New Panther Chameleon!!!!

[Anniel]

Hey guys I just got a panther chameleon and I had the set up for veiled. Are there cage set up's similar? Are there any important differences in their care? For his first night here should I keep the heat lamp on(nightlight red)? It gets about 65 degrees in the house at night. He is about 3 1/2 months old and I just got him this afternoon. Any tips or advice would be great! Thanks!!

 

[symphonica]

Cage set-up should essentially be the same. I don't have experience with veileds, but I do have panthers. Do you have a screened cage? What size?

Basking temp should be around 80-85, no higher than 87. Ambient should be 70-75. Nighttime should drop down to about 60-65. Humidity should be about 40-60%, although I tend to keep it on the lower end to prevent respiratory infections, which are very common with these guys.

Absolutely no light at night. They need complete darkness to establish a sleep pattern. Sleep is very important for them. The whole "reptiles can't see red light" thing is bs. If your room is going to get below 50, you can use a ceramic heat lamp.

Make sure you have enough vines/plants/sticks for him to be able to get to every spot in the cage: left, right, up, down, corners. It should look like a 3D spider web.

I'm assuming you've done your research about UVB lighting, supplementation, and gut loading? Make sure you're using Calcium with No D3 every day.

 

[Anniel]

I have been using calcium with d3 is that okay? Why do you feed them the calcium without d3? Thanks for all of your help!

 

[streetmike84]

I have been using calcium with d3 is that okay? Why do you feed them the calcium without d3? Thanks for all of your help!

hi i have a panther around 2 months and i use zoo med repti calcium (ultrafine precipitated calcium carbonate supplement with D3) 4 times a week should i change it

 

[Kath44]

Congrats on your new Cham.
Supplements... Calcium,NO D3 every feeding.
Calcium WITH D3 every two weeks.
Multi vitamin every two weeks.
That's what most here use on the chams, panthers and veileds. A bit different for Jackson's.

Check the care sheets out on here, loads of info.
Kath.

 

[Kath44]

As for the why not d3 everyday, it can cause health issues as your Cham gets older.
Supplements should be used aswell as a good gut load for your feeders, not instead of.
Also, supplements are pretty much useless if a good UVB light isn't available.
Kath.

 

[streetmike84]

Congrats on your new Cham.
Supplements... Calcium,NO D3 every feeding.
Calcium WITH D3 every two weeks.
Multi vitamin every two weeks.
That's what most here use on the chams, panthers and veileds. A bit different for Jackson's.

Check the care sheets out on here, loads of info.
Kath.

ok i will go get some new stuff tomorrow
with the d3 and multi vits is it just 1 feed every 2 weeks
also should i do 1 week 1 and the other the next

 

[Kath44]

Yeah, say alternate Sundays. With d3 one and multi vit the other. Plain calcium every time/feeding. Apart from the sundays( if you choose that day). Hope that makes sense?
Kath.

 

[streetmike84]

Yeah, say alternate Sundays. With d3 one and multi vit the other. Plain calcium every time/feeding. Apart from the sundays( if you choose that day). Hope that makes sense?
Kath.

yer thats great thank you very much

 

[symphonica]

Do not give D3 more than twice a month or so. Too much can cause more harm than good. It can cause an illness similar to metabolic bone disease.

 

[symphonica]

This is what one of the panther breeders recommends for a supplementation schedule.




Babies/Juveniles: We feed our baby/juvenile Panthers 6 days a week (excluding Sundays).





Babies: Young ones grow very rapidly and will often eat 8-12 crickets a day (quantities vary depending on individual appetites). For little ones up to 6 weeks old, we recommend crickets that are about 7 days old ( 1/8 " size). In addition to crickets, flightless fruit flies are another excellent food source.


Supplements: I do not supplement at this age.





Juveniles: From 2 - 12 months of age, your chameleon will obviously graduate to larger crickets with the key being the width of the cricket no larger than the space between your chameleons eyes. During these critical months of development, they will continue to consume an average of 8 -12 crickets, often slowing down their intake once they are over a year old. We don’t use crickets larger than 3/4” (even with our adults) because by then, the cricket’s stomach size is fully matured and holds the same amount of food that the adult cricket does. Remember that its not the cricket itself that is providing the valuable nutrition required for optimum health, but what’s inside the cricket. A properly stuffed cricket with healthy food is called “Gut Loading” That’s why a good cricket gutload is SO important! Cricket food used by cricket breeders isn’t adequate. We highly recommend Repashy’s “Bug Burger” as an excellent cricket diet along with dark greens such as mustard or turnip greens. You can also find various gut load products/recipes on the internet.


Supplements: I use Sticky Tongue’s Miner-Al indoor formula 4x/week and Reptical Calcium with NO D3 2x/week. 2x/month in place of the Miner-Al I use Reptical Herptivite. Use Miner-Al outdoor formula when your chameleons are outdoors.





Adult Males: From 13 months on, we feed our adult males on an "every other day" basis. They generally consume 12-15 per feeding. At this stage of life, they are no longer experiencing rapid growth and don't require food on a daily basis. It isn’t unusual for an adult male to go off food for a week or more.


Supplements: Miner-Al 1x/week, calcium with NO D3 all other feedings. Use Herpivite in place of calcium with no D3 2x/month. Use Miner-Al outdoor formula or calcium with NO D3 when your chameleons are outdoors.





Adult Females: For mature and actively breeding females, we maintain a 6 day feeding schedule due to the high demands associated with egg production. For non-breeding females, we feed on an every other day basis just as we do with the males.


Supplements: Miner-Al 2x/week, calcium with NO D3 all other feeding. Use Herpivite in place of calcium with no D3 2x/month. Use Miner-Al outdoor formula or calcium with NO D3 when your chameleons are outdoors.

 

[Anniel]

I have calcium with d3 and the multivitamins have d3 too. Should I just skip the calcium with d3 every 2 weeks and only give him the multivitamins with d3 every 2 weeks instead or should I do both?