Hello,
I have been keeping other reptiles for a while now, but have recently decided to delve into the challenge of keeping a panther chameleon. I did a lot of research and carefully weighed the pros and cons of different set ups and equipment. I have had the enclosure up and going for almost a week now and have tweaked everything to what I believe is a good. My little guy arrived today after being delayed by FedEx. The package got held up in Indianapolis overnight, so he was in the shipping box for a day longer than expected. He was packaged well with a heat pack (it's cold here) and arrived in good health. He is only about 4 months old and I can't wait until he colors up. Anyway, I could tell the breeder cares deeply about his animals and has been doing it for many, many years. However, once I told him how everything is set up, he was very concerned and stated that it was all wrong. I spent extra money and got the starter kit he recommended. I would just like honest feedback on what I should incorporate from the new items and what will work with what I already have. The new kit comes with a screen cage, branches, lighting, vitamin/mineral supplements, and a few other things. Worst case scenario, I will have to redo the whole setup and the best case scenario is that I will have some extra equipment and a nice outdoor screen cage for the summer months.
I live in Michigan and the house is really dry over the winter and I also run a dehumidifier over the summer with the central air, so the humidity inside the house is rarely over 50% and drops down into the 20% range in the winter. Anyway, here is a picture of my current setup with description of what i did.
I started with the medium extra high terrarium by Exo Terra that measures 24" wide, 18" deep, and 36" high. I used a mist king misting system with two spray nozzles in the top front corners and mist 3 times a day for 1.5 minutes per misting while the lights are on. I put a layer of clay pebbles on the bottom, then a plastic screen, and then live plants in organic potting soil, and on top of this is lava rock. I also seeded this with springtails to control any mold or bacteria within the substrate. I incorporated bamboo branches, and vines to create climbing and basking areas from the bottom to the top of the enclosure. I am also using an Exo Terra 50w Sunray fixture and bulb which gives him an 85-90 degree basking spot on the upper branch and provides heat, light, UVA, and UVB. Outside the basking spot, the temps are in the mid 70s during the day. The airflow seems great in this terrarium and humidity has stayed great with the live plants and misting. Everything is soaked after the misting and dries before the next one kicks on. My light is set to go on at 9:00am and off at 9:00pm and the 1.5 minute mist turns on at 10:00am, 3:00pm, and 8:00pm. I will also give the plants a little extra once or twice a week to ensure the roots are getting enough water.
Once I put the little guy into this today, he basked for about an hour, ate a mealworm, then some crickets from the cricket cup I made, drank some water droplets, and ate more crickets! Now he is basking again after checking out the full enclosure. I plan to dust the crickets once week with calcium/D3 powder, once a week with just calcium, and once a week (while young) with a multivitamin. I will then back off on the reptile multivitamins as he grows to about twice a month while maintaining the calcium and calcium with D3 dusting. Here is the little guy in his dark color soaking up some rays:
Let me know if you would change anything about the enclosure or my planned husbandry practices. Thank you for any and all honest feedback.
I have been keeping other reptiles for a while now, but have recently decided to delve into the challenge of keeping a panther chameleon. I did a lot of research and carefully weighed the pros and cons of different set ups and equipment. I have had the enclosure up and going for almost a week now and have tweaked everything to what I believe is a good. My little guy arrived today after being delayed by FedEx. The package got held up in Indianapolis overnight, so he was in the shipping box for a day longer than expected. He was packaged well with a heat pack (it's cold here) and arrived in good health. He is only about 4 months old and I can't wait until he colors up. Anyway, I could tell the breeder cares deeply about his animals and has been doing it for many, many years. However, once I told him how everything is set up, he was very concerned and stated that it was all wrong. I spent extra money and got the starter kit he recommended. I would just like honest feedback on what I should incorporate from the new items and what will work with what I already have. The new kit comes with a screen cage, branches, lighting, vitamin/mineral supplements, and a few other things. Worst case scenario, I will have to redo the whole setup and the best case scenario is that I will have some extra equipment and a nice outdoor screen cage for the summer months.
I live in Michigan and the house is really dry over the winter and I also run a dehumidifier over the summer with the central air, so the humidity inside the house is rarely over 50% and drops down into the 20% range in the winter. Anyway, here is a picture of my current setup with description of what i did.
I started with the medium extra high terrarium by Exo Terra that measures 24" wide, 18" deep, and 36" high. I used a mist king misting system with two spray nozzles in the top front corners and mist 3 times a day for 1.5 minutes per misting while the lights are on. I put a layer of clay pebbles on the bottom, then a plastic screen, and then live plants in organic potting soil, and on top of this is lava rock. I also seeded this with springtails to control any mold or bacteria within the substrate. I incorporated bamboo branches, and vines to create climbing and basking areas from the bottom to the top of the enclosure. I am also using an Exo Terra 50w Sunray fixture and bulb which gives him an 85-90 degree basking spot on the upper branch and provides heat, light, UVA, and UVB. Outside the basking spot, the temps are in the mid 70s during the day. The airflow seems great in this terrarium and humidity has stayed great with the live plants and misting. Everything is soaked after the misting and dries before the next one kicks on. My light is set to go on at 9:00am and off at 9:00pm and the 1.5 minute mist turns on at 10:00am, 3:00pm, and 8:00pm. I will also give the plants a little extra once or twice a week to ensure the roots are getting enough water.
Once I put the little guy into this today, he basked for about an hour, ate a mealworm, then some crickets from the cricket cup I made, drank some water droplets, and ate more crickets! Now he is basking again after checking out the full enclosure. I plan to dust the crickets once week with calcium/D3 powder, once a week with just calcium, and once a week (while young) with a multivitamin. I will then back off on the reptile multivitamins as he grows to about twice a month while maintaining the calcium and calcium with D3 dusting. Here is the little guy in his dark color soaking up some rays:
Let me know if you would change anything about the enclosure or my planned husbandry practices. Thank you for any and all honest feedback.
