Need some advice ASAP

[Franquixote]

Hi all, after a 30 year or so hiatus from keeping reps, I'm eager to own a panther chameleon. I don't want to rush into it, but I am concerned that the dealer I am leaning toward has only 1 left of the lineage I really want (best blue ambilobes I have found after 2 weeks of looking all over)and it may be month(s) until another clutch is available.
Do I take my chances and be patient OR jump at the chance, get an adequate enclosure, and do a custom build over the next month or 2?

I have to decide today because it'll be gone by tomorrow I'm sure.

I have a space in mind to do a really neat custom setup and I'll post pics, but I wanted some thoughts on whether or not a great lineage blue ambilobe is a rare opportunity or if I'm just being antsy because of the excitement I'm feeling over rediscovering the hobby!

 

[Virgil1972]

If he the breeder will have another clutch I would wait to get it. In the wait I would get the cage setup and do research to get back into the swing of things.

 

[etclement]

Depends on how confident you are with your knowledge of care. If you just saw them cham and decided to get back to reptiles vs have been researching for a few weeks now are two different things. If you are in the latter stage of research, I would say go for it as long as you have the supplies, feeders, and knowledge to take care of a baby. Be extremely cautious though. If you haven't researched a certain aspect of care such as gutloading temps Uvb feeders etc then wait for the next clutch. IMO I would wait for the next clutch and give the chameleon an amazing home rather than a shakey one. It will affect the chams entire personality and wellbeing from the start.

P.S. Ambilobes are the most common locale of panther. They're not hard to get. Again, be very very sure of your care before you start the buying process. The chams bloodline won't matter if it suffers from health issues all its life. Good luck!

 

[Franquixote]

I'm very confident with care, I did this in the 1980's before the first vitamins (Reptomin!) were out and my then and still best buddy had a reptile only store where we kept the largest selection of herps outside the importer (Alfred in NYC).

BUT I'm glad to hear that blue ambilobes are common- that's a huge deal- the specific coloration is important to me. The neon green background with royal blue bars without any spots, plus the red dorsal stripe and red/purple face/ fringes is the animal I have my eye on and seems to be a very hard combination to find. And of course, there's no guarantees with hatchlings coloration.

You bring up a great point about personality- what's the consensus on cage size for hatchlings- is it better to get a smaller space to start or is it always the bigger the better?
I was also thinking that I would probably want breeding colonies of several different insects from the get-go that were fully gut loaded and that I should dial in the UV to match the requirements for both the chameleon and the native plants I want to grow along with him.
Work out humidity, give the plants time to anchor to branches, make sure that everything is dialed in with a swift and thorough cleaning routine.

Anyway, the availability was the major concern and that seems to be nothing to rush over.

Can anyone offer advice on at what age hatchlings coloration will hint at whether or not they are going to be spectacular? Also, if anyone has an idea about what you would expect to pay for an exceptional juvenile blue ambilobe that'd be helpful too. One breeder had a holdover that looks promising but he is asking something like $600 which seems awfully high!

 

[etclement]

I'm very confident with care, I did this in the 1980's before the first vitamins (Reptomin!) were out and my then and still best buddy had a reptile only store where we kept the largest selection of herps outside the importer (Alfred in NYC).

BUT I'm glad to hear that blue ambilobes are common- that's a huge deal- the specific coloration is important to me. The neon green background with royal blue bars without any spots, plus the red dorsal stripe and red/purple face/ fringes is the animal I have my eye on and seems to be a very hard combination to find. And of course, there's no guarantees with hatchlings coloration.

You bring up a great point about personality- what's the consensus on cage size for hatchlings- is it better to get a smaller space to start or is it always the bigger the better?
I was also thinking that I would probably want breeding colonies of several different insects from the get-go that were fully gut loaded and that I should dial in the UV to match the requirements for both the chameleon and the native plants I want to grow along with him.
Work out humidity, give the plants time to anchor to branches, make sure that everything is dialed in with a swift and thorough cleaning routine.

Anyway, the availability was the major concern and that seems to be nothing to rush over.

Can anyone offer advice on at what age hatchlings coloration will hint at whether or not they are going to be spectacular? Also, if anyone has an idea about what you would expect to pay for an exceptional juvenile blue ambilobe that'd be helpful too. One breeder had a holdover that looks promising but he is asking something like $600 which seems awfully high!

Bjgger will always be better, but for a hatchling a bigger cage means they can get lost. If the cham is a juvenile try an 18x18x36 and move them into their adult cage later. If you go with a big enclosure you will need a lot more light. I have a 5 wide 2.5 deep and 6 tall cage which uses a 100 w Uv flood, two 22" t5HO desert Uvb lights, two Jungle Dawn leds, and a 4' 4 Bulb t8 fixture with 5000 kelvin (daylight temp for plants) led bulbs. For an 18x18x36 you just need a Uvb bulb and a 60w basking really. As for where to get it, $600 for a holdback isn't a lot, considering some ambilobes are about half that as babies. I would recommend Flchams or Kammerflauge for an ambilobe if you can't find anything local.

 

[Franquixote]

Thanks for the reply- I'm hoping a talented woodworking friend will want to do a custom build together and so lighting would have to be based on that. I wouldn't make any guesses, seen too many animals come in from importers with rickets or other metabolic disorders after only a few weeks or months without proper care.
Does anyone know of equipment rentals or belong to local clubs that offer loaners on tools like solarmeters? They are like $400 for good ones, and you really only need them for a week initially and then at 3-6-9-and 12 months to chart degradation of bulbs.
I have top end humidistats but that's another item that should be available for rental or loan w/ a deposit.
Do you think there would be interest here for putting together a loaner kit for some of these tools? My idea would be a keeper would put the full amount in escrow on one of the many sites that offer that service, then just pay for shipping both ways and maybe a $10-20 fee that would go back into the fund to obtain more equipment for the same purpose.
Worth making a post about or a dumb idea? IMO once you get readings there's no need to have a $400 tool if you are running the same setup.

 

[jamest0o0]

Just my .02 cents, I've seen tons of Chams thinking I need to get it because there won't be more like that around. I've realized now that there will always be Chams like this, I'd just get set up and then go hunting for one, it's not hard to find a beautiful cham and especially ambilobe.

 

[Sloppysponge]

Just my .02 cents, I've seen tons of Chams thinking I need to get it because there won't be more like that around. I've realized now that there will always be Chams like this, I'd just get set up and then go hunting for one, it's not hard to find a beautiful cham and especially ambilobe.