So obviously this is my first rodeo with chams and this forum. I'm no stranger to difficult to care for animals. Have experience with cresties, amphibians specifically dart frogs. Raised discus fish, etc. That said we are looking to get a couple panthers in a month or two. My bf and I each want our own. Were wanting to get a male and female (not for breeding purposes) just to have one of each. Currently havent decided where or from whom. We are just looking around getting information about breeders and deciding colors we like. There are no breeders that we know of near us. Small town in Kentucky. We dont have any cages set up yet either. Like I said were just shopping right now. No hurry to make a decision yet. We welcome any advice you knowledgable persons would like to impart upon us.
New here; new to chams
- Thread starter Tory990
- Start date
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to the forums! This is an excellent site to learn about chameleons and meet other keepers. This link will give you tons of information to help you prepare for you Chameleons.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/
Thanks! I have explored that link a little. As well as other informational areas around the web. I am confused about cage sizes. Not for adults that's obvious but for that 3/6 mo age to adult. Some say go with adult size. Some say got with smaller but by 6 mo they'll be ready for something bigger. It's a little confusing. Everyone has something different to say lol.
Congrats! You’re in the right spot. There are tons of great resources for you to learn from.
I have a chameleon YouTube channel that is packed full of info you’ll find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q
Including this adult male panther chameleon care guide:
The Chameleon Breeder podcast is another excellent resource.
The care forms @jannb linked to are awesome.
As far as breeders go, there are quite a few people on this forum that sell panthers. The site sponsors are also worth checking out. It’s pretty common to buy a chameleon online and get them shipped to you.
I have a chameleon YouTube channel that is packed full of info you’ll find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q
Including this adult male panther chameleon care guide:
The Chameleon Breeder podcast is another excellent resource.
The care forms @jannb linked to are awesome.
As far as breeders go, there are quite a few people on this forum that sell panthers. The site sponsors are also worth checking out. It’s pretty common to buy a chameleon online and get them shipped to you.
Thank you! I will definitely look into the videos...and breeders around. I have no issues with shipping. Would love to see what I'm getting beforehand but such is the price we pay for small town living lol. I've had all my frogs shipped, fish too. The crestie we got at a reptile show an impulse buy my daughter talked me into.
Yeah there are conflicting opinions on this. I put my panther in a 2x2x4 when he was 3 months old and he never had any issue. The most popular argument for using a smaller cage first, is the fear that chams wont be able to find food. But they find it in the forest of Madacasgar no problem, so they shouldn’t have an issue in a larger enclosure. It’s more cost effective and less stress on the animal imo to start with the adult size enclosure, since you don’t have to move them to a new home and have them get readjusted.
Any reputable breeder will have pictures of the parents and even the grandparents which should give you an idea of what the babies will look like. If they don’t, probably not a good idea to buy from them. Panthers don’t fully develop their colors until around 9 months-1year. So even if you bought a baby locally, no guarantee you’ll know what it would end up looking like.
Right! That's my opinion also. I mean spend 60 on a small cage to turn around and have to buy a new one in a couple months. I think I'll go with adult size and make sure to have a feeding station set up so they know where to find the food. Easier to make sure they're eating also.
Great way to approach it. That’s exactly what I would do/did.
This is very true. And most I have looked st have had pics of parents and usually grands also.
One great resource for you to tap into is Bill Strand’s new website, chameleonacademy.com. It presents information in a really concise manner. If you haven’t checked it, I really would.
Also, for breeders, there are great breeders out there. The Kammers with Kammerflage Kreations are quite reputable to give you one name. There are also people on the forum, such as Matt Vanilla Gorilla (who I recommend) who are also great breeders.
Best of luck to you!
Also, for breeders, there are great breeders out there. The Kammers with Kammerflage Kreations are quite reputable to give you one name. There are also people on the forum, such as Matt Vanilla Gorilla (who I recommend) who are also great breeders.
Best of luck to you!
Thank you I will look into the academy. The Kammerflage bunch is actually the ones I have been looking at. Ran across them and am pleased to see their names mentioned frequently. I'm not opposed to buying from members as well. Thanks for your help.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Wow! You have received allot of great information! I just wanted to mention there’s a plus to having a small cage other than the chameleon having a hard time finding his food in a large cage. It’s great for vet visits and travel. You will definitely want to find a good reptile vet that sees chameleons because they get parasites from the feeders they eat and need regular fecals. They can also get other health issues even with the best of care.
You are correct. Thanks. I had been considering that also. Since small town there probably are few actual exotic vets around. I've been thinking about searching for that too. Hopefully the larger city I work in will have some. Although one of our locals did catch and treat and save a crow he found hit on the road by a car. But I'm not sure about lizards and things. My frogs need minimal vet visits so I havent really searched one out. I probably will just get a small enclosure for vet visits and the like.
krikinit
Chameleon Enthusiast
As far as cages, I have used all sizes for all stages. My fist cham was put straight into a 2x2x4 and did quite well. The other 5 had a smaller cage and did just fine. I will say that the type of cage you get will depend on how often you use your heater/ac. Most people buy screen cages and the close in 2 or 3 sides to keep up humidity. This is what I've done. Kinda want to replace with more solid surfaces instead of a shower curtain. European keeper use glass for better humidity levels. Just food for thought. If your budget is high, look into the dragonstrand cages or if you are handy look into some of the custom build threads. The links @jannb posted are invaluable. There are some great locales too. I keep nosy be and nosy faly. Welcome to the forum and good luck to you! The combined knowledge here is second to none. I have started a small breeding project for the Nosy faly but am still in the beginning stages of that.
Rst_Cham
Chameleon Enthusiast
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.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Here’s two vets
Here’s a couple of reptile vets in KY.
https://thereptilereport.com/kentucky-reptile-veterinary-directory/
Thank you, very helpful. I will check them out.
Thanks for the info. We have a heat pump so it switches between heat/ac at will depending on temps. We are having a fairly mild winter here this year for now but winters can get bad. We have the heat on 75 because bf is not used to a heat pump and anything lower he freezes. The ac I freeze in so it stays higher as well at least 74 probably. Can also control humidity in the house. So if I need to turn it up higher I can. I had planned on probably closing in at least a couple sides. The one between the male and female definitely anyway because dont want them looking at each other all the time. I hadnt figured how I would do that yet though. The dragon strand cages are very nice. Maybe not in the budget right now. Wish they were. Wonder if a plexiglass could work. I can also have glass cut at lowes. Was so simple to cut to size a glass top for my frogs. I just sanded the edges to a round edge and it was fine. Thank you for your reply. Good luck on breeding. We may try that one day but since we've never had any chams thought wed make sure we didn't kill them just with general husbandry first lol. No all jokes aside that is why I'm here so I can learn. I always research anything I buy whether it's a pet or electronics. With the exception of the crestie that was so uber cute we couldn't pass him up.
There is one in lexington so that's good to know. I'll check her out. Thank you.
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