Beginner

Whitney

Whitney

New Member
Hello everyone,
I am new to this site, and in about 10 days, I will be the proud new owner of a baby male Sambava panther. I have been doing plenty of research, but there's plenty more room to expand my knowledge on the species/breed. Any tips or facts would be greatly appreciated, and I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Thanks
 
Whitney said:
Hello everyone,
I am new to this site, and in about 10 days, I will be the proud new owner of a baby male Sambava panther. I have been doing plenty of research, but there's plenty more room to expand my knowledge on the species/breed. Any tips or facts would be greatly appreciated, and I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Thanks
Click to expand...

Do you have any particular questions? And congrats on the new purchase!
 
welcome to the forums...if you have any general questions, use the search function on here...but if you cant find it there, always feel free to ask :)
 
Here's some information that might help...
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Water can be provided by misting the cage at least once a day and by running a dripper. For hatchlings you need to be careful that the dripper doesn't make drips that are too big or make pools of water that the chameleon might try to drink from and aspirate the water.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
 
WELCOME im a greeny as well this forum is absolutely the best source for correct information as well as a positive community :D
 
Thanks so much everyone! I'm so excited to be a part of the forum, all the info has been very helpful, only a few more days and I will be able to share pics of my little guy! It's great to know I can come to you guys with any questions and concerns.Can't wait to share the experience
 
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