Is my enclosure suitable for Panther juveniles?

I have a Dragonstrand Large Atrium enclosure (clearsided), 45.25"w x 22.5"d x 44.25"h that was for my adult male Veiled chameleon, George. Sadly, he passed recently, but the enclosure was well-planted, so I've kept the lights and water going for the plants. I thinking now of getting a Panther. I would be looking for a 3-5 month old juvenile. I have a couple questions about the enclosure.

First, would a juvenile chameleon be OK in an enclosure this large? I do have a 16"w x 16"d x 24"h Reptibreeze. (I installed Dragon Ledges, and set it up when George was younger as a trial run before doing the big enclosure.) But it would need to be replanted. (And I would still need to light and water the plants in the large enclosure to keep the plants going.) But if the size of the large enclosure would be a problem for a juvenile, I could use the smaller one.

Second, the large enclosure is lit with a quad 48" T5HO fixture with 1 Arcadia UVB, 1 Arcadia plant bulb, and 2 6500k (daylight) bulbs. (Plus an incandescent for heat.) For my Veiled, I was advised to get the 12% UVB Arcadia 48" T5HO bulb. For a Panther, should I replace that with their 6% bulb?
 
The bigger enclosure should be fine, if he/she doesn’t do well in it, you can always move them to the smaller enclosure until they get bigger. I would use a uv meter if you have one to see if the 12% is fine since the Arcadia quad fixtures don’t have single reflectors for each light, making it lose uvb, light, etc. Panthers thrive under 6%. If you want to spend the money, you could always buy a single reflector. Either way, I would use a 6%, in my personal opinion.
 
I would do a major deep clean of any enclousre you plan to put a new Cham in that had a Cham in it before. Cleaning and sterilizing everything. And possibly getting rid of plants.
 
Oh yes, I will certainly sterilize the enclosure. I have some very nice plants and was hoping to wipe them down, but I will think about just replacing them. When I set it up, I did a double pot system for each pot, with the outer pot anchored in the enclosure, then an identical pot slides in with the plant.

ERKleRose, I've been thinking of getting a solar meter (just posted a separate thread about their models), but I will switch to the 6% bulb. Thanks.
 
Oh yes, I will certainly sterilize the enclosure. I have some very nice plants and was hoping to wipe them down, but I will think about just replacing them. When I set it up, I did a double pot system for each pot, with the outer pot anchored in the enclosure, then an identical pot slides in with the plant.

ERKleRose, I've been thinking of getting a solar meter (just posted a separate thread about their models), but I will switch to the 6% bulb. Thanks.

You don’t have to replace the plants as long as you give them a good cleaning and you feel confident there safe. Maybe change out a bunch of the soil as well to get rid of anything that might be in there.
 
Back
Top Bottom