.0). FYI: uvb bulbs need to be changed yearly.
Now going back to plants…I see some succulents, which look very nice and healthy. However, I don’t think they’ll do so great in with your girl…too wet and not enough of the type of light they need. This will help with better plant choices. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Do keep in mind that many will require special grow lights. The more tropical plants, like hibiscus will need very strong grow lights.
I think I’ve babbled more than enough for now. Do ask whatever questions you may have and I do hope you’ll keep sharing pics and info about your beautiful and sweet Ophelia. Oh, yes…many panthers can be rather friendly. I’ve won the Panther lottery and all of mine have been very sweet and amenable to handling, with some running to climb out and just sit on my hand. I just posted this the other day. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/mango-vs-stella.194539/

 

[Ophelia_the_Panther]

Hey there! I love the name and your gorgeous girl! I’m not going to give advice here since I’m not well versed on panthers or girls. I have a male veiled so husbandry is different. But nothing jumps out as wildly off to me. Probably a few tweaks here and there but you are for sure starting off better than lots that come here! What might be helpful to whoever does review this, is pictures of your supplements and the brand and strength of your uvb. Welcome and we are glad to have you!

Hey there! I love the name and your gorgeous girl! I’m not going to give advice here since I’m not well versed on panthers or girls. I have a male veiled so husbandry is different. But nothing jumps out as wildly off to me. Probably a few tweaks here and there but you are for sure starting off better than lots that come here! What might be helpful to whoever does review this, is pictures of your supplements and the brand and strength of your uvb. Welcome and we are glad to have you!

Thank you!

 

[Ophelia_the_Panther]

Hi and welcome! You’ve got a great start so far, but I do see some things to improve upon. Btw, I love her name, Ophelia…so pretty, just like she is.
By her coloring, I don’t think she looks gravid. Usually they darken up when they have eggs. Definitely always keep a lay bin for her though as better safe than sorry. The beach pebbles - they need to be big enough so that she can’t accidentally eat them (unless you mean they’re at the bottom of the plant for drainage).
I love that she’s got so much space. Even though males tend to be more active with their routine perimeter patrols, our ladies will use all of the space just as much. I do have a concern for your enclosure though and that is ventilation. Generally with glass or hybrid enclosures, there needs to be some ventilation holes at or near the bottom to create a chimney effect. Air gets drawn in as the warmer air rises and then exits the screen top. Inadequate ventilation can increase risks for respiratory infection. Your sides don’t look like glass, so you could maybe drill some tiny holes about 5-6” up from the bottom (that high would preserve your ability to go bioactive in the future if you wanted). Or, you could add a small fan on top to suck out the air from the enclosure.
With our ladies, we want to keep them a bit cooler at no higher than 80F. This, along with a careful diet will help keep the egg production reduced or can eliminate it completely. Producing and laying eggs takes a lot out of our girls and shortens their lifespans. Your cutie is still growing, so does need her nutrition. Just be mindful of not overfeeding. When she is around 10-12 months, you’ll want to reduce her diet to 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week, plus treats. All of mine, even my boys, are fed Mon, Wed & Fri and then on one of the weekend days they get some small treats, like a super/silk/hornworm, couple of wax worms, etc. My panther girl will be 4 in a few months and has never laid eggs. My veiled girl is 6 and hasn’t laid eggs in 3 years.
I’d say that your humidity is a tad low, but it is higher around the plants, which is great. You already know what I’m going to say about the waterfall…remove it. Even if you clean it daily, they tend to become bacterial breeding grounds and they aren’t needed. You want to provide drinking opportunities thru misting for at least 2 minutes, twice a day - right before lights go on and off. Using a dripper is fine for about 15-20 minutes per day. It is pretty normal if you were to never see her drink. Many chams are secretive when drinking.
For diet, variety is everything and you’re doing good on that, except for the mealworms. Those aren’t recommended staples. In a pinch or once in a blue moon, they’re fine, but just not on a regular basis. Attaching the graphics of feeders and what to feed them. Instead of the mealworms, try some bsfl. They are higher in calcium than phosphorus, so don’t need to be dusted. If you keep them long enough, they turn into tasty and fun flying treats. Silkworms are a great feeder and imho are the best for hand feeding to build/maintain trust. If you let them grow massive and then cocoon, they will become fun fluttering (they don’t fly) little mothy treats…if you can manage to overcome their adorableness.
I’m going to suggest giving the bee pollen to your feeders rather than dusting with it. Anecdotally, it has been linked to edema. If you are going to do a true gutload of your feeders, use bee pollen for that. You want to keep your insect feeders fed a good diet of fresh produce. Avoid the various cubes, jellies and high protein things.
For supplements, dust lightly with a phosphorus-free calcium without D3 at every feeding. For D3 and multivitamins there are two ways to give them. The first is to have 2 seperate products - a calcium without D3 and a multivitamin without D3 (like ReptiVite without D3). Each is to be used at one feeding every other week, but alternate their use. Ex: D3 used on 1st & 14th and multivitamin used on 7th & 28th. I much prefer the second and easier method of using a combination product of either Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3. This is used one feeding every other week (or twice a month if preferred).
Jumping back to your lights, you don’t need another basking light. It’s nice for her to be able to have a cooler side or area if she wants. Now we need to talk about your uvb, I’m afraid. This, you do want to span the width of the enclosure and I see that you have what appear to be ReptiZoo T5’s, if I ‘m not mistaken. I do hope they are T5’s and not T8’s. Anyhow, I was curious about the quality of ReptiZoo since they are becoming more prominent here now. I have one of their tanks and it’s wonderful…even better than ZooMed and Exo Terra. However, their uvb light is lacking. The fixture is fine and I’ve been using one for a couple of years now. The bulb was terrible though and brand new, was weaker than one of my Arcadia bulbs which has been in use for over a year. Unless you have a solarmeter 6.5 to test them, I advise replacing the uvb bulbs with either Arcadia or ReptiSun, which are well proven to be reliable. This is a fantastic vendor for lighting and if needed, will provide you with personalized advice. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia/ I like the Arcadia, so the link is for them and you will be wanting a 6% bulb (ReptiSun would be a 5.0). FYI: uvb bulbs need to be changed yearly.
Now going back to plants…I see some succulents, which look very nice and healthy. However, I don’t think they’ll do so great in with your girl…too wet and not enough of the type of light they need. This will help with better plant choices. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Do keep in mind that many will require special grow lights. The more tropical plants, like hibiscus will need very strong grow lights.
I think I’ve babbled more than enough for now. Do ask whatever questions you may have and I do hope you’ll keep sharing pics and info about your beautiful and sweet Ophelia. Oh, yes…many panthers can be rather friendly. I’ve won the Panther lottery and all of mine have been very sweet and amenable to handling, with some running to climb out and just sit on my hand. I just posted this the other day. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/mango-vs-stella.194539/



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This was all so helpful!! Thank you so much! I’ve drilled 7 holes, 6 inches up, on each side of her enclosure.
The Mexican beach pebbles are way too big for her to even think about eating.
The waterfall has been removed.
I appreciate your insight about the heat and uvb. I’ve attached a picture of the kit that I got for her- there are two, so that the entire span of her enclosure has UVB light. The bulbs I have are T5! Let me know if they’re ok otherwise, please.
A few more questions- is standing water ok in her enclosure? I have a rock dish with water in it. Is this going to cause potential bacteria issues? I thought a waterfall would be less problematic, being that it’s moving water rather than standing.
Last question- is it problematic to allow the little dripper to drip all day? It’s keeping the humidity a bit higher as you’d suggested, which is good!
Thank you again for all of the amazing info! It really helps to be a part of this group.