Husbandry check

[Chance289]

Hi I’m new to the forums. My chameleons name is Waldo and he is a 8 month ambilobe. He’s very healthy, the only maybe concern is whenever I open the cage he just tries to bolt out! I have a vine outside the cage he likes to hangout on. But I just want to make sure I’m doing every he needs to live long and happy life.

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Ambilobe, male, 8 months, 5 months in my care.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I only ever handle him to put him back into his cage after he explores outside his cage
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? 3 super worms a week fed on the same day, 3-6 crickets daily, wax worms every now and then, hornworms as a treat once a month. Feeders are gut loaded with sweet potatoes, mangoes, and carrots. No greens.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti calcium no d3 daily, bee pollen twice a week, repashy calcium plus once a week. I combine bee pollen with the calcium powder
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? 2 minutes misting 6:30 before lights are on, 2 minutes misting 6:30 night lights on, 1 minute misting 8:30 lights off, fogger during the night 2-6 constant fog. I use a dripper once a week at 5 in the evening. To this day I have only seen my chameleon drink 3-5 times ever.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Brown and white/orange urate. Plump poop. Never been tested.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I purchased chameleon from a smaller breeder called chromatic chameleons. They seemed extremely legit and the person who helped me was very nice.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x4 screen
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Lights on 6:45 lights off 6:45. 60 watt basking, 6% Arcadia strip light with a brand new housing, led plant light. Everything goes on and off at the same time however I may change it so the heat light turns off at 6.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot 95. Middle of cage is 77, lowest portion of cage is 74 during day. Nighttime gets maximum 72 probably dips into mid-high 60s in most areas. I test temperature using a heat probe and high quality heat gun.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Daytime humidity is 50-60. Nightime is 80-99 humidity tested using a heat and humidity probe.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Live pothos at bottom which is yet to take over. Thick covering philodendron in a small pot at the top. Assortment of bromeliads and orchids. All live in a bio active cage
• 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? I have a small fan pointed at the side running 24/7, it’s located in my walk in closet top of the cage is about 6 feet of the ground. Well ventilated and my closet door is always open for airflow. Low traffic area.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Southwest Florida

 

[Chance289]

Here he is wanting me to open the door so he can get out of his cage.

 

[Chance289]

And now he’s basking once I walked away from the cage and came back to surprise him. Btw as a side note I do have other reptiles in the same closet I have him in. An emerald tree skink and a corn snake which he has seen both of them before but he has a major height advantage and all of them and doesn’t seem to be a big issue having them in the same room

 

[DonKeesh]

Usually if they are super eager to get out of cage they do not like something in the cage... At quick glance I would recommend changing your plant light to something that emits white light (6500k) and not the reddish light you have currently. Also basking temps are a bit high... Aim for 85 maximum.

 

[Chance289]

Usually if they are super eager to get out of cage they do not like something in the cage... At quick glance I would recommend changing your plant light to something that emits white light (6500k) and not the reddish light you have currently. Also basking temps are a bit high... Aim for 85 maximum.

Thank you I’ll definitely look into a better plant light. I got mine for free from my dad who gardens and does some indoor stuff with plants. In regards of the temperature basking spot I have never seen him gape from overheating and he seems to like the toasty 95. If I don’t see signs of heat stress from him does that mean it can still be too hot?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

There's an old saying from an old song... How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm After They've Seen Paree?

Once my male panther had gotten out to explore once or twice, he began charging me whenever the door was open. Normal enough once other possibilities have been eliminated (and I'm not seeing any glaring issues aside from basking temp being on the high side).

Thank you I’ll definitely look into a better plant light. I got mine for free from my dad who gardens and does some indoor stuff with plants. In regards of the temperature basking spot I have never seen him gape from overheating and he seems to like the toasty 95. If I don’t see signs of heat stress from him does that mean it can still be too hot?

This is the plant light many of us use:
https://www.sansiled.com/products/70w-led-grow-light
Sansi coupons

Some gape; others just move to a cooler location.
Either way, here's the best care sheet we know of:
https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/

I'd also suggest the Husbandry Program on the same site.

Lowering basking temp is a simple matter of raising the light a couple/few inches & monitoring the temp. If it doesn't work out or there are problems, it should be easy enough to move it back.

 

[Chance289]

There's an old saying from an old song... How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm After They've Seen Paree?

Once my male panther had gotten out to explore once or twice, he began charging me whenever the door was open. Normal enough once other possibilities have been eliminated (and I'm not seeing any issues aside from basking temp being on the high side).


This is the plant light many of us use:
https://www.sansiled.com/products/70w-led-grow-light
Sansi coupons

Some gape; others just move to a cooler location.
Either way, here's the best care sheet we know of:
https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/

Lowering basking temp is a simple matter of raising the light a couple/few inches & monitoring the temp. If it doesn't work out or there are problems, it should be easy enough to move it back.

Awesome thank you! Yeah he used to be really shy and scared when I first got him so I encouraged him by leaving his door open for him to open up a little bit and explore! And now that’s all he wants lol. Once he gets out of his cage he doesn’t do much other than just hangout on the vine I have up for him. I’ll raise his lights monitor the temp and see how it goes. Also another thing is I moved his uvb away from the basking bulb in an area that’s not as full of leaves for the hope he has more of a uvb range. Is that okay for the uvb to not be near his basking bulb?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Awesome thank you! Yeah he used to be really shy and scared when I first got him so I encouraged him by leaving his door open for him to open up a little bit and explore! And now that’s all he wants lol. Once he gets out of his cage he doesn’t do much other than just hangout on the vine I have up for him. I’ll raise his lights monitor the temp and see how it goes.

Mine likes to hang out on my Missus plant table adjacent to the enclosure.

Also another thing is I moved his uvb away from the basking bulb in an area that’s not as full of leaves for the hope he has more of a uvb range. Is that okay for the uvb to not be near his basking bulb?

Basking and UVB should overlap, particularly at the basking site. These guys get their UVB from the Sun (brightest light), so it makes sense that's where they'll try to get some from.

 

[Chance289]

Mine likes to hang out on my Missus plant table adjacent to the enclosure.
View attachment 318647


Basking and UVB should overlap, particularly at the basking site. These guys get their UVB from the Sun (brightest light), so it makes sense that's where they'll try to get some from.

Okay I’ll move the uvb back to how I had it. I just moved it like 4 days ago. I think I blew his little mind when I moved his lights around he was so confused at how I did that lol

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Okay I’ll move the uvb back to how I had it. I just moved it like 4 days ago. I think I blew his little mind when I moved his lights around he was so confused at how I did that lol

They get over it quickly enough.

Some sources have said rearranging an enclosure causes stress; others say it can be enrichment.

IME, it's the latter; I rearrange Ol' GrumpyPants' enclosure every few months. Not a lot—change-up a plant, move some branches around, rotate a pot or two 90-180°... It's fascinating watching him size up where he wants to go, plan his route, then execute. Smart little buggers.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Welcome to the forum! You have a beautiful Cham! Your pathos looks kind of wilted so remember to water it at least once a week but maybe more if it needs it. It will grow better that way. the high temp in there may be the cause also that is too hot for your Cham. I would try to lower the temp by raising the basking light if I were you. Colored lights can damage chams eyes and the chams don’t like them. That may be why he’s always wanting out. Better to have all white lights in there.

 

[Chance289]

Welcome to the forum! You have a beautiful Cham! Your pathos looks kind of wilted so remember to water it at least once a week but maybe more if it needs it. It will grow better that way. the high temp in there may be the cause also that is too hot for your Cham. I would try to lower the temp by raising the basking light if I were you. Colored lights can damage chams eyes and the chams don’t like them. That may be why he’s always wanting out. Better to have all white lights in there.

Thank you for the advice. Would it be best to shut the plant light off for a few days until I get a new one shipped or just leave it for another few more days until I get a better one?

 

[Lindasjackson]

I would turn it off if it were me. Your pathos will be fine for a few days.

 

[Chance289]

I would turn it off if it were me. Your pathos will be fine for a few days.

Thank you. I had no idea the colored led lights weren’t good for him, I’ll make the adjustments today!

 

[Lindasjackson]

What I do with my uvb light and my basking light is I tip the basking light up and lean a side of the bulb holder on the edge of the uvb light so it basically shines under the uvb so he get both lights when he’s basking. I’ll add a picture. i use a 60 watt basking bulb as well but tipping it up like that seems to dissipate some of the heat but doesn’t seem to effect the uvb light housing. I live in Maine so it’s cold here and my basking temp only gets up to about 75 but that’s ok for my Cham since he’s a Jackson’s.

 

[Chance289]

What I do with my uvb light and my basking light is I tip the basking light up and lean a side of the bulb holder on the edge of the uvb light so it basically shines under the uvb so he get both lights when he’s basking. I’ll add a picture. i use a 60 watt basking bulb as well but tipping it up like that seems to dissipate some of the heat but doesn’t seem to effect the uvb light housing. I live in Maine so it’s cold here and my basking temp only gets up to about 75 but that’s ok for my Cham since he’s a Jackson’s.

Nice idea I’ll make that happen. I notice you have your uvb raised. Do you have a 6%? I don’t have my uvb raised up it’s directly on the screen but according to the research I’ve done the closest basking branch to the uvb is 6 inches underneath with I have heard is a safe distance. I do not have a solar meter and have procrastinated spending the money on one because of the price tag.

 

[Lindasjackson]

you Are awesome! You’re so ready to take advice and make the changes necessary for your chams well being! You wouldn’t believe the number of people that come here asking for advice and then they argue about advice we give and won’t make any changes! We’re glad to have you!!

 

[Chance289]

you Are awesome! You’re so ready to take advice and make the changes necessary for your chams well being! You wouldn’t believe the number of people that come here asking for advice and then they argue about advice we give and won’t make any changes! We’re glad to have you!!

I’m happy to be here! I wish I got here sooner but here I am now. I really love chameleons and Reptiles. I have thoughts about turning chameleons into a career but baby steps first. I want to have my husbandry for my 1 chameleon 100% dialed in and I really want to expand the species I own and work with them a lot more. I love it. They’re fascinating creatures and there is so much to learn about them

 

[Lindasjackson]

Nice idea I’ll make that happen. I notice you have your uvb raised. Do you have a 6%? I don’t have my uvb raised up it’s directly on the screen but according to the research I’ve done the closest basking branch to the uvb is 6 inches underneath with I have heard is a safe distance. I do not have a solar meter and have procrastinated spending the money on one because of the price tag.

I don’t have a solar meter either because of the price but our light expert is @Beman and she has done A lot of research on these uvb lights and she says that with an Arcadia 6% we need to have a distance of 8-9 inches between the light and the basking branch to give a 3 UVI which is what our chams need. The reason mine is lifted up is because my jacksons occasionally still likes to climb the ceiling and hang upside down under his uvb. He hasn’t done it in a week or so but he used to and that’s dangerous because he will get too much uvb. Once he stops doing that I will put the light back on the screen too. Either way I make sure there’s 8-9 inches between the basking branch and the light.

 

[Chance289]

I don’t have a solar meter either because of the price but our light expert is @Beman and she has done A lot of research on these uvb lights and she says that with an Arcadia 6% we need to have a distance of 8-9 inches between the light and the basking branch to give a 3 UVI which is what our chams need. The reason mine is lifted up is because my jacksons occasionally still likes to climb the ceiling and hang upside down under his uvb. He hasn’t done it in a week or so but he used to and that’s dangerous because he will get too much uvb. Once he stops doing that I will put the light back on the screen too. Either way I make sure there’s 8-9 inches between the basking branch and the light.

Gotcha. I follow Bill Strand and he recommends a 3-6 uvb. I’d imagine with my basking branch at 6 inches below it’s in the range of 3-6 but above 3. So with Bemans research does she find that a uvi above 3 is harmful or that’s simply the minimum requirement?