Franquixote
Established Member
As a new keeper I wanted to create a thread for others from the beginner's point of view. I have had a few major frustrations and although did my research, here's what I DIDN'T learn until I tried it:
DO's
The misting system I have is the Monsoon, and without this I would be screwed. It's the only thing so far that is going exactly right. I would not consider hand misting.
Find a local source of dubia roaches or get a colony going with lots of small ones. They are the only feeder that hasn't let me down. The adults are huge and unless you like bugs are ugly suckers, but the little ones look like "rolly polly" beetles. They don't have an odor in the bin and have so far not ever been seen trying to climb at all.
Tools I needed but weren't mentioned in threads I researched:
a tweezers, a big tweezers, and save a bunch of plastic containers from take out, condiments, salad bars,etc. Also, a good source for "egg cartons" or cardboard for bug enclosures for me has been the 4 cup coffee holders from convenience stores. I asked for a dozen of them from Quick Check (like 7-11) and they were OK with it.
Also plan on putting about twice as many vines/climbing decor as you thought you would need- I underestimated what the animal would use tremendously!
PROBLEMS
SILK WORMS! My panther ate 1-2 and then refused them. 2 of them were dangling on the end of a stick like perfect bait, wiggling for 2 days and they were ignored. They are WAY stickier than I imagined, it's almost impossible to pick one up with a tweezers without having a bunch stick to it, and the silk comes out of their feet so they are hard to deal with. The chow they eat stinks- like mowed grass but 10 times stronger. they made a huge mess fast and were hard to keep clean. I dumped mine outside for the local birds to eat- waste of money. Of course lots of people have success, but I found them a TERRIBLE CHOICE for a beginner.
If you are building a custom enclosure, the smallest diameter hardware screen from home improvement stores has holes big enough for blue bottle flies and small crickets to get out of.
My ambilobe panther refuses not to climb to the top and hang off- which bothers me because I think the UVB is going to hurt his eyes. I am using a fixture from Lightyourreptiles (a sponsor here), a 12% Arcadia bulb. Don't get the quad with the timer unless absolutely needed- if the timer goes the unit is shot. Plan in advance for a way to keep the bulbs at least 10" off the top. I'm screwed on this point because my custom enclosure goes almost to the ceiling.
Sky diving- I freaked out the first time the chameleon fell 3-4 feet. Seems like it is a defense mechanism to jump. Be aware they do it but don't think he is a goner if it happens. Mine has pulled this trick a few times and seems OK.
TRY NOT OT USE USPS to deliver- they screwed me over bad- overnight delivery delayed- his poop/urates look normal now but no telling if there was organ damage because they had him in transit over 2 days.
Hope this helps someone who is doing their research. I'll add more as I think of it. Even though I waited for months and did my research there was a lot I wasn't prepared for, the silkworms being the worst of it since that was what I proposed to use as a staple. In fact, had I known they would have worked out so poorly, I honestly may have chosen to go with a crested gecko instead.
Good luck, and OM me if I can answer any questions.
DO's
The misting system I have is the Monsoon, and without this I would be screwed. It's the only thing so far that is going exactly right. I would not consider hand misting.
Find a local source of dubia roaches or get a colony going with lots of small ones. They are the only feeder that hasn't let me down. The adults are huge and unless you like bugs are ugly suckers, but the little ones look like "rolly polly" beetles. They don't have an odor in the bin and have so far not ever been seen trying to climb at all.
Tools I needed but weren't mentioned in threads I researched:
a tweezers, a big tweezers, and save a bunch of plastic containers from take out, condiments, salad bars,etc. Also, a good source for "egg cartons" or cardboard for bug enclosures for me has been the 4 cup coffee holders from convenience stores. I asked for a dozen of them from Quick Check (like 7-11) and they were OK with it.
Also plan on putting about twice as many vines/climbing decor as you thought you would need- I underestimated what the animal would use tremendously!
PROBLEMS
SILK WORMS! My panther ate 1-2 and then refused them. 2 of them were dangling on the end of a stick like perfect bait, wiggling for 2 days and they were ignored. They are WAY stickier than I imagined, it's almost impossible to pick one up with a tweezers without having a bunch stick to it, and the silk comes out of their feet so they are hard to deal with. The chow they eat stinks- like mowed grass but 10 times stronger. they made a huge mess fast and were hard to keep clean. I dumped mine outside for the local birds to eat- waste of money. Of course lots of people have success, but I found them a TERRIBLE CHOICE for a beginner.
If you are building a custom enclosure, the smallest diameter hardware screen from home improvement stores has holes big enough for blue bottle flies and small crickets to get out of.
My ambilobe panther refuses not to climb to the top and hang off- which bothers me because I think the UVB is going to hurt his eyes. I am using a fixture from Lightyourreptiles (a sponsor here), a 12% Arcadia bulb. Don't get the quad with the timer unless absolutely needed- if the timer goes the unit is shot. Plan in advance for a way to keep the bulbs at least 10" off the top. I'm screwed on this point because my custom enclosure goes almost to the ceiling.
Sky diving- I freaked out the first time the chameleon fell 3-4 feet. Seems like it is a defense mechanism to jump. Be aware they do it but don't think he is a goner if it happens. Mine has pulled this trick a few times and seems OK.
TRY NOT OT USE USPS to deliver- they screwed me over bad- overnight delivery delayed- his poop/urates look normal now but no telling if there was organ damage because they had him in transit over 2 days.
Hope this helps someone who is doing their research. I'll add more as I think of it. Even though I waited for months and did my research there was a lot I wasn't prepared for, the silkworms being the worst of it since that was what I proposed to use as a staple. In fact, had I known they would have worked out so poorly, I honestly may have chosen to go with a crested gecko instead.
Good luck, and OM me if I can answer any questions.
