My Panther

pittbulldog

New Member
Hello all. I'm new to the forum. I got a Panther Cham back in August from Screameleons. He is now about 7 months old and healthy as an Ox. He used to tolerate me handling him fairly well, but since his last shed (about 2 weeks ago), he's been a very angry lizard. He tolerates me cleaning the cage fine, but when I get near him, he puffs up, opens his mouth, and starts to snap at me. I know that they are not "handling" pets, but my question is: Do Panthers go through the wild "teen" phase, or is it likely that this is how he's going to be? It was pretty much an overnight transformation. Here are some pics of him. http://www.fototime.com/inv/CC93F2E617217D3
 
Hi pitbull, welcome to the board. You've got a very handsome guy there....looks like a future Screamer! My panther did a similar thing. I think once they reach a certain "maturity" stage that it's not uncommon for the testosterone to kick in. I would make some changes to your cage set up though. From what I could see it didn't look like he had any real plants in there and not much coverage either. Also, he's probably needing to be moved to a bigger setup now. If I'm not mistaken that looks like the mesh Reptarium cage (38 gal?) with a zipper. He's definitely ready for more height. Male panthers should be in 2ftx2ftx4ft cage with the right lights, lots of foliage, etc. They like their privacy. :)

Just my thoughts from what I could see in the pics. You may also want to post your husbandy. There are many people here with a ton of knowledge that could provide you with some great tips. Again, welcome to the board! :D

Scrappy
 
Thanks for the reply. Yes, he's in a 38 gallon right now. I've got a 265 set up and ready to go, I was just waiting until he can handle large crickets so that he can hunt them easier. I was thinking about moving him in the next month or so. I also have a med. size umbrella tree to go in the big cage. Do you think he'd have a problem hunting crickets in the big cage? Mostly, the crickets stay on the plastic insert in the floor. One will occassionally climb up the side. The folks at Screameleons said that he is a combination of a Nosy Be Blue and an Ambanja Blue. Here are the parents.
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Awesome! I would go ahead amd move him sooner rather than later. You may want to also consider cup feeding. 3lb deli bowls work really well for this method. Just break off the bottom part of the crickets leg so they can't jump out of the bowl, and afix the bowl to the side of the cage with zip ties, or wire ties near his basking spot. I do this with mine and it helps to also monitor how much they are eating. Then you can drop veggie gutload right into the deli bowl and the crickets can continue to gutload as well.
 
Males can go through some "teenage" months while getting their hormones. I have had some turn from sweet to "I'm the man now" attitude and then back to sweetness when they become full adults. Give him a few months to strut his stuff :) . He'll come back to reality soon ;) .
 
Thanks for all the quick replies. You guys are great. I have one more question. I'm trying to decorate the 265 gallon now, and I cut a piece of wild grape vine out of the woods. Will this be ok for my Panther? Do I need to do anything to it first? Thanks again.
 
clean it off with a 10% bleach wash. Rinse it very well then place it in the oven at 350 for 30 min. Nothing will be on it then. Its the safest way to treat outside wood.
 
I moved him into his new cage yesterday, and he didn't mind climbing onto my hand at all. Strange. I guess he just gets moody from time to time.
 
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