Beginner Chameleon Owner - Tips/Hints?

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antagonist

New Member
Hey guys this is my first post.. and im seriously considering purchasing a panther chameleon as a baby from this website:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/chameleons/-/baby-blue-bar-ambilobe-panther-chameleons/

and i want to know what is the best cage size for him, how often i should feed him, what to use for supplements/ how often do i use them. what to use to gutload crickets, where should i keep the crickets. ive been doing lots of research and the only thing im scared of is the feeding because i dont want to give him too much or too little. Also im not so sure about the heat/uvb light temperatures and times. How long should the light be on/off, where should they be placed, or would it really matter? any overall tips you guys could provide for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!:)
 
the best tip you can get really is do your research. there are probably 1000 threads with these questions answered. check the "sticky" threads at the top of each forum section for general information.

HERE is one of those threads.
 
antagonist said:
Hey guys this is my first post.. and im seriously considering purchasing a panther chameleon as a baby from this website:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/chameleons/-/baby-blue-bar-ambilobe-panther-chameleons/

and i want to know what is the best cage size for him, how often i should feed him, what to use for supplements/ how often do i use them. what to use to gutload crickets, where should i keep the crickets. ive been doing lots of research and the only thing im scared of is the feeding because i dont want to give him too much or too little. Also im not so sure about the heat/uvb light temperatures and times. How long should the light be on/off, where should they be placed, or would it really matter? any overall tips you guys could provide for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!:)
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Hello and welcome!
Lets begin, shall we?
LLL is great for babies.
Cages- babies require smaller cages, however, adults require 24inx24inx48in cages. SO you have a few options- buy a baby cage, then buy an adult cage later. buy the adult cage and section it off to make it easier for him, or buy a baby cage then later build the adult cage yourself.
Supplements- calcium without d3 goes on every feeding. calcium with d3 goes on two feedings a month. a multivitamin goes on two feedings a month.
For gutloading crickets- kale, mustard greens, bee pollen, dandilion leaves, carrots, oranges, potatoes, apples.
I keep my crickets in a 10 gallon fish tank with a screen lid, you must use plenty of egg cartons for them to stand on, so that they dont squish each other. I buy in bulk, 1000 crickets, and for ababy, you should too.
Babies should eat as many crickets as they can until they are a bout 6 momths old. Normally 10-20 small (pinhead) crickets a day.
Heat/uvb- 12 hours on, 12 hours off. for uvb, get a reptiglo or reptisun 5.0 bulb. for basking bulb, you can get a regular house bulb 50-60 watt for that. temps should be, at the top of th ecage, under 85, and at th ebottom around 75ish. they need a 10-15 degree temp drop at night,.
Lights should be placed over the top of the cage. if you have a basking spot that goes to the top of your cage, then your lights should be about 5-8 inches from the top of the cage. this prevents overheating, and your cham from getting burned. This wil be something you will have to play with,t he distance, until you figure out where thye should be for your temps.
 
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also i'd like to know in advance when he is an adult (1 year im guessing), the feeding changes, is that correct? how much would he have to eat/ be supplemented then?
 
also i'd like to know in advance when he is an adult (1 year im guessing), the feeding changes, is that correct? how much would he have to eat/ be supplemented then?


(sorry for the repost just not sure if you get a notification or not i am very new to forums hah)
 
Great advice by the above posters, camimom gave you a good basic crash corse and as heartben said, research, research, research! there's no such thing as being to prepared.

To that I would add, especially as this is your first chameleon.
I suggest getting your cage, lights, plants etc. well in advance of getting the animal, set it up and run it as if you had a chameleon in it.
This way you can get your basking lights properly adjusted (so you achieve the desired temps), figure out how to keep your humidity at the appropriate range etc.
you'll still have to adjust things from time to time but at lest this way he/she comes into a fairly stable environment which will be much less stressful on both of you.
 
antagonist said:
Hey guys this is my first post.. and im seriously considering purchasing a panther chameleon as a baby from this website:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/chameleons/-/baby-blue-bar-ambilobe-panther-chameleons/

and i want to know what is the best cage size for him, how often i should feed him, what to use for supplements/ how often do i use them. what to use to gutload crickets, where should i keep the crickets. ive been doing lots of research and the only thing im scared of is the feeding because i dont want to give him too much or too little. Also im not so sure about the heat/uvb light temperatures and times. How long should the light be on/off, where should they be placed, or would it really matter? any overall tips you guys could provide for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!:)
Click to expand...

LLL Reptile sells cage packages with panthers. Ask them about that and this will help you to get some of what you need. They are great. Ask for Jessica she is friendly.
 
antagonist said:
also i'd like to know in advance when he is an adult (1 year im guessing), the feeding changes, is that correct? how much would he have to eat/ be supplemented then?


(sorry for the repost just not sure if you get a notification or not i am very new to forums hah)
Click to expand...

Up until they are about 6 months old, they should eat as many feeders as they can.
From personal experience, my cham stopped eating like a growing piggy and started onyl wanting to eat every other day. Its an individual cham thing. YOu can feed him everyday, but as he grows,teh size of the feedrs grow, adn the numbers reduce.
As a baby, my cham ate 15 small crickets today.
now at, 7 months old, he eats about 8 large crickets every other day. when he hits this age, evaluate what and how much hes eating, and go from there.
as an adullt, they can eat about 4-8 large crickets, maybe more, maybe less just depends. the supplement schedule stays the same.
Just dont dutst until your crickets look white, they should look just lightly greyer.
 
yes im well aware of getting his new home prepared way before i have him. i have another question though, at what times should i feed him? does it matter? and im guessing for a baby if 15 crickets a day, i should stretch those out between the feedings
 
antagonist said:
yes im well aware of getting his new home prepared way before i have him. i have another question though, at what times should i feed him? does it matter? and im guessing for a baby if 15 crickets a day, i should stretch those out between the feedings
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I fed an hour after lights on, which lights were on at 8, fed at 9, then fed again at 4.
 
another question, i read somewhere that you should not cup feed them until they're at least 6 months old. so in what fashion do you feed them when they're younger than that?
 
antagonist said:
another question, i read somewhere that you should not cup feed them until they're at least 6 months old. so in what fashion do you feed them when they're younger than that?
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Where di you read that? I free ranged crickets when my guy was 2 weeks till about 4 months, only cuz i didnt feel like cup feeding.but then i got tired of not knowing what he ate, so i began to cup feed. as far as i know, there is no age when you cant cup feed.
 
antagonist said:
i read it here: http://www.screameleons.com/site/3525/default.aspx


also what is your opinion on using this to gutload the crickets? :
http://www.chamalotchameleons.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=9

someone in these forums posted it and said it had great results. not sure whether its safe to use. due to research it is said that using gutload feed is not good; rather that you do it yourself using vegetables and whatnot
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Interesting. I use mulberryframs cricket food, and my crickets grow like crazy. I also use oranges, potatoes, apples, carrots, mustard greens to gutload with. If you want ot cup fee,d go for it, if oyu want to free range, do that. up to you
 
antagonist said:
ok thanks a lot youve really helped me calm my senses hah i got 2 full pages of notes on chameleon care :)
Click to expand...

No problem. they can seem scary. btu once you know the basics and start doing it, feeding, watering, dusting, etc. its not too too hard
 
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