New here; new to chams

Rst_Cham said:
Welcome to the forums! I put my male panther in his adult cage at 3 months, no issues at all. I use a modified $10 sterilite container for transporting to vet visits and for when I’m deep cleaning cage. He’s in the standard 2x2x4 and now that he’s adult I’ve actually decided to custom build him something much bigger this spring. I think he would enjoy something wider.
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Thank you! That's a good idea for transport, etc. I'm glad to see most are saying at 3 months they can go straight into the larger cage. The kammerflage bunch has some hatched in november that will be ready soon so they'll be around 3 to 4 mos. I think next year I will look into custom or at least bigger more expensive cages. Before I go majorly investing I want to make sure we got this down and can take good care of them. That said I plan to buy the biggest exo terra I can reach for. But if the cost vs quality and size is quickly outweighed by the dragon strands I may just go ahead and bite that bullet.
 
Tory990 said:
There is one in lexington so that's good to know. I'll check her out. Thank you.
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Funny story, I used to live in Lexington and actually that's when I got my first reptile - an iguana. There used to be an AWESOME reptile vet and she was amazing. I even ended up taking ALL my animals to her. I'll see if I can come up with her proper name as it's been probably 15 years. I seem to remember her going by "Dr. Z" at the time.

Tory990 said:
Thank you. I will check into those.
Now as far as plants go. I want to do a mix of real and fake. Wheres everybody get their plants and branches from?
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I suggest real plants and fake vines. I use the "Flukers bend-a-vine" off amazon. They're WAY cheaper than retail, like $4/ea for the large ones. They do limit it to 4 per Amazon account, but not house holds, on the large size. Though with a female and a male I'd say 4 is enough. The medium's and smalls are what I use most.

I typically will use a pothos and wrap it around the vines to make it more visually appealing as well as providing more grasps and routes for my guys and gals. In addition, I typically have a "main tree" - usually a hibiscus or a money tree. [Hibiscus have pretty high light requirements however]. From there I'll add a bromeliad, sprig of wandering jew, orchids and a TON of little air plants (you can put them on vines, wood, tie to the screen, etc) to fill in the blank spots. It takes some time but once everything grows in, they look pretty good!

I also use lots of driftwood. The problem with driftwood is the cost and the fact people store it in stacks with tend to harbor all kinds of bugs. I wish I still had access to the Ky river as I remember seeing driftwood all over growing up and going fishing. To "sterilize" branches from the wilds, simply bake it in the over at 2-225 for a couple of hours. If you want to be more thorough you can fill a bin with a bleach water solution [I think its 1 tablespoon per gallon] and submerge the wood, let it air dry, then bake it.

While males are definitely the eye catchers, my females have much better personalities and subtle, yet striking, color variations. When it warms up, be sure to take your lady out at sunset and see what she looks like under that lighting...

Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the hobby!

Best wishes.
 
And I was able to recall where it was and Google maps says the vet is:

Pennyroyal Small & Exotic
247 Regency Cir, Lexington, KY 40503
http://www.pennyroyalvet.com/

It looks as though "Dr. Z" has moved on from there, but based on how awesome she was I'd probably still go knowing the kind of company she kept.
 
Hashtag ChamLife said:
Funny story, I used to live in Lexington and actually that's when I got my first reptile - an iguana. There used to be an AWESOME reptile vet and she was amazing. I even ended up taking ALL my animals to her. I'll see if I can come up with her proper name as it's been probably 15 years. I seem to remember her going by "Dr. Z" at the time.


I suggest real plants and fake vines. I use the "Flukers bend-a-vine" off amazon. They're WAY cheaper than retail, like $4/ea for the large ones. They do limit it to 4 per Amazon account, but not house holds, on the large size. Though with a female and a male I'd say 4 is enough. The medium's and smalls are what I use most.

I typically will use a pothos and wrap it around the vines to make it more visually appealing as well as providing more grasps and routes for my guys and gals. In addition, I typically have a "main tree" - usually a hibiscus or a money tree. [Hibiscus have pretty high light requirements however]. From there I'll add a bromeliad, sprig of wandering jew, orchids and a TON of little air plants (you can put them on vines, wood, tie to the screen, etc) to fill in the blank spots. It takes some time but once everything grows in, they look pretty good!

I also use lots of driftwood. The problem with driftwood is the cost and the fact people store it in stacks with tend to harbor all kinds of bugs. I wish I still had access to the Ky river as I remember seeing driftwood all over growing up and going fishing. To "sterilize" branches from the wilds, simply bake it in the over at 2-225 for a couple of hours. If you want to be more thorough you can fill a bin with a bleach water solution [I think its 1 tablespoon per gallon] and submerge the wood, let it air dry, then bake it.

While males are definitely the eye catchers, my females have much better personalities and subtle, yet striking, color variations. When it warms up, be sure to take your lady out at sunset and see what she looks like under that lighting...

Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the hobby!

Best wishes.
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Thank you I appreciate the help. As far as wood from the river I can actually get to it fairly easily. Problem is, I'm not sure how long you've been out of the state but theyve closed like swimming access to it years ago due to pollution. Can still go to the bank and stuff but I'd worry about the contamination of the wood from the river. Even with cleaning and baking. I had planned on at least a mix of fake vs real and definitely fake vines. I was thinking a real ficus or umbrella with maybe a fake pothos to hang down. Maybe not I'll see what I can come up with. They're so small starting out sometimes. It will likely be a while before any stores here get plants. But thanks for the heads up on the jungle vines. Amazon is sometimes high or cheap depending. I actually already have some brom pups I can steal from my frogs. I've just been letting them grow as is. They are so easy lol. Sanitizing first of course. Maybe I can use the bleach and bake method for wood I find. I'm with you on buying wood so hard to get what you want and even harder to get good quality. Thanks for the info regarding baking and cleaning.
That's good to know about the sunset colors. Will definitely have to try that. Provided shes not a psycho and let's me handle her some lol. We seem to get the nutty animals in this house. Not sure why lol. Sadly my frogs are the only "normal" animals we have. They do and act just like they should. I cant wait to get this project started. I've been watching videos and reading all day. I feel more and more knowledgable.
 
Hashtag ChamLife said:
And I was able to recall where it was and Google maps says the vet is:

Pennyroyal Small & Exotic
247 Regency Cir, Lexington, KY 40503
http://www.pennyroyalvet.com/

It looks as though "Dr. Z" has moved on from there, but based on how awesome she was I'd probably still go knowing the kind of company she kept.
Click to expand...
Thanks I will check them out too. I emailed the one they said they definitely have an exotic vet that can handle chams. Said soon as I get them let them know and they will schedule a well visit.
 
Welcome to the forum where you can get the best advice on your new adventure. Best to have everything set up and ready to go BEFORE you make your decision to purchase. Best of luck to you.
 
Tory990 said:
Thank you I appreciate the help. As far as wood from the river I can actually get to it fairly easily. Problem is, I'm not sure how long you've been out of the state but theyve closed like swimming access to it years ago due to pollution. Can still go to the bank and stuff but I'd worry about the contamination of the wood from the river. Even with cleaning and baking. I had planned on at least a mix of fake vs real and definitely fake vines. I was thinking a real ficus or umbrella with maybe a fake pothos to hang down. Maybe not I'll see what I can come up with. They're so small starting out sometimes. It will likely be a while before any stores here get plants. But thanks for the heads up on the jungle vines. Amazon is sometimes high or cheap depending. I actually already have some brom pups I can steal from my frogs. I've just been letting them grow as is. They are so easy lol. Sanitizing first of course. Maybe I can use the bleach and bake method for wood I find. I'm with you on buying wood so hard to get what you want and even harder to get good quality. Thanks for the info regarding baking and cleaning.
That's good to know about the sunset colors. Will definitely have to try that. Provided shes not a psycho and let's me handle her some lol. We seem to get the nutty animals in this house. Not sure why lol. Sadly my frogs are the only "normal" animals we have. They do and act just like they should. I cant wait to get this project started. I've been watching videos and reading all day. I feel more and more knowledgable.
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Hehe... there was always the rumor about the river, but they never actually shut it down. The same principle applies for any river, lake, creek, or farm (that you can get to without being shot at). Your basically just looking for "dead wood". I could tell you a few places to go, but it's been so long that I'm sure it's not the same...

It technically doesn't have to be a dead tree or anything, you can use a fresh cut branch just the same. Just watch for anything that produces sap as it can cause issue with your cham.

The trees I use are just personal preference really and what available to me. In your case though, I'm not sure I've seen a fake pothos? The "don't use fake plants" is mostly a warning for veileds as they can eat them (more often than panthers). I prefer real plants as they hold the water/humidity better. That said, I use the occasional fake plant in random spots and on my free range or a place holder until my real plants grow in.

When they are young, they can and will climb just about anything. One of my girls used to climb into an air plant and sleep every night - until she grew into her adult body. Was the cutest thing as air plants are quite delicate. The real key is just to think about it as their way of transit; provide as many pathways as you can to as many places as possible.
 
Ramrod said:
Welcome to the forum where you can get the best advice on your new adventure. Best to have everything set up and ready to go BEFORE you make your decision to purchase. Best of luck to you.
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Oh yes definitely i plan to. I had my frog cage set up for around 2 months before I actually got them. The first one I got bad advice on and did not have it set up. I have to say the one I let grow in has done much better. I plan to take the first apart and redo it eventually.
 
I'm also curious if anybody has any good ways of breeding crickets. Also hard to find small enough. But I've had problems in the past keeping them alive. A few days is max for them typically. Or could I feed a variety of other things and feed crickets when I can get them?
 
Tory990 said:
I'm also curious if anybody has any good ways of breeding crickets. Also hard to find small enough. But I've had problems in the past keeping them alive. A few days is max for them typically. Or could I feed a variety of other things and feed crickets when I can get them?
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I've tried crickets and honestly they're a pain. A pain to keep alive, pain to get to breed and pain to keep them from escaping. I do occasionally buy a few crickets for variety as they're pretty cheap compared to other feeders.

I do a few types of roach and silkworms as my staples. Silkworms are fairly easy, but roaches are the easiest. Roaches just need a bin, housing, food and heat. Then just add food stuff every so often. Worms are slightly more tricky - you have to hold a few back to cocoon and turn to moths, pair up and mate for eggs (or just buy worms or eggs). The expensive part of worms is the food.

I also catch random bugs outside and attempt to breed them in captivity - from katydids and hoppers, to sticks and mantids. I'm reduced to having to do it this way as many retail outlets simply won't ship to Florida as we have pretty strict regulations on bugs. Many places just don't ship here to avoid the issue regardless of its legality. *** If you catch stuff outside its recommended to not feed it directly to your critters for fear of pesticides and/or parasites. I quarantine all my bugs and catch them in places I know are free of pesticides. ***

Chams do like stuff that flies, so BSFL (Black Soldier Fly Larvae) is always good. If your chams don't eat the larvae, you can either leave a few in the enclosure and let them turn to flies, or leave them in a separate container and then feed the flies. The flies look similar to a wasp, but are harmless. They fly fast, but when they aren't flying they're pretty slow and easy to grab.

Oh, one additional note about crickets... if you "free range feed" them (release them into your chams cage) be sure to provide them a food source. The crickets WILL bite your cham at night as they are nocturnal.
 
Hashtag ChamLife said:
I've tried crickets and honestly they're a pain. A pain to keep alive, pain to get to breed and pain to keep them from escaping. I do occasionally buy a few crickets for variety as they're pretty cheap compared to other feeders.

I do a few types of roach and silkworms as my staples. Silkworms are fairly easy, but roaches are the easiest. Roaches just need a bin, housing, food and heat. Then just add food stuff every so often. Worms are slightly more tricky - you have to hold a few back to cocoon and turn to moths, pair up and mate for eggs (or just buy worms or eggs). The expensive part of worms is the food.

I also catch random bugs outside and attempt to breed them in captivity - from katydids and hoppers, to sticks and mantids. I'm reduced to having to do it this way as many retail outlets simply won't ship to Florida as we have pretty strict regulations on bugs. Many places just don't ship here to avoid the issue regardless of its legality. *** If you catch stuff outside its recommended to not feed it directly to your critters for fear of pesticides and/or parasites. I quarantine all my bugs and catch them in places I know are free of pesticides. ***

Chams do like stuff that flies, so BSFL (Black Soldier Fly Larvae) is always good. If your chams don't eat the larvae, you can either leave a few in the enclosure and let them turn to flies, or leave them in a separate container and then feed the flies. The flies look similar to a wasp, but are harmless. They fly fast, but when they aren't flying they're pretty slow and easy to grab.

Oh, one additional note about crickets... if you "free range feed" them (release them into your chams cage) be sure to provide them a food source. The crickets WILL bite your cham at night as they are nocturnal.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I am glad to hear I am not the only one who thinks crickets are a pain. I shudder at the thought of roaches but they seem the easiest to culture. I probably will culture those. I tried crickets for my frogs of course they can only eat the pinheads which are hard to get. It didnt work out well and they died quickly. I have no issues culturing fruit flies though. The gecko loves the soldier fly larvae also so that's a win win for everybody he can eat those as well. And like you said the chams will hunt the flies. I ran across a website that will schedule delivery of some feeders weekly bi weekly tri weekly or monthly. I think it was around 5 bucks or something for crickets. That may be an option. Fortunately we do have pet stores that carry some bigger crickets. I'll have to check those out and see what size they carry. The scheduled delivery may be right up my alley though regarding crickets. Not a bad price for 50 or 100 crickets delivered weekly. I eventually got tired of shipping flies and started culturing when I kept having delivery issues. So i may the crickets also. This site has all kinds of critters to buy so that may be an option. I typically order from Josh's frogs for frogs and gecko but their packaging and delivery kinda sucks.
I'm gonna try to avoid catching outdoor bugs just because like you said you never know. We do have an abundance of praying mantis in the backyard though. But they are huge. I plan to see if I can get them to bowl feed instead of so much free range unless it's a fly or something. I don't trust those little cricket assholes one bit.
 
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