What sex is my panther chameleon?!?!

[Solid Snake]

I would say seperate them now. You are going to have to keep them in somthing larger eventually. Either a big cage, or free range. If you can you might as well get a large cage now. That way your not buying lots and lots of cages. Then keep one in the big cage, and the other in the small for now. Whatever works for you, just seperate them.

 

[Solid Snake]

Im curious, how do they seem to get along? Does one ever stay mostly dark?

 

[Dbash44]

Im curious, how do they seem to get along? Does one ever stay mostly dark?

I'll be sure to get a large one. How large do you recommend and how much will it be?

The two of them dont seem to fight. Rarely does the small one inflate itself when their near eachother. The bigger one doesn't seem to bully the other one out of food or water either. I keep enough food and water in the terrarium for both. The bigger one is a more avid hunter though forsure. If I were to notice one getting dark more often I would say it was the smaller one. Before I got the second, though, it would turn dark before it shedded.

 

[Solid Snake]

DIYcages has nice cages. At least a 2x2x4 is recomended. They are $100 shipped from DIYcages. You could check locally for a reptibreeze type cage, I believe they are cheaper as well. Another set of lights and plants and such, as well. I would keep one on a tree if you have to, and switch them out 1/2way through the day so they both get uvb and basking. That will keep them alive. Its not ideal though. But they really need to be seperate for the reasons cammimom mentioned...

 

[Dbash44]

DIYcages has nice cages. At least a 2x2x4 is recomended. They are $100 shipped from DIYcages. You could check locally for a reptibreeze type cage, I believe they are cheaper as well. Another set of lights and plants and such, as well. I would keep one on a tree if you have to, and switch them out 1/2way through the day so they both get uvb and basking. That will keep them alive. Its not ideal though. But they really need to be seperate for the reasons cammimom mentioned...

Where I live we have really crappy petstores. Most of the time they dont have small crickets so I usually buy 100 at a time to be safe. What I'm getting at is that the reptibreeze cages are the smalls and way overpriced.
As soon as I get my paycheck I'm getting a cage from that website

Oh and why did you ask about the one getting dark?

 

[Dbash44]

Oh and why is glass a bad cage to have in general? Wouldnt it keep itself humid and warmer better?
I mean with a wire or mesh cage all the heat and water escapes?!

 

[Solid Snake]

Where I live we have really crappy petstores. Most of the time they dont have small crickets so I usually buy 100 at a time to be safe. What I'm getting at is that the reptibreeze cages are the smalls and way overpriced.
As soon as I get my paycheck I'm getting a cage from that website

Oh and why did you ask about the one getting dark?

Because it could mean that is very stressed. In the wild when they encounter one another, they go there seperate ways, or they "fight" it out and the weak one leaves. In the cage it cant do that. So it would just sit there scared, getting pwnd all day. Stress kills these animals.

Oh and why is glass a bad cage to have in general? Wouldnt it keep itself humid better?

Glass is not "bad". If you live somwhere superdry it can be a good thing. The issue is that of airflow. They need fresh air. While those terrariums have airflow, its not as good as it is in an all screen cage. People cite seeing there reflection in the glass as a problem, making them think that there is another chameleon staring them down,but thats usually not an issue as I understand it. They are also more expensive and smaller than a screen cage.
You could get a 2x2x4 and section into 2 halves, untill they get bigger. Thats just a thought.

 

[Dbash44]

Because it could mean that is very stressed. In the wild when they encounter one another, they go there seperate ways, or they "fight" it out and the weak one leaves. In the cage it cant do that. So it would just sit there scared, getting pwnd all day. Stress kills these animals.



Glass is not "bad". If you live somwhere superdry it can be a good thing. The issue is that of airflow. They need fresh air. While those terrariums have airflow, its not as good as it is in an all screen cage. People cite seeing there reflection in the glass as a problem, making them think that there is another chameleon staring them down,but thats usually not an issue as I understand it. They are also more expensive and smaller than a screen cage.
You could get a 2x2x4 and section into 2 halves, untill they get bigger. Thats just a thought.

Okay makes sense. I'm just concerned with the temperature of my house at night. I dont want them to get too cold. How cold did you say my house could be with the AC and such?
Also, with the live plants do I just use regular potting soil?

 

[Solid Snake]

I dont let my temp go past 50. They can survive at lower for short amounts of time, but 50F is considered the safe cutoff point.
Alot of people replant there plants with an organic soil, or even use layers of sand, and hydroballs to help the water drain out. I personally do nothing the the plants other than spray them with hot water after I but them.(I constantly kill sheffleras from over watering though) I then Go to my backyard and pull up small foliage like grass, and clover, and shamrocks and such, and put that on top of the exposed soil. That makes them unable to eat the dirt. But most people just use river rocks to cover it. If they eat the dirt, they can become impacted and die. It happens when they shoot a feeder off it, and it happens. My outside collected vines and branches also just get a blast of hot water, and into the cage they go.

 

[Dbash44]

View attachment 47756

View attachment 47757

View attachment 47758

First image is the second cham.
The other two show the color of the first when in contact with the second.

 

[Dbash44]

I dont let my temp go past 50. They can survive at lower for short amounts of time, but 50F is considered the safe cutoff point.
Alot of people replant there plants with an organic soil, or even use layers of sand, and hydroballs to help the water drain out. I personally do nothing the the plants other than spray them with hot water after I but them.(I constantly kill sheffleras from over watering though) I then Go to my backyard and pull up small foliage like grass, and clover, and shamrocks and such, and put that on top of the exposed soil. That makes them unable to eat the dirt. But most people just use river rocks to cover it. If they eat the dirt, they can become impacted and die. It happens when they shoot a feeder off it, and it happens. My outside collected vines and branches also just get a blast of hot water, and into the cage they go.

I got the hot water part finished already, but thats exactly my thoughts on soil. Ima just use the aquarium pebbles

 

[Solid Snake]

I got the hot water part finished already, but thats exactly my thoughts on soil. Ima just use the aquarium pebbles

That is probably worse than soil danger wise. If your talking about the small ones. Ideally you want somthing large that cannot be ingested, and smooth, to were if they fall on it it doesnt cut them ei: river rocks

 

[Dbash44]

Yeah like that! thats what I put in there! Nothing too small!

 

[camimom]

you can also make an enclosure yourself for much cheaper than buying a cage.

go to this thread.
secon poster.
nicholas

https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/

that pvc pipe cage is what i am going to build.
im just making mine smaller. (than whats pictured)
what you can do, is make two cages 24x24x48.
or what i am going to do.
i am making my cages connected. so 48x48x48.
then im going to put a divider in between to make two cages, 24x24x48.
and two doors.


all in all, supplies, everything, should be less than 60 bucks.

 

[Dbash44]

That's awesome and cheap. It seems like you could always make it bigger and such, too!
Thanks!