Female Panther Chameleon (new, advice?)

MK’s munchkin

New Member
just looking for general advice and pointers, I am a new chameleon owner. Please be kind. I want to learn.
Chameleon Info:
  • Panther Chameleon, female age unknown, adopted after teenage boy abandoned at pet store, I have had her for less than a week.
  • I handle her daily as she seems to like it, she comes out of habitat on to my arm and up to my head every day.
  • Feeding - Currently feeding gut-loaded crickets from friend who provides will have to ask how she does so. Also meal worms and horn worms. She every other day, as stated by teenage boy said that’s how he fed her. (I am new to owning one, have done lots of research, new by and could use some advice.
  • Supplements - need some suggestions on supplements please. I will be asking exotic vet when I take her this week as well.
  • Watering - I mist 3-4 times a day, maybe not enough quantity at a time. And she also has a stripper, set to 3-5 seconds between drops.
  • Fecal Description - brown and white kind of half and half. Sometimes with a little yellow. Don’t know anything about parasite testing at this point. Will see vet this week.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - glass all around except top is mesh. 16x16x30
  • Lighting - zilla light, with uvb and 100 watt heat, also 100 watt red heat lamp for night
  • Approximately 12 hours on 12 hours off. Except heat is on 24-7 just switch to ref light for night.
  • Temperature - 72-95 heat is never lower than 72, 93-95 in basking 78 cage floor, measure by Wall stuck thermometer
  • humidity ranges from 69-85 also measured by wall stuck gauge
  • Plants - No live plants. All artificial leaves and branches throughought
  • Placement - cage in corner of lounge room, we are a pretty low activity household with 4 adults. She is placed in the corner no fan directly overhead. She is over in a corner by a sliding glass door. Top of cage is about 5 foot high
  • Location - Tulsa, Oklahoma
 

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Let me preface this with a simple statement - I offer advice based on my experience, not judgement...

Food: crickets are "ok"... they're actually terrible cause they stink, bite, chirp, hop, leave legs everywhere, but i digress. Variety counts for a lot. Overall though, you've got the basic from most pet shops! Bugs and plants are 'advanced topics', but you can try dubia or discoid roaches, silkworms, fly larvae [yup, maggots!], moths, etc. Theres some good info on feeders and how to gut load them under the "resources" tab in the menu.

Supplements: you're going to need a calcium powder without D3 EVERY feeding. You then want a multivitamin and a calcium with D3 once monthly.
I prefer Rephasy Calcium LoD or NoD. LoD let's you skip the D3 monthly as it provides a tiny amount per serving [which is arguably better than all at once]. The D3 is used to convert the calcium using "fake sunlight". A multivitamin with vitamin A is suggested.

Temperature[Plants]: your lady's basking spot shouldn't really go about 85. Anything above that and the wont bask long enough to properly digest their food - or end up with burns. I personally only use the 50watt basking bulbs... but I live in Florida and my chams have their own rooms (inside/outside).
This is where plants also help... they do an absolutely amazing job of holding moisture vs fakes. That means your cham gets a better chance to drink as well as humidity for longer.(and fresher air?) Also I've found real plants do a better job of providing a good "hide" for them as they are photo trophic [grow towards your lights]. Fake plants can also pose a risk if ingested - this is more for veileds but you never know!

Lights: the new "standard" for lighting a cham in a "linear t5HO 5.0 (6%)" fixture and bulb. T5 is bulb size (diameter) and the HO is high output. These are a little pricey but well worth it. They come in sizing from 14" to 48".
For heat, get a 50/75 watt basking bulb depending on how much heat you need. You can pretty much ditch the red light... if you wanna see your cham at night just get some of those LED "puck lights" that use batteries... they can get down to about 60ish degrees without issues. If you NEED the night time heat... I'd personally go with a "ceramic heat emitter". Just be careful as they get super hot to the touch.

Your enclosure may cause some fuss... just make sure that you try and keep fresh air in there often. Dont worry about daytime humidity as much as night time... just mist during the day. I also put some general information in the other post you made. [Like getting her a lay bin!] There's a lot of info here and I've probably over explained stuff... but that's what I do!

Let me know if I can clarify anything.
 
Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

This is a good place to learn...lots of people here who have kept them for years.

I see in your other thread that you've been told about a lay bin.

Concerning supplements...there are a few ways of doing this...some people use Repashy LoD and others use 3 different supplements which I'll explain below. I've never used Repashy because what I do I've done for years and it works so I've never changed it.

I use RepCal phos free calcium powder dusted lightly on the insects at almost every feeding....all but 4feedings a month. For two of those feedings I dust lightly with repcals phos free calcium/D3 powder and the other two times I dust with Herptivite lightly.

With females that are sexually mature I limit the food so that they are not starving but are not over fed either and keep the basking temperature a little lower than info for males to slow their metabolism just a bit. I feed them every two or three days. I do this to keep the size of the clutches lower to help extend their lives and in the hopes that it will keep them healthier. If you want to breed and when they are producing the eggs IMHO you have to change this up for that time.

How cold does it get outside in the wintertime in Tulsa? what is the coldest temp it gets where her cage is at night?

I do not recommend using any light at night ...they have to sleep.
 
Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

This is a good place to learn...lots of people here who have kept them for years.

I see in your other thread that you've been told about a lay bin.

Concerning supplements...there are a few ways of doing this...some people use Repashy LoD and others use 3 different supplements which I'll explain below. I've never used Repashy because what I do I've done for years and it works so I've never changed it.

I use RepCal phos free calcium powder dusted lightly on the insects at almost every feeding....all but 4feedings a month. For two of those feedings I dust lightly with repcals phos free calcium/D3 powder and the other two times I dust with Herptivite lightly.

With females that are sexually mature I limit the food so that they are not starving but are not over fed either and keep the basking temperature a little lower than info for males to slow their metabolism just a bit. I feed them every two or three days. I do this to keep the size of the clutches lower to help extend their lives and in the hopes that it will keep them healthier. If you want to breed and when they are producing the eggs IMHO you have to change this up for that time.

How cold does it get outside in the wintertime in Tulsa? what is the coldest temp it gets where her cage is at night?

I do not recommend using any light at night ...they have to sleep.
It gets down to 60 in the room she is in. Outside temps can go below freezing in winter time. She does get Fresh air daily, we spend time with her doors open and letting her explore.
 
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