what's best??

[New Hampshire camfan]

I have and adult pygmy panther. Maybe 3-4 months old (see pic, maybe you can estimate age). Only had him a week and for 2 days he seemed fine. Now he appears to be going downhill. I contacted the supplier several time throughout the week and they were made aware of my setup. A 18x18x24 reptibreeze and they didn't say anything negative about it. Today they informed me that pygmy's should be housed in a glass enclosure. Is this true or am I just getting the runaround??? My temps are around 72-75. With humidity at 65-90 depending on misting. I mist 5 times a day and feed him pinheads and fruit flies. He has had no energy the past couple days. Barely moving around his enclosure and resting his head on a leaf. Also I use an exxo Terra 100 26 watt bulb. Is a basking bulb required??? Temps haven't fallen below 60 so I have not used one. Does anyone experienced recommend a glass terrarium?? If so what size?? Are there alternatives?? Let me know asap and I will get what he needs. Thanks:-( also I do contain and elevate the crickets in his enclosure so he can find them while at the same time letting a few roam his enclosure so he can hunt. Lately he has had no interest in either. I welcome any and all suggestions. Thank you NHCF

 

[MelissaB]

I've seen photos of people using aquariums, and use and have seen them use exo terra style vivariums. I like the glass vivariums better, because of the ventilation at the front, but either should work.
What I've read, is that you need at least 5 gallon of space per pygmy. I use an 18x18x24 glass zoo med vivarium for 3 (now 2, since I had a 2nd male instead of female) pygmies.

I hope your little guy feels better, and that the care sheet and thread help you.

Here's a link to the site's pygmy care sheet:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/pygmy/

Here's a thread by a member showing their setups:https://www.chameleonforums.com/adult-neonate-pygmy-vivs-description-pics-126779/

 

[NHenn]

I'm a little lost. You have a Panther chameleon not a Pygmy chameleon. Panthers should be kept in a screen cage like you have. A Pygmy chameleon should be kept in a glass cage.

So, I believe your cage is fine for your panther. However, not eating and having no strength is not a good sign. I would fill out the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ right away so we can see more about your husbandry and try to pin point what could be causing the issues.

 

[MelissaB]

Whoa, I missed the panther part. Pygmies and panthers are two totally different animals, and kept differently.

 

[NHenn]

Whoa, I missed the panther part. Pygmies and panthers are two totally different animals, and kept differently.

Lol, yeah I took me a minute to figure it out too. Great advise on the Pygmies though.

 

[New Hampshire camfan]

Yeah I feel like an idiot. This is my first chameleon and I'm not aware of all the species. I had contacted the supplier( they only communicate by e-mail) and told them what was going on and they told me that my enclosure was all wrong for a pygmie and I needed glass. ( when they said pygmie I thought that was another term for a small or juvenile cham). Either way I rolled with it assuming that the supplier of my cham knew what they were talking about. Still this confused me and I told them that I have posted pics of my enclosure on this site and have been told it is fine. Then I got several emails back from them telling me I was " playing games". However I know that everyone here has given me good advice so that is when I hastily posted the question on the forum as to what to do. An hour later I got an e-mail from them apologizing and telling me to ignore everything they had just told me to do. They were under the impression I had ordered a pygmie and not a panther. I was shocked and also pretty upset that they would mess something like that up after being told several times what species I had. I'm new to chams and obviously have a lot to learn but I am willing to do so. I had just assumed a supplier/ breeder would know what they were talking about reguarding my order. I told them that to prevent this from happening to another customer in the future and wasting valuable time trying to get the cham better they should check the sales invoice so they know exactly what species they sent so they would know they are giving correct advice............ Sorry to everyone for wasting your time. I feel pretty stupid. P.S. obviously I'm never going through them again!!!!!

 

[Cait0420]

No need to apologise, you're still new to all of this. I would look into a vet visit if he's showing signs of lethargy or dehydration. It is normal for a new Cham not to eat for a few days while adjusting to his new enclosure.

 

[MelissaB]

Don't feel bad, you were worried and new to chameleons. It's scary when you think something might be wrong.
You should have a basking spot for him. I use a regular household incandescent bulb in a dome light from the hardware store. The temp you want at the basking spot is around 82. You need to make sure it doesn't get hot enough to burn him, because they will sit in a spot until their inside temp is where they want it, even if it burns their skin.

I hope your little guy feels better.

here is a link to a care sheet for panther chameleons, it has lots of good information:

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

 

[Mikael]

Can you tell me where you got this cham I'm just looking for some and I'm pretty curios.