Need Tips/Advice for 4 month old Nosy Be please!

[kfacetastic]

Hello!
I just got my first chameleon, a nosy be panther, this weekend at a reptile show! Reptar is a tad over 4 months old and absolutely gorgeous! I am seriously in love with him.

I am a little intimidated by some of the threads and what not i have read about raising a young panther chameleon. Trust me though, i am def up for the challenge, i just want to make sure i am doing everything to make him feel comfortable. I have been doing research since May to get ready for him, i built his cage from scratch (2x2x4 with aluminum screen and PVC pipe, right now i have raised the bottom about 2 feet to create a smaller area) i have been tending to about 5 appropriate (the only one im not sure about is the orchid, though he LOVES it) live plants and a bend-a-branch i purchased from a pet store that goes all around the enclosure.

I have a 100 watt basking lamp on one side of the cage (if he is too hot, will he move away from the heat? i know juvs can over heat easy, but how do i know if he is overheating?) i also have a 5.0 UVB light.

I mist the cage about 3 times a day from around 1 minute to a minute and half, i can literally feel the humidity in the cage after i mist it down. He is def not shy about drinking in front of me. He drank in front of me prob 5 minutes after i got him home. I made some simple drip systems of cups and fill them about 2x a day between misting just to keep the humidity up and to mimic rain.

He does get finicky about eating in front of me, but today he didnt seem to mind that i was watching like he had the day before. At first i tried to do free range feedings, but he is so tiny! and the cage is so big! i wasnt sure if he was actually eating so i went to cups, he has been eating around 12-15 crickets a day (is that too little? or too much?) i have been trying to keep a few in there just so he can eat if he is hungry and also a few free range so he can exercise and move around a little more. I have the cricket calcium diet that i have been gutloading the crickets with and lightly dusting them before they get eaten. I am going to try some worms next week though, just to keep him satisfied and not bored with his food. I am a tad worried about MVB and really want to prevent that before it becomes an issue, is there anything else i can be doing to help?

I want him to get used to me and allow me to at least hold him, maybe not all the time but every once in a while, i have only taken him out a few times just to fix some things in the cage since i got him because i am terrified of stressing him out bc of the new environment and people. I am going to slowly start getting him out of the cage next week though, for very small increments of time and the next week let him hang out outside on one of my plants for some extra sunlight.

My friend has a panther and she puts him in the shower with her, and i want to try and do that too at one point when he gets older and used to me! I have also seen her directly spray her panther and he LOVES it, when is it ok to start doing that?

sorry if this is a lot at once, i am just interested in finding more about him through experienced chameleons lovers! so please give me any advice or direction you find necessary!

thanks!

 

[kfacetastic]

i will have pictures soon! he isnt a fan of the camera right now, he is super camera shy

 

[Ace]

Hi !!!

Welcome to the forums and congrats to your new addition.

For the 100 watt bulb...might be too hot for him....need a digital thermometer to determine the basking temp and ambient temp...(bask temp 80-85 max) (other temp areas of the cage around 70-75 during the day and 65 degrees at night)

The humididty is good...you are doing great!

You will know if he overheats when he opens his mouth(gaping) when he is basking....chams need to bask and its in their instincts to bask everyday even when its too hot....so he wont try to move away at first...

the crickets portion size is okay...depends on the size of the crickets..rule of thumb is to not exceed the length between the eyes of the cham when feeding any insects when young...use all kind of worms(silkworms, superworms, and hornworms) NEVER MEALWORMS CAN CAUSE IMPACTION(TOO MUCH SHELL NOT ENOUGH MEAT INSIDE)

as for your worry for MBD i think you mentioned....just gutload your feeder insects with fruits and veggies,

Supplements: how you supplememt is your decision however its recommended on this forum -dust crickets lightly not coated

repcal without d3-everyother day

repcal with d3- 2x month

herptivite- 2x month

this in general helps prevent illness or MBd on chams

ALSO BEST TO GIVE YOUR "WILSON" NATURAL SUN LIGHT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE- THE MORE OFTEN THE BETTER

oVERALL CHAMS HAVE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES

SOME WILL WANT TO BE NEAR YOU AND OTHERS WELL NOT REALLY

YOUR FRIEND REALLY MUST BE A CHAM CRAZY LOVER TO PUT THE CHAM IN THE SHOWER!!!LOL

I WOULDNT SUGGEST THAT , BUT HOLDING HIM LIKE YOU SAID IS A GOOD IDEA...

ALSO HAND FEEDING YOUR CHAM WILL BETTER THE CHANCES OF HIM WALIKNG ON YOUR ARM!!!!

GOODLUCK ANDPOST PICS AS SOON AS YOU CAN...I WANT TO SEE WILSON!!!

 

[carol5208]

A few suggestions I would make. I would gutload my crickets with fresh veggies and fruits instead of the cricket calcium gutload. Is that all you are using? You can use just about any veggie(dark greens such as romaine, kale, collard greens are good) carrots, etc and fruits (use oranges for hydration, apples, cantalope, etc. The amount of crickets you are feeding are good but you could even feed a few more. Pretty much let them eat what they want. At 4 months mine ate about 20 1/4inch crickets. Make sure that before the lights go out that there are not any crikcets roaming the cage as they can bite your chameleon while he/she is sleeping! When I first got my cham at about 4 months the breeder sent me a 100 watt basking bulb. If you measure yor basking temp you are going to find a 100 watt is going to produce a way higher basking temp than the recommended 80 degrees or so. I did use it for quite a few months, but I did notice that mycham was sometimes opening his mouth when he basked (which meant he was too hot) so no they dont always move away,but will open their mouths toregulate their body temps. I changed the wattage to 60 and I have never seen him do it again. Make sure if you are going to keep the 100 watt that you have the branch low enough (atleast 6 inches or more because of the wattage) below the basking light so the chameleons back or head does not touch the screen when they bask as that can cause a burn. Also, definitely dust your feeders with the supplements the other member listed above. That is critical. Your best bet is to post some pics of your set up and let the members critique your set up so you know everything is perfect.

 

[Psi]

My friend has a panther and she puts him in the shower with her, and i want to try and do that too at one point when he gets older and used to me! I have also seen her directly spray her panther and he LOVES it, when is it ok to start doing that?

I wouldn't actually go 'IN' the shower with any of my chams, that's just weird.
I would normally use a Pothos(any other safe plant would work, I just like Pothos for the leaf size) raised up on a 18" stand to get the height right so the water bounced off the wall and onto the plant.
Showers aren't typically a requirement, they're usually to help with a shed or to encourage drinking.

 

[kfacetastic]

haha, she doesnt necessarily shower WITH him, she just puts him in the shower. that def would be weird though...lol

anyways! i got some D3 supplement and put some apples and carrots (just what i happen to have on hand) in with the crickets, so that should def help! thanks for all the advice! i feel alot better now. i will post some pictures soon, Reptar just doenst seem to really like the camera just yet. he puffed all up and started opening his mouth when i got by the cage with it, so it may take some convincing (or some type of sneaky maneuver )

I was pleased to see that he was eating and drinking while my hand was in the cage though, thats a good sign...right? lol he got upset at first, but then got used to it in like 30 seconds or so. Im such a proud mom