New Owner - Stressed - Husbandry Check?

[gronzar]

Chameleon Info: Cosmo

• Your Chameleon - Panther chameleon, Male - Hatched July 2025. I have had him since 11/20/2025 - 11 days so far
• Handling - I have not yet handled.
• Feeding - Crickets (Bug Burger, fresh fruits and veggies) I put 10-15 in per day. House flies (from pupae) 10-15 that I saw. Black soldier fly larvae (not gut loaded) 5 per time. I bought horn worms today but haven't fed.
• Supplements - ZooMed Repti Calcium - Dust crickets and fly larvae every feeding except every 2 weeks I plan to do one feeding dusted in Repashy Calcium Plus (have not done this yet).
• Watering - Fogger at night, mister 7 minutes at night, no real schedule other than that - *I need help here* - I have only seen him drink one time and that was first day
• Fecal Description - Have only seen one dropping and it looked just like the "ok" pictures I have seen online. I havent seen any droppings since.
• History - It was delayed one extra day in shipping but didnt seem impacted. Breeder called me, assured me all will be well - we both agreed weather in transit and at destination was fine for the extra day.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 2 x 2 x 4 screen enclosure.
• Lighting - Arcadia Forest 6% t5 UVb, ZooMed Basking bulb 150 Watt - Deep dome fixture Barrina Orbgrow LED plant light pucks x 4. UV and plant lights 7a-7p. Basking was 730a-7p but he never goes under it so I cut it back today to 8a-9a, 1-3p. *Help here*
• Temperature - Under basking with spot therm its 87, digital therm behind it a few inches shows 83. Rest of enclosure is 68-73. Night time is upper 60s.
• Humidity - 99% at night using probe/reading from fogger central in the enclosure. Digital pucks show 90s at night. Daytime drops down to 40-60%.
• Plants - Live nepenthes, money tree, Chinese Evergreen (aglaonema).
• Placement - In my office which is a climate controlled shed repurposed into an office. I am out here all day but 10 feet from the enclosure. Not near fans or vent. Top of cage is 3 feet lower than ceiling.
• Location - Florida, USA

Current Problem - He stays under the UVB for most of the day and doesnt move much until later in the afternoon regardless of temp. I see him eat but not often as he is free fed (I am making a cricket run today). He moves very slowly most of the time. Remains the color in the picture with an occasional darkening but not changing like he did the first day. He never has eyes closed during the day. I guess I just dont know what normal day to day looks like, need a husbandry check and to somehow stop stressing about everything I see or dont see. They are described as so fragile and I want him to thrive but not knowing what a normal cham day looks like, I start to think that mine is not doing well. Hopefully the cricket run will make me feel better. Any feedback is most welcome. Thank you!

 

[ch@meleons_rule]

Mist 2-3minutes before light turn on and when lights turn off.
Cup feed or tong feed so you know how much food he's eaten.
Closed eyes are bad and is he a dark color when he under his basking bulb?
Every thing else looks fine cut back a little on the food he should be having 51-20bugs all together.

 

[ehdee6]

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

These are all totally valid worries with your first Cham. Before I give feedback on your answers, I have to mention the leaves on the bottom of the cage. Unless it's bioactive, it's going to create a huge bacterial problem with the moisture, poop, and dead bugs. Without the extra bugs that are put in the bioactive soil to eat the gross stuff, it all just piles up and rots. It's best to leave the floor bare up f it's not bioactive.

Chameleon Info: Cosmo

• Your Chameleon - Panther chameleon, Male - Hatched July 2025. I have had him since 11/20/2025 - 11 days so far
• Handling - I have not yet handled.
• Feeding - Crickets (Bug Burger, fresh fruits and veggies) I put 10-15 in per day. House flies (from pupae) 10-15 that I saw. Black soldier fly larvae (not gut loaded) 5 per time. I bought horn worms today but haven't fed.

For his age he should be eating as much as 25 bugs daily. The fun thing about the black soldier fly larvae is that they're naturally super high in calcium; so, are the one bug that you don't have to dust. Unless it's for the multivitamins/vitamin D.

• Supplements - ZooMed Repti Calcium - Dust crickets and fly larvae every feeding except every 2 weeks I plan to do one feeding dusted in Repashy Calcium Plus (have not done this yet).

Is this the one you have? - if so, perfect!

• Watering - Fogger at night, mister 7 minutes at night, no real schedule other than that - *I need help here* - I have only seen him drink one time and that was first day

Most chams are secret drinkers. I've only seen my vailed drink once (also the same day I got her home!)... You'll want to watch your temperatures using a fogger. Unless you can get night time ambient temps below 67, it will cause a respiratory infection. It's best to mist about 5-15 minutes before lights off/on this gives them time to trigger the drinking response to the drips, and time to clean themselves. The actual misting time varies for everyone depending on their climate. You'll start to see that folks in Florida and others in Washington will have totally different ways to get the moisture just right.

• Fecal Description - Have only seen one dropping and it looked just like the "ok" pictures I have seen online. I havent seen any droppings since.

This is a great thread for that:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/chameleon-poop-101.120171/

It's always recommend to try and get an exam and poop test for paricites with your first Cham. It helps you establish a good exotic vet that's competent in chameleons (a good vet is hard to find for these little ones)... It also is just good to be safe and know he's well.

• History - It was delayed one extra day in shipping but didnt seem impacted. Breeder called me, assured me all will be well - we both agreed weather in transit and at destination was fine for the extra day.

That should be ok, that's great they were in contact.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 2 x 2 x 4 screen enclosure.
• Lighting - Arcadia Forest 6% t5 UVb, ZooMed Basking bulb 150 Watt - Deep dome fixture Barrina Orbgrow LED plant light pucks x 4. UV and plant lights 7a-7p. Basking was 730a-7p but he never goes under it so I cut it back today to 8a-9a, 1-3p. *Help here*

Babies only need about 80F to bask, 150watts sounds like it's too much. It's best to start lower and go higher in watts. Chams are a bit dunce and when it comes to heat, they won't move away even if they're burning.

How far away is the basking branch from the UVB? It should be 6-8" away. A great way to measure this is the the top door knob of the cage is exactly 8".

• Temperature - Under basking with spot therm its 87, digital therm behind it a few inches shows 83. Rest of enclosure is 68-73. Night time is upper 60s.

See above, and especially watch temperature and moisture levels to avoid an infection.

• Humidity - 99% at night using probe/reading from fogger central in the enclosure. Digital pucks show 90s at night. Daytime drops down to 40-60%.

That sounds good, but again watch the heat.

• Plants - Live nepenthes, money tree, Chinese Evergreen (aglaonema).

Your cage looks nice! Just remove the leaves, if not bioactive.

• Placement - In my office which is a climate controlled shed repurposed into an office. I am out here all day but 10 feet from the enclosure. Not near fans or vent. Top of cage is 3 feet lower than ceiling.
• Location - Florida, USA

Current Problem - He stays under the UVB for most of the day and doesnt move much until later in the afternoon regardless of temp.

He's probably still settling in, but check the basking branch distance from the UVB light.

I see him eat but not often as he is free fed (I am making a cricket run today).

It's best to use a feeder run, if you need ideas let us know.

He moves very slowly most of the time. Remains the color in the picture with an occasional darkening but not changing like he did the first day. He never has eyes closed during the day.

That's perfect, eyes closed/sleeping in the day isn't good. They only sleep at night. They're also just slow moving in general.

I guess I just dont know what normal day to day looks like, need a husbandry check and to somehow stop stressing about everything I see or dont see. They are described as so fragile and I want him to thrive but not knowing what a normal cham day looks like, I start to think that mine is not doing well. Hopefully the cricket run will make me feel better. Any feedback is most welcome. Thank you!


Your doing great, if you ever have any questions or concerns we're here to help!!

Other great information for your little guy:
https://chameleonacademy.com/panther-chameleon-care/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

 

[gronzar]

Thank you for the replies! The bottom is bioactive (I come from reef hobby so really enjoy ecosystem based care). I swapped out the basking bulb for a lower wattage. Will have the feeder done later today.

He did end up hunting yesterday evening and I saw him eat 5 crickets.

Thank you for posting the image of the vitamins. Mine isnt the LoD so ill swap.

 

[Beman]

just a note 150 watt is massive overkill on a cham cage. 100 watt bulbs can easily produce temps over 90 and cause thermal burns. Get a wired temp gauge with a probe and hook the probe in on the branch directly below the heat fixture. this will give you a more accurate temp.

With your Uvb fixture type and bulb type you want 8-9 inches to the closest branches running parallel to the fixture where it sits on the screen top. If you have branches that sit closer than that you want to move or cut them down. Otherwise he will be in over exposure levels. 8-9 inches with the items you are running will produce a 3 UVI level which is what you want. Replace this uvb bulb ever 12 months.

 

[gronzar]

just a note 150 watt is massive overkill on a cham cage. 100 watt bulbs can easily produce temps over 90 and cause thermal burns. Get a wired temp gauge with a probe and hook the probe in on the branch directly below the heat fixture. this will give you a more accurate temp.

With your Uvb fixture type and bulb type you want 8-9 inches to the closest branches running parallel to the fixture where it sits on the screen top. If you have branches that sit closer than that you want to move or cut them down. Otherwise he will be in over exposure levels. 8-9 inches with the items you are running will produce a 3 UVI level which is what you want. Replace this uvb bulb ever 12 months.

Thank you!

I swapped it out this morning for the 75 I had. He just never goes to the basking spot for heat but does spend sometimes half the day just chilling under the UVB. How much of the day do most Panthers chill in one spot? This one will hunt in the evening or today he roamed all over eating. I just am not used to their behavior as to what is worrisome or normal.

 

[Beman]

Thank you!

I swapped it out this morning for the 75 I had. He just never goes to the basking spot for heat but does spend sometimes half the day just chilling under the UVB. How much of the day do most Panthers chill in one spot? This one will hunt in the evening or today he roamed all over eating. I just am not used to their behavior as to what is worrisome or normal.

Do yourself a favor and buy a feeder run for his insects. This will keep them semi contained and enable you to track his actual food intake. Also makes it so you dont have to worry about crickets nibbling on him while he sleeps.

This is a huge learning curve. The more you learn and observe his normal behaviors the more you will be confident if something is off.

The forum is a great resource and place to ask questions. Chameleon Academy and their podcasts are also fantastic for accurate info.

 

[gronzar]

Do yourself a favor and buy a feeder run for his insects. This will keep them semi contained and enable you to track his actual food intake. Also makes it so you dont have to worry about crickets nibbling on him while he sleeps.

This is a huge learning curve. The more you learn and observe his normal behaviors the more you will be confident if something is off.

The forum is a great resource and place to ask questions. Chameleon Academy and their podcasts are also fantastic for accurate info.

Thanks again! I’ve spent hours here and at the academy and with Neptune before I took the plunge. There is just no “here is likely how your chameleon will spend the day” that I have found. He is in my office and I’m about 12 feet back from him at my desk so I watch all day.

I took a crack at a feeder and put it in today but he has not utilized it yet. I really appreciate the replies. We have decent forums in the reef world so it’s nice to see community here too.

Hard to get a pic thru the screen.