Panther v Veiled

[John33871]

ok i know panthers and veiled are different, but are they that much harder to care for than veiled. just curious because i was thinking about getting a panther than a veiled. i know they are a lot more expensive and may get a little bigger. i just wanted some other opinions, thanks

 

[Cam]

Great question! I found a few threads that said the Panther (besides the price) are the best "beginners", as far as Chams go anyway. Then the Veileds seem to be second. But when I was in the local PetSmart yesterday starting to pick up a few items for the Panther I plan to bring home (in about a year ), the gal asked what type of animal the supplies were for. Well, she went on and on about how Panthers are the least hardy and how when the store gets Panthers they die in a few days . Then she said you'll be lucky to even get a year or two out of a Veiled so don't do it, get a nice Gecko. We already have a nice Gecko, a nice corn snake, a nice Rankin Dragon, and two nice Crested Geckos...Sorry, rambling now. Anyway, I am very interested to see what everyone has to share.

 

[westcoastchameleons]

In my opinion, panthers and vieleds are almost equal. I have both, and although there care is different, they are both hardy. I personally started with vieleds when i was 8 years old. I had no idea what i was doing then, and regretably, the animals died in about a year. About a year after that, when i knew what to do(as far as care), and had the responsiblity to do it, i purchased a sambava male from Liddy Kammer. I now have another pair of vieleds, and they are great to. Its really personal prefrence, i preffer panthers, just because thier personality, and thier beauty. Vieled is usually the way to go as a novice, and they are a tiny, tiny bit aisier to care for.


Hope this helps,
-Jake

 

[stevereecy]

ok i know panthers and veiled are different, but are they that much harder to care for than veiled. just curious because i was thinking about getting a panther than a veiled. i know they are a lot more expensive and may get a little bigger. i just wanted some other opinions, thanks

IMHO, only a little bit, and that mostly has to do with keeping them hydrated. I think that "myth" persists because in the old days, Veileds were usually captive born, but Panthers were wild caught.

If one's husbandry is bad enough to where it will make a difference for Veileds vs. Panthers, then I don't think they should get a chameleon of any kind.

Go for it...and be a diligent owner.

Steve

 

[westcoastchameleons]

^^you are right, i think that it is a good desicion either way. Just make sure you read up, and take good care of your chameleon!


-Jake

 

[jonpat83]

I am also curious about this, I have 2 veileds just now but I would love a panther, what puts me off is that I have heard that panthers cannot tolerate night time temperatures under 20 degrees so in my house it would be difficult to keep them warm enough when the lights get put out. The temp drops to about 16-18 degrees at night and the veileds seem quite happy and are thriving as during the day their basking area gets up to 35 degrees.

 

[Cam]

I am assuming you mean 20 degrees celcius?? you can use a red heat light to maintain the ambient air temps or i suppose a ceramic heat emitter would work great but I personally have no experience with them.

 

[Jordan]

20* Celcius should be 68* F. That is fine or at least I personally would not worry about that kind of a drop.

 

[jonpat83]

Yeah sorry I should have put celcius, the reason I didn't want to use an infra red bulb at night was so that there wasn't hot and cold areas when they were sleeping.

How low can the night temp safely drop for panthers?

 

[Cam]

Is a heat gradient a problem for Chams at night?
I would think they would pick where they were most cozy and snooze there.
Does anyone drape a blanketover half of their enclosure to retain warmth and help them feel more secure as they sleep?
I am in MN so we have all kinds of heat supplimentation going on with our Rankin Beardie, fat tailed gecko, and corn snake...even our crested geckos need some even though they are very cold tolerant...oh and of course our 3 human kids

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy John,

Panthers and Veileds are similar enough in requirements and hardiness that you can consider them equal. As was previously mentioned, if your husbandry methods are such that it would make a difference as to which species would thrive then you need to fix the husbandry and not the chameleon .

Comments about panther temperatures reminded me that I haven't looked at Ferguson's panther book in quite a while. He states: "If a panther chameleon is maintained indoors, room or cage temperature can vary between 10 and 30C (64.4 and 86F). However, if daily maximum environmental temperatures are below 30C (86F), a daytime hot spot should be available or basking." That being said, we often talk about the benefit of a nighttime drop and my winter nighttime drop would go as low as about 62F (16.7C). At that temp, my household central heater kicks-in and heats the entire house back to above 62F. 60F is cool but might not be dangerous; I'm just not sure and it might vary from animal to animal as far as panthers go. I wouldn't be as nervous about veileds as far as the 60F nighttime temp goes. In the wild, veileds are exposed to and can tolerate a lower nighttime drop. This isn't to say that they thrive with that lower (below 60F) nighttime drop but to say that they can survive it. " Your results may vary." I think that the most important temperature concern is that your critter has a chance to warm-up to full temperature in the morning. I read in a book somewhere else that a panther that drops into the low 50's at night and doesn't warm-up during that following day, runs a serious risk of death. I think re-warming back into the high 80's is more important than if the nighttime drop is 60 or 62F. There was a time when I did use a ceramic heater when the nighttime house temp was allowed to drop below 62F to maybe 58F. Now I just keep the house at 62F or above on cool winter nights here in sunny Southern California.

 

[Jordan]

I do not really worry about this assuming they are inside the house. Odds are you are doing to get up and turn on the heat long before they are cold.