Here's one site with some information about panthers on it...
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/fpardalis.html
Here are three sites that I recommend for "newbies" at chameleon keeping...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.html
I don't consider myself to be an expert (likely never will)....but I have kept chameleons for quite a few years....panthers included. The following is what I do....its not necessarily the best or only way to keep panther chameleons, but it has worked for me. They seem to do well and reproduce healthy babies.
I live in a cold and often dry climate, so my chameleons are basically raised indoors...so I can't give you information about outdoor caging...but there is some information in the sites I included in the post.
Because of the climate being cold and dry, my cages have three sides and the floor of glass and the front and lid are screen. Usually all screen enclosures are recommended because there are issues with glass caging. With cages that are not all screen, there can be water/drainage problems..its not good to have water laying around the cage allowing bacteria and mold to grow. Some people say that the chameleon can see its reflection in the glass and react badly to it...I have not found this to be an issue.
If you are getting just one, I would recommend a male so that you don't have to worry about eggs. If you do get a female, there should be a place provided in the cage for her to lay eggs once she is over the age of about 4 months.
I use a full spectrum/UVB light on the cage as well as a normal florescent light to provide extra light. There is an incandescent light to provide a basking site. I place the basking light to one side of the cage to allow better gradient in temperatures in the cage. The temperature in the main part of the cage is in the mid 70's to low 80's with the basking spot in the high 80's. I keep hatchlings at more moderate temperatures since their small bodies cool/warm/dehydrate more quickly than adults do.
I provide a variety of sizes of branches and well-washed non-toxic plants (pothos being the one I use the most). I cover the soil in the plant pots to prevent ingestion of the soil. I do not use any substrate.
Regarding food...I use mostly well gutloaded, appropriate sized, dusted crickets but provide silkworms, superworms, waxworms, etc. as well. The wider the variety of insects the better. I don't use wild insects...but others have done it without problems.
Because my chameleons are raised/kept indoors generally, for adults, I dust the insects with calcium a couple of times a week. I also dust with a vitamin powder twice a month ( with a beta carotene source of vitamin A) and a calcium/D3 powder twice a month. For hatchlings, I increase the frequency of the calcium. Hatchlings are fed every day and adults are fed every two or three days. Vitamins D3 and A (preformed)can be stored in the system, so care has to be taken not to overdo them.
For adults, I use a dripper and mist them at least once a day. For hatchlings I use only a mister several times a day and try not to allow water to pool into large drops in case it might be aspirated.
Hope this helps! Anything I missed?
