What should I add/remove/change

[Willnevins]

This enclosure is for a 2.5 month old Nosy Be Panther (Stan) purchased from FLchams

18" reptisun 5.0 and 50 watt basking are used

80-90 degrees at the basking spot, 70-75 ambient

Hand misted 4+ times per day, dripper used most of the day. He drinks all the time.

Pinhead crickets free roaming, he doesn't eat in front of me but I know he eats, he's just shy.

Will be moving into a bigger enclosure once he shows more blue

 

[camimom]

you need to lower that basking temp just a bit, for a baby, i would do 85 at the hottest for now.

and i would add mroe vines and leafy stuff to give more coverage. if it takes you 5-10 minutes to find him, it means you did it right.

 

[yankfanthom]

Definitely a live plant. You should be able to fit a small pothos in there.

 

[Solid Snake]

This enclosure is for a 2.5 month old Nosy Be Panther (Stan) purchased from FLchams
Welcome!
Im glad you and Stan are here!
Thats an excellent name BTW
18" reptisun 5.0 and 50 watt basking are used

80-90 degrees at the basking spot, 70-75 ambient

Hand misted 4+ times per day, dripper used most of the day. He drinks all the time.

Pinhead crickets free roaming, he doesn't eat in front of me but I know he eats, he's just shy.

Will be moving into a bigger enclosure once he shows more blue

I would definitley get a live plant in there. Its going to help you out tons with humidity, and it will make Stan feel alot more comfy.
I would add sticks/vines to the enclosure as well. I use free ones from outside.
You will need to move him to a larger enclosure based on his size, not his color!

 

[DekuScrub]

plastic plants make me angry

GWARggagagglll

PUNY HUMAN GET LIVE PLANT

*hulk smash*

 

[sdheli420]

plastic plants make me angry

GWARggagagglll

PUNY HUMAN GET LIVE PLANT

*hulk smash*

LOL..exactly what i was thinking..maybe like a small ficus benjamina.. otherwise just lower that basking temp a tad like camimom said, and its a good lil set up

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You should remove that very steep sided water bowl since he could fall in and drown if he can't get out! If not remove it, at least cover it with screen or something so he can't get in.

 

[ChappyMcChap]

Why so much discrepancy in what large breeders bask their juvies and adults at and what I see here? I see high -mid 90s from the large reputable breeders and at least ten degrees cooler here. What for?

 

[DekuScrub]

oh and id say high to mid 90s for an adult veiled. 90 for an adult panther. but thats just what i do.

the issue with the little guy, in my eyes, is if he climbs the screen cage across the ceiling he could burn his belly.

my first panther i ever got did this and he had the smarts to drop off, problem was his tail got stuck in the screen when he let go. i laughed becuase i though he was dangling intentionally. that wasnt the case i realized he was stuck. he ended up loosing the very tip of his tail as he aged.

and 80-90 is a pretty big range for the basking spot. youve done reading on the temp? or is that a guessitmate? are you saying its somewhere between 80 and 90 or are you saying its that hot at the highest point? id say its okay minus the fact that if he wants to he can get way too close to the bulb.

 

[Solid Snake]

Why so much discrepancy in what large breeders bask their juvies and adults at and what I see here? I see high -mid 90s from the large reputable breeders and at least ten degrees cooler here. What for?

IMO
People who "keep" "pet" chameleons, err more towards the safe side, and go with a cooler, but adequate temp.
If you provide a proper temperature gradient, and have a basking spot at 100F I dont believe a panther chameleon would ever burn itself, and be perfectly healthy. JMO

I give a basking site of 90-95F to mine. Since the sun is bound to be that hot at times. He justs basks lower when he doesnt want the extra heat.

Young chameleons(-3months) are different.
I kept mine at 85-90F when he was that young.
To keep him from drying out mostly.
JMO

 

[Willnevins]

Thanks for all the responses! I went searching for small live plants that were safe, no luck today. The most promising store is closed until Thursday so I'll check there then.

The reason for the wide range of 80-90 is because I live in a small apartment in Connecticut with central heat. If it is turned off the apartment gets pretty cold and my readings go up and down. I keep it on most of the day, but at the moment it is reading 82 with the heat off.

The bulb doesn't touch the screen so hopefully he doesn't get burned as his first form of defense when I open the cage is to climb on the top so that does worry me. I will try to clamp the lamp onto something so its further away.

The only problem is with humidity, its only at a good level shortly after misting and goes away quickly. Should I buy a humidifier if I can't find a safe plant tomorrow?

I need the bowl there to catch water from the dripper, but I do have screen I could use to cover it. It will also prevent the crickets from drowning in there so thank you for the idea.

 

[Willnevins]

Update: Found a Dracaena Marginata (Madagascar Dragon Tree) at lowes, washed it, trimmed it, re-potted it and the humidity has already gone up 10%!

 

[Solid Snake]

Update: Found a Dracaena Marginata (Madagascar Dragon Tree) at lowes, washed it, trimmed it, re-potted it and the humidity has already gone up 10%!

Great!
Once the plant gets grown in, and acclimated, it will help more.

 

[Willnevins]

It's amazing how much it helps. He started shedding for the first time since he arrived an hour after I put the plant in there. I am sure the humidity increase helped it happen.

 

[Solid Snake]

Great!
Shedding time is my favorite.

Real plants make a HUGE difference.
None or plastic is like keeping a beta fish in the cups they come in,
its just not right.
They are super essential IMO.
Get a pothos, you will love it!