What should I expect??

[ZippiesPal]

I am looking forward to bringing Zippy home in about a month. I have bought a 4'x2'x2' screen cage and a nice ficus plant well in advance of bringing my little buddy home. I have plans for a mister, UVB lightsource and a basking bulb. Other products like thermometers and humidity sensors are also available and part of the big plan.

Zippy is a six month old Male Panther Ambilobe, and now I recall something about blue-bar (maybe thats the color he will be).

What I am wondering about is ultimate lifespan and size, barring any undue injurie or illness.
As I was looking at some other posts here on the forum, I saw a panther that looked to be about two feet long and maybe six or eight inches tall. That thing was just HUGE!!! One article I saw said that the females can get to be 4-5 years old and that females can also get to be as old as 7 years. Yes, they mentioned females twice, and never said a thing about males. ?I suppose that the females lifespan is 4 to 5 years and the males can last as long as seven? If all of this is true, then it is reasonable to assume that in five to seven years my little Zippy could be a Big Honkin' two foot long Godzilla !! Clearly, by then his little 2x2x4 cage would not be enough, and then what would he eat?!? Mice!?! Seriously, though, if he gets to be two feet long, a bag of crickets would just be a small snack.

 

[pssh]

I doubt he will be two feet long. Most panthers are smaller than veileds and most veileds don't even get to two feet. If you buy from a reputable breeder and you know his sire you will have an idea of how big he will be. They generally are the size they will be by 18 months. Some panthers can live to 7-8 years old but a more reasonable age would be around 4-5, maybe 6. They do not only eat crickets there are many more food choices for them. They can eat pinkie mice as adults but they are very fatty and are not good to feed often (if at all) unless they are under weight.

If you feel his cage is too small build a bigger one or free range him.

 

[hallenhe]

Two feet long is a wee bit excessive for a panther. I have a male Ambilobe panther who is 4.5 years old now (I've had him since he was 3 months). For male panthers, 5.5-7 years is about what you can reasonably expect. My guy has had good care but is already beginning to act a bit elderly; others may not start declining 'til 6 or so. Mine is 8-10 inches snout-to-vent, and the tail adds another ten inches.
Food items generally should not be longer than the space between the eyes; there are some exceptions (hornworms are softbodied and you can often give larger hornworms than you would a crunchier bug). Some people give pinkies to panthers; they do perfectly fine without them, and too much can cause kidney trouble. At seven months old, he'll be ~ 3/4 his adult size; mine was eating medium or large crickets at that age, with a very occasional waxworm treat. Silkworms are good treats, more nutritious than waxworms. When he's big enough and you're sure that he gives his food a good bite, you can give an occasional superworm (mine loves them). Lobster roaches are good feeders; you'll also see dubias available (if you're in the US); the adults are too big for a panther.
My guy was active pretty much year round for the first year and a half; slowed down a bit near the end of his second winter, then perked up with the return of longer days and warmer weather. He still slows down for winter, perks up for summer, but is not as active as he was in his carefree youth, and has pretty much settled into a routine; doesn't explore as much any more.
Chameleons are well attuned to real day length; indoor lights won't altogether fool them. I got my first cham in the winter, during a time when I was working 7 days a week, and I barely saw him move; the first day I took off and stayed home, I realized that he was starting to get up and walk about around 10 AM, and heading to his sleeping perch around 3. Mine have pretty consistently settled for the night (not necessarily closing their eyes) about two hours prior to sunset; since you'll be getting Zippy in February, this may be worth knowing.
At six-seven months, he's hopefully well-started and won't be needing the aggressive supplementation given to a rapidly-growing baby, but you're still going to want three supplements: calcium with vitamin D3, calcium without D3, and a multivitamin. There are various supplementation regimens out there; it's pretty common to dust the prey with the calcium without D3 daily or every other day, and give the calcium with D3 twice a month, the vitamin monthly.
Hopefully, he'll be a happy and healthy cham and give you several years of enjoyment. Chameleons generally don't receive regular vet visits, like a cat or a dog, but it's a good idea to find a good reptile vet and have one lined up in case you ever need one. Common things a vet will do for a chameleon include checking for parasites (fecal exam; should be parasite-free in a captive bred, but there's no guarantee), injury or infection treatment if necessary, bloodwork to check calcium, phosphorus and other mineral levels.
A 2x2x4 will hold an adult panther; the more space he has, the happier he'll be. Some enjoy getting out of the cage from time to time, and if you have another good-sized plant or something he can climb on somewhere where he can't disappear or interact with the dog, he'll appreciate that.

 

[Cainschams]

I am looking forward to bringing Zippy home in about a month. I have bought a 4'x2'x2' screen cage and a nice ficus plant well in advance of bringing my little buddy home. I have plans for a mister, UVB lightsource and a basking bulb. Other products like thermometers and humidity sensors are also available and part of the big plan.

Zippy is a six month old Male Panther Ambilobe, and now I recall something about blue-bar (maybe thats the color he will be).

What I am wondering about is ultimate lifespan and size, barring any undue injurie or illness.
As I was looking at some other posts here on the forum, I saw a panther that looked to be about two feet long and maybe six or eight inches tall. That thing was just HUGE!!! One article I saw said that the females can get to be 4-5 years old and that females can also get to be as old as 7 years. Yes, they mentioned females twice, and never said a thing about males. ?I suppose that the females lifespan is 4 to 5 years and the males can last as long as seven? If all of this is true, then it is reasonable to assume that in five to seven years my little Zippy could be a Big Honkin' two foot long Godzilla !! Clearly, by then his little 2x2x4 cage would not be enough, and then what would he eat?!? Mice!?! Seriously, though, if he gets to be two feet long, a bag of crickets would just be a small snack.

A healthy adult panther should be able to maintain its weight on around 6 large crickets or equivalent to, every other day. A bag of crickets would probably be quite a few meals for an adult. Make sure they and other feeders are properly gutloaded, of course. Over feeding your chameleon will only cause it problems and a shorter life span than it already has.

 

[ZippiesPal]

8" to 10" snout to vent, and another 10" of tail, puts yours at 18" to 20" total length, and thats what I saw when I looked at the photos. Thats one big boy!!

It seems like a lot of people here on this forum think the chams really know them. That will be fun. Do you ever take your guy outdoors for walks or anything. I dont mean like a dog on a leash, but like with you holding him? I have also heared of people having "free-range" chams without a cage or enclosure, so they just roam around the house climbing on things. I dont think I would mind just letting him roam around a little, but only as long as I was there to supervise. Naturaly the dogs would go outside while hes out, and Zippy would go back to the cage if we had to go somewhere. I suppose that he would be easy enough to find... just look up high.

 

[DragonLady]

I doubt he will be two feet long. Most panthers are smaller than veileds and most veileds don't even get to two feet. QUOTE]

I thought panthers were bigger than veileds? Veileds will get longer than 18 - 20" snout to tail? My female is almost a year old and she's not near that long. I've stayed away from the panthers because I thought they were bigger than veileds. Mmmm, may have to rethink that choice!!

 

[hallenhe]

Veileds are larger than panthers, at least the males. The male veiled adults I've seen are considerably larger than my panther.
My cham free ranges in the living room and is very interactive, coming over and climbing on us to check out activities that catch his eye (knitting, wrapping presents...). I have "walked" him outside following about a foot behind as he strolls down the sidewalk. A "friendly", interactive chameleon is a pleasure to have, but be ready to respect his boundaries and individual nature; some are standoffish or agressive, but they're great animals all the same.

 

[kinyonga]

Most of the male veiled and panthers that I have had have been about the same size.

 

[hallenhe]

Most of the male veiled and panthers that I have had have been about the same size.

The veiled I've seen at the pet store seems much bigger - but I haven't seen them side by side for comparison, and maybe I'm getting fooled by the casque...