Newbie want's to do it right :)))

[kegoramma]

To start things off I would like to introduce myself as a newbie. This weekend I went to the Pacific Northwest Reptile Expo that was hosted by the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, OR. My girlfriend and I had such a great time! It was so exciting to see the variety of reptiles that I have never seen in real life before! I actually had the opportunity to feel a real live alligator We have a beautiful healthy Bearded Dragon (I love Akuma she is so beautiful and well tempered), a Pacman Frog, and 4 fish tanks with one being a glow fish tank We both enjoy exotic pets so we really enjoyed seeing some of the bearded Dragons they had (Check out German Giants!!!!) Snakes seemed to dominate the show, we like them but we had our sights set on finding Chameleon's Luckily there were 2 breeders I found. We have it set in stone that in one year we will have a fully set up habitat for our new member to the family. Don't worry I know they don't like to be handled very much and that's fine with the both of us. I will try to get them used to hand feeding though if I can and only if they are comfortable with it. This is a hobby for us that both her, and I am extremely interested in (I feel like a kid on Christmas as I am writing this lol), so I would love to find someone on here that can really help out with information for new people. I am totally dedicated to doing what needs to be done to provide an epic habitat. This forum has a wealth of information that I am starting to go through. Already I have read through the basic information provided on the home page, so we have an idea of the care the animal will need. If you have any suggestions lay them on me I would love to know more because I want to provide the best care and life for our Chameleon when we purchase him )) It will be from a local reputable breeder, and we want to go for a panther! We are both so excited to get started, but good things come to those who wait so that is why we gave ourselves a one year time frame. Thanks for creating a resourceful site I really appreciate it!

 

[SaintJimmy]

Step one!

Print one of these out. Pick which species you plan on getting, then look at the caresheet and print it out.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

that will cover the basics, and once you get it down, it's all easy from there.

Here are some tips:

• For self-sustaining feeders, look up how to keep dubia roaches. Get heat tape and a large plastic tub with a lid, and buy some dubia roaches and chow, you've got yourself free chammy food breeding with the heat and food.
• For baby chameleons you can use a POP UP HAMPER and a small plant as an enclosure! Find a pop up hamper with a zipper lid (usually common) and just stick a plant in it for a baby cage rather than buying one that's 50$
• Buy two cups of SMALL super worms at your local pet store, then feed the super worms to the baby chameleon. When you run out, throw the dusty stuff away and keep the container. Draw "D3" on one, and "regular" on the other. Now you can put chameleon food in them with calcium, close it, shake it up, and know which ones have d3 and which don't. This helps immensely
• get a calendar for your vitamin dusting schedules
• buy bendy branches at the pet store for easy branch setup. You will want around 5 of them for a good cage coverage (once you get a screen cage!)
• starter chameleon owners shouldn't buy females UNLESS they are fully prepared to deal with an egg laying reptile. buy a male for starters.
• ask people on the forum for more tips

 

[kegoramma]

Thank you for the starter enclosure tip! That was going to be a downside for me. Now that I know I don't have to spend a ton on the first one I feel better because I seriously want to provide an awesome set up for him. Akuma is a female Bearded Dragon, so I definitely want a male to start us out. Issues can pop up with egg laying, and I don't want to deal with that kind of situation until I have a very firm grasp on their care (probably a few years at least until I will even think about it). We would love to use live plants as well. It's known they can eat the foliage in their habitat so is there any beneficial live plants you can use? We use live plants in our fish tanks to help keep it clean and balance the tank out I have always thought live is much, much better! I want a Panther so I will be researching them primarily so I can become familiar with their particulars. Hopefully we will find one that is mild mannered. If not oh well, it will still be awesome to have such an amazing and beautiful creature in our home

 

[kplatvoet]

Welcome to the forum - We love helping people shop! There's a live plant list
https://www.chameleonforums.com/live-plant-database-2632/
I use hibiscus and another safe one that I can't spell - Since you have a year I'd check out Lowes or Home depot after you check out the list they have a lot of them on the sale racks that just need a little extra care to bring them back and you have time (I also have a grower as a husband so he usually takes over all the plants I almost kill) The biggest mistake newbies make is buying stuff they don't need - like night lights and substrat and waterfalls- If your planing on building your own cage you can also partition it off so that a little guy can find his food better. Some tend to stress out going to a big boy cage so it solves that problem. There are some great ideas in the drainage & enclosure section -
If you post your shopping list or enclosure plans you'll get feed back (sometimes a little harsh- but at least you will not end up with a monsoon mister) (don't get one they are crap)

 

[SaintJimmy]

Some common plants:

Golden Ivy/pothos plant

Ficus benjamina

Umbrella plant/schefflera (nurseries prefer you say "schefflera")

hibiscus (need a grow light for that)

orchids

etc.

Hope that helps.

Once he grows up, you'll want to get a 24x24x48" screen cage. These are usually the best

http://www.diycages.com/15201/15243.html

 

[kegoramma]

Cool I will be sure to stay away from that type of watering. I read that it doesn't do anything for them and actually can promote bacterial growth. I have a green thumb myself and will be starting an organic garden here this month. That way I know what's going to be in my chameleon's food that I gutpack. I saw a basic list of the best greens so they will be easy peasy to grow. I really can't wait I keep visualizing, and remembering the panthers I saw this weekend! The 3 month old babies were so cute, and mom and dad were beautiful!!!! This is one time I wish I could fast forward a year

 

[misshissingroaches]

Cool I will be sure to stay away from that type of watering. I read that it doesn't do anything for them and actually can promote bacterial growth. I have a green thumb myself and will be starting an organic garden here this month. That way I know what's going to be in my chameleon's food that I gutpack. I saw a basic list of the best greens so they will be easy peasy to grow. I really can't wait I keep visualizing, and remembering the panthers I saw this weekend! The 3 month old babies were so cute, and mom and dad were beautiful!!!! This is one time I wish I could fast forward a year

Yes stay away from Monsoon misters. My friend's broke within a half hour. Personally I manually mist with a spray bottle but not everyone has as much time as a Stay-at-home-Mom. (Lol, Gutpack? Try Gutload. XD)

 

[SaintJimmy]

What you eventually want is a Mist King. Monsoons are horrible misters and cheap. Right now you can stick with a sprayer/water spritzer

 

[kegoramma]

Exactly gutload XD One of the breeders said that's what he did before he purchased a mister. I am definitely going to have one ready when the time comes.

 

[kegoramma]

Looks like you could make that into a great set up. I have a good idea of what to build now. I'm going to make one out of non treated wood. Luckily my dad has great experience making things, this should be no problem for us. We had rabbits when I was a kid and they might as well lived in a condo with what he built. Maybe I can convert an old piece of furniture into a nice set up Garage sale season let's get going!

 

[bikerchick]

Hello from a fellow newbie

I too was at the Hillsboro show and am trying to get ready for a panther, so your posts have been very interesting to read. I am located in Longview, WA and just wanted to say hi to another newbie!

 

[brownie64]

I agree

What you eventually want is a Mist King. Monsoons are horrible misters and cheap. Right now you can stick with a sprayer/water spritzer

I bought a Mistking starter kit for about the same price as a Monsoon, and I love it. It's always there to mist when I can't best to automate everything if you can't be there all the time. Chameleons take a lot of care, and hydration is a very important one. My misting is set up on a timer, my lighting is set up on a timer, and I'm going to get a cool mist humidifier for the cold winters to help with the humidity from the dry heat. That to will be on a controller for nighttime use. automation makes everything so much easier.

 

[kplatvoet]

And lets not forget aquazamp - That's what I got when my monsoon broke- and love it.
You can get some great ideas from the enclosure thread for what's been done with old piece of furniture. With wood you have to consider what a lot of moisture will do to it in a short time and you need to protect against mold without using things that could harm your chameleon- It's very doable and there are some really nice ones in there with lots of ideas that will help with your build. Where the water goes is a big issue- and airflow. When your figuring out where to put your lights you need to consider that little chameleons like to hide in lights -they need to be outside the cage unlike with a beardy. I like Acadia UVB bulbs I use them for my chameleons and my daughter has them for her beardies. They last longer (Light my Reptiles has them) You may want some sort of grow light to keep your plants happy. I would put easy to clean as something I would think of when thinking of what to build -

 

[Natepollock92]

yet another n00b

Prospective owner, decided on a male veiled and worried i missed something that i should be ordering.

MistKing Starter System- edit: do i need a drip system if i have this? will it be enough moisture for it to drink off a plant?

Black Aluminum Screen Cage (XL) 24x24x48

2x Zoo med 24" Repti-glo 5.0 UVB Bulbs
Zoo med Repti-sun Terrarium hood 30"

2-pack Zoo Med 50 watt basking bulbs
5 1/2 aluminum lamp fixture

Zilla 24/7 digital timer power center

baby veiled from http://www.chameleonsgalore.com/ or http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/chameleons/-/baby-veiled-chameleons/ when i meet them at the Edmonton Reptile show in late may.

I think i have everything covered on the list i made(if im missing something feel free to point out) minus drainage and foliage which ill figure out from threads. If there's a better option you'd order or a better place to get the Cham etc let me know.

Has anyone ordered from Backwater Reptiles and had a good experience, I've seen a ton of awful reviews but is there an alternative place that sells such rare specimens?

 

[letilo]

Check out Kammerflage Kreations. Their very helpful and have beautiful Panther Chameleons. Check them out.

 

[brownie64]

Prospective owner, decided on a male veiled and worried i missed something that i should be ordering.

MistKing Starter System- edit: do i need a drip system if i have this? will it be enough moisture for it to drink off a plant?

Black Aluminum Screen Cage (XL) 24x24x48

2x Zoo med 24" Repti-glo 5.0 UVB Bulbs
Zoo med Repti-sun Terrarium hood 30"

2-pack Zoo Med 50 watt basking bulbs
5 1/2 aluminum lamp fixture

Zilla 24/7 digital timer power center

baby veiled from http://www.chameleonsgalore.com/ or http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/animals/chameleons/-/baby-veiled-chameleons/ when i meet them at the Edmonton Reptile show in late may.

I think i have everything covered on the list i made(if im missing something feel free to point out) minus drainage and foliage which ill figure out from threads. If there's a better option you'd order or a better place to get the Cham etc let me know.

Has anyone ordered from Backwater Reptiles and had a good experience, I've seen a ton of awful reviews but is there an alternative place that sells such rare specimens?

It could suffice, however I would keep a close eye on them to make sure the are staying hydrated. I personally use both you can't give a chameleon too many opportunities to drink.

 

[ChamaeleonidaeHerper]

Welcome!

I'm glad you're so excited about getting your first Chameleon. You seem to be very enthusiastic and that's a good thing. It means you are willing to go to the lengths it takes to care for these amazing animals. Screen cages are great for allowing ventilation, which is very important, but may cause Chameleons to rip out their claws, and if they can't grip anything they will eventually stress to the point of death. I like the clothes hamper idea! I never thought about it. I find a mister isn't necessary for properly watering your Chameleon. It's true that they prefer not to be handled as much as say a bearded dragon, but taking them out for 30 minutes to hand feed and water is fine and gives great bonding time. Both of my Chameleons are spray bottle trained. If you do plan on getting a screened cage and want a cheap and easy watering method. You can use a butter dish (the smaller ones) or something similar and poke a hole in the bottom with a small needle. Fill with water and you have yourself a DIY Dripper System since some Chameleons prefer to drink off of leaves. When you do decide to get a big boy enclosure I would suggest building your own. It's cheaper than buying a custom cage and you can make it to YOUR specifications. You can use a wooden frame. Be sure to coat the wood with a non-toxic waterproofing paint. Latex paints are water resistant, but not water proof. For screen you can use galvanized steel mesh that are at least 1/2" x 1/2" squares. These are small enough a juvenile can't fit through, and big enough an adult's claws won't get stuck. My Veiled has a cage but he's only about two months old. My Panther, however, is free-range during the day and sleeps in a 'nesting box' I made for him that has a thermostat controlled heating pad in it. So, during the day he spends his time in his tree. A 12' Manzanita tree that has several Ivy and other plants hanging within it's branches with vines inter-connecting. I offer him water three times a day, and I have cups clipped to branches that hold his bugs. I hope you can take something from what I've said, and can't wait to see the pictures once you get your panther. Now WE can't wait a year either.