New here, feedback welcomed!

[Sunnysenorita]

• Your Chameleon - Leif Erikson is a Male ambilobe panther, hes about 7 months old and we got him a week ago.
• Handling - I plan to handle him only when absolutely necessary, so far I have not touched him, only coaxed him onto sticks to get him out in order to rearrange his habitat a bit.
• Feeding - He's been on a hunger strike since we got him, but to the best of my knowledge, hes eaten approximately 5 large crickets (2 I've seen). I have dubias and superworms on their way. Because he's such a shy eater, I will feed as much as he'll eat to begin with and adjust from there. We got load with pangea roach and cricket food.
• Supplements - flukers without d3 everyday except 2 days a month when he gets reptivite with d3
• Watering - I hand mist about 3 or 4 times a day and also run a big dripper on 1 drip per second for about 2 hours a day. I have seen him drink.
• Fecal Description - size and shape of a young childs pinkie, about 80% brown, 20% white urate, overall moist, no mucus
• History - he came directly from a local breeder, where he was bred. His sire was onsite and in fantastic health, as well as a few half brothers from previous clutches and a few brothers and sisters from his own clutch.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screened enclosure, 2×2×4, sitting on an 18" high table.
• Lighting - 48" htg double bulb t5 HO fixture, currently with 2 uva spectrum+ ho bulbs(waiting on 1 arcadia uvb 6% t5 ho-first one came broken) I have a reptisun 10.0 compact uvb for now, but new bulb will be here by 7/7. Also have 100w daylight basking bulb.
• Temperature - basking area is 85, 8" from bottom of cage is 75, measured with digital probe thermometers. I live in coastal SC so ambient temp in my home is typically 78 this time of year.
• Humidity - digital hygrometer in center of cage, away from dripper reads consistently between 55 and 67%. Ambient humidity in my home is about 50-55, so the levels in his enclosure are easily maintained with live plants and misting a few times a day.
• Plants - all live, pothos, nerve plant, hoya, dracaena, hibiscus, staghorn fern, burgundy rubber plant.
• Placement - cage is in a 48" wide alcove in my foyer. It has air flow on all sides, the top of the cage is 5.5 feet from the floor.
• Location - Coastal South Carolina

Current Problem - No problem yet (and hopefully ever), but does all above sound correct? And to add to his light setup, I've taken him outside in the morning twice, for 2 hours each to get sun until his bulb gets here. I'll probably take him out again on Monday.Also, I am a little sad and worried that he's such a shy eater. I dont like to leave crickets in there for longer than necessary bc I know they can bite him, die and rot, etc. I'm hoping hes more interested in dubia, but do i need to worry about them biting if not eaten right away as well?
In general the more feedback I can get on what I'm doing, the better. It's been 10+ years since I've had a cham and it seems like alot has changed since then!

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[Haley Hendrix]

• Your Chameleon - Leif Erikson is a Male ambilobe panther, hes about 7 months old and we got him a week ago.
• Handling - I plan to handle him only when absolutely necessary, so far I have not touched him, only coaxed him onto sticks to get him out in order to rearrange his habitat a bit.
• Feeding - He's been on a hunger strike since we got him, but to the best of my knowledge, hes eaten approximately 5 large crickets (2 I've seen). I have dubias and superworms on their way. Because he's such a shy eater, I will feed as much as he'll eat to begin with and adjust from there. We got load with pangea roach and cricket food.
  
  He is adjusting to his new home so it’s expected for him not to eat for a few days. For gutloading try some fruits and vegetables. I will attach a picture of safe foods to gutload with. At his age he can be eating every other day. Dubias are a good feeder but some chams don’t like them. Super worms are a addictive feeder so be careful with those, maybe only 1 or 2 a week.
  
• Supplements - flukers without d3 everyday except 2 days a month when he gets reptivite with d3
• Watering - I hand mist about 3 or 4 times a day and also run a big dripper on 1 drip per second for about 2 hours a day. I have seen him drink.
• Fecal Description - size and shape of a young childs pinkie, about 80% brown, 20% white urate, overall moist, no mucus
  
  Has he been tested for parasites? It’s always good to be sure.
  
• History - he came directly from a local breeder, where he was bred. His sire was onsite and in fantastic health, as well as a few half brothers from previous clutches and a few brothers and sisters from his own clutch.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screened enclosure, 2×2×4, sitting on an 18" high table.
• Lighting - 48" htg double bulb t5 HO fixture, currently with 2 uva spectrum+ ho bulbs(waiting on 1 arcadia uvb 6% t5 ho-first one came broken) I have a reptisun 10.0 compact uvb for now, but new bulb will be here by 7/7. Also have 100w daylight basking bulb.
  
  Good. Compact bulbs don’t give him the correct exposure to UVB.
• Temperature - basking area is 85, 8" from bottom of cage is 75, measured with digital probe thermometers. I live in coastal SC so ambient temp in my home is typically 78 this time of year.
• Humidity - digital hygrometer in center of cage, away from dripper reads consistently between 55 and 67%. Ambient humidity in my home is about 50-55, so the levels in his enclosure are easily maintained with live plants and misting a few times a day.
• Plants - all live, pothos, nerve plant, hoya, dracaena, hibiscus, staghorn fern, burgundy rubber plant.
• Placement - cage is in a 48" wide alcove in my foyer. It has air flow on all sides, the top of the cage is 5.5 feet from the floor.
• Location - Coastal South Carolina

Current Problem - No problem yet (and hopefully ever), but does all above sound correct? And to add to his light setup, I've taken him outside in the morning twice, for 2 hours each to get sun until his bulb gets here. I'll probably take him out again on Monday.Also, I am a little sad and worried that he's such a shy eater. I dont like to leave crickets in there for longer than necessary bc I know they can bite him, die and rot, etc. I'm hoping hes more interested in dubia, but do i need to worry about them biting if not eaten right away as well?
In general the more feedback I can get on what I'm doing, the better. It's been 10+ years since I've had a cham and it seems like alot has changed since then!View attachment 271253View attachment 271254View attachment 271255View attachment 271256View attachment 271257View attachment 271258

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He is adjusting to his new home so it’s expected for him not to eat for a few days. For gutloading try some fruits and vegetables. I will attach a picture of safe foods to gutload with. At his age he can be eating every other day. Dubias are a good feeder but some chams don’t like them. Super worms are a addictive feeder so be careful with those, maybe only 1 or 2 a week.

Compact bulbs don’t give the correct uvb so good that you got the T5 linear 6%

Has he got a fecal done? It’s always good to be safe.

Other than these few things your enclosure looks good.

 

[Beman]

• Your Chameleon - Leif Erikson is a Male ambilobe panther, hes about 7 months old and we got him a week ago.
• Handling - I plan to handle him only when absolutely necessary, so far I have not touched him, only coaxed him onto sticks to get him out in order to rearrange his habitat a bit.
• Feeding - He's been on a hunger strike since we got him, but to the best of my knowledge, hes eaten approximately 5 large crickets (2 I've seen). I have dubias and superworms on their way. Because he's such a shy eater, I will feed as much as he'll eat to begin with and adjust from there. We got load with pangea roach and cricket food.
• Supplements - flukers without d3 everyday except 2 days a month when he gets reptivite with d3
• Watering - I hand mist about 3 or 4 times a day and also run a big dripper on 1 drip per second for about 2 hours a day. I have seen him drink.
• Fecal Description - size and shape of a young childs pinkie, about 80% brown, 20% white urate, overall moist, no mucus
• History - he came directly from a local breeder, where he was bred. His sire was onsite and in fantastic health, as well as a few half brothers from previous clutches and a few brothers and sisters from his own clutch.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - screened enclosure, 2×2×4, sitting on an 18" high table.
• Lighting - 48" htg double bulb t5 HO fixture, currently with 2 uva spectrum+ ho bulbs(waiting on 1 arcadia uvb 6% t5 ho-first one came broken) I have a reptisun 10.0 compact uvb for now, but new bulb will be here by 7/7. Also have 100w daylight basking bulb.
• Temperature - basking area is 85, 8" from bottom of cage is 75, measured with digital probe thermometers. I live in coastal SC so ambient temp in my home is typically 78 this time of year.
• Humidity - digital hygrometer in center of cage, away from dripper reads consistently between 55 and 67%. Ambient humidity in my home is about 50-55, so the levels in his enclosure are easily maintained with live plants and misting a few times a day.
• Plants - all live, pothos, nerve plant, hoya, dracaena, hibiscus, staghorn fern, burgundy rubber plant.
• Placement - cage is in a 48" wide alcove in my foyer. It has air flow on all sides, the top of the cage is 5.5 feet from the floor.
• Location - Coastal South Carolina

Current Problem - No problem yet (and hopefully ever), but does all above sound correct? And to add to his light setup, I've taken him outside in the morning twice, for 2 hours each to get sun until his bulb gets here. I'll probably take him out again on Monday.Also, I am a little sad and worried that he's such a shy eater. I dont like to leave crickets in there for longer than necessary bc I know they can bite him, die and rot, etc. I'm hoping hes more interested in dubia, but do i need to worry about them biting if not eaten right away as well?
In general the more feedback I can get on what I'm doing, the better. It's been 10+ years since I've had a cham and it seems like alot has changed since then!View attachment 271253View attachment 271254View attachment 271255View attachment 271256View attachment 271257View attachment 271258

--------------

Hi there Welcome to the forum! you will get more feedback on quetions if you post in the main forum instead of the lizard lounge.

Looking at everything your on the right track. You may consider ordering a feeder run like this one in a Large size. https://tkchameleons.com/
Keep him on every day feedings until he is closer to a year old. Then you will want to kick him over to every other day 3-4 feeders.

With the 6% UVB bulb you have on order. You want the highest branch to be 9 inches below. Nothing closer. At 9 inches this will give you the right UVI level.

With the dragon ledges they work better if you utilize vertical braces branches... https://dragonstrand.com/getting-the-most-from-your-dragon-strand-dragon-ledges/

 

[Sunnysenorita]

He is adjusting to his new home so it’s expected for him not to eat for a few days. For gutloading try some fruits and vegetables. I will attach a picture of safe foods to gutload with. At his age he can be eating every other day. Dubias are a good feeder but some chams don’t like them. Super worms are a addictive feeder so be careful with those, maybe only 1 or 2 a week.

Compact bulbs don’t give the correct uvb so good that you got the T5 linear 6%

Has he got a fecal done? It’s always good to be safe.

Other than these few things your enclosure looks good.

Thanks for the input! I added apple, carrot and sweet potato to my feeder bins. An no worries about the superworms bc it seems like hes actually scared of them?‍ no interest in roaches yet either but I'll keep trying. No fecal done yet but i found an exotics vet in my area that i plan to call this week?

 

[Sunnysenorita]

Hi there Welcome to the forum! you will get more feedback on quetions if you post in the main forum instead of the lizard lounge.

Looking at everything your on the right track. You may consider ordering a feeder run like this one in a Large size. https://tkchameleons.com/
Keep him on every day feedings until he is closer to a year old. Then you will want to kick him over to every other day 3-4 feeders.

With the 6% UVB bulb you have on order. You want the highest branch to be 9 inches below. Nothing closer. At 9 inches this will give you the right UVI level.

With the dragon ledges they work better if you utilize vertical braces branches... https://dragonstrand.com/getting-the-most-from-your-dragon-strand-dragon-ledges/

Thanks for the help on where to put the branches relative to my uvb bulbs. I consider myself a decently intelligent human but those UVI charts confuse me!

 

[Beman]

Thanks for the help on where to put the branches relative to my uvb bulbs. I consider myself a decently intelligent human but those UVI charts confuse me!

LOL yeah they confuse everyone. This is a great link explaining it better. But nine inches is your sweet spot with that fixture and bulb strength. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/