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[Jon S]

Just preordered my first cham! He'll be a ambilobe panther, sired by War of Screameleons.

Vince said he should be ready in about 4 weeks. I'm going get the complete set up that he offers in a couple of weeks so I have it all set up and ideal for when the little guy gets here.

Any suggestions that anyone may have before he arrives will be greatly appreciated. I've spent a month on here researching and many more before I found this site, but theres always something that comes up that ya don't think of with reptiles!

 

[Malicious]

Jon,

Just get the set up about a week before he arrives and set it all up. Make sure temps are correct and plants are clean and ready to go. A week should let you iron out all the details before he arives.


Get your feeders aswell, feed them well, and clean them out so to say. Feeding you feeders quality food will intern make sure you cham is getting good nutrition.

Make sure you have all the needed suppliments and supplies on hand, and find a good reptile vet in your area, incase problems should arise.


Preperation will make his transition from Screameleons smooth and stressless.


Good Luck Jon,
-Jay

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Congratulations on the purchase of your cham! Here's one suggestion that comes from my own experience....

After you've got your cage and vines set-up - check and recheck the temperatures everywhere from basking spot to bottom of cage. It took me almost a week to get the vines the correct distances to maintain the temps right (from basking to coolest spots).

If you could also post a pic of your setup, folks here on the forum can help (if needed) with suggestions.

The second suggestion is too just keeping using this forum. It's a wealth of information.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Jon S]

Thank you both for the suggestions, I will buy the set up in about two weeks and I'll have it between 2 and 3 weeks before the cham gets here.

Along with the vines that will come with the set up I wanted to get a live plant. Ficus if I can find one small enough, or umbrella plant. Can I generally find these at a home depot?

Also, is it correct to put large stones over the soil of the plant (after it has been showered) to protect him from ingestion?

 

[chambabysitter1]

Thank you both for the suggestions, I will buy the set up in about two weeks and I'll have it between 2 and 3 weeks before the cham gets here.

Along with the vines that will come with the set up I wanted to get a live plant. Ficus if I can find one small enough, or umbrella plant. Can I generally find these at a home depot?

Also, is it correct to put large stones over the soil of the plant (after it has been showered) to protect him from ingestion?

You've done your research.

Umbrella (sheffelera aboricola) is awesome. These are all over home depot/lowes usually and pretty cheap. Try to buy something larger then the cage with nice branches, then just cut it down and bend the branches.

Stones are a great idea. You don't need to take them off for a misting, water will permeate them just fine.

For ideas, check out my little firecracker's enclosure.

Another recent one that I was a fan of was of one of the posters above. Jay does a great job.

Chameo also has a nifty tip on branches that you see being utilized in both cages. I also took some advice from Chamelisa of Chameo and went the bonsai route for potting. I made a somewhat short post about it here. After some more experimenting, I found mixing in a good bit of sand really helps the soil drain better.

 

[Jon S]

Wow those are great looking enclosures. My enclosure will be pretty small for a while. He's only going to be about 3 months.

I do have a question about drainage. This is probably the one thing I've neglected to research. How do they work and how can I create one in my cage?

Great idea with the humidifier!

 

[warpdrive]

drainage? simple.

just drill holes in the bottom of the cage near the center.
then place at least one live plant near the center to "bow" the bottom of the cage's PVC floor to pull all the water from the sides and back out the holes.

place the cage on a rire rack table or stand, or flower pot table.
a bucket underneath the table will be needed to catch all the water drainning out of the bottom of the cage.

sadly I don't have a photo, but you can find them all over the place in the "encosure" section.

Harry

 

[ColorCham427]

The complete set-up is all you need. Just make sure you put him in a room where theres not alot of traffic. No other animals, not a room where people go in often.

There shouldn't be a draft of different temperature always coming in and out near his cage. You know what I mean?

War is SIIICCCKKKK!!! I got to see him in person, he's huge too! His resting colors are insane too.

Best choice to get from Vince and to buy his complete set-up. Vince is always there for you and his words are very clear IMO.

 

[kinyonga]

Here are some sites you might like to look at...
http://adcham.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...als.com/vet/index.php?show=8.Gout.Basics.html
http://chameleonnews.com/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Good to hear that you are doing a lot of research before buying one!
Welcome to the forum too (if it hasn't been said already)!