Reptile & Amphibian Forums

one of my panther females laid some eggs a few months ago. None of them really looked any good, but today one of them hatched out. I haven't raised any right out of the egg, and am looking for pointers on getting them started. Any help would be appreciated. I've read that fruit flies are best, but the ones I've seen on the classified require 3-5 weeks to hatch, and I don't have that much time. Again, any help would be appreciated.
Paul

order about 500 pinhead crickets and 2-3 fruit fly cultures. keep feeding them crickets until the fruit flies hatch. by then they micht be to big so you might want to just stick to crix.
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1.2 veiled chameleons(Rocket, Jenevive, and Sally)
1.0 pacific tree frog(Kermit)
want to get a diego suarez( which I would name Tommy)

Pinhead crickets (only a few days old)can be used to feed
a panther chameleon hatchling. Check with your local pet store
to see if they have any.

As for raising the hatchling, watch that you don't overheat it
or dehydrate it...after all, a hatchlings body id much smaller
than an adults' so it will heat/cool/dehydrate more quickly.

When watering/misting it, be careful that the water doesn't form
big drops. I've seen a baby die from aspirating a large drop
of water. It doesn't happen often, but why not avoid the
possibility?

Good luck with your little one!

What type of container do you keep them in, and why kind of heat source do you use so as not to overheat them? I saw a picture in a chameleon book where hatchlings were kept in a fishbowl. Also, do you use any kind of substrate (in order to hold up the branches), or is having substrate a bad idea?
Thanks!

you can keep them in 10 gallon aquariums. use a low wattage bulb.
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1.2 veiled chameleons(Rocket, Jenevive, and Sally)
1.0 pacific tree frog(Kermit)
want to get a diego suarez( which I would name Tommy)

The following way of keeping hatchlings works well if you live
in an area like the northern States or Canada...but adjustments
would have to be made if you live in warmer areas like California
or Florida. The following may not be the only way
to keep baby chameleons, but it has worked well for me
for quite a few years.

I keep them in 15 gallon tanks with screen lids. I suspend a
double florescent fixture over one end (NOT side) of the tanks
which I place in a row. In the fixture I put one regular
florescent bulb and one full spectrum (including UVB)
bulb. Placing the fixture at one end of the tanks, give the tank a warm end and a
cool end so that the babies can move around to regulate their
temperature. I have four tanks in a row under the fixture so
that I can put 1/4 of the clutch in each as they hatch...up 8
or so per tank maximum. (My clutches are usually only 20-25.)

I don't use any substrate for any of my chameleons because as
they eat the insects, they might ingest some of it and become
impacted. (There's a thread on the forum right now talking
about a chameleon passing substrate in his feces.)
Some substrates are toxic as well.

I place branches of a suitable size for the babies feet to grip
in the tanks so that they come up high at the end where the
light is. (Maple and corkscrew hazel are my favorites to use.)

I use artificial plants with panther chameleons (but now with
veileds) or I use a pothos plant. In either case, I wash all
surfaces (underside too) of the plant and if its a real plant,
I cover the dirt with large pebbles so that the babies can't
eat the dirt either.

I gutload my crickets and dust them with calcium on a regular
basis (more often than with the adults since they are growing.)
In addition to this, dust them with cal/D3 and vitamins/minerals
in the same way that I do with adults. The water I use is tap
water that has been left out overnight so that the chlorine will
go out of it. (Using distilled water or reverse osmosis water,
etc. will alter the amount of minerals that they will get.)

How many eggs were in this clutch?
I don't throw out any eggs until I'm very sure that they won't
hatch.

Hope you have good luck with the hatchling(s)!