Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a three week old panther cham at the Shelbyville Expo today. The little guy was very inexpensive (as panthers go)and I have been drooling over having a panther for months now. He/she is so small and delicate. He is in a critter keeper right now with a length of pothos and paper toweling at the bottom. I also purchased some pinhead crickets. He is on top of my veiled cham's cage where he can also partake of the UVB light (although I don't know how much will actually reach him through the plastic) and the room is warm with no air conditioning but a slightly open window for air circulation. I'll be building a mesh cage within the next couple of days. The vendor had bought out a complete collection from someone else and wasn't sure what type of panther he is but thinks it's a tamatave..frankly I couldn't care less I JUST WANTED A PANTHER - ANY PANTHER!! Now...for a cham that tiny is there anything else I should be doing? All advice will be received with open arms.

Marilyn

Marilyn,

I can understand your excitement about your little panther. I rememebr getting my babies, and how cute there were! The fact that you don't know what it would turn out to be makes it even more exciting, like opening a Chrismas present! but i don't think your little cham is not getting enough uvb light though. The ones we use isn't even close to being enough, thats why we supplement them with vitamin D. furthermore, yours is filtered though the plastic. Its your little chams early stage of development, so you should give him/her your best. I'd suggest you transfer her to a larger 10 gallon aquarium, and purchase seperate hoodlights and heat bulbs for the little tyke. An oh, Happy parenting!

Thanks for the info! I agree with you and am making arrangements to improve his environment. Your reply was much appreciated.

Marilyn

'

Wow, that is a really tiny baby. I don't want to worry you, but this is young enough that unknown things happen to babies that were not destined to make it in the wild. Still, it was sturdy enough to handle the trips to and from the show so hopefully all is well. Just in case it doesn't go for the pinhead crix (and some don't...they get intimidated by them crawling around) get some fruitfly cultures. Tiny flying insects are a natural prey item for baby chams and will help it develop eye/tongue coordination and muscles. You can keep the flies in the cage by leaving a piece of ripe fruit inside where the cham can reach the flies by shooting. Baby chams can overheat and dehydrate really fast, so stay on the lower end of the temp range for panthers. Also, watch the size of water droplets your sprayer makes. There have been reports of very young babies drowning from trying to swallow large droplets. There are some great articles on baby care at www.adcham.com and www.chameleonnews.com you could read. Good luck!