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ayiaskepi

ayiaskepi

New Member
Hello.

I am new to this forum. I used to keep chameleons and stopped about ten years ago. I am about to purchase another panther chameleon (the first since then). I want some advice (And actual recommendations) regarding light, heat, watering, humidity, etc. I have a cage on the way (48"x24"x24"). I am also curious about how low the temp can actually go at night. Can I keep the cham. outside on screened in porch in day and/or night (with or without extra heat/light). I live in South Carolina.
In general, I have been so out of the loop that I am afraid to go on past experience at this point. I need to begin getting my accessories and I would like some solid recommendations (not general info like out of a husbandry book).

I really appreciate the help and and very grateful for a forum such as this.
 
There are a few sites out there, mine being one
www.keepingchameleons.com i have a temperature page.

As far as i know husbandry techniques have advanced since the last time you kept chameleons, and life expectancy is much longer now compared to data published in books at that time.
Welcome Back!!
 
Your site look very informative. Thank you.

I am also glad to hear about the longer life expectancy. A decade ago it was rather low.
 
I wouldn't keep a panther chameleon outside all the time. I am from Greenville, SC now living in Charlotte, NC. The basics for a panther are that they need a UVB (most recommend a tube 5.0 but with larger cages you can get away with a 10.0), a heat light to make their basking area around 90ish (normally a 60 or 75 watt bulb depending on cage size), give panthers a good amount of foliage to keep the humidity high (average room humidity is about 40% and after misting it can get in the upper 90s), mist them 3 times a day for about 5 to 10 minutes at a time, and keep the ambient room temps in the mid 70's with nighttime temps in the low 70s. Most of the time you will buy a panther that is about 3 months old and they will eat about 10 feeders a day. You can dust once or twice with Calcium with D3 and with Calcium w/o D3 twice a week. Also you can dust with multivitamin once a month. As they get older you can cut down on the supps. Hope this helped...oh and the number one thing to know about chameleons is that their eyes tell their story, if they keep them closed a lot and sleep during the day they are going down hill, and chams go down hill quick so get to a vet asap if they are sleeping during the day.

-chris
 
Chris,

Thanks for the info. Now: Can I leave it outside in an enclosed screened porch with the heat/light still on? The temps are pretty high even at night here..can I then shut them off at night. If not, I will keep it in doors. Also, what about specialty bulbs instead of normal light bulbs for heat? What is the difference? What do you think is a "good amount" of foliage? Which plants do well here? How large of a cage can utilize a 10.0 UVB? Misting systems vs. good ole' spray bottles for humidity? What is a recommended source for feeders?

THANKS!
 
ayiaskepi said:
Chris,

Thanks for the info. Now: Can I leave it outside in an enclosed screened porch with the heat/light still on? The temps are pretty high even at night here..can I then shut them off at night. If not, I will keep it in doors. Also, what about specialty bulbs instead of normal light bulbs for heat? What is the difference? What do you think is a "good amount" of foliage? Which plants do well here? How large of a cage can utilize a 10.0 UVB? Misting systems vs. good ole' spray bottles for humidity? What is a recommended source for feeders?

THANKS!
Click to expand...

I keep mine outside in the storage room. The temps during the day are about 86 and at night about 65. My chams do just fine. You can use a normal light bulb or one of those reflected incandescent lights as well. Specialty heat lamps are a rip off in my opinion. Look at the gallery or search for enclosures and you'll see pics of peoples enclosures to determine a good amount of foliage.
Most common plants are Potho's, Ficus Benjamina, hibiscus and scheflerra. Spray bottles are perfect if you have 1 or 2 chameleons. More than that you'd want an automated misting system or a Pump mister found in garden sections at walmart, lowes, home depot..
Most common feeders here are Crickets, Silkworms and dubias.

Cricks, Silks, dubias, and Superworms are great staple feeders. for your chameleon. All other food would be an occasional treat.
 
The main problems that I have seen from chameleons that are left outside are respiratory infections, basically the humidity can very too much too quick and I think they get kind of a cold from that. Also, as far as plants, pathos plants and schefflera are great. As far as lights, you don't need specialty bulbs just a heat source. With a UVB 10.0 you would need a four foot tall cage. Also, I have misting system...it just makes it easier for misting for 5 minutes at the time. Feeders, I use crickets, dubia, silkies and I mix in supers worms and hornworms.

chris
 
Chris,

I have a 48" enclosure coming next week. If I get a 10.0 UVB how far from the cham's higherst basking spot should it be; especially if the little bugger is only 4 mos. old (assuming)? Can't the UVB damage the little guys if they are too close? Also, am I o.k. with this tall of an enclosure with a small chameleon? It's too late now if I am not. Regarding misting systems: I really do not know a lot about them. I have always just used spray bottles. I am interested into at least looking into a mysting system. What is the most economical and convenient. I have looked at some, but I get kind of confused. BTW, when I asked about feeders, I meant more of "from who" rather than what. Any suggestions? Also, and I hope I am not asking something I should not be; I pretty much know where I am going to get my cham from, but do you have any suggestions regarding breeders? I apologize if this is something not permitted on this thread.

I thank everyone sincerely for their help.... btw, what time zone is this set on?
 
ayiaskepi said:
Chris,

I have a 48" enclosure coming next week. If I get a 10.0 UVB how far from the cham's higherst basking spot should it be; especially if the little bugger is only 4 mos. old (assuming)? Can't the UVB damage the little guys if they are too close? Also, am I o.k. with this tall of an enclosure with a small chameleon? It's too late now if I am not. Regarding misting systems: I really do not know a lot about them. I have always just used spray bottles. I am interested into at least looking into a mysting system. What is the most economical and convenient. I have looked at some, but I get kind of confused. BTW, when I asked about feeders, I meant more of "from who" rather than what. Any suggestions? Also, and I hope I am not asking something I should not be; I pretty much know where I am going to get my cham from, but do you have any suggestions regarding breeders? I apologize if this is something not permitted on this thread.

I thank everyone sincerely for their help.... btw, what time zone is this set on?
Click to expand...


You will not need the 10.0 for a 48" cage made of screen. If you had a plastic mesh cage, a 10.0 would be.... eeehhhh.. ok. If you are getting a screen cage 5.0 is plenty. You should read up on lighting at this website. There is a lot of info if you read through it. I personally would not keep a cham outside. I live in SoCal and in the late spring/early fall I might leave a cham outside over night if I couldn't find the time to bring his cage inside. I would not keep my chams outside for long periods of time. If you had a veiled, maybe, they are tough buggers. You can always set up a cage that is in sunlight during morning/late morning sunshine. After some sun bathing I would bring them in so they don't cook. This way they get natural sunlight. I get off work at 2:30pm and I let my chams sit in the sun from 3pm until the sun goes down. They have become so accustom to this that they tolerate being handled because they know the reward.

Glad you found the forum, Good luck!
 
ayiaskepi said:
BTW, when I asked about feeders, I meant more of "from who" rather than what. Any suggestions? Also, and I hope I am not asking something I should not be; I pretty much know where I am going to get my cham from, but do you have any suggestions regarding breeders? I apologize if this is something not permitted on this thread.
Click to expand...

Herpmist. Good place to buy a automated mister.

LLL Reptile. They are located in SoCal, but they have thier feeder breeder on the east coast. Should work out well for you. Also great for buying suplies, good prices!

Mulberry Farms. Great worms! I was just there today. Great prices if you drive over. I got 1000 crickets and 50 silk worms for 20 bucks! (yeah i know you can't drive there...)

Blapticadubia.com. I love these guys. They are great. I have ordered from them once, but I keep in touch with the owner. He will make custom veggie crystals if you ask. (the normal veggie crystals he sells have peppers and broccoli, bad for chams.)

chameleonnews.com. A great place to keep up on the newest and latest stuff.

Lots of people have lots of links. These are just a few that I use.
 
Actually it isn't that bad to have a 10.0 with a large cage because the main thing is that the amount of UVB gets weaker the deeper it travels. I have used anywhere from 5.0's to 10.0s, the 5.0s are great for montane species and young chameleons whereas I personally use the 10.0s when I have adults in a 2x2x4 with no problems at all. Also, if you are in SC get crickets from Armstrong or Ghanns

Both are in georgia and I normally receive my crickets overnight since they are so close.

-chris
 
chriscarter said:
Actually it isn't that bad to have a 10.0 with a large cage because the main thing is that the amount of UVB gets weaker the deeper it travels. I have used anywhere from 5.0's to 10.0s, the 5.0s are great for montane species and young chameleons whereas I personally use the 10.0s when I have adults in a 2x2x4 with no problems at all. Also, if you are in SC get crickets from Armstrong or Ghanns

Both are in georgia and I normally receive my crickets overnight since they are so close.

-chris
Click to expand...

I still stick to my original statement that a 10.0 is a bit much on a screen enclosure. I have had bad experiences with over doing the UVB with a panther I lost. I have also had my light tested. The test was also done after it had been used for 6 months. The reading was very strong and if it had been over my screen cages vs. my plastic mesh cage, I would have never used it.

There is a danger in over doing the UV for you cham. I thought 'more is better' in the early days of my keeping experience and boy was I wrong. I ended up cooking my 4 month old panther. He died after a month. I was using a 10.0 compact, not a tube. But the same concerns are still there. If you use the 10.0 be sure to give plenty of space between it and the cham. Remember younger chams like to climb on the top of the cage, getting within only a couple of inches of the light. They should not get closer than 6 inches to a 10.0 due to the amount of output they have. If you want to get hardcore you can always buy a UVB meter to make sure you have the correct/safe amount for you cham.
 
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