First Chameleon!

[slong15]

Hey everyone! I'm Sarah. About two weeks ago I got my first cham! He's about a 3 and a half month old ambanja panther and I can't waittt for his colors to come in. He's been eating and drinking very well and got through his first molt with me, so I couldn't be happier. Feeding on crickets right now but I'm hoping to start him on dubia and silkworms soon. I love this forum I end up wasting away many hours on here haha. Going to add some pictures! Feel free to give any suggestions on my enclosure!

 

[pssh]

What kind of lights are you using? The chameleon is cute!

 

[boj3434]

Great looking chameleon if you fill out

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?

Poeple can make sure your doing everything correctly

 

[slong15]

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Ambanja panther chameleon, about 3 and a half months old and have had him for about two weeks
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Maybe once every other day if that, and only for about 5 minutes at a time
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Currently only feeding crickets with a gutload of a mixture of yam, apple, carrot, squash and romaine. I feed about 8 very small crickets a day at around 11 am each day. Hope to get dubia and silkworms soon
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep-Cal Calcium without D3 every week day, RepCal with D3 every saturday and RepCal multivitamins every other sunday
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist about 5 times a day and also have a dripper set up that I'll fill once a day. I do see him drinking off of the vines.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Regular coloring and consistence I believe- white and brown. I don't believe he has ever been tested.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Got it from HeroicChameleons


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Screen cage from LLL Reptile- i believe it might be 16x15x20
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? One Exo Terra 75 watt Sun Glo Basking Spot Light and two Exo Terra Compact Fluorescent 13watt 5.0 Bulb up in the top light fixture. The lights are on a timer and go on at 8 and go off at 8.
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? basking spot is usually about 85 and the gradient goes down to about 73. The temp at night can get to about 68-70 at night. I measure with a Flukers Digital Thermometer/Humidity Guage
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity level sometimes drops to about 40 which I know isn't too good so I try to mist as often as I can. I usually try to keep it as close to 75ish as I can. I also have a live pant in there. Use the Flukers Digital Thermometer/Humidity Guage for this too.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One Umbrella tree
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage is located in my bedroom where there isn't much traffic. No drafts or anything. The height of the top of the cage is probably about 5 and a half feet off the floor.
* Location - Where are you geographically located? Bucks county, Pennsylvania

 

[boj3434]

Everything looked pretty good to me except the compact bulb can cause blindness I would get a reptisun or some other strip bulb.

 

[OOOst16]

Yes I would remove the compact uvb bulbs imidiatly,,,,even if the blindness/ health issues have said to be resolved....I do not trust it....use a reptisun 5.0 or a reptiglo 5.0 liniar tube uvb.

 

[OOOst16]

50-60 percent is recomended for a panther.....you don't want it to high or to low becausde of risk of upper respitory infection. Don't fret if it drops to 40 percent....just mist or get a room humidifyer. I use a room humidifyer now along with misting because its winter and the heat vents suck all the moisture out of the air. The more real plants coverage....the beter the humidity. Always use organic soil that's fertalizer free.

 

[pssh]

Bring the temps down to 80, and I would suggest buying a reptisun 5.0 linear tube UVB lighting and an incandescent bulb for heat, it's cheaper and linear tubes are generally better. Especially if you don't know if the compact ones are the new ones. If they are new ones, then just remove one and you can use those until it needs a bigger cage. Once it needs a bigger cage the compact bulbs won't be sufficient anymore as they don't cover enough space for a large cage (2x2x4.)

Only use the calcium with d3 twice a month as that brand has a lot of d3 in it. Your humidity should be around 40-50 when dry, 70-90 when wet after misting, and 60-70 or so for an hour or two after misting.

 

[chamer]

Hi and Welcome!
I love your set up and Chameleon. What kind of vine is that? I like it a lot. I have Panthers too and love them. The people here are great and will help you a lot. LOL

 

[jessica]

Welcome to te forum! Your little guy is super cute!!

 

[slong15]

for everyone who suggested the linear bulbs, i'll definitely be changing to them the next time i get bulbs. i'll probably purchase another live plant to go in there soon also to help with humidity. thanks for the advice!

Hi and Welcome!
I love your set up and Chameleon. What kind of vine is that? I like it a lot. I have Panthers too and love them. The people here are great and will help you a lot. LOL

i actually got the vine at michaels! and definitely plan on getting more soon. It was with all of the other fake flowers and stems. They aren't too flimsy though, so you'd need something to bend it against to keep it in place or just leave it straight probably