New chameleon owner - ADVICE REQ!!!

[chris1985]

Got Godzilla about 2 months ago now. Would like peoples advice on the below setup etc to make sure everything is in order.

1. Ambilobe Panther chameleon, Male around 6 months old, i got him when he was about 3 months.
2. Handle him every day, let him roam around on the sofa and stairs for 5 mins, otherwise he gets angry trying to escape from his tank. He gets fed most of his worms while he is out in my hand.
3. Feed - his main diet is crickets/locust and mealworm/waxworm, about 10 per day. Feed him every morning before i go to work. crickets,locust, waxworms are gut loaded with shop bought bug food and supplemented with fresh fruit, greens etc.
4. Supplement every day with calcium only (calci-dust), every other week with multivitimans (arkvits) and twice a month with nutrobol.
5. Dripper set up into bowl thats emptied, mist with boiled water (to remove chlorine) 2 times per day.
6. Small white bit with large black brown bit. white bit been a bit off white colour recently. I have never tested him for parasites? how do you do that?
7. Tank - he is in an exo-terra glass terrium with mesh top. Dimensions are 45cm x 45cm x 60cm(high)
8. Lighting - lights are switched by timer and are on 7am-7pm. Two lights in hood both exo terra UVB repti glow 2.0 (old just used for extra light and UVB repti glow 5.0. And 1 x 50w red heat bulb sat ontop of mesh (outside cage).
9. Temp - cage floor is about 70degrees, top of tank around 75 degrees, under basking light about 85. All lights are off at night and temp falls to lowest 60degrees.
10. Humidity - humidity levels at 80-85%, . Measured by probe hydrometer.
11. Plants - 2 live plants ficus (unsure what type), and bromeliad
12. placement - cage located next to front door in house, quite high traffic area but he doesnt seem to mind. Top of cage is about 115cm from floor.
13. I live in United Kingdom - Manchester.

He has currently stopped eating crickets and will only eat waxworms/mealworms and locust. Going to give him a week or so off and try re introducing them.

 

[kinyonga]

Here's some information you might find helpful...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you and your parents to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/