Quick Question about owning a panther

[Snatch]

i live on Long Island, NY and i talked to my local pet guy (he owns parrots of the world in rvc.. hes famous around here, hes on tv all the time ) anyway he said he use to have one like 5 years ago and that there really hard to keep alive if there indoors, he said there more for places like Texas or cali. anyway i was wondering if hes right and that it will die on me in a few months. He knows his stuff pretty good, he said he knew everything about them and well i was just wondering if its because they didn't have the reptisun 5.0 uvb bulbs back then or something else?

is it easier to keep it now a days with all the new technology? will i be able to take care of it cuz the past 2 months ive been reading non-stop about this, im a little well a lot compulsive and i know everything about everything that there is to know about housing and dusting and taking care of them.

 

[Justin Carl]

No, they are easy to keep alive indoors. Just make sure you have proper lighting.
Read this:

Veiled and Panther Care sheet

HOUSING- Adult- With Veiled and Panther chameleons their seems to be a standard of 24(w) x24(d) x48(h). One chameleon per cage! These numbers can be tweaked slightly, such as width and depth. A chameleon cage can never be too high. I would try not to make your cage any less than 18x18, and this is if you don’t have any room. The cage should always be made up of screen. At least four sides (top, left, right, back and front) the top must always be screen because your light will be coming in from there. As far as the other four sides any choice off three is sufficient. I have found the best screen material to use is aluminum. It doesn’t rust or melt. It is also easier to see through and UV light enters the cage easier.
Juvenile- An average size juvenile cage is around an 18x18x36. This size cage is good until about the age of one year. If it is a large male you can upgrade sooner.
BABIES- newly born chameleons can be kept in a glass cage together for 7-8 weeks tops. After the age of two months they should be placed in a fully screened cage, and they can still be kept together. Once they are separated around the age of 2.5-3 months and sold they should be kept in a screen enclosure measuring 12x12x24-30. This should be suffice until the age of 6 months. Now it’s time to upgrade to a juvenile cage.
Safe Plants- Hibiscus-my favorite choice, Jasmine, Ficus Benjamina, Croton, Scheffelera Arobricola (Umbrella Plant), Photos, and Airplants. I have used all of these personally and I have found them easy to find and care for.
WATERING- most chameleons will not drink from standing water. There are rare cases that this occurs, but is not a substitute for proper watering. Proper watering should be done through a dripper all day and misting. I have found that the “Big Dripper” will go all day long if you have it dripping at one drop per second. Hand or automated misting should be done 2-3 times daily. You can use a spray bottle or buy a Pro Mist set-up for about 200$ and it does it by itself. Chameleons drink by shooting his/her tongue out at water droplets on leaves. Live plants are far superior to fake plants. They hold water droplets at the end of each leaf. Silk plants usually have the water drip off as soon as it makes contact. I have found that fake moss is a great way to supply water. If it is placed right under your dripper the water will run down to the tips of each piece. This is between 30-70 ends. Waterfalls and bowls help to harbor the growth of bacteria some of these bacteria can cause an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI), so they should be avoided at all cost.
HUMIDITY- The ambient humidity in the cage should be in the 40-50% range. With a spike of 70-80% during and after misting. This isn’t as true for Veiled Chameleons; they can be kept at a lower humidity. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in Florida a cheap humidifier from Walgreens will be fine. Try to stay away from foggers, as these can be frightening to your chameleon. Not to mention more expensive than a humidifier. Higher humidity also helps aid in the shedding process for your chameleon. Generally you will see an “explosive” shed when humidity is high. Meaning all the skin will come off at once. In lower humidity it may take days for it to come off.
LIGHTING- This is a huge area of concern to a chameleon’s health. UVB light helps with absorption of calcium to create strong bones. UVB also aids in the absorption and production of D3. Without proper UVB light a chameleon can develop MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). The most fool proof light on the market is the Reptisun 5.0. studies have found it superior to the Reptiglo 5.0 for chameleons. Do not purchase the compact bulb. These have been known to cause eye problems, such as photo-kerato-conjunctivitis. Lights should be kept on for 10-12 hours a day. Chameleons can only absorb the UV from these lights close up. The maximum effective range is about ten inches. I have personally used the latest lighting on the market with great success, the Mercury Vapor Bulbs. They are an all in one, both heat and UVB output. The maximum effective range of these bulbs is over 12 inches. As far as temperature goes, Veiled’s are a little warmer about 95 basking temperature or what I call the “hot spot”. The “hot spot” temperature can be acquired using standard house light bulbs ranging from 45-75 watts. A household bulb admits UVA light that stimulates appetite. This should be the temperature in one area on the top of the cage and the rest should be in the 80’s. The rest of the cage should vary, and into the mid 70’s at the bottom. Panther’s should have a basking temperature around 90 degrees. Same goes for the cage having varying temperatures. Babies should always be cooler around 85 basking for both species. Remember nothing can compare to natural sunlight. The best time to put your chameleon outside is between 10 and 2 o’clock.
SUPPLEMENTING- This is a key factor in the survival of your chameleon. In captivity we do not supply the chameleon with enough feeders to meet the vitamin/mineral demands of a chameleon. So this is taken care of through dusting and gutloading. Most of the feeders we buy today are high and Phosphorous and low in calcium. There is only one way to take care of this problem. I like to use Herpcares cricket duster because it saves supplement and you don’t need to touch the feeder. Not every cricket needs to be dusted either, nor do they need to look like ghost from being covered in so much calcium. Gutloading is a term used when feeder insects are given food to eat that is rich in nutrients. There are several cricket foods on the market today that can be used. Try to stay away from potatoes because they are very high in phosphorous. There are 3 main supplements used today. My schedule looks like: Mondays and Thursdays- Calcium, Tuesdays and Fridays-Rep Cal Herptivite, Wednesdays and Saturdays- T-Rex Chameleon Formula or Mineral-All(indoor). A lot of people have their own schedule and tricks. I also rotate every week between Calcium with D3 and without D3. A chameleon can overdose and die from too much D3.
FEEDERS- Chameleons need a wide range of feeders to stay healthy. We as owners will never be able to supply them with what they would get in the wild. That is why having several staple feeders with proper supplements and gutloading is critical to the survival of captive chameleons. Some of my favorite feeders are; Crickets, roaches, super worms, Silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms, butter worms, wax worms, and mealworms. Crickets will most likely be you main feeder, that being said they are very poor in nutritional value. They need to be gut loaded with a good cricket food and 2/3 of them should be dusted per feeding. Silkworms and hornworms are fantastic feeders; these can be placed in the cage and don’t need dusting. They are also ferocious eaters, so keep plenty of food available. Phoenix worms are great for juvenile and baby chameleons; they are high in calcium and do not need to be supplemented. They only grow to about ¾” so aren’t much good for adults.

 

[AFH]

First, good to see you're doing your research before going out and getting one and then asking "now what?".

Second, there's a good wealth of information on this forum that can help fill in the blanks. I would use the 'search' function and look under 'chameleon care'. Also, there are a few good member's websites dedicated to chameleon care.

www.keepingchameleons.com
www.raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com

and probably few others.

Third, I don't think there's anyone that knows "everything about everything" having to do with these guys. If you run into a problem (which you will), pop back on and ask.

 

[Snatch]

yeh well not everything lol thats why im on here like 5 hours a day just refreshing looking att he pics going through almost every thread.. i know a lot, especially about houseing, one question...

i know people use humidifiers and i saw a couple of pics with people puting pipes on the nozzle which i guess have holes in them to spray the chameleon, my question is do u have the humidifier on a timer to go off as if its your mister or is it on all day and still mist? i know its bad to over humidify the chameleon but if u have it on a med setting to run all day and spray like 2 times a day with a dripper would that be good..??

 

[PardalisGirl]

Where do you live?

As for the keeping chameleons alive..........I'm sure thousands of chameleons have died over the years. I would imagine the majority was due to inappropriate care. The same is true of many reptile species. I would imagine that hundreds of thousands of green iguanas have died for the same reason. But....if you do all your research, keep in contact with other keepers, pay attention to your reptile and get a healthy reptile in the first place...........you have an excellent chance of having a very happy and rewarding experience.

As for the humidifier....where do you live. Some locations require extra humidity sources. Others, like where I live, do not.

 

[Snatch]

as i said before i live in NY, on Long Island... the humidity in my room is around 35%.. not to good but im gonna buy a humidifier for sure to keep it at 50-65.. and misting would make it 90% for the misting time...

 

[Dean Pulcini]

I live on Long Island and I have many chameleons and I'm not the only one. The most important thing is do you have the time and a willingness to learn how to take care of these demanding animals. Everyone here wants you to succeed and will provide you with all the support that you will need. So good luck with your research read as much as possible the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

 

[Dino]

im a beginer at this chameleon thing help

due u wrote alot of stuff there i just got my chameleon and if i come apon any trouble smoeone is gonna have to help me thats the whole reason i sighned up for this and also because i could talk to eople who have to go through taking care of the same pet as me so just wrie me back

 

[Brad Ramsey]

i live on Long Island, NY and i talked to my local pet guy (he owns parrots of the world in rvc.. hes famous around here, hes on tv all the time ) anyway he said he use to have one like 5 years ago and that there really hard to keep alive if there indoors, he said there more for places like Texas or cali. anyway i was wondering if hes right and that it will die on me in a few months. He knows his stuff pretty good, he said he knew everything about them and well i was just wondering if its because they didn't have the reptisun 5.0 uvb bulbs back then or something else?

is it easier to keep it now a days with all the new technology? will i be able to take care of it cuz the past 2 months ive been reading non-stop about this, im a little well a lot compulsive and i know everything about everything that there is to know about housing and dusting and taking care of them.

Things (our knowledge and husbandry) have improved greatly in the last 10 to 15 years. We continue to learn about these amazing creatures, but have much better success keeping them then was once the case.

-Brad