Beginner questions

[ajh530]

Hello! I have a new panther chameleons and had some general questions, mainly around food done behavior. We got him now 5 days ago. I have not seen him hunt outside of eating one horn worm 3 days ago. He really doesn’t seem o ever leave the top third of his cage. Which I know can be normal, but shouldn’t he be wandering down to the floor to look for the crickets?

The cage is 2x2x36. The top of the cage in the basking stays around 85 degrees and 30% humidity. The lower part of the cage is in the 75 degree range and closer to 45% humidity during the day. I live in Minnesota so opted for a hybrid cage with a screen on top and a screen on one side. With glass on the other sides.

Any ideas on how/when this guy is going to eat? Should I be worried at this point?

Thank you!

 

[Steve A]

Hello! I have a new panther chameleons and had some general questions, mainly around food done behavior. We got him now 5 days ago. I have not seen him hunt outside of eating one horn worm 3 days ago. He really doesn’t seem o ever leave the top third of his cage. Which I know can be normal, but shouldn’t he be wandering down to the floor to look for the crickets?

The cage is 2x2x36. The top of the cage in the basking stays around 85 degrees and 30% humidity. The lower part of the cage is in the 75 degree range and closer to 45% humidity during the day. I live in Minnesota so opted for a hybrid cage with a screen on top and a screen on one side. With glass on the other sides.

Any ideas on how/when this guy is going to eat? Should I be worried at this point?

Thank you!

I'm at work so bare with me, but just reading this real quick and looking at your setup there's a few things I can tell you:

IMO, your chameleon may be a bit stressed because of the move, new environment, and some things that you have set up here. But it mostly looks good aside from a few things that stuck out at first glance:

1) you want to replace that double lamp setup immediately. That likely has the wrong bulbs in it anyway (the blue one for example) which can harm your chameleons eyes, IIRC. for UVB, you want a long linear bulb that extends across the entire enclosure, and provides the correct amount of UVB. This can be either 6% or 12% depending on how many inches your basking area is from the top of the enclosure. I forget what those parameters are and I'm at work, so maybe someone else can help you with that.

2) I would lower the basking temp to 80f. 85f was too hot for my young panther and I noticed immediate behavioral change when I lowered it to 80f.

3) make sure at night (for me I use the 1am to 6am method) the humidity is rising to 80%+. It doesn't always have to 100% be that high but you want it for at least the majority of the time during these hours. I think 30% is a little low during the day, but I don't think that's something to worry about. Mine gets that low too during the day and my chameleon is fine.

4) I would add quite a bit more sticks (and of diff sizes) for him to climb on, and more plants to fill up at least the center of his enclosure. This can give him some privacy so he doesn't feel so exposed.

He definitely needs some time to adjust but he should be eating soon. Even if he's just not eating because of the recent change of scenery, these are very import things to fix. The lights need to really be swapped out ASAP. If you can order on Amazon and get the lamp+bulb like tomorrow, I would do that. If it takes a few days he should be fine. But I wouldn't hesitate to order the correct UVB setup.

I'm at work but just give me a moment and I'll give an amazon link if you want to go that route. If you happen to have a pet store near you that sells that right stuff, that would be even better.

edit: forget Amazon. I didn't like what I saw there lol. So I will share you where I got my lights for my chameleon from. Now this is a new setup that is really cool and for the price, I'd highly recommend it. This lamp allows the light to slowly turn on (mimicing the sun) and off, rather than just blasting your chameleon immediately when it turns on. This is a T5 High Output lamp (which is what you need for UVB, with a 6% UVB bulb.

It IS very important that you go with a brand that is reliable. If you use an off brand product, it may not produce the UVB your chameleon needs. I just stick with Arcadia.

https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures-kits/lumenize-uvb-kit-24-with-bulb/

 

[ajh530]

Thanks for the response! I can have my wife turn the blue light off at lunch. The big singular light is a combo uav/uvb bulb anyway that I think is providing the majority of the heat. I fly home tomorrow and can pick up a longer linear light. The sites on Amazon didn’t have delivery until Friday/sarurday. So if you get a moment feel free to share a link, or I will try to find one on the way home from the airport!

 

[ajh530]

Thanks for the response! I can have my wife turn the blue light off at lunch. The big singular light is a combo uav/uvb bulb anyway that I think is providing the majority of the heat. I fly home tomorrow and can pick up a longer linear light. The sites on Amazon didn’t have delivery until Friday/sarurday. So if you get a moment feel free to share a link, or I will try to find one on the way home from the airport!

Ok just saw your link. Scratchy amazon got it lol

 

[Steve A]

Thanks for the response! I can have my wife turn the blue light off at lunch. The big singular light is a combo uav/uvb bulb anyway that I think is providing the majority of the heat. I fly home tomorrow and can pick up a longer linear light. The sites on Amazon didn’t have delivery until Friday/sarurday. So if you get a moment feel free to share a link, or I will try to find one on the way home from the airport!

No problem. It's not an emergency as in "you need to do this in 1 hour" lol but .... I wouldn't wait. If you wait "weeks" that could be really bad.

I got mine from here: https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures-kits/lumenize-uvb-kit-24-with-bulb/

Here is another link (and this is a site sponsor!) https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/arcadia-lumenize-pro-t5-uvb-24-watt-kit.html

Just make sure you choose 6% / forest specifically!

 

[Steve A]

IDK what heat lamp you're using but It's likely Flukers, which is fine. However, I would highly suggest you add this to your heatlamp so you have some control and can better monitor your chameleons basking area. I put the sensor right where my chameleon typically basks for heat specifically. This locks it in at the temp you set it at (I set mine at 80f) so you know 1) its getting hot enough 2) its not getting too hot.

It will automatically turn off / on when the temp drops or gets higher than what you set it at. Remember to use a rough shop bulb so it actually produces heat.

The bulbs I am currently using are here and these work great. It says 100w but remember.... you will be controlling the heat with the thermostat temp controller (it's also accurate I have it checked vs other sensors 100% of the time). You can get a lower wattage if you want, but I wouldn't go under 75w.

Sometimes in the winter even at 75w (I am in new jersey) it didn't quite even get to 80f on really cold days.

 

[Steve A]

One thing I would HIGHLY suggest you use are these (or similar) outlet timers. These allow you to have everything plugged in (your lights, misting system, fogger if you use one, to be automatically set to turn on and off when you want. This way you're not manually doing everything every day. They have been extremely reliable to me.

If you get them, just make sure you set them to "remember last state". So, if your power goes out, they simply pick up where they left off and will time sync. Otherwise, they'll just turn everything "on" when your power comes back on.

 

[ajh530]

One thing I would HIGHLY suggest you use are these (or similar) outlet timers. These allow you to have everything plugged in (your lights, misting system, fogger if you use one, to be automatically set to turn on and off when you want. This way you're not manually doing everything every day. They have been extremely reliable to me.

If you get them, just make sure you set them to "remember last state". So, if your power goes out, they simply pick up where they left off and will time sync. Otherwise, they'll just turn everything "on" when your power comes back on.

Thank you sir! So you use the t5 plus a basking lamp for the lights, and heat source?

Have you had any feeder stations or has your chameleon stuck with just hunting on his own:

Fortunately he did eat the big horn worm on Saturday, so it’s possible that filled him up for a bit. But I would think he will be hungry soon if not already.

 

[Steve A]

Thank you sir! So you use the t5 plus a basking lamp for the lights, and heat source?

Have you had any feeder stations or has your chameleon stuck with just hunting on his own:

Fortunately he did eat the big horn worm on Saturday, so it’s possible that filled him up for a bit. But I would think he will be hungry soon if not already.

No problem! I do not use any heat source besides the heating lamp, and the forced air in my house, if it is winter. I personally use the following:

-heat lamp
-T5 high output light fixture + UVB bulb
-T5 high output light fixture + 6400k plant bulb. I bought mine here

You do not HAVE to have a plant light but they're highly recommended. They help the plants and I believe the bright light helps your chameleon since it provides more light in general.

I have a window feeder for crickets. Other than that, I just use a large bird cup for the rest of the bugs. Your chameleon looks really young. I believe he should still be eating many bugs per day (1-2 dozen IIRC). But I would just focus on getting his husbandry a little bit more right and he should start eating more soon, I think.

Do you have any feeders other than hornworms? I think you're doing good by giving him hornworms right now because he could probably use the extra hydration, but they are a "snack". If you have any crickets, silkworms, BSFL, etc. you should try some of those. I do not let my chameleon "hunt" much. I contain all of his bugs, with exception to hatched Black Soldier Flies.

I feed him the BSFL but I also let some hatch and when they do turn into flies, I open the container inside the enclosure and let them fly around. He LOVES hunting them! They seem to really stimulate him. But that's the ONLY bug I do that with.

 

[ajh530]

Status update, I’ve got the light in, and added a plant. Reorganized the branches and vines. I’d still like to add more cover, but I can’t figure out how to get a pothos up and around yet. To cover the vines. But we are in the right direction I think. He has been eating some roaches and I think crickets, but I can’t verify the crickets for sure lol

 

[ChameleonGuy686]

I believe your little guy might actually be a little gal. But it would be easier to tell for certain with some better pictures of the base of the tail