Acclimating a new chameleon

summerseeking

Avid Member
My new Nosy Faly girl is home!

Hi all,

I just got home with my Nosy Faly girl. She is 4-5 months old and I did a local pick-up from Chameleon Paradise. The drive home was about an hour and she got pretty stressed out, she did the "my eyes are closed, I give up on life" thing. I immediately put her in her enclosure and left her alone. Bruce told me to give her an hour of lights on and a good misting after. My plan is to leave her undisturbed for the rest of the night until it's time to feed her in the am. I won't handle her at all for at least the rest of the week.

Is there anything else I should do to help her settle in? Her tank is bioactive, heavily planted with real plants and with lots of branches. The basking temps have been tested and tested and tested lol. UVB is 6% and linear. Humidity is good for the most part, night hovers around 70-80% could be higher, I have a fogger on the way. I'm misting at night to help for now. I'll include a pic of our first meeting, I take better pics in the next couple of weeks once she is settled in more.

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I can't think of anything else that you could do to help her settle in. It seems like you did all the research ahead of time and are well prepared. Your chameleon looks gorgeous by the way! The more plants you have in the cage for hiding, the safer she will feel = a smoother acclimation process.

If you haven't already, you can get your husbandry double-checked here on the forums if you fill out the form below:

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
The more info you provide us, the more we can help. Also, adding pictures of the enclosure, as well as the lights on the top of the cage, will be very helpful.
 
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther Nosy Faly, Female, 4-5 months, 1 day lol
  • Handling - I handled her off and on during the 1 hour car ride home, I'm not planing to handle her at all for at least the rest of the week.
  • Feeding - Her first feeding with me will be in the morning, I'm planning to give her black soilder fly larve, small dubias, and a couple of hornworms, loading with carrots and kale
  • Supplements - Rep Cal brand I plan to do calcium no d3 6 days a week, alternate cal with d3 or multivitamin one day a week
  • Watering - I'm starting with misting, is mist at 8:30 pm (5 mins) , 2:30 am (1 min), and 7:20am (3 mins)
  • Fecal Description - She hasn't poop yet, I plan on bringing a sample in for tests
  • History - She was a hold-back from Chameleon Paradise, Bruce decided to sell her, she was raised in a green house, own enclosure, free-range feed, she is very active, lots of roaming around

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Her setup is a 2'x2'x5' half of a 4'x2'x5' enclosure, screen top, side way and door. The wall between the two sides of the enclosure is solid. I'll share a pic.
  • Lighting - Arcadia 6% linear t5, 22 inchs, 75watt basking light, 12h on / 12h off
  • Temperature - Ambient temps range 80F - 65F, basking mainly 85F - 90F, thermogun and digital temp/hygrometer reader that tracks data
  • Humidity - 40 - 60% day, 70 - 85% night, mister to create and maintain humidity levels, adding in a fogger thurdsay when it comes in, digital temp/hygrometer reader that tracks data
  • Plants - Yes, all plants are live, I have the following: pothos, majesty palm, hibiscus, Hosta, Calathea, Nerve plant, peperomia caperata, spider plant, moss, and one other I can't remember right now
  • Placement - The enclosure is in our guest room, it's raised 2' off the ground, the whole setup stands 7' tall, not in front of a window, widows to the left and right
  • Location - Vallejo California
  • Other info, the enclosure is bioactive, I built it myself, it features faux rock walls, everything is on timer, I built the misting system myself
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O yesss, how could I forget :eek:. The beautiful own build enclosure, just give her some time to settle-inn with her new enclosure / environment. With her new enclosure that won´t take long I guess.

For the details, someone experienced with Panthers will jump in quickly. As far as I can see, everything is spot on and thought through. It´s just a matter of time, just enjoy her 💚
 
Thank y'all so much for your feedback and such kind words! I put dubias, soldier fly larve, and a silk worm, dusted with calcium no d3 in her bowl this morning. I couldn't find her anywhere at first, then noticed she was on top of her "tree trunk" staring down at me lol. I was definitely relieved to see her. I started to search around outside of the enclosure nervous she somehow got out lol 😂. She is basking right now, super suspicious of me lol 😂...going to stay away from her for the rest of the day and let her explore.
 
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