Hi, new to chameleons and here

H

hollyjoe

New Member
Hi, I am new here on these forums, and new to chameleon ownership. I got my Panther Chameleon two days ago and he already feels like family!
He is 4 months old, I got him a suitable vivarium, and feeding him locusts at present and jut today got some silkworms, but the woman at the shop said they are quite fattening so keep them as treats, is this right? When should I upgrade my viv? I think this one is 120cm x 60 x 60....
How many locusts should he be eating cos at the moment it only seems to be about 4 large ones a day.
Sorry Im worried people will give me some negative feedback here as I'm a noob, but I have done research I just want to speak to chameleon owners
Anyway just wanted to say hi,
nice to meet everyone.
Holly x
 
Hi Holly, welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!!

I think the woman at the shop may have silkworms confused with waxworms - silkworms are a great feeder for a chameleon, as are locust. Ideally, you should be feeding at least three staple insects each week - locust, crickets, silkworms, superworms, phoenix worms etc. Waxworms should only be fed as a treat, as they are the ones that are really high in fat.

I, too, have a four month old Panther chameleon and i would say that four locusts a day is nowhere near enough for him. My boy eats between 7 and 10 a day, he is growing and eats like a horse. If he eats everything that you put in for him and is looking for more, give him some. They grow so fast and eat a lot when they are young, they have amazing appetites.

Your viv is fine for a cham of 4 months, but an adult chameleon needs at least a viv of four feet in height, by two feet either side. They grow QUICKLY as well, so be prepared for needing an XL Reptibreeze or the equivalent in about 3 months time.

Nobody on here will give you any negative feedback by the way - its a great forum and people on here (far, far more experienced than me) will be on hand to give help. You just need to ask.
 
Aw what a nice first reply/message.
Thank you.
So you thinking around christmas time I might need to upgrade viv?
Do you think I may be able to sell smaller one?
All I will need is a viv isn't it, lamps stay the same don't they?
I read that the bulbs need changing twice a year.
We didn't get much when we got him, it was all new and for a set price but I felt he didn't have enough things to climb on and hide under so we got a lot more today including this big long vine that u can bend any way and he likes it.
Right okay, how many locusts shall I put in his tank at once?
They are quite large ones.
Is it okay to handle him frequently, when I first got him he used to make his body go big and would open him mouth wide if I tried to handle him but now he is fine.
I am out all day in college most days, but his temp is always around 80 and his humidity is around the same.
One more thing, he doesn't like walking on the floor of his viv, is this normal? as his worms are in a bowl at the bottom and I'm worried he won't eat them.
x
 
I have an adult male Veiled and a baby Panther.

Below is the setup that I have just moved my Veiled into - which is what I think that I will need to do for my baby Panther around about Xmas time...

View attachment 102258

Your uvb will need changing every 6 months, even tho it looks fine, it might not be providing the level of uvb that your cham needs. I have a UVB gun but they are majorly expensive so as a rule of thumb change your bulb every six months.

For a small cham I would be putting hoppers in rather than full grown locust - You shouldn't be feeding any item that is larger than the space between your chams eyes. My lad eats small locust and small silkworms. Anything massive and they are at a risk of choking, especially when you aren't around.

Every morning, after I put the lights on, I leave it 20 mins, then mist so that everything is soaking. Leave it another 20 mins, and then I put 10 feeders out, if they're silkworms I put them on the branches, if hoppers I just release them into the tank.

Do you have a dripper system?

Seriously - handle your cham AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. They are very private, quiet and solitary creatures and they don't do handling well. Handle him when you HAVE to, rather than when you want to.

Someone once said to me that Chameleons are the lizard version of tropical or marine fish - beautiful and interesting, but meant to be watched and admired from afar. Seriously - too much handling will stress your chameleon and if too much can actually make them ill and even die.

Good luck and if there is anything else I can help with, don't hesitate to ask.

Rachel
x
 
Thanks for your reply again,
I read that some chameleons can like being handled though and can be very tame? he seems really happy being handled and i have stroked his back really gently, and he closed his eyes as though he liked it.
I dont handle him constantly.
Im worried now about him eating and am a bit disappointed in the place I got him from, as they provided me with a box of large locust and said he would be fine with them, told me thats what he has been and does eat. He does eat them like. He ate the silk worm before, these worms look a little bit like maggots is that right? Just how you said u put them on the branches i did that but it fell off.
These locusts are bigger than the space between his eyes, but its what I was given.
What do you recommend I do, I will go to the store tomorrow, but Im also confused on how long the food will stay alive in the little boxes. I turn his lights off at 8pm and switch them back on at 8am, spray it and usually feed him then but I don't put more than 3 in at a time as I read they can nibble on him if he isn't hungry. Then I put more in afterwards.
Stressing a bit now I'm worried Im doing it wrong. Hes asleep now next to his heat mat, as the lights off. do you think hes okay :(
I want to make sure he lives and is healthy but am worrying abit over this food matter.
x
 
So are hoppers just small locusts? I will get some of them tomorrow, and shall i get more silkworms? what else shall I get?
I don't have a dripping system but the humidity stays in the right zone (around 80) I spray 3 times a day when needed.
ps your attachment didn't work x
 
ok - for a start get rid of the heat mat.

Chameleons don't need a heat source at night, unless the ambient temp drops to below high fifties.

You need to take his feeders out of the little boxes that they come in, and transfer them into larger, plastic ventilated keeper tanks. They won't survive long in the plastic tubs that they come in, and you also need to be feeding (also known as "gut loading") your feeder insects. Basically, you need to put them in a large plastic tank (about the same size that you would house a goldfish) and feed them collard greens, fruit, romaine lettuce etc. This is really important. In order to give your cham the absolute best nutrition, the insects that he eats need to have a belly full of really good things. I feed mine all sorts, carrots, callabrese, oranges and apples, grapes and blueberries - BUT NOT TOMATOES! They are poisonous to chams.

Seriously about the handling?? He closes his eyes because he is frightened and out of his comfort zone. Some chameleons tolerate handling better than others - for example - my 4 month old panther will accept being held, but you can tell straight away that he is not happy - he fires up - his colours go nuclear which means - GET ME OUT OF HERE!! On the other side of the coin, my Veiled goes absolutely mental, hissing, lungeing at me and hates being held. None of them "like" it - but some tolerate it. However, all handling should be kept to an absolute minimum, in my opinion, if you don't want to cause stress to your cham.

IMGP2763-002.JPG

Hopefully the attachment works this time!

Get a Zoo Med Little Dripper. Chams don't always drink when you mist, so if you have a dripper going, they can drink from the leaves whenever they want. If you put a tupperware bowl underneath the leaves then it will catch the water and stop your viv becoming soaked.

Let me know if you need anything else?
 
By the way - what are you dusting your feeders with?

Any food item needs to be dusted with calcium at every feeding, with D3 every two weeks and a mutivitamin every other 2 weeks.

Apologies if you are already doing this but you didn't mention it so I just wanted to make sure!:)

if I can help with anything else please ask? There is loads of help on this forum and we all want to help.
 
Okay...
Sorry now if I ask too many questions.
So... I get a large plastic tub for the locusts, and do they need covering, leaves anything? and inside the tub i can put in the fruit you mentioned? And when you said chams can eat blueberries, apples,? i didn't know this? do i cut them into small pieces? (sorry for asking all these questions)
Sorry I don't know what locusts eat so lettuce and any fruit and stuff that ok?
Can I keep these locusts in like a large cupboard, as I have no space to store them, where will I get the box from.
This cham doesn't hiss at all and comes to me, he doesn't appear scared, the only time I have noticed him appear scared (his spikes go up, he largens himself, mouth can open) is if someone he doesn't know comes up to his viv. He goes quite light when I have handled him. But other times he has stayed dark. He seems pretty content to be honest, in his viv and out of it.
I will take your advice, I have the locusts at the minute just stored in the boxes they come in. What about the worms can they survive in their box, do I need to feed them? I have watched my cham drink off the leaves, I will get a dripper, I will have to find a stockist in the UK as they didn't have any in the petstore.
Im hoping he will be okay, when I get up tomorrow I will put the silk worms in, shall I put them all in as I will be out for about 9 hours.
I just think they will fall off the branches, thats one worry.
The specialist did say I will need the heat mat (maybe where you are room temperature is different, here its almost winter and very very cold).
x
 
I feel really bad now... like I am not doing enough.I wasn't told about dusting, i don't even know where to get the multivitamins from or calcium or d3. I'm worried now that my cham isn't getting what he needs. :(
 
Please don't apologise for asking questions.... the very fact that you are means that you want to get things right. people say that chameleons are hard to care for - they aren't - as long as you get things right from the get-go and carry on with it.

I live in the UK and would never use a heat mat. Heat mats are for reptiles other than chameleons, seriously. Whoever sold you one has got their facts wrong. Unless the temp in your house drops to below 55 degrees, then there is no need. If it does, then you need to get a ceramic heating bulb, that doesn't give off any light but which heats your viv at night.

All you need to do with your insects is get a couple of largish tanks that you would house a goldfish in. I keep all my feeders separate - crickets in one, very small hopper for my 4 month old Panther in another, larger, nearly adult locust for my adult veiled in another and so on. Your silkworms and other worms don't need feeding, unless you plan on keeping them for longer than a week. I have varying sizes of silkworms and buy them on line. Silkworms only eat mulberry chow, so I buy this as well if I want to keep them for longer than a week.

When I mentioned blueberries etc., I meant that these were food for your insects, not your chameleon.

For a Dripper, have a look on eBay, there's loads and they're only about a tenner.

The silkworms should be okay on the branches, if indeed they are silkworms - what do they look like?? The photo below is silkworms....

IMGP2796.jpg
 
Holly - do not feel bad!! You are obviously trying to do the best by your new chameleon - the fact that you have come onto the forum asking for advice speaks volumes.... so many people buy a chameleon, take it home and do no research and wonder why it becomes ill within three months. You are doing
the right thing, here.

OK - you need to dust your insects because your chameleon needs additional calcium in its diet, otherwise it will get something known as MBD - or metabolic bone disease. This basically means that his or her bones will become soft and bendy and he or she won't be able to grip properly and the bones will become very fragile, so much so that they will break easily.

Avoiding MBD is easy - go to Pets at Home or any other store that has reptile stuff and buy a tub of calcium, also a tub of multi-vits and then a tub of Vit D. Alternate these - calcium at absolutely every feeding, and the other two alternated over a month, two weeks apart.
 
Okay I will go to Pets at Home tomorrow on my dinner hour. Will they sell storage for the feeders? (trying to get the lingo right ha).
I panicked and have transferred the locusts into a bigger box, i have some fruit should i put some in? theres about 20 of them.
So I buy the calcium and what does it look like? the calcium I mean, is it just powder? and then i just sprinkle it on the locusts and other food? (sorry if I'm getting this wrong, i appreciate all your advice, you are saving my poor joe as I wouldn't have known this!)
The man at the store said just feed them as they came, to spray him about 2-3 times a day, told me to use the heat mat, and turn the lights off every 12 hours.
And told me the correct level of heat, and level of humidity.
The viv has glass sides and a mesh roof. The red light is free standing so I have placed it at the back of the mesh facing downwards, and the other light which is white is connected to the Viv.
These locusts i have just realised, some are huge. I don't know what to do with them now that I have bought them if he should only be eating ones the same wisth as his head.
I have really looked on many many sites, I have noticed some advice conflicts against others but I get the general idea, but you have been most helpful.
I really am worried about my cham, I can't believe sellers should be allowed to sell them and not give this vital info about dusting the food etc.
I live in the north west, sorry, I noticed a lot of people where from america and assumed you was too.
I just felt bad, like I was a bad owner for just giving him food that wasn't right, as such. But I am feeling a little bit more positive with your input and advice and really can;t thank you enough for the time you are giving to writing such detail.
And they are NOT what my silkworms look like, what the hell. I will take a pic now. These are short light in colour and look like maggots! (but i know they are not maggots cos i know what maggots are, but they are very similar).
x
 
here he is in his viv... more pics to follow, sorry my laptop is being soo slow! nearly there
 

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i have a feeling this is going to be wrong, on the box it has a bulb either side, mine only has one bulb. the man told me to place this one at the front of the tank, it fits in neat with my viv. here is a pic of my viv from afar, sorry lights are off as hes sleeping, post the close ups now of the bulbs, sorry again for taking so long i am new to this as u know and I'm struggling with uploading
 

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