| Obviously, nothing man-made will ever replace
the sun. Whenever you have a chance to take your chameleon outside,
we highly recommend it. The optimum hours for natural UV exposure
are between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Be sure to place your cage
in partial sun/shade and provide misting and watering to avoid
possibilities of overheating. As little as one day a week in
the sun will prove to be very beneficial to your chameleon.
Since most chameleons will spend a portion of time indoors,
lighting plays an important role in their health and well-being.
Two forms of lighting are required. The first is UV Florescent
lighting, which simulates natural sunlight. UV rays are important
not only for the provision of vitamin D3 (necessary for absorption
of calcium), but also for proper health and psychological
well-being. UV exposure helps to elevate a chameleon's mood,
activity level and appetite.
Since florescent lights do not produce heat, this is not
the only light source needed. In addition to the florescent
lighting, an incandescent bulb is necessary to provide proper
heating. Panthers should be provided with a basking site that
reaches 90-95F for babies and 95-100F for adults. A branch
can be placed horizontally underneath the basking area where
the chameleon can relax and enjoy the warmth. The branch should
be no closer than 6 inches below the screen top so as to avoid
accidental burns to your chameleon. The incandescent bulb,
which fits in a clamp lamp fixture, should be located in one
corner on the screen top of the cage. By placing the clamp
lamp in one corner, you can provide a gradient temperature
range within the enclosure. When your chameleon wants to warm
up under the heat light, he/she will go over to bask, if not,
there will be other cooler areas in the enclosure to go to.
Avoid placing the spot lamp in the top middle since the heat
will disperse evenly throughout the cage.
Both forms of lighting should be off at night. Just as chameleons
in the wild have a cooling down period during the night, we
need to provide this in captivity as well. Unless the temperatures
inside your home fall below 60 degrees F in the wintertime,
no additional heat source at night (such as a ceramic heat
lamp) should be necessary.
| Light Timer: |
(1) Inexpensive lamp timer
(1) 3-pronged adapter to fit the timer (which is usually
2-pronged)
(1) Power strip
|
| Placing your lights on an automatic timer
is a simple way to automate the care of your chameleon
on a daily basis. You can plug a power strip into an inexpensive
lamp timer and have the chameleon's lights come on and
off routinely. We set our timers on a 12-hour cycle during
the summer and a 10-hour cycle during the winter.
|
Plants: We recommend living
plants to include in your chameleon's enclosure. Choose
a healthy plant that fits the cage nicely, both in fullness
and height. We use Ficus benjamina (Weeping Fig) in over
95% of our cages since they do nicely both indoors and
out. Some other nontoxic plants include:
Weeping Figs (Ficus benjamina)
Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola)
Hibiscus
Pothos
Ivy
Any other non-toxic plant. See our website for great links
to "SAFE" plants . . . Go to: http://www.calumma.com/Plants%20and%20Branches.htm
Due to pesticide and fertilizer use in most plant nurseries,
whenever you introduce a new plant to your animal's
enclosure, there are some preparation steps to take
beforehand. Many nursery's and garden centers use heavy-duty
pesticides to protect the plants but these same pesticides
may prove fatal to your chameleon if ingested. Make
sure they are removed!
Step 1: Take a clean bucket and fill it with
a squirt of antibacterial soap and water. Create a soapy
solution. Invert the plant "head down" into
the water and swish around. Let the plant sit for 3-5
minutes.
Step 2: Rinse the plant thoroughly so that any
soap solution is removed. Repeat steps 1 and 2 a second
or third time.
Step 3: The potting soil the plant originally
comes in may contain fertilizers and soil additives
that could be detrimental to your animal. Crickets often
go into the potting soil of the plant and if your chameleon
shoots for the cricket, you don't want him/her to draw
back nitrate fertilizers along with their prey. A simple
way to remedy this is to purchase a small bag of "Super
Soil" (without conditioners) and replace the top
3-4" of soil in the plant container.
Once your plant is properly cleaned and the topsoil
is replaced, you can rest easy that it's now ready for
a new home with your chameleon.
|
Watering:
Spray bottle
for misting
Drip watering system
We mist our chameleons' enclosure
plants about one hour after the lights come on. Enclosures
can be misted once in the morning and then later on in
the afternoon when possible. Misting not only provides
water for your chameleon to drink from, it's also helpful
in raising humidity within the enclosure.
After misting, you can fill
the chameleon's drip cup with fresh water and place it
on the screen top so it drips over the interior plant(s).
Use a simple catch plate underneath the plant to hold
any excess water.
|
Feeding:
Babies: Baby
chameleons should be fed 6-7 days a week. From the age
of 0-4 months, we feed our offspring liberally. Babies
will often eat 8-12 crickets a day when the crickets are
7-14 days old (small 1/8 - 1/4" size). In addition
to crickets, two of their favorite foods at this stage
of life are flightless fruit flies and domestic houseflies.
Juveniles: Once the offspring reach 5-12 months of
age (juvenile, young adult size), we slow down their
food intake and begin to grow them at a slower pace.
By now they are on a 3-4 week cricket (1/2 - 3/4"
size) and we allow 5-6 crickets per feeding as opposed
to the 8-12 they were receiving as small babies. The
very real risk of overfeeding during this life stage
is a high potential for MBD (metabolic bone disease)
by misjudging the calcium ratios to food intake. It's
too difficult to manage proper supplementation when
offering large volumes of food. By growing your chameleon
slowly and steadily through this period of their life,
you are much more likely to provide them with strong,
dense bones as opposed to weak, brittle bones from accelerated
growth rates the chameleons can't keep up with.
Adult Males: From 13-18 months, we feed our adult males
on an "every other day" basis. When we feed
crickets, they are given approx. 10 per feeding. At
this stage of life, they are no longer experiencing
rapid growth and don't require food on a daily basis.
Adult Females: For mature and actively breeding females,
we maintain a daily feeding schedule due to the high
demands associated with during egg production. For non-breeding
females, we feed on an every other day basis just as
we do with the males.
|
Supplements:
Due to the lack
of scientific research,
nutritional supplementation
for chameleons in captivity
is largely a mystery. This is an area of chameleon care
that must be determined individually by the chameleon
keeper. The needs of each chameleon can vary depending
on species and life stages (i.e. growing babies, egg laying
females, mature adult males etc.). The conventional wisdom
is that both a vitamin and calcium supplement should be
provided to captive chameleons but with widely differing
opinions as to "how much" and "how often".
Babies and juveniles have higher requirements due to their
rapid growth rates while adults and fully mature chameleons
require less since they have reached full size.
One of the best ways to ensure chameleons are getting
proper nutrition is through the foods they eat. Supplements
are in addition to a healthy diet. When we supplement,
it is done "lightly and routinely". The prey
items should be evenly coated but not "laden down"
or smothered with supplements.
We use the following supplement products:
Herptivite (multivitamin with beta-carotene) - Mondays
and Thursdays
Rep-Cal Calcium (calcium with and w/out vitamin D3 -
depending on indoor or outdoor use) - Tuesdays and Fridays
Miner-All (calcium with essential trace minerals) -
Wednesdays and Saturdays
Our adult males are supplemented with vitamins and
calcium one time each per week.
|
| Cricket Care: |
Supplies needed:
A 10-gallon glass aquarium with a screened top
Spot lamp for proper heat (crickets should be kept in
the high 80's, low 90's)
Crickets can make great feeder insects. They are readily
available and gut load easily. We make our own food from
a recipe found at:
http://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html The
recipe makes two large gallon sized zip lock bags full
and can be fresh frozen to be used as needed. The dry
mixture is the consistency of coarse corn meal and the
crickets LOVE it. The only additional food they require
is something with moisture for hydration. We like to use
orange slices not only because the crickets devour them
but it also adds additional vitamin C to your chameleon's
diet. Crickets should be fed on a daily basis by simply
spooning the cricket food onto a clean paper plate and
adding slices of orange here and there for a drinking
source. Crickets should also be provided with pieces of
clean egg carton to climb up on and hide under.
Keep your crickets clean on a regular basis so you
avoid possible disease, which can be passed on to your
precious chameleon. Old, uneaten food should be removed
from the cricket tank on a daily basis and the glass
bottom should be scraped out several times a week. This
can be easily done with a paint scraper that has a broad,
flat, straight edge. When all the crickets have been
fed out and the tank is then empty, that's the perfect
time to clean it out with hot water, a squirt of anti-bacterial
soap and a cap full of bleach.
Crickets require temperatures in the upper 80's to
low 90's. When warmed properly, the crickets are active
and eat regularly. If they get cold, you will more than
likely experience high mortality.
|
| Handling: |
| Often we are asked, "Is it ok to handle my chameleon?"
. . . to this question, we answer "YES". Please
give your chameleon a couple of weeks to settle in when
he/she first arrives. Once they've had a chance to adjust
to their new surroundings, begin handling them for brief
periods of time (5-10 minutes at a time) when you have
the opportunity. Carefully remove them from their enclosure
(using a stick for them to first climb out on is very
effective) and sit quietly on a chair or couch and allow
them to crawl on you and explore new territory.
Be aware that when they are little, they see you as
a GIANT predator that will more than likely snap them
up at any given moment and eat them for a snack! They
are programmed with a "flight or fight" response
and may even fling themselves off of you to avoid being
"eaten"! Be prepared for that possibility
and avoid letting them fall to the ground risking serious
injury. Over time and as they mature, they learn that
you mean them no harm. They aren't the snack . . . you
actually bring them tasty snacks and take wonderful
care of them. Trust is patiently built over time and
before long, you will hopefully have a sweet chameleon
on your hands! Each one has a different personality
(like people . . . outgoing, standoffish, shy, inquisitive)
and over time you'll get to know more about your individual
pet.
|
Panther
Chameleon
~Setup Checklist~
|
| Screen Enclosure:
Babies/Juveniles: 24"L x 12"W x 24"H
or 24"L x 16"W x 30"H
Adults: 30"L x 18"W x 36"H
Lighting:
(1) - UV Florescent Light Fixture
(1) - Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 florescent bulb or comparable
UV bulb
(1) - Clamp Lamp Fixture
(1) - Basking bulb
Light Timer:
(1) Inexpensive lamp timer
(1) 3-pronged adapter to fit the timer (which is usually
2-pronged)
(1) Power strip to plug the lights into
Live Plants:
Examples:
Weeping Figs (Ficus benjamina)
Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola)
Hibiscus
Pothos
Ivy
Any other non-toxic plant. See our website for great
links to "SAFE" plants . . . Go to: http://www.calumma.com/Plants%20and%20Branches.htm
Watering:
Spray bottle for misting
Drip water system
Food:
Babies:
Crickets - No longer than the width of the chameleon's
head
Flightless Fruit Flies
Domestic House Flies
Mini mealworms
Sub-adults/Adults:
Crickets
Superworms
Wax worms
Other feeder insects such as: Silkworms, Roaches, and
Horned Worms etc.
Supplements:
Vitamins and Calcium
|
|
