Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey...

im buying a Panthar Chameleon in a month or two, i need to do all of my research first. i need to know what the afterage lifespan for a panthar chameleon is, that has been well taken care of and stuff.thanks alot.

adam

ps. can i buy 1 cage for the chameleon to live in as a baby, a rather large one so i wont have to buy a new one when its an adult?

An average lifespan for a WELL TAKEN CARE OF Panther should be at least 5 years. Maybe even close to 10. That is for a Male panther (assuming you're only getting 1 and it will be a male). If you buy as a baby, you'll need at least 2 cages. Maybe 3. Start off with as large of a baby (not adult) as you can somewhere in the range of 4-6 months old and you could probably get away with 1 cage. Just make sure there's plenty of food available and that you do your research on everything else to make him happy. Of course, you kinda contradicted yourself when you said you wanted to know the lifespan on a well taken care of panther then you asked if you could use 1 cage.... A well taken care of panther would have 3 cages. 1 from baby until about 2 or 3 months, another medium one from about 3 to 6 months, then another one at least 2 by 2 by 3 feet for him as an adult. If you're crunching money to save on the cost of 2 cages, you don't know what you're getting yourself into in this hobby.
-Tyler Stewart

money doesnt matter for me, ive worked really hard for a year now with saving up money and mowing lawns, i just wanted to know if i could save money by buying 1 cage,instead of buying 3 cages and having no use for 2 od them when he was an adult. the one im getting is around 6 months old anyways, so what are the deminsions of the cage i should get (LxWxH?).

Dimentions should be 24"x18"x48" for a male and 18"x18"x36" for a female. You can use a 20gal aquarium until he is big enough to go into his big cage, I'd say 5 months should be well age enough to go into his big cage. You can use the 20gal for raising feeders such as roaches, crickets, some kinds of worms or stick bugs, or, like many of us, you can become part of the vicious circle that is the herpetoculturist where you buy one herp, then another, then another, and its an unforgiving, unending cycle.

-Brock

LOL. it's true... the circle never ends. I have a 35 gal left from when I have degus, and I am just dying to get a snake. but then I think of breeding Orion, and I'm making myself wait to see if i'll need it for that. LOL.

Glad to hear you're gonna put some money into it. Makes for a happy guy. I would get a 2 foor by 2 foot by at least 3 feet maybe 4 tall. I like the screen cages that are sold at LLLREPTILE.com they are 24 by 24 by 48 inches and I think they're 99 dollars (plus shipping) right now. They're simple, attractive, easy to clean and pretty much keep the crickets in (sometimes you need to seal up the inside corners for small crickets with a silicone or some calking.... They can get into the frame of the cage). I have some of the same ones that are smaller for my smaller chams, but I think that for a 6 month old, you'd be able to get it in 1 big cage without having to get another one. He'd just be extra happy until he grows into it. Where are you getting a 6 month old Panther out of curiosity?
-Tyler Stewart

i wouldn't reccomend a cage from lll, if i remember right their cages are from scales. they do not drill the holes all the way through, instead they use self-tapping screws. i use the ones from reptiledepot.com, and have never had any problems with them, nor have i ever had to seal the corners at all. they are also pretty close in price.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

one of the things i would recommend is sealing the inside corners of the screen. until i figured out the crickets were going in to the frame i must has lost 50 of them in there. i just used hot glue to fix the problem. my second cage(i just got it last month)is 36 tall x 18 wide x 30 long i got from reptile depot the holes to assemble were there but again i had to seal the corners and did so BEFORE the cage was assembled. the first cage i use to sun him on the weekends. he spends 4- 6 hours saturday and sunday outside in the old(small)cage and although i just got this cage and it is nice and big and he sems to love it, today we went out looking at large(6 feet tall and 2 feet wide)bird cages. i found a good one but i'm holding out because i will need to either have screens to line the inside walls of the cage of tack weld wife mesh to secure the cage for the chameleon better. i like the screen idea because then he can still hunt for his food. i have another huge cage(it's something like 8 feet wide and 10 feet tall!) i want but my dad is using it and i'll need to do some sweet talking to get that one and then i'll still need to get screens made or wire mesh welded in.

dennis
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working for the man again

i actually have my mellers in a large bird cage, and to solve the cricket problem, i just cup feed him. it's been working pretty well, he now associates the cup with crickets, so he goes straight there.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

when i go with the BIG cage i may have to cup fed but i would prefer to have him still hunt for his food.

did you decide cup feeding because the crickets are too hard to contain or the cage is to large for him to find?

dennis
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working for the man again

I know i'm not who you asked, but i cup feed too. I decided to do this so I'd know how many she was eating EXACTLY (she was sick before and I'd never know...). That, and the cage I built is all crooked (ok, it's the first thing i've made since grade nine tech!) and there is space by the door for them to get out. My dad just loved that. my cat would kill the escapees, but instead of hiding them for me would put them in the bathroom in the tub or sink lol. I found also that a lot of the crix would hide in the planters (I found a swarm of them when I switched her into her new cage a few months ago). That, and I'd never know if they were all gone. Also, I hold the cup to cupfeed, and it's my "quality time" with her.

i had the same problem in the beginning with the crickets hiding the planter so i put small polished rocks on the top of the planter thinking that would help. it didn't though, it only gave the crickets a better place to hide. so now i just dump them pn the bottom of the cage and they climb up the sides and come to dinner! lol it works pretty well but with the BIG cage when i get it i forsee a problem unless i screen the inside or cupfeed. i'd rather "free range" the crickets though if i can.

dennis
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working for the man again

we used weather stripping to make the door cricket proof. But after doing so much work to make it cricket proof, we decided to cup feed. Crickets can chew through the screen, and if they are munching on the screen, who knows if they are munching on your cham at night?

We do let a couple go free every day, but right in front of him, so he thinks he's hunting. And we'll place the silkworms on branches and he'll hunt them down. We're hppy, and he's happy

hey-

to whoever asked why i why i wanted a 6 month or older chameleon, well the breeder who im buying it from only sells ones that are 6 or more months older.ill just drop in the crickets and have them come to him, how many crickets each feeding?and do i feed him everyday until he is an adult, or how often do i feed him and when?thx

-adam

my guide says from 5-12 months feed panthers(1/2" or 3/4" size crickets)5 or 6 crickets 7 days a week. i feed our chameleon first thing in the morning about 6 or 7am.

don't forget to dust your crickets also! your chamelon needs his vitimins!

dennis
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working for the man again

I wouldn't just dump crickets in your setup unless the cage is made from aluminum screening. If it is a nylon mesh material like the reptarium, crickets can chew through it. I use a cup. I've had my Ambanja Red Bar for about 8 months. It only took him a week to learn to eat out of the cup. And, don't feed the cham so early. When they wake up, their internal temp. is low, so they bask. After they bask, mist. After that, then feed. This is how my cham has routinely woken up every day. Yours may be different, but most do something similar to this.

N/P
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
1.2 Nosy Be Panthers
2.2 Sambava Panthers
1.0 Tamatave Panther
1.0 Nosy Be X Unknown Cross
1.1 Veiled Chameleons
0.0.2 CBB Desert Tortoises
0.0.1 Sulcatta Tortoise