New panther owner

[Prynsis]

Hello all,

This past weekend the hubby and I bought a new baby panther. We have both been reading up and making sure we are doing everything correct for the little guy. We have read that the temp should be decreased for him in the evening. I want to cut the heat lamp completely off, the house stays 68-70F. My husband thinks that is not warm enough and we should use a night bulb on him. Any suggestions?

This weekend we are redoing his cage to include a live pothos. Currently his cage is in the living room, I think we are going to move him to a room with less traffic. He seems to hide a lot, is that normal?

Right now his diet consists of small crickets. He does not like meal worms. Any other suggestions? He will not cup feed, the breeder has raised them on free roaming food. I typically put six cricket daily in the cage. I can't be sure he eats them all because of the free roam, but I do see him eat. I dust them with calcium supplement daily. I have not used the vitamins yet, I was told to use it once every two weeks.

What humidity level should his cage be maintained at? Again each source gives a little bit different range. I think we will be purchasing a humidifier this weekend, should it be just in the room or piped into his cage?

We are spraying down his plant three to four times a day for hydration. Once I get his real plant in there a drip system will be added in additon to the spraying/misting.

I hope I am on the right track to raising a healty happy critter. Any advice you all can offer would be great!

 

[ChameleonsTree]

It's fine for the temps to drop into the low 60s...a drop of at least 10 degrees is needed for them to metabolize their vitamins. Its best to pipe the humidity right into the cage. Some people have done this with simple PVC piping. If hes still a baby he will be eating up to 15 crickets a day.Once they are full grown then they cut back to under 10.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I want to cut the heat lamp completely off, the house stays 68-70F"...by "heat lamp" I'm assuming you don't mean a light. Chameleons shouldn't have a light on at night. Do you have a basking area that is a light? Do you have a UVB light on his cage (the light shouldn't pass through glass or plastic)? He should be fine at 68 or 70F at night.

You asked..."He seems to hide a lot, is that normal?"...yes, its normal.

You asked..."Right now his diet consists of small crickets. He does not like meal worms. Any other suggestions?"...you can try appropriately sized silkworms, and once in a while app. sized waxworms.

You said..."He will not cup feed, the breeder has raised them on free roaming food. I typically put six cricket daily in the cage. I can't be sure he eats them all because of the free roam, but I do see him eat"...I'm a fan of free-roaming insects. It gives them exercise to chase after them. He can have more than 6 (appropriate sized) crickets a day until he is older.

You said..."I dust them with calcium supplement daily. I have not used the vitamins yet, I was told to use it once every two weeks"...I use a phosphorous-free calcium powder on most feedings. Insects have a poor ca/phos. ratio and this helps to make up for it. I dust the insects with a vitamin powder (which has a beta carotene source of vitamin A) twice a month. Beta carotene sources can't build up in the system. There is controversy about using preformed vitamin A...some people feel that they need it as well...but be careful with it if you do use it...it can build up in the system. I also dust with a D3/cal. powder twice a month lightly because my chameleons only get artificial UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system too....so be careful not to overdo it.

Good luck with your new little chameleon! They are interesting pets even though they are not something to handle a lot!

 

[Scrappy]

I would also like to add to Kinyonga's reply....a quiet, low traffic room is best. And live plants. As for handling....think of your new baby as a piece of art work that hangs on the wall. You would dust the picture maybe once weekly? Well, chams should be handled minimally. People's opinions definitely differ on this. Some believe in holding them regularly and others only hold them once in a while to give them a quick once over for "health check" reasons and that's about it.
Also, I personally believe they can be taught to cup feed. Free range feeding is good for exercise (I do this with mine), but cup feeding is safer. My panther got stubborn for several days and wouldn't eat out of his bowl, but I refused to put free range food in the cage because the crickets were all over and he wasn't eating them either....he eventually figured it out and started eating out of his feed bowl. This also keeps the feeders from trying to feed on the cham when he is asleep. They generally need dark, quiet, down time at night....just like us! In my experience my cham goes almost comatose at night, I think a bomb could go off and he wouldn't wake up LOL, but this can be the most dangerous time with free range feeders. If you are going to continue to free range, make sure the feeders are either all eaten or out of the cage before lights out.....especially with a baby.

Best of luck with your new baby....post pics soon so we can see. We all love the babies