Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

harrison · Contributing Member Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 141

well, he is here, and he is well..

Posted this on the viv design forum too, but thought it would be better here...

They're only quick pics taken with my camera phone, as i don't want to stress him out too much, but i love him, and he's very cool... Very Happy

Only one concern... He's a nosy be blue, and so he is blue. But when i put his basking light on, he goes very dark... And when i turn it off, he returns to a lovely light blue. What could be the cause of this? His temps at his basking spot are 20c with the light on, but drops down to about 10c when it is not. (This is at night, and it's quite cold where i live at the moment.)

I already asked Rick about this, but no reply so far, and i'm a little concerned.

But other than that, he's great. As soon as i put him in his tank, he started drinking, and eating loads of crix. A very happy bunny.. Smile

here he is... Pedro (i think) Very Happy

Sorry for the big pictures...

kroakykaren · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject:

He is beautiful, you must be over the moon Very Happy

and yes the pics are huge could you resize them in photobucket next time please Very Happy

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Stuart Marquis · Key Member Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 333

Hi

Nice looking set up.

My only concern is with regards to your temperatures; I think they are too low. I've only been keeping panthers a few months so I'm no expert but I think they need a basking spot quite a bit warmer than the 20C you are providing. Mine get a basking spot of maybe 28-30C with an ambient temp of 24-25 during the day. When all the lighting goes off at night temps drop down to about 19C. I think a night time drop to 10C is too low for panthers and may cause them harm. I think at those temps your crickets and locusts may also have difficulty digesting the food you're gut loading them with so the cham may not get the full benefits of the gut loading process.

harrison · Contributing Member Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 141

Yea, i am a little worried about the heat situation...

The viv is quite big, and has a 100w UVA/UVB lamp in the day for his basking light, and a 10.0% bulb at the top too.. But even in the day with both lights on, i'm only hitting around 22c max.

I have been putting the heating on at night to keep the temp around 15c as a temp. measure. Think i will buy an oil fired 'plug in' radiator when i get the chance.

But what is out there that is safe to use in the day to bring the temp up?

Heat mat stuck to the side could work, but i can't see it making that much difference (at least, not to up the temp by 10c), and it's not really a long term solution.

It's hard to keep the viv warm, when the place where you live is cold, and the viv itself is 50% meshed.

He seems to be happy as he is, but as i have learned in the past, these guys are good at making sure you don't know they're unwell, untill they're very unwell...

Answers on a postcard please...

H

kroakykaren · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:26 am Post subject:

Harry, try moving a basking perch a bit nearer to the lamp, do you have a temp gun? they are handy for getting correct spot temps Very Happy

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harrison · Contributing Member Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 141

no, no temp gun... closer? it's a 100w heat bulb.. won't he get burned?

The basking spot is about 30cm away from the bulb now...

Stuart Marquis · Key Member Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 333

no, no temp gun... closer? it's a 100w heat bulb.. won't he get burned?

The basking spot is about 30cm away from the bulb now...

30cm is too far from the heat source in my opinion. I use 60w spot bulbs sitting on top of the mesh on exo terra vivs and the basking spot is about 4 or 5 inches from the bulb.

heat mats aren't much use for chams as they need as basking spot type of heat, heat mats only really provide contact heat.

You also might benefit from a viv that had less mesh and wasn't so open. Mesh vivs are better for yemen chams in my opinion as they don't seem to require higher humidity levels, but panther do benefit from a bit of humidity and this may be easier to achieve in a viv that is less open. A less open viv would also hold heat better.

I think you main problem is that the whole environment you are keeping the cham in is too cold. I think you'd do better to try and raise the temperature of the whole room rather than focus huge amounts of wattage directly on the viv in an attempt to heat it.

I have one of these and I can highly recommend one. This single unit heats my whole flat (and it has a built in thermostat)!

http://www.delonghi.co.uk/product_page.php?id=89&key=Oil%20Filled%20Radiators

cheers

Stuart

johne.ev · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:54 pm Post subject:

Try covering the mesh top, all your heat & humidity is escaping straight out.

harrison · Contributing Member Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 141

a little pointless....

LeeWarren · Key Member Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 210

Great looking viv, he should do very well in there.

My suggestion would be this: Raise the viv off the floor, maybe a stand!
And as for the extra heat needed, you could raise the temp of the entire room with a radiator. But I would opt for the Microclimate all in one heating system attached to the lower area of the viv. That should work a treat. Wont cost you a fortune on electric either.

Also any new chameleon should be screened for parasites. Take a fresh dropping to any vets and ask them to test it. This is not expensive but gives you peace of mind.