Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Not all people want to see subforums because they want to keep as much as possible lumped together in a general forum format - that is understandable. However, at the same time we do not want to deny those individuals that do want such an expanded structure. The amount of 'real estate' on the main KS forum page is limited. Because of that limitation, we often had to turn down folks who wanted to see new forums/topics created. The subforums were created to help provide for the additional forums that members are seeking without cutting into the limited space on the main forum page.

Now what does this mean for you:

Everyone is more than welcome to discuss whatever topics about chameleons here on the main Chameleon forum.

If anyone does not like the sub-forums - then don't use them. People may continue to discuss all their cham-related issues and topics here in the general cham forum.

If, on the other hand, you are someone who is looking for specific advice that you are better able to get help with from those individuals who prefer to post in the topic-specific forums/subforums, then post there.

No one is going to force anyone to choose between the two formats. Some people will obviously stick to general forums while others will perfer to gravitate towards the specific ones, and then there will be those individuals who hop between the two spectra.

For those of you who are nervous about this change.... give it time. Find a forum or group of forums that you best fit in and feel most comfortable with. The generalists keep what they want, the specialists get what they want, and the drifters navigate between both. See...everyone is supposed to live happily ever after.

BTW... to some extent (its still a little buggy) the "today's posts" feature is going to be your best way to 'bulk search' the forums for new posts rather than looking at each forum or subforum individually. Example: when using the lower search box, if you scroll down through the list and highlight the 'chameleons' parent forum and set the time frame you want to search for, the results page will pop up with a list of all new threads and/or existing threads that contain new posts for the Chameleon forum AND its subforums! Then it's just a matter of picking which threads you want to read. NOTE: it is best to do this if you are logged in to the system and have your user preferences already set to "show all replies" so that you can see the entire thread structure for whatever thread you are looking at the bottom of the posts...you can then 'hop' around the thread easily (if you are not logged in to the system you can click on the 'show entire thread' at the bottom of whatever post you are reading to 'open up' the thread structure so that you can then play hop around)

As for the sticky note discussion that occurred some time ago here... you got what you wanted too so to speak. Soon as I can get mostly caught up on 'pretty-ing up' all the new subforums that the big boss man stuck everywhere (I'm kinda going in circles still from it LOL), then I can get around to making good use of the sticky notes.

________

Edited on January 22, 2005 at 21:56:25 by phwyvern.

Hi - so will the sticky's actually besitcky's on the main cham forum? For instance, "if you are new..." "For best replies..." "basic setup Q&A..." that will always remain on top? The other option of course is to have a subforum specifally setup with the most repeated Q&A

Hope others will give their input here...

lele
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

>>Hi - so will the sticky's actually besitcky's on the main cham forum? For instance, "if you are new..." "For best replies..." "basic setup Q&A..." that will always remain on top? The other option of course is to have a subforum specifally setup with the most repeated Q&A
>>
>>Hope others will give their input here...
>>

yes I am thinking that instead of having long full out caresheets, the stickies will be helpful directions telling people where to go on the site to find various things to help them find information. I'm still working on a draft outline that will be pretty much the same for any site, but also can be customized to the specific animals...chams vs pythons, etc.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

Well, I may be able to help a little here if you are interested. I have a sort of Newbies reference sheet that I created when there is an influx of new people with the same Q&A. It does not contain actual care, but it does include sites for research as well as information to include in a post. Feel free to use all/any of it if you like.

lele

here it is:
There seem to be new names popping up lately or at least infrequent posters so I thought it would be a good time to re-post the sites that are most recommended. Most all questions can be addressed. Granted, we all still want to hear answers from experienced keepers, but do a little research first. You can search the KS forum to begin with because many of these issues have been addressed.

But you can also check out some sites. Don’t just go to the home page, but poke around and you will find a wealth of Cham info – I also suggest you book mark them for further info.

ALL of these have info on breeding, husbandry, baby/nursery info, nutrition, species, feeders, health, vets and MUCH more:

Chameleon News
This is a top source of current information compiled and written by “tops in their field.”
www.chameleonnews.com/

AdCham - species profile, husbandry and health issues, gutload recipe,
www.adcham.com/

Kammerflage Kreations - top U.S. breeder; wonderful site with tons of info
www.calumma.com

Chameleon Journals – vet topics, husbandry, etc.
www.chameleonjournals.com/

Vet listing by state www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html#vetlist

Vet Connection (real people's experiences – has state listing) www.herpvetconnection.com/

Of course, there are more but these are the most frequently recommended. PLEASE go to them, look around and book mark them.

Another tip for asking questions. If your cham is having problems and you want input be sure to include:

1-Cage type: size and type of cage (screen/glass)
2-Temps: - basking area and lower in cage
3-Lighting: - what output AND manufacturer of UVB lighting and wattage of basking light where are the lights? on top? distance from basking branch, length of time on/off, etc.
4-Humidity: do you have a gauge? What are the readings? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)?
5-Water: how often do you mist? dripper? have you seen him/her drink?
6-Plants/branches: what plants do you have? lots of coverage where he will feel safe?
7-Food : what is s/he eating? Where are you getting them? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gutload? What type?
8-supplements what and how often do you dust and with what (brand)?
9-Cham facts: how old is s/he? Do you know if s/he is wild caught or captive born? Did you get him at a show? Breeder?
10-Vet do you have one who KNOWS chameleons?

One last thing - As great as everyone is here (and they are), if it is a medical problem there is no substitute for a vet visit.
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

Thanks for all your work on this. I thought I had seen on another KS forum a list of "basic responses to repeated questions". Maybe I'm thinking of another site...not sure. I guess what we hoped to have is a way to paste a good detailed response to those classic often repeated questions every forum gets and spends a lot of time answering over and over again. For one thing they could be a compilation of the good experience the active forum members have given, and our response would be much quicker for the poster. A question about the subforums...when a newbie is doing a search for information is it possible for a subforum to come up INSTEAD of the parent forum? This might make a difference in the info they get access to and might keep them from finding the better parent forum with all the active users. Some of us who try to help newbies as much as possible don't have time to monitor all the subforums as well as the original. I don't want to leave a newbie hanging, but just can't roam around on all the lists as often as I'd like to. Maybe we are asking for the wrong feature? Again, thanks so much for your support of our hobby!