Chameleon Advice: New Member

[Chameleon87]

Hey there all of you, I'm a new member on this site, have actually looked at it quite a bit but finally joined to ask for some direct advice. I am just looking for any suggestions or comments and would appreciate them greatly.

Ryan

I'm the owner of my first chameleon, Razzy, a panther I received from Kammerflage Creations. I received him back in mid February @ the age of 2 1/2 months, he is a cross so 50% Ambilobe/ 18.75% Ambajana / 12.5% Nosy Be/ 12.5% Sambava/ 6.25% Maroantsetra. He is about 9 and 1/2 months old now and I have upgraded his cage and lighting.

My Setup:

Housing: 2x2x4 wood with wire mesh and tile floor and full swinging door.

Habitat: 1 large Hibiscus tree, 1 medium size Ficus, 1 vine plant, 4-5 artificial vines, 1 rock for looks.

Lighting: 1 18 inch UVA/UVB on top; recently added 48 inch UVA/UVB Reptisun mounted on the side, 1 50 watt basking light up top, also have 1 75 watt (realized this is prob too hot for him - not in use at the moment) all on a Zilla timer strip with a 12 hr cycle (7 a.m. - 7p.m.).

Watering/Humidity: I have 1 little dripper at the top, mist 2-3 times daily, and a 2.5 gallon humidifier I run on medium with auto setting (keeps cage at 50 - 60% humidity).

Meters: Have 1 ZooMed temp and 1 humidity gauge, have one digital temperature I am going to fix near the basking spot to adjust temp.

Feeding: Have been feeding him around 8-10 crickets daily, most if not all have been gone by the next day dusted with Herbavite, and Calcium and viatmin D supplements.

Questions:

Razzy seems to be looking at, noticing and sometime following crickets but I haven't seen him eating any last 1-2 days. I realize I might be overfeeding just a lil bit and he might be on a hunger strike. All I have fed him to this point is crickets, suggestions on other foods like superworms, waxworms, mealworms, flying insects for him to eat?

Coloration around his eyes and underbelly do not seem as bright orange/red as they were in that past? Most of the time colors appear more when I take him out of the cage.

Only see him drink on few occasions but dripper runs constantly and he has no signs of dehydration (i.e. sunken eyes, tight or dry skin, peeling/shedding etc.)

Dorsal forehead by the crest/ridge seems just slightly softer to the touch than when he was growing up and an adolescent, puzzled.... reason??

Just mounted the Reptisun 40 watt 48 inch on the side of the cage for more UVA/UVB exposure because I felt the light at the top wasn't cutting it and could be part of his changed color; seems to be causing him no problems but curious on comments on this and possible blinding problems occurring in the future from it (just worried no signs at the moment). After some observation today with the light on/off I noticed more activity with the light off; I'm assuming I'll be returning it but any suggestions on an addition UVA/UVB light source??


I know this post was long but I just really wanted some feedback (most concerned with new light addition), thank you for all that respond. I tried to attach pictures because I know they are the easiest to critique

 

[Chameleon87]

Paladin, Razzy's Dad

Kinda come to the conclusion he doesn't like that new light too much... maybe returning it.

Hope he gets as stunning as his dad!

 

[jannb]

Tell us more about your lights? The UVB, is it the Reptisun 5.0? Do you know these need to be changed every 6 months unless you test with a UVB meter.

Tell us more about how you use your supplements. How often with each of your supplements.

 

[jadeaudio]

Yeah I wouldn't put the 48" Reptisun on the side. Doesn't give him the chance to get out of the rays if he wants to. Being on top is fine. A 75 watt basking bulb on top is fine also. If he thinks it is too hot he'll just move. I use the ZooMed 75 watt basking bulb for my Panther Ambiole. Works great. The light on the side is probably the issue. Keep it on top. You should give him more variety in eating though. Superworms are great, flies, etc. Give him a variety to keep him interested.

 

[summoner12]

A single UVB source on top is really all you need for that size cage. A light down the side is no good. Imagine driving west on your way home from work with no sun visor as the sun is low on the horizon... not very comfy is it?

A single basking lamp is all that is needed as well, because of the size of your cage. A 75w lamp seems to be a bit high, for my taste... but then again I don't know you ambient temps or distance from basking spot. Is the lamp a spot or a normal household bulb? I use 50w spot lamps from zoo med. These are more focused than a household lamp and create a spot of heat rather than a warm area.

What is the UVB lamp on top?

BTW, UVA comes from your heat lamp for the most part... but there is some in the reptisun.

 

[Joy Leaf]

I'm interested to see your feeding/supplement schedule. Im hoping you arent giving him all of the supplements every day, as that could have some adverse effects on your little guy.

 

[hallenhe]

Variety is always good in feeders - he's big enough for superworms (the favorite of my panther cham). Waxworms might be appreciated as a treat; are too fatty for a dietary mainstay. Phoenix worms, silkworms and moderately-sized roaches (lobsters or Dubias) might be worth trying.

 

[Lovereps]

Butterworms and they're NOT fatty

To add to hallenhe's list, there are also Butterworms.
Some folks mistakenly believe that they are rather high in fat, but they are not--containing only 5.21% fat
(Silkworms contain twice as much fat: 10.6%)
They are also very high in calcium.
They are kept in your refrigerator and can last a month or two.
Since you've put them in a sort of hibernation, they don't need to be fed while refrigerated.

Here's their nutritional summary:

Moisture 58.54 %
Ash 1.04 %
Protein 16.20 %
Fat 5.21 %
Calcium (ml/100 grs) 42.90

No, I don't sell or breed insects-- but everything I have read on butterworms confirms that they are an exceptionally nutritious food.
Hallenhe is right about variety being the ideal. I've read that chameleons consume as many as 50 different insect types in the wild.
Imagine how healthy a person would be if he/she ate only 1 type of food.
Even for chameleons--variety is the spice of life
Additionally--and to quote Joy Leaf, "I'm interested to see your feeding/supplement schedule. Im hoping you arent giving him all of the supplements every day, as that could have some adverse effects on your little guy."

 

[Chameleon87]

Repsonse

Thanks for your advice everybody, I do tend to impulsively buy things such as the 48 inch light, but i was having second doubts right after I set it up, going to return it and get another reptisun 5.0 for the top.

I need to switch it up and give him some variety, after reading your replies I realize I might be giving him too many supplements, what are the adverse effects you are speaking of exactly??

Any comments on the cage setup and layout?

 

[kinyonga]

Like Joy Leaf, I'm interested in how often you use each supplement.

 

[Chameleon87]

Feeding Schedule

All of you that have asked about my feeding schedule and supplements; i generally have fed Razzy about 10 crickets/day and have put supplements on each time (had calcium, d3, and multivitamin mixed to dust). Unfortunately I have read many of the articles and realized I was way over supplementing him and overfeeding; almost embarassed to say this... I feel like I wasn't taking the best care of him now... However Razzy shows no bad health problems is around 6-7 inches in body and 7 inches on the tail, moves around frequently and climbs all over screening, hibiscus, ficus and fake vines.

Comments would be greatly appreciated, have stopped feeding him so often and not as many supplements; seems brighter colors. Also can only find superworms around here but always low on stock or bad batches, any tips on other feeders and where to order them from?

Thanks

 

[summoner12]

Where are you located? if you are in the US you can get allllll kinds of bugs at Mulberry farms.

 

[Chameleon87]

Location

I'm in Las Cruces, NM kinda smack dab in the middle of the southwest lol. I was actually looking at them after browsing some feeder site recommendations on the forums... sadly they are all sold out of silk worms at the moment suprisingly however they have a big supply of other insects.

I was thinking about ordering 50 butterworms, 1 cup (12-20 hornworms), 100 medium phoenix worms, and 50 superworms. Sounds like a lot though, but they say the butterworms keep well in the fridge for 1-2 months, and phoenix worms can like 2-3 weeks in reg room temp? and 50 superworms is a lot but it's only 6.99 they are like 4 bucks for 30 at petsmart and usually half of them are dead... making me think they aren't in the best health.

I was trying to understand their shipping but from what I understand if you make it by 12 p.m. they ship next day/ do they arrive same day?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[summoner12]

I think that means that if you order by 12 they will ship it the same day you ordered.... not ship it over night shipping... follow?

You aren't that far from them..... it might come in two days I would imagine.

Yes they are out of silks. I was talking to them and they said that the heat wave we've been having is hurting them and that they have a new batch of eggs... so things should be looking up.

Mulberry does have a lot of bugs. I would buy the 50 supers... and then if your cham like them, next time around just order 1000 or.... like 200 or something... they keep pretty well and last a long time. The best way to feed them off is to place them on the screen of the cage, the cham will see the worm climbing and wiggling around and the movement will interest them. My guys know what supers look like well enough to just shoot them from my hand... although the worm climbing is a sure fire trigger to make them eat.

 

[Chameleon87]

Re: Food

Thanks for responding to all the posts Summoner, really appreciate it. I just hope I'm there when they deliver them, I'm a full time student and work 30+ hrs/week. If not I hope they leave them at the fed ex office like they said so I can grab em after work.

How often do you think I should feed hornworms (medium size - as treat i'm guessing) or phoenix worms, heard they could be a staple food along w/ crickets.

Ryan

 

[Surfrat]

All of you that have asked about my feeding schedule and supplements; i generally have fed Razzy about 10 crickets/day and have put supplements on each time (had calcium, d3, and multivitamin mixed to dust). Unfortunately I have read many of the articles and realized I was way over supplementing him and overfeeding; almost embarassed to say this... I feel like I wasn't taking the best care of him now... However Razzy shows no bad health problems is around 6-7 inches in body and 7 inches on the tail, moves around frequently and climbs all over screening, hibiscus, ficus and fake vines.

Comments would be greatly appreciated, have stopped feeding him so often and not as many supplements; seems brighter colors. Also can only find superworms around here but always low on stock or bad batches, any tips on other feeders and where to order them from?

Thanks

I supplement my Panthers with calcium without D3 every feeding (I feed once every two days) and vitamins once a week. I never use Cal with D3, but my chams get natural sunlight year round.

You are def over supplementing/over feeding imo.