# Chameleon set up help



## Ggina (Apr 28, 2014)

Chameleon Info:
*Your Chameleon* - Nosy Faly, male, 6-8 months (I'm thinking closer to 6 months) He's been in my care since Sunday the 22nd June. 
*Handling* - I have handled him once, today, for less than a minute
*Feeding* - Black crickets, between 10 and 20 a day, yesterday he had two wax worms. Lights on at 10am Mist: 10:30/11am, fed around the same time and mist and feed again at 3pm, mist again at 7pm, Lights top 10pm. Feeders are gutloaded on prorep bug grub (I have the feeling this isn't a very high quality gutload so I'm going to use what's remaining and upgrade) with watercress and bug gel for hydration
Supplements - Vetark calcium dust, Vetark nutrobal, currently awaiting for my repashy SuperCal LoD to arrive but I've only been using calcium dust since he has arrived.
Calcium- every day
Nurtobal- every 2 weeks 
Repashy SuperCal LoD- every 2 weeks
I've bought some hoppers too to use for free roaming as they're a lot easier to spot and catch for taking out of an evening. I intend to buy a variety of bugs so he has a variety, I just need find a place to keep them!
*Watering* - Currently only misting (usually when the Viv looks as if it has dried) For maybe a minute or so 3-4 times a day. Found a crack in my dripper when I filled it when he arrived so currently waiting for a replacement to be sent out! He seems to be drinking a fair bit, whenever I mist he drinks with the exception of today where he has not been seen drinking as much.
*Fecal Description *- No poops yet that I've seen  He passed a sperm plug yesterday morning. He has not been tested for parasites, would this be a good idea?
update; I just found a dried out poop! Hard to see if there were bits of bug in it or if the urate was yellow but I think looked like a fairly decent poop.
*History* - Bought from Doncaster Show from a German dude (Christoph Fritz I'm thinking?)

*Cage Info:
Cage Type* - Komodo easy assemble chameleon terrarium, glass sliding doors with mesh sides and roof. 76x46x91cm
*Lighting* - Exo terra 75w basking lamp, one arcadia desert T5 12% 22" D3+ with the capacity for another to be fitted if need be. Lights on at 10am, off at 10pm
*Temperature *- Not sure about cage floor but the ambient thermometer is situated halfway up the cage at around 74. Basking spot is 86 Fahrenheit. Lowest overnight temp- 69. Using thermo-hygrometer deluxe pro. Using a microclimate ministat 100 and the probe is wrapped in the plant at the back left.
*Humidity* - Drops to 50%, up 78% after misting. Currently only using a hand mister. Using thermo-hygrometer deluxe pro to measure temps and humidty. 
*Plants* - Live plants; I'm not sure of the type of plants, both were bought at Doncaster show. I think one could be a Dracaena and the other maybe Pachira but I will post a photo. There are artificial plants around basking spot for more privacy
*Placement* - Cage is located behind my bedroom door, away from fans, air vents and windows. Top of the cage measures 5'7" from the floor, the bottom is 2'9"
*Location* - UK, midlands 

*Current Problem -*
I would just like some tips for my current viv set up, after handling him today he seemed to be crawling around the mesh a lot and he has relatively dark colouration compared to other nosy falys I've seen of his approximate age. I'm surprised at his greyish colour (between his lovely blue stripes!) when he's in the viv so it makes me think that something with the set up isn't correct
I know chameleons are more of a viewing pet than handling but I would like to be able to get him out occasionally without him being stressed so any handling tips would be appreciated. 
Also it would be helpful to know if, to experiences cham keepers, he looks to be a fairly healthy weight and healthy cham all round? This is my first ever reptile so I'm feeling quite paranoid :eek4:
Sorry for so many questions but earlier on I was sat on my bed and he fell from his perch, about a 14 inch drop. he quickly climbed back up the vines again but I've just been in for the info listed above and he's in the bottom right of his viv, still on a branch but it's the first time I've seen him that low. Is this normal?!

Pictures of Parker and his viv

An idea of his size








Drinking








The viv








Live plants








Journey home


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## clumsyoaf (Oct 23, 2012)

Hiya! I keep geckos and snakes and I know nothing about chameleons, but he looks lovely! I would consider more greenary in his Viv so that he can feel more secure, also it takes most reptiles a week or so to settle in to a new home so you are more likely to see unusual behaviours in this time. This may not be the best advice and I'm sure someone else will be able to help you soon!


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## Ggina (Apr 28, 2014)

clumsyoaf said:


> Hiya! I keep geckos and snakes and I know nothing about chameleons, but he looks lovely! I would consider more greenary in his Viv so that he can feel more secure, also it takes most reptiles a week or so to settle in to a new home so you are more likely to see unusual behaviours in this time. This may not be the best advice and I'm sure someone else will be able to help you soon!


Thank you very much  I was just sat looking at his viv and thinking it could do with some more greenery in the middle, I might opt for another live potted or hanging plant.
What geckos do you have? I was originally looking at getting a crestie but I just love chams too much!


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## clumsyoaf (Oct 23, 2012)

That's ok! I have a trio of cresties, once the girls are adults the 3 of them will be living together in a massive Viv! I had a leopard gecko too but sadly she died on Monday, I'm gutted! I would love some neon day geckos and mourning geckos, but space and cost mean I need to be sensible!!! My boyfriend wants a chameleon so once we have that we will be at our reptile capacity!


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## Ggina (Apr 28, 2014)

clumsyoaf said:


> That's ok! I have a trio of cresties, once the girls are adults the 3 of them will be living together in a massive Viv! I had a leopard gecko too but sadly she died on Monday, I'm gutted! I would love some neon day geckos and mourning geckos, but space and cost mean I need to be sensible!!! My boyfriend wants a chameleon so once we have that we will be at our reptile capacity!


Aw! What morphs are they? You should post some photos if you have any handy!
Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your leopard  How old was she? 
Neon day geckos are absolutely beautiful! And mourning geckos are adorable. Yeah space and cost can put a right downer on everything but they're definitely worth the cost in my opinion . 
What sort of chameleon is he thinking of?


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## Spaceisdeep (Mar 19, 2013)

Ggina said:


> *Current Problem -*
> I would just like some tips for my current viv set up, after handling him today he seemed to be crawling around the mesh a lot and he has relatively dark colouration compared to other nosy falys I've seen of his approximate age. I'm surprised at his greyish colour (between his lovely blue stripes!) when he's in the viv so it makes me think that something with the set up isn't correct
> I know chameleons are more of a viewing pet than handling but I would like to be able to get him out occasionally without him being stressed so any handling tips would be appreciated.
> Also it would be helpful to know if, to experiences cham keepers, he looks to be a fairly healthy weight and healthy cham all round? This is my first ever reptile so I'm feeling quite paranoid :eek4:
> Sorry for so many questions but earlier on I was sat on my bed and he fell from his perch, about a 14 inch drop. he quickly climbed back up the vines again but I've just been in for the info listed above and he's in the bottom right of his viv, still on a branch but it's the first time I've seen him that low. Is this normal?!


Your enclosure is far too small, for a panther chameleon, the minimum size should be 24x24x48 and your T5 is "too hot" at 12%, the clue is in "for desert species" Panthers are forest dwellers so only require 5 or 6 % UVB

I'd say hes at the botton of the enclosure because thats the furthest he can get away from the intensity of your T5 and he's climbing all over the mesh because he'd like to get out, it might also be because you don't have many horizontal branches for him to climb about on, there is lots of space in that enclosure that he can't actually use and there is not much in the way of foliage for him to hide amongst

Your basking temp of 83 is also a bit low which could explain his dark coloration, you could raise that up to 90 -92 degrees although your 75w bulb will probably need replacing for a higher wattage

I'd also say your light times need changing a bit to bring them closer to our night and day times, I know thats a bit difficult atm with the long days but at 10 am its been light for about 6 hours already unless the room he's in is in black out, chameleons prefer 12 hours of darkness, my lights come on at 8am, hes misted and fed by 9 am, misted again at 2-3pm and lights off at 8pm , I then cover his enclosure to give him complete darkness for 12 hours

I'm not an expert by any means but i'd suggest a bigger enclosure, a higher basking temp, a less powerful T5, more branches and real foliage and a 12/12 lighting regime
As for handling, I wouldn't even try at the moment, not until you've sorted his environment and given him some proper time to settle in as you'll just add to the stress he's already under and stress in chameleons can be a killer

I've had my Panther since march, hes about the same age as yours, he feeds from my hand and will come down to me most times when I open his enclosure, and he's quite happy to walk up my arm and sit on my head lol but its always on his terms, if he doesn't come to me then I don't try to handle him


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## Ggina (Apr 28, 2014)

Spaceisdeep said:


> Your enclosure is far too small, for a panther chameleon, the minimum size should be 24x24x48 and your T5 is "too hot" at 12%, the clue is in "for desert species" Panthers are forest dwellers so only require 5 or 6 % UVB
> 
> I'd say hes at the botton of the enclosure because thats the furthest he can get away from the intensity of your T5 and he's climbing all over the mesh because he'd like to get out, it might also be because you don't have many horizontal branches for him to climb about on, there is lots of space in that enclosure that he can't actually use and there is not much in the way of foliage for him to hide amongst
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply!
My viv size I've just heard so much conflicting information online, I was considering upgrading to a reptibreeze & selling my komodo when he's a bit bigger.

Yeah I was aware that forest dwellers need a lower UVB but yet again there are so many people online that suggested the 12% for use outside of the mesh? But when I really think about it, he's probably about 6-8" away from the top of the mesh so if he's wanting to bask he's going to be receiving a high dose of UVB too so I think I will take it down to 6% asap! 

I've ordered some more climbing plants today but I have a feeling they will be small when they arrive so I'm currently looking for another potted plant for the middle of the viv. He has a few honeysuckle vines wrapped around the viv which he seems to really like so tomorrow I'm going to kit it out with a few more and try to wedge a horizontal one across. 
any tips for what I should do with him while I'm putting the vines in? I don't want to stress him out by putting my arms in his viv but I don't want to stress him out by putting him in his explorarium for the first time :/

I bought a 100W bulb a few days ago so I'll put that in in the morning when the lamp has cooled down and try to achieve a 90ish basking spot

That's another thing I was worried about, my light cycle. My room is quite dark in the mornings and I keep my curtains closed until his lights have come on so I'm thinking the 10-10 cycle will be okay? 

Do you use an automatic mister and/or a dripper?

I wanted to get him used to handling while he was still relatively young but you're right, I don't want to stress him out ESPECIALLY if his set up isn't quite right yet.
I'd love to see some photos of your Panther  I'd love to get to the stage where Parker sits on my head!
I can't thank you enough for the reply, you've been a big help


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