Chameleon Forums is awesome

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Hello beautiful people ! I have been using this site for the last 6 months so figured it was a good idea to register lol. Thank you all for the acceptance and all you do for the hobby . So back at the very end of April I received my new baby boy from Kammerflage Kreations. It has so far been a really cool journey and I cant wait to see where it leads. I just wanted to introduce myself to the community and maybe even share some pics and information about him. Wanna triple check I'm doing everything right also

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!
Looking forward to seeing your chameleon!

If you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread near the top of the health forum, we can check out your husbandry if you like.

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Welcome to the forum!
Looking forward to seeing your chameleon!

If you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread near the top of the health forum, we can check out your husbandry if you like.

I will definitely post some photos when I get home from this tire change ! Not to sound dumb but how do I get to the health forum to fill out those questions? I'm bad at navigating this site haha

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

Thank you ! Going to fill that out now

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male Panther chameleon from Kammerflage Kreations. He is almost 6 months & I've had him since April 29 (about 3 months)
• Handling - I've gotten blessed with a pretty good tempered Cham . I try to only handle him 2-3 times a week and normally do it on his terms and with a silk worm . When I do handle I'll take him outside for 15 mins or so and chill with him.
• Feeding - Since I've had him he has been a really hardy eater. I do 10-15 gutloaded crickets as a staple and will switch it up occasionally with some 1/2inch discord roaches and silk worms. Also will get BSF larvae or regular fly larva occasionally. He eats every day and I normal feed him around 1 p.m. When he was a little younger I'd feed at 11ish a.m. and then around 1-2 p.m. I gutload the crickets normally with collard or mustard greens but will occasionally throw small piece of fruit .
• Supplements - So for this I dust his crickets every feeding with Arcadia EarthPro Calcium . And then twice a month I use Repashy Calcium Plus LoD
• Watering - So for this I've never really actually seen him drink but I've seen him where I turn the dripper on many times. A lot of times he'll just stare at the water . I have a mist king that I will be hooking up this weekend in his new cage but for now I normally hand mist 3 times a day . Sometimes if I skip 1 day on his Calcium I'll soak the cricket I'm holding (with hand or reptile tongs) with water and I think he kind of enjoys it lol .
• Fecal Description - So I actually try to pay alot of attention to his poops to make sure he's not dehydrated. His poops are normally solid little brown ovals and normally the pee part is a creamy white. Occasionally will have very slight orange in it but it always appears hydrated and not small and shrunken.
• History - He came from Kammerflage Kreations

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - So he was 3 months old when I received him and have had him in a Screen 18x18x36. Last month I purchased a Dragonstrand 24x24x48. I just finished building the cage few days ago and now just building everything inside of it this week .
• Lighting - For lights I'm using an Arcadia T5 Pro Kit connected to a Jungle Dawn LED light . I run these diagnol and use a deep dome fixture with a 75 watt incandescent bulb in the top corner. 2 days ago I bought a 100watt bulb for his new cage. Daily schedule is from 8a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Temperature - Room temp is 76°. His bottom of his cage can get as low as 74-73° . Top doesn't get higher then around 78. Basking branch is around 83°. At night it doesn't get under 70°. (Florida life) lol . I also have a temp gun and 2 little humidity/ temp gauges in the cage .
• Humidity - So living in Florida the room always maintains a 50% humidity range . After I mist it'll go up to about 70% . High 60s. I realize with this mesh cage and living down here with the a/c on 24/7 it's hard to keep high humidity. So I'm really excited to set this hybrid Dragonstrand up and see those numbers maintain more . I haven't bought a fogger yet.
• Plants - All live plants. A schefflera tree as the center piece and a golden pothos & croton. In the new cage I have a braided Ficus Tree, a ZZ plant, a big nice Golden Pothos, and a cane like Begonia.
• Placement - In my backroom with no traffic . There is an air vent facing it but across the room . The height of the cage is 6.5 feet off the ground.
• Location - Florida

Current Problem - Don't have any crazy issues. Everything has been going pretty well and I'm exited to get him into this new nicer cage! One thing I have noticed is the last week to week n half he's been doing a lot of moving (screen climbing include). He did this when I first got him but then stopped completely. I've noticed lately he's been on the GO and just wanna make sure he's OK . He eats and does everything normal still. I did notice within the last 2 weeks or so I noticed something in his poop and looked it up . It was a "sperm plug" lol so does anyone have much info on that ? It was the 2nd time I've seen that from him and don't know if maybe that's whats contributing to the cage patrol etc ? . I should also note he just went into shed today with his head and spine starting first . Thank you all in advance! (First 4 pictures are this week)

 

[Lindasjackson]

Hi and welcome! I can’t go over your info because I don’t know a lot about Panthers but I’m learning. I have a Jackson’s. The one thing that stands out to me though is the 100 watt basking lamp. That will be way too hot! You’ll want to turn it on and put your hand about 9 inches under it and you’ll see. Most people on this forum use a 60 watt bulb as it works the best. Chams don’t seem to be aware of getting burned so they will bask under it even though it’s too hot and then you’ll have a burned Cham.

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Hi and welcome! I can’t go over your info because I don’t know a lot about Panthers but I’m learning. I have a Jackson’s. The one thing that stands out to me though is the 100 watt basking lamp. That will be way too hot! You’ll want to turn it on and put your hand about 9 inches under it and you’ll see. Most people on this forum use a 60 watt bulb as it works the best. Chams don’t seem to be aware of getting burned so they will bask under it even though it’s too hot and then you’ll have a burned Cham.

Yeah so I bought the 100 watt for his new cage but I've been using a 75 watt for his basking spot that last few months and it seemed fine. It's in a deep dome fixture which helps keep it a few inches off the top of the screen . But if that's a little too much I could always go down to 60

 

[ERKleRose]

Welcome on here! You have such a beautiful boy! I do have some feedback/questions:

• Having more gutload ingredients will be better (I’ve attached helpful images and links below, including a gutload chart!)
• I’d feed him in the first half of the day (like 10-11am) so he has time to digest his food better.
• How long do you mist for each time?
• What is the strength of your Arcadia T5 HO UVB bulb, and what is the distance from it to your basking branch?
• How far away is the heat bulb from the basking branch (if it’s at least 8”+, you don’t need to change wattages)?
• Do you use the gun or the digital thermometer to measure basking temps, and does the digital one have a probe?
• 50-65% humidity is good for during the day, so I’d be careful about how much it raises once he gets moved into the hybrid cage
• Is your cage bioactive? If so, the moss needs to be covered (or taken out and the substrate covered) with leaf litter.

Here’s the links and images:

• https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/
• https://www.madcham.de/en/

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Welcome on here! You have such a beautiful boy! I do have some feedback/questions:

• Having more gutload ingredients will be better (I’ve attached helpful images and links below, including a gutload chart!)
• I’d feed him in the first half of the day (like 10-11am) so he has time to digest his food better.
• How long do you mist for each time?
• What is the strength of your Arcadia T5 HO UVB bulb, and what is the distance from it to your basking branch?
• How far away is the heat bulb from the basking branch (if it’s at least 8”+, you don’t need to change wattages)?
• Do you use the gun or the digital thermometer to measure basking temps, and does the digital one have a probe?
• 50-65% humidity is good for during the day, so I’d be careful about how much it raises once he gets moved into the hybrid cage
• Is your cage bioactive? If so, the moss needs to be covered (or taken out and the substrate covered) with leaf litter.

Here’s the links and images:

• https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/
• https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html
• https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
• http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/
• https://www.madcham.de/en/

Thank you so much ! I personally am amazed at how much he's changed since a baby with his colors !


So I will definitely be checking out that gutloading chart to see some other options! I also will start feeding him a little earlier (which he doesn't mind LOL) to make sure he's got plenty of time to digest . When I mist I normally mist for at least a minute to 2 and then let his dripper drip for at least 30 mins to an hour during the day. Once I hook this mist king up this week I'll stop with the hand misting . My Arcadia bulb is a 6% 22 watt 22" bulb. So on Arcadias box it says to have it at a minimum of 10 inches away from your animal. So for his basking branch it's about 11inches . And then from his uvb basking branch (no heat) that's about 14inches away . I was scared to put it directly on the top of my cage with only a 36inch tall one . I should note I broke down and bought a solarmeter that will be here by Friday. Expensive buy but I think it will be WAY worth it when getting up his new cage! The heat bulb is 8-9 inches away exactly from the basking branch. I use a temp gun (he HATES lol) to measure basking temp and then 2 small temp/humidity gauges in the cage (1 topish and 1 bottom) to keep track of temp and humidity. Also have a temp with a probe thing I got from a reptile place in the room (not in cage) . An yess I will deff be watching the humidity in the new cage . Florida is hot and sticky! Lol


So the 'bioactive' thing I kinda got sucked into in the beginning . Spent quite a bit of money through the 'Bio Dude' & this new cage I will not be continuing that . I'm gonna use the Bill Strand cage type setup with the hanging plants in buckets etc . Between him and Neptune The Chameleon on YouTube I've learned ALOT about cage builds etc !

 

[ERKleRose]

Place the probe from your digital thermometer with probe where the top of your chameleon's back is when he's on his basking branch to get the most accurate basking temps. It doesn't matter now that you got the Solarmeter 6.5 (which is AMAZING!), but if people don't have one, the recommended distance for your UVB bulb (T5 HO Arcadia 6%) is 8-9" from bulb to branch due to the screen filtering out some of the UVB.

 

[cafoster23]

Welcome

 

[Snuits]

Welcome, you have such a cutie!

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Welcome, you have such a cutie!

Thank you! Ares is quite the handsome man . Gonna try to get some new picks up of his after shed colors .. crazy reds !

 

[Snuits]

Thank you! Ares is quite the handsome man . Gonna try to get some new picks up of his after shed colors .. crazy reds !

Yay. Mines in shed too! Can't wait to see your new pics.