My baby panther setup! Seeking answers/tips/advice

[vgaines]

Temperature:
Baby/juvenile (<9 months): ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 82F (28C)
Adult males: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 85-90F (29-32C)
Adult females: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 80-85F (26-29C)

Ambient temperature refers to the temperature near the bottom of the cage and basking temperature refers to the hottest point accessible to your chameleon. Basking is where a chameleon absorbs heat from an external overhead source to help regulate their body temperature; it also promotes proper digestion and a healthy metabolism. Nighttime temperatures can safely drop down to 50F (10C) so a night heat source should not be used unless temperatures are lower than this. If night heat is needed a ceramic heat emitter or space heater should be used, not a light bulb, even red or black bulbs.

My veileds temps get into the high 60's at night and I have not had any problems. I can tell you that he is very sensitive to light after he is asleep. Even with a small lamp on in the room he will wake up and move to a darker spot.

Hope this helps..

 

[Hanzow]

Very much actually. Thanks so much. I'll eliminate the night time heat lamp asap. Bummer I bought all this stuff and I'm slowly eliminating all of it... As long as it keeps the baby alive I guess it's no big.

 

[Andee]

hmmm Have you tried hand feeding the little guy some crickets? It's rare to get them to when they just arrived but sometimes it works. It did with mine. Hold the cricket by the back legs, both, and hold it just below his eye level. Hopefully it works D8.

 

[Hanzow]

I did try that. Unfortunately I'm a giant... so its difficult to hang on to pinheads and smalls without crushing them AND my cham is still terrified of my hand so he will retreat. :-/

 

[Flapnecked69]

Please be careful with the container if he gets not air he might get sick, i had one chameleon like 3 weeks ago an he got sick because of the substrate and i had him on a fiah tank and he did not get any air at all. He didnt wanted to eat anyrhing at all. Im also new to chams but i think the container also makes him see his own reflex and that gets them stressd out and make them not wanna eat. If u have the chance try makin a screen cage, those work well and they get good airflow trying to help man good luck.

 

[Hanzow]

Bump. She still doesn't seem to be eating, for like 2 days now. Got mealworms and crickets in there. She just seems to be wanting to bask all day today. Any advice?

 

[Dez]

I noticed it looks like you have some ice cubes on top of the cage for watering. You may find the cham does not like the water because it is so cold.

I mist my chameleons with room temp to warm water

 

[Hanzow]

Yeah, I need to pick up a dripper. I tried melting ice in half a water bottle on a water bottle with a tiny hole in it, but it just isn't the right amount of water. I mist it multiple times a day to make up for it. It seems to dry up very quick in there now since I took out the coconut husk shavings. Hydration isn't the issue though. Food is.

 

[sebitto]

Hi, just a couple of things you might want to try regarding feeding. My little panther chameleon went off crickets for a month or so. It was very frustrating. Luckily he still went crazy for fruit flies so i kept him going on those (he had to eat LOADS of them). I also fed him the occassional mealworm to fatten him up, but its not good to use mealworms as a staple so I only gave him the mealworms once a week or so. Then my stick bugs started hatching, so i tried feeding him those and he loved them too. I also got my grasshopper breeding and sure enough the tiny grasshoppers were a big success too. After he started eating stick bugs and grasshoppers he started growing quite fast. Now that he is bigger, and after about a month without, i tried feeding him crickets again and he is back to eating them no problems.

Best advice i can give you is to try as many different feeders as are available to you. Good luck with it.

 

[Hanzow]

How do those flightless fruit flies do? Do they hang out on the screen or will they wander in my ficus? They looked kinda too small for her to notice. Is that an issue?

 

[ReptiGeek]

Just want to quickly say that I applaud you for taking such a positive outlook to all of the constructive criticism given thus far. You have done a great job taking everyone's advice.

Fruit flies are KEY to getting young ones to start eating if they have little taste for crickets and worms, etc. FF are very active when climbing branches and such, so they help initiate a "hunting" response to the little ones. Melongasters will likely not fit through the screen, so they will be better if you are worried about escaping flies. However Hydei's breed way faster, allowing you too replenish your stock and spend less money.
If you are in doubt that your panther won't eat anything, give the FF a try! I did when my boy wasn't eating and it worked wonders.

 

[Hanzow]

Hey thanks!
Yeah, you know I really do care about doing things right. I love all animals and I have a special interest in reptiles. I'm more than grateful for all the great guidance I've gotten on here. Sometimes it's not as quick as I'm looking for haha, but really everyone's been great. My wife and I were really worried about our little girl, but the last few days she's been perking up, eating more regularly and a lot more active. I've been placing about 10 crickets at the top of the ficus and 3-4 silkworms in the branches and she's all over the place hunting. She gets all the silkies and most of the crickets. Whatever she doesn't get I grab out of the bottom because they usually fall by the end of the day. Also, we got our Exo Terra Monsoon RS 400 the other day so the moisture levels are more balanced now which is great. I have the mister going every hour for 4 seconds. Which seems ok, but if that sounds off please let me know. Besides the mister I hand mist like 3 good times a day. Is it ok to have the mister go on during the night? Or will that disturb her sleep?
Here are some update pictures.







She wasn't so happy with me taking pictures of her, but I'm glad to see her puffing up instead of fleeing. Kinda...

 

[matt2310]

......

I can't really speak for LLL reptile I've only ordered from them twice for 50 dubias and a veiled Cham 2 weeks ago... Had problems since day one with closed eyes then he started sleeping a lot during the day they kept telling me its the humidity and he's fine blah blah but after he didn't eat one day and was only eating 2 small crickets a day I had to take him to the vet yesterday and they gave me some meds to feed and also recomended force feeding crickets until he gets a little better.... After day one Banjo looks 80% better, took his meds like a champ

 

[matt2310]

.....

Banjo took the meds then would put his head up calmly opening his mouth for me to put food in, ate 4 crickets a Dubai roach and small superworm. And today took 5 crickets and 2superworms so far...

 

[matt2310]

......

So if not eating maybe try force feed? Been working for me... Sry for so many posts

 

[sebitto]

I know its a little late but you asked about how i feed my guy his fruit flies:

I used a feeder cup to give Luigi his flies. The feeder was simply an empty yoghurt container which had a long wooden skewer (pointy side down) poked through the center. I dusted the flies in a box, then gently tapped them outta the box and into the yoghurt feeder cup. The flies then raced up and down the wooden skewer on the feeder cup and my chameleon went for em like crazy. He weighs 10 grams now and will still come down for flies, though they´ll soon be too small for him to bother with i reckon.

Also I dont think misting at night is a good idea. I was told on here that the last misting should be at least 2 or three hours before lights out for the night.