Male Sambava Panther Chameleon

[PrettyInInk87]

Here's my little guy Hugh! He's such a cool little guy...

By prettyinink87 at 2011-08-18

 

[brianlinkles]

I have to say, he is REALLY cute. He has the cutest little head! I love his name as well!

 

[PrettyInInk87]

I have to say, he is REALLY cute. He has the cutest little head! I love his name as well!

Why thank you! He's being a show off for the camera, lol!

 

[TurquoiseMel]

Wow, he's amazing!!! I like that blue he has in there. I always said if I ever got a reptile it'd be a chameleon !! The only thing I'd hate tho is feeding them the live bugs & stuff D: lol.

How easy or difficult would you say it is to care for one of these guys? Just out of curiosity. I know if I ever get one it won't be anytime soon hehe, I'm still waiting for my green cheek.
PS Hope Apple's doing well C:
-Mel

 

[kerry]

How long have you had him?
Does he eat?
We had a chameleon years ago & it wouldn't eat & it got a tongue infection.
It was not good.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Wow, he's amazing!!! I like that blue he has in there. I always said if I ever got a reptile it'd be a chameleon !! The only thing I'd hate tho is feeding them the live bugs & stuff D: lol.

How easy or difficult would you say it is to care for one of these guys? Just out of curiosity. I know if I ever get one it won't be anytime soon hehe, I'm still waiting for my green cheek.
PS Hope Apple's doing well C:
-Mel

They are in the difficult side of reptile keeping...

Diet: Variouse bugs like roaches, crickets, hornworms, superworms, silkworms, waxworks, blue bottle flies, butterflies. They need a great variety of feeders for them to get what they need.

Gutloading: Feeders should be properly gutloaded with fresh fruits and veggies such as orange, apple, butternut squash, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, and so on.

Dusting: feeders should be dusted at every feeding with plain calcium, twice a month with calcium with D3, and multivitamins twice a month.

Lighting: 40 to 60 watt basking bulb and fixture along with 5.0 reptisun linear UVB bulb and fixture.

Temperatures/Humidity: 80 to 83 degrees basking area with an ambient temperature of 75 to 78. Humidity must be kept from 60 to 80 percent. Digital thermometer/hygrometer is best to monitor these things. Sticky ones are very inaccurate.

Watering: Chameleons do not drink from water bowls so need to be misted 3 times a day to keep humidity up and provide water droplettes to drink from. Running dropper to provide running water all day for drinking.

Enclosure: for adults a 2x2x4 foot all screen cage is needed along with real plants and tree to maintain humidity. Lots of vertical and horizontal vines and foliage for cover and privacy.

There are also many things you should look for ina healthy Cham. A chameleon should NEVER sleep during the day, they are diurnal. Sunken eyes is a sugih of dehydration as well as orange urates.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

How long have you had him?
Does he eat?
We had a chameleon years ago & it wouldn't eat & it got a tongue infection.
It was not good.

Lol! That's like asking if our Parrots eat. Of course they eat, what were you feeding him. Many people make the mistake of not doing their research on these wonderful reptiles before they purchase them. :/ I have had my little guy since he was 3 months old and he is now 13 months old. Did you take him to an exotics vet? He could have passed for a number of reasons. Sorry you lost him.

 

[TurquoiseMel]

i surprised myself reading all that. I didn't know I knew that much about chameleons. I knew about everything you mentioned even the dusting and water situation, only thing I havent heard of is the gutloading. I have no idea what that is. Lol

 

[Remy]

I've always loved chameleons! I remember getting to feed one crickets at a pet store when I was pretty young. It was a lot of fun to have it zap them out of my hand!

I considered getting one when I was deciding what kind of pet to get, but I decided against it because they're so high maintenance and I'd have to feed them live things. I also decided I'd rather have a pet with a limbic system to start with.

I had Chinese water dragons growing up. They even had babies! They were SO cute! Even though I don't have any anymore, I loooove reptiles! My mom used to even be in a Herpetology Society! Brings back good memories!

 

[kerry]

We lost him because of the tongue infection.
He could not eat because of it.
It was too sad.