First time chameleon owner(check out please)

[pr3mo15]

Hey guys, i just registered to this site about 10 minutes ago.

I'm going to try and get more familiar with the site. But before i do that i just had a couple questions as a new chameleon owner.


I bought a baby panther chameleon when he was around 2 1/2 to 3months old.
I have had him for maybe over a month now. I just wanted to get other peoples perspective on him and let me know if he looks good / healthy.

Here are two pics that I took when i first got him(january 24th), and the other pics are about a month later.

 

[kenya]

He looks good. What is your setup like? What and how often have you been feeding him? What kind of supplements and when?

 

[pr3mo15]

The cage i keep him in is 30inches high by 22 inches wide and about 20 inches deep. I made the cage for a total of about 15$ since my friends dad has a wood shop.

I use t-rex calcium no phosphorus with d3 once - two times a day

and once - twice a week i will use zoo meds reptivite reptile vitamins with d3

i feed him two times a day. Hes really picky already it seems. I have been just feeding him mainly crickets and mealworms, but i mix it up a decent amount.

Sometimes he eats up to 20 critters a day, and other days maybe only 8-10.

 

[kenya]

You should get a calcium supplement without D3 or phosphorus and use that mainly. Since he is a baby, use it at every feeding, skipping a day or two. Dust the insects lightly- they don't need to be ghostly.

Use the calcium with D3 once a week and then once every other week once he is about 5.5 months old. After about 7 months, use it only once a month.

I am not very familiar with your vitamin supplement, but you should use it once a week and then cut down the same as you will the calcium with D3.

Too much D3 builds up in a cham's organs and can cause major problems later on. Too much will actually inhibit the absorption of calcium and can cause MBD, not to mention toxic shock.

As for mealworms, they aren't a great feeder, unfortunately. They have a lot of chitin in their exoskeletons and are not easily digested. Feeding too many of them can lead to impaction. They aren't very nutritious and are kind of hard to gutload. You could try superworms (zoophobas morio- NOT supermealworms) if your little guy is big enough. They are better. If you want to keep feeding off the mealworms you have left, wait until they shed and pick them out to feed off while they are still soft and light in color.

What kind of lights do you have? How are you providing water?

It sounds like you are off to a good start- we just need some fine tuning Welcome to the forums!

 

[pr3mo15]

haha kenya your awesome

thanks so much for the help

The lighting im using is a UVB light(reptisun 5.0) at one corner which he is in ALOT.

and in the other corner i have a 75 watt heat light, to be honest i forgot what kind of light it is. But i hang it about 8-9 inches above his basking spot which he is in alot as well. The temp at his basking spot is roughly 85-90degrees

He has shed once, i read up that they should shed about once every 3 weeks or so. He just shed recently on Feb 20th for the first time since i have had him.

One question - Does he look good in size for his age? just curious. want to make sure hes doing PERFECT. Love the little guy haha

Here is a picture i just took with my camera so you can let me know if it looks ok.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[kenya]

haha, thanks! I try.

Now, everything looks and sounds pretty good, but what style of ReptiSun bulb are you using? The compact spiral ones that screw into a regular clip lamp are rather dangerous and will destroy your chams' eyes. The best ones are ReptiSun 5.0 linear tube fluorescent style bulbs. You can get them very cheaply at lllreptile.com. You can get a decent fixture at the Home Depot or Lowes for around $10. Also, if he is really only about 3 months, the basking spot should be slightly cooler. I would say about 85 at the max.

He looks great at any rate- he has really good color for only being around 3 months old. He looks well hydrated as well. I know that can be a problem for new keepers to maintain; even I have problems at times providing enough drinking opportunities for my ~17.

Do you have any specific questions?

 

[pr3mo15]

Yeah i use the florescent tube reptisun 5.0 uvb light 18inches in length

And the basking temp where hes at is at exaclty 82 atm. It usually doesnt go much higher. But since he is smaller i guess they love to climb on the screen. So sometimes he does go right under the heat lamp on the screen. But then i just higher the light, which i guess i cant watch 24/7. Ill prob just put the light an inch or two higher just to be on the safe side.

Which calcium supplement do you recommend i get. The pet store i went to only had the one i have now. But I'm willing to change if its for the better.

The breeder i got him from said the babies were born October 20th and continued till November 7th. So he was born around that time. Which i guess makes him more around the 4month range

 

[kenya]

Just a regular calcium without D3 or phosphorous. lllreptile.com has Rep-Cal, which is good. I also use Jurassi-Cal since my pet store carries it, as well as ZooMed Repti Calcium.

For the calcium, brand doesn't matter so long as it has no phosphorous. Vitamin supplements are a bit trickier.

Sounds like you are doing great. I wouldn't move the basking bulb unless you see him climbing screen right under it.

 

[KevinA]

Hey Sean,

He's looking great! Looks like he's developing good too!

Kenya gave some good advise on the feeders and supplements.

 

[pr3mo15]

Hey Kevin!

Thanks for the awesome chameleon!

Hes doing awesome. Eating alot. Drinks alot. VERY VERY active and alert. Hes alot quicker than i expected him to be haha.

Yeah im planning on getting the new supplements for him soon. Hopefully within a week at the LATEST. Been busy with work

 

[KevinA]

I miss the little guy

Sean,

You mentioned hes climbing on the screen. Not a big deal, but I noticed you used window screen for your cage. Thats fine, however, just wanted to let you know that as he gets older and heavier, he could get a nail stuck in it and tear or break the nail off.

There's a lot of ways to prevent it though. You could put some type of thicker mesh inside the screen for him to climb on or anything so he is not sticking is nails into the screen. This will kind of reduce your view of him, but it's a trade off. Or you could go with a thicker mesh screen all together.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know so you don't have any suprises down the road.


Kevin

 

[blackbetty]

Kevin: I posted this on Leos thread. It hasnt anything to do with anymore than your last comment. Since moving Leo back into the bedroom 2 -3 days ago, he has been hanging upside down a lot not directly UNDER the backing bulb but nearby. He comes down just fine, but Ive never seen him do this. Someone said he is probably just exploring. We have a reptarium and I was concerned about his nails but seeing how he is getting down ok, I dont feel so worried now..However, is there a particular reason why he is doing this?

 

[KevinA]

Kevin: I posted this on Leos thread. It hasnt anything to do with anymore than your last comment. Since moving Leo back into the bedroom 2 -3 days ago, he has been hanging upside down a lot not directly UNDER the backing bulb but nearby. He comes down just fine, but Ive never seen him do this. Someone said he is probably just exploring. We have a reptarium and I was concerned about his nails but seeing how he is getting down ok, I dont feel so worried now..However, is there a particular reason why he is doing this?

They usually just want to be in the highest place they can get. So he's doing it for 1 of a few reasons. He may be just trying to find a higher place to hang out and is exploring because you changed his environment(moved him). He may have found a warm spot he likes or he may have found a spot that he likes the feel of the UV lamp. Either way, doesn't seem to be something to worry about.

 

[OntarioLizardman]

awsome cham and setup brotha! lookin good and happy.

 

[laurie]

Nice looking little person! Wish I had done that well with my first one. Congrats.

 

[Kays04]

The cage i keep him in is 30inches high by 22 inches wide and about 20 inches deep. I made the cage for a total of about 15$ since my friends dad has a wood shop.

I use t-rex calcium no phosphorus with d3 once - two times a day

and once - twice a week i will use zoo meds reptivite reptile vitamins with d3

i feed him two times a day. Hes really picky already it seems. I have been just feeding him mainly crickets and mealworms, but i mix it up a decent amount.

Sometimes he eats up to 20 critters a day, and other days maybe only 8-10.

Just wanted to note that once he gets older you'll need to move him into a larger cage... at least 48" high since he's a male.

 

[summoner12]

He looks good. What part of socal? You should try and check out our SBCK meeting. If you do a search or keep you eye out you'll see postings for our meetings.

The meeting is once a month, on the last tuesday of the month. Just keep your eye out, you'll see it.

Oh BTW, if you need bugs, PM me. I am always bug trafficing