Care/feeding questions young panther

[heartben]

Its looking more and more like I am going to end up with a baby/young ambilobe.

Just to start off, I know there are threads like this but I am having a hard time with the search function, seems like I get completely unrelated stuff a lot of the time - so I do try and utilize that when I can but it doesn't always work.

Ok, so almost all the reading I've been doing has been about adults of various kinds so I need some help/pointers.

One of the places I'm looking at is selling 3/4 month olds. For one this age what should Its temps/humidity be like? And more importantly, whats safe to feed it and about how much should I expect it to eat per day? (just an average, i know it can vary)

another of the places is selling a bit younger at 2 months - same basic questions.

also ive already ordered a cage but im afraid itll be too big - is it like.. ok to have something like a 3 or 4 month old in a 2x2x4 or is it way too big. I plan to cup feed, at least to start.. so maybe it wont be an issue?

I will likely go with the slightly older one for a few reasons but anyways, thats pretty much what i need to know and I will feel pretty confident. I've ordered all my supplements, repti sun 5.0 .. .dripper, got a hibiscus and dwarf umbrella plant and likely getting a pothos... got some of the fake vines.. I'm pretty much prepared aside from a small cage which im hoping i wont NEED but that what you guys are for to help me with

thanks a lot everyone, youve all helped a lot and im even more exicted to have one here so i can bug everyone even more! mwahaha!
-Ben

 

[carol5208]

I would say go with the 4 month as they are a little hardier, the older they get. Feeding, I would start out with 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch crickets and feed about 20 a day. Dust with calcium at every feeding and then twice a month dust with multivitamin and calcium with d3. Also you can try some small silkworms which are a great feeder. There are other feeders you can introduce also but that is a good start. Your cage size will be ok and you can cup feed if you are worried about your chameleon finding the food. I started my 4 month old in a 36 X30 X18 and he never had any trouble hunting them down at all. I say the more room the better for them. Just my opinion. As far as temps, basking temp could be around 85 and cage temp around 75 would be great. Humdiity around 50% and that will spike after misiting.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

hey Ben, I have followed your posts and Im happy for you, You seem to have done your homework and are ready before you get you little guy.
where are the places you are looking? sometimes it makes a difference
let us know, everyone is more than willing to help!
anne

 

[carol5208]

BTW, forgot to say welcome Ben and don't be afraid to ask questions! We all started out just as you did!!!

 

[krknieriem]

I started out with a 2x2x4 cage for my 4 month old ambilobe and cup fed and had no problems. At that age I didnt overdue it with too much plants though so he could still find his food. You may want to start out with one plant and then after he gets acclimated on where food is then put other plants in. That worked great for me

 

[heartben]

Man you 2 are all over the place aren't you!? Heh.

Aiming to get an ambilobe. I was thinking the same thing.. get a little bit older one to start me off

I am most likely going with chamalot chameleons, really dig the sire and they seem nice. Not to mention before I even heard of them I watched all their youtube videos so it was really cool to put the puzzle together so to speak. Nothing is written in stone though (absolutely no offence to chamalot or ANY other breeders if i don't choose you, you just never know till you pull the trigger.) - Other places with babies from a sire I like is chameleon company, but they are like 2 months old and that freaks me out a little bit..

At the time of ordering I was going to get the 18x18x36 and thought about it awhile and just was like...whatever im getting the bigger one! Not really thinking super hard about ...what if i get a baby one. I think itll all work out though.

The feeding is the real main part of this whole post, 20 a day is more than I expected but I gotta do what I gotta do! Looks like someone will have to order online...hah.

At about what age does their food intake slow down? I have a feeling most of you still remember how daunting that many insects a day sounds to start with so I'm trying to think long term here.

Also, are small dubias small enough or still too big? at what age do you guys think it would be acceptable to start feeding dubas? I know a lot of people get freaked out by the roach thing but...im roaches all the way if i can avoid so many crickets.. cherp cherp cherp cherp.

while writing this a member with some panthers for sale messaged me so i may be buying from a forum member. who knows for sure. gotta see the goods

this group of people on the forum is really great, you guys are so much more tolerant of noob questions that most other forums ive been on (for other hobbies anyways) and i personally really appreciate it. i have been looking into chameleons for a few weeks now and have been reading posts on here quite awhile before i joined so i will do everything i can to make sure any cham i get is very happy.

thanks a lot
-ben

 

[carol5208]

Ben, i am one of the roach freaks lol!!! Yes, there are many members who feed dubia instead of crickets. They just have to be small enough. You can buy crickets in bulk cheap and if you buy them small enough like 1/4 inch they will feed off before they start chirping which takes about 5 weeks. Basically you start cutting back the amount as the feeders get bigger. So 20 crickets turns into 10 as they double in size. You just figure it out! Most of us cut back on the food to every other day at about a year old as opposed to everyday. That again is just a preference as I am sure there are plenty of members who feed everyday. You just don't want your chameleon to get overweight.

 

[heartben]

ohhh i see, so in theory 20 1/4 = 5 full size... thats why it seems like adults eat less. its not the number of insects, its the amount of food. I should've put that together awhile ago. dur.

I will probably start off with whatever whoever raised it was feeding and change it up from there to be safe but yeah.. dubias are in the future (if it will eat them, i know some of them dont like certain things. fingers crossed!)