New. Please help

griffis313

New Member
I am new to the chameleon world. I am going to pick up my male panther, as soon as I get my setup complete and stable. This is the list of things I have so far..
Mistking v4.0
Sun dome reptile lamp
Reptisun 10.0 uvb fluorescent bulb 18”
Fluorescent bulb fixture
Reptibreeze xl open air screen cage. 24x24x48
Am I missing anything besides vegetation?
Am I ok to use household bulb for basking 75-100 watt an is this going to supply enough light for live plants?
What kind of plants do y’all like the best or recommend, I have been looking but can’t make up my mind. I appreciate all your insight.
 
Looks like your off to a good start. I like you are setting up before buying.

I use a regular 65w house bulb but have went to 75w for winter. I live in southern CA so obviously location dictates the bulb you will need to achieve proper basking temps.

For plants I like umbrella plants because they grow upward and are strong enough for them to climb in. I also like pothos for the Vines.

Make sure you read the care sheets in this forum as even a perfect setup cannot guarantee success without proper maintenance and care.

Welcome to the forums and can't wait to meet the new family member when you get it.
 
Thanks. I have been researching for a couple months. Nothing like hands on experience tho.. I like in northern Utah so it gets really cold.. but keep my house at about 68f. Does it look like I have everything covered? Do you get your plants online?? Thanks for responding.
 
Personally I went with a reptusun 24" and 5.0 but that depends on how much plants you plan to use. I would buy a hand mister, temp gun and maybe a dripper. Honestly you will buy little odds and ends as you go but for the core setup I think your there.

The other thing is make sure you know where you plan to source your food sources. Everything else looks good. Have you thought about your drainage setup?

For my plants I buy them from my local Home Depot or Lowe's then clean and replant them.
 
Will the mister not supply enough drinking water? And ok I will check out my hardware stores tomorrow, don’t know if they will have much this time of year (20 degrees f.) drainage I was thinking of just putting some kind of bottom in the cage an possibly drilling an running a line to drain?
 
The mister will give them some but they need to see dripping water to recognize as drinking water. I would go with the 24" if you can.

For the plants you can order online too. @Brodybreaux25 might know of some places to order plants and he can also make you a super stand.

For the drainage I would do the drilling if possible since the amount of water will easily overflow the drain pan that comes with the cage.
 
Unless your cage is extremely densely planted full of vegetation, I’d go with a Zoo Med 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb linear bulb. I always recommend getting the uvb fixture the length of the cage or longer (so 24”+). Make sure the uvb bulb is the same corresponding output as the fixture (both t5HO or both T8 bulbs and fixtures). Pothos and schfflera arboricola to me, are easy, sturdy, grow like weeds, and don’t need any supplemental lighting. FL Chams has a chameleon safe plant list on their website, as well. Make sure to either Physan, bleach dip (rinse off EXTREMELY well multiple times afterwards with either method), or just rinse off really well the plant, leaves, roots, etc. then replant bareroot into organic soil. With panthers, it’s not as much of a concern, but if you’re worried about him eating the soil, you can cover it with moss or large rocks too big for the adult version of him to eat. You can also go bioactive as well, let me know if you want to learn more on it! Make sure to have plenty of various branches and vines everywhere, as well. As long as your household bulb isn’t LED, you’re fine. Just play with the wattages until you get a basking temperature of 85-87*F. If you haven’t read it already, the care sheet here is great source of info! An automated mister, especially a MistKing, is fantastic! But a lot of keepers hand mist one or two times a day in addition to it. If you do that, make sure to heavily mist down the cage surfaces for plenty of drinking opportunities and to gently mist your cham so he can cleanse his eyes. Here’s a little info tidbit not every knows-chameleons are dry shedders and should never be given baths and don’t need showers or extra mistings or anything when shedding, it’ll make them retain their shed longer. Drippers are great in addition to misting! Just make sure to position it over the top of a plant or leaves so the water runs down them creating a stimulating drinking environment. For measuring basking temp, I use a digital temp gun from the hardware store along with a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo that has probes from the pet store, that measures humidity as well. I also measure humidity and ambient temp with a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo from the hardware store. The Bio Dude (online), eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, a plant nursery, etc, all carry some cham safe plants. For drainage/plumbing, there are a few ways, my favorite it to attach a bulkhead to the bottom of the cage and run tubing to a bucket below with a ball valve in the middle. Make sure to cover the bulkhead opening with a few layers of mesh so no feeders escape. I can list a ton of feeder options, if you want! Pro tip-add in some bee pollen powder each time you dust your feeders in supplement for extra nutrients! If you could fill out the ask for help form (link in my signature below), we can make sure your husbandry is spot on for your little one! If you need more detail or anything, let me know!
 
Thanks!! I want to have quite a bit of vegetation, and have read a bunch of mixed reviews on the 5 or 10.. I have seen that the screen itself will take away a lot of uvb? So that why I was leaning towards the 10, but that’s two of you that said the 5 so maybe I will change to that. Ok I have been into saltwater reef tanks for a long time so shouldn’t be a problem plumbing in a drain for this. I will add a dripper as well.. do you recommend adding a dripping nozzle to the mist king or just getting a manual one. I get sent over seas about 2 months a year for my job, so trying to keep it automated as possible so my 12 year old son can handle it while I’m gone. I have a guy who is going to help me with Dubia and cricket hatch’s who’s lives right by me. What do you recommend gut loading them with?? I have a fluke temp humidity gun so I think I’m good there. Thanks for your insight
 
Thanks!! I want to have quite a bit of vegetation, and have read a bunch of mixed reviews on the 5 or 10.. I have seen that the screen itself will take away a lot of uvb? So that why I was leaning towards the 10, but that’s two of you that said the 5 so maybe I will change to that. Ok I have been into saltwater reef tanks for a long time so shouldn’t be a problem plumbing in a drain for this. I will add a dripper as well.. do you recommend adding a dripping nozzle to the mist king or just getting a manual one. I get sent over seas about 2 months a year for my job, so trying to keep it automated as possible so my 12 year old son can handle it while I’m gone. I have a guy who is going to help me with Dubia and cricket hatch’s who’s lives right by me. What do you recommend gut loading them with?? I have a fluke temp humidity gun so I think I’m good there. Thanks for your insight
Strength depends on how dense the cage is, closeness of basking area, and species of cham. The general rule for panthers is 5.0 or 6%. I’d do a separate dripper. For gutload, you can make your own with organic fresh fruits and veggies, along with dry gutload (there’s a gutload list here in the food and nutrition tab in resources) and/or a quality commercial gutload, like Cricket Crack, Pangea Gutload, or Repashy Bug Burger. For those commercial gutloads, you can add water to make a paste/gel so you don’t have to water as well (fruits and veggies have enough water in them already)
 
The mister will give them some but they need to see dripping water to recognize as drinking water. I would go with the 24" if you can.

For the plants you can order online too. @Brodybreaux25 might know of some places to order plants and he can also make you a super stand.

For the drainage I would do the drilling if possible since the amount of water will easily overflow the drain pan that comes with the cage.
eBay for feeders and a large selection of live plants all year long. Amazon is good for smaller plants too. I’ve been getting a lot of requests for the dwarf crepe myrtle trees lately. I think spider plants are my favorite right now, you get the same vining as a pathos but they have the puff at the end of each.

Thank you for mentioning my custom builds but I’m booked solid through January. I’m still taking orders but it’s going to be an extended wait.
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