Giving it another shot!

[GabeCastro]

Whats up CF!?!?

It's been forever...But i'm back and I think I'm ready to get another panther cham!

Just a few questions I have.

My room gets a bit damp (no insulation so I get a bit of a mold problem), Is there a way I could reduce moisture? maybe a dehumidifier? Is it possible to leave a window cracked all day in my room then close it at night?

Also with gutloading...I hated it, I'd go grocery shopping for crickets and spend $40+ a week on veggies. Is it possible to do 1 week of gutloading with 1-2 veggies? Just having a variety wouldn't work with my budget. I have 3 dry gutloads aswell (DinoFuel, Bug Burger, and Cricket Crack).

My ideal situation would be to have my room stay well ventilated with my cham inside, and keeping the wet gutload in my budget.

I have all my equipment that I don't use, and i really do not want to sell any of it. I'd lose tons of money. So I want another cham also I miss having a little guy to take care of.

Please give me some advice!

Thanks guys!

 

[jannb]

Welcome back! I don't know how to get rid of mold but I do know that it's bad for chameleons. One member here lost a room full of chams due to mold.

If you are using dry gut load a couple of different fruits and veggies would be plenty to add to your gut load.

I'd give the cage and all of your vines, branches and so forth a good through cleaning. 40 volume peroxide fills everything. I'd also recommend you buy from a small time breeder that truly cares about their animals.

 

[carol5208]

Mold is bad for humans to breathe, so I would say it would be bad for any kind of animal also. Personally, I would try to get the mold issue resolved, if not for your pets, but for yourself. Glad you wanna get back into the hobby and wish you luck!!

 

[mcbdz]

Hello and welcome back. I also live in a humid area (Louisiana). Do you have fans. I keep the fans running year round. I notice If I turn them off the cage want get dry but as long as the ceiling fan is on Zeke's cage will dry between sprays and for the night. Have a ceiling fan in every room here.

 

[nick barta]

Carrots are a cheap vegetable gut load that keeps forever and is available year round. Summer squash (about 8 inches, long yellow) is another easily sliced food. My favorite gut load comes from Sandra Chameleon which is dandelion leaves, they are one of the top nutrient foods, and the price is..... free. In my area, Washington State, the dandelion will be back next month.
Use the vegetables and fruits (that are appropriate for chams) that your family already eats, and your costs will be minimal.
With one cham you can gutload feeders for minimal cost. Also, buying 1,000 crickets cost a lot more to feed than a smaller amount, even saving 8 cents per cricket by buying 1,000 isn't a savings, if you feed them and you don't feed them all off.

 

[dlegare]

You definitely want to get control of the mold problem for yours and your Cham's health.

For gut loading I suggest a premium quality pelleted bird food (I use Harrison's High Potency fine $12 lasts for several months. I also give Oranges for water source and have excellent luck. I usually add 2 1/4 to 1/8th sections every other day. I remove whatever isn't eaten in 24 to 48 hrs.

I also use multivitamin and calcium powders to dust crickets.

I've had very good luck with this and have no problems with metabolic bone disorder.

 

[GabeCastro]

Thanks for all the replies!

Welcome back! I don't know how to get rid of mold but I do know that it's bad for chameleons. One member here lost a room full of chams due to mold.

If you are using dry gut load a couple of different fruits and veggies would be plenty to add to your gut load.

I'd give the cage and all of your vines, branches and so forth a good through cleaning. 40 volume peroxide fills everything. I'd also recommend you buy from a small time breeder that truly cares about their animals.

Thanks Jann!

The mold just started since the cold weather kicked in. I just bleached down all my walls and corners to clean the mold. I looked into a dehumidifier but I'm afraid maintaing humidity levels would be too difficult. So no dehumidifier for me. Oscillating fan + opened window during the day.

Also I've sprayed down my cage multiple times with the peroxide. Got rid of all my old foliage, and anything that was inside the cage while Jasper was in there. But it still worries me that parasites may still be around...But it wont hurt to give the cages another shower with peroxide.

Mold is bad for humans to breathe, so I would say it would be bad for any kind of animal also. Personally, I would try to get the mold issue resolved, if not for your pets, but for yourself. Glad you wanna get back into the hobby and wish you luck!!

Thanks Carol! Thats exactly what I was working on. I cleaned up my room and tried to get rid of the mold this past couple of months. I bleached everything down & cracked a few windows. Also I read running an oscillating fan through out the day helps with keeping the room dry. I've been sticking with just a cracked window and it seems to help a lot. I'm just worried about the slight breeze of the cracked window + a fan when i get one will bother a chameleon.

Hello and welcome back. I also live in a humid area (Louisiana). Do you have fans. I keep the fans running year round. I notice If I turn them off the cage want get dry but as long as the ceiling fan is on Zeke's cage will dry between sprays and for the night. Have a ceiling fan in every room here.

nice, I was reading about oscillating fans help aswell. My ceilings are about 7ft high and i'm 6'2" so no fan here lol.

Your chams do fine with a running fan on? The breeze doesn't effect them? Just curious because on the chameleon how to ask for help questions ask if there is a fan near by.

Carrots are a cheap vegetable gut load that keeps forever and is available year round. Summer squash (about 8 inches, long yellow) is another easily sliced food. My favorite gut load comes from Sandra Chameleon which is dandelion leaves, they are one of the top nutrient foods, and the price is..... free. In my area, Washington State, the dandelion will be back next month.
Use the vegetables and fruits (that are appropriate for chams) that your family already eats, and your costs will be minimal.
With one cham you can gutload feeders for minimal cost. Also, buying 1,000 crickets cost a lot more to feed than a smaller amount, even saving 8 cents per cricket by buying 1,000 isn't a savings, if you feed them and you don't feed them all off.

Thanks for the gutload tip. As for keeping crickets, I always tried to keep them under 100. My past cham had a hard time eating so allot of feeders/gutload went to waste. I think carrots, squash, and collard greens would work well. As for storage they last pretty long refrigerated.

You definitely want to get control of the mold problem for yours and your Cham's health.

For gut loading I suggest a premium quality pelleted bird food (I use Harrison's High Potency fine $12 lasts for several months. I also give Oranges for water source and have excellent luck. I usually add 2 1/4 to 1/8th sections every other day. I remove whatever isn't eaten in 24 to 48 hrs.

I also use multivitamin and calcium powders to dust crickets.

I've had very good luck with this and have no problems with metabolic bone disorder.

Oranges were always in my gutloads. I have an orange tree in my back yard. They were perfect for when I had dubia's...And I always dusted with the proper vitamins

Mold is taken care of though, I just need to keep my room "well ventilated". Oscillating fan + an open window during the day will do the trick. So far the cracked window is doing wonders, but I want to be extra sure with a fan. Hopefully this combo won't affect a chams health.

 

[stalincat]

Hey, welcome back! Glad to hear you are giving it another go!

Boiling water kills coccidia. When Bishop had it, I was cleaning with ammonia and hot water after. I'd just boil water in a few pots and pour it over the enclosure/vines. Been coccidia free for months now
So you can do this too

 

[GabeCastro]

Hey, welcome back! Glad to hear you are giving it another go!

Boiling water kills coccidia. When Bishop had it, I was cleaning with ammonia and hot water after. I'd just boil water in a few pots and pour it over the enclosure/vines. Been coccidia free for months now
So you can do this too

Shhhweeeeeet!

Thanks! I'll def give that a try.

And glad to hear your cages/equipment are coccidia free