Description:

Adult males can reach a total length of 21 to 24 inches and a suitable vivarium would ideally measure at least 36" x 24" x 36". Female Panthers are almost always orange in colour (some may be a grey/brown). Male Panthers can vary from the Nosy Be blue panther to green and blue patterned Ambanja "Rainbow" panthers with orange eyes.

Distribution:

The Panther Chameleon (furcifer pardalis) comes from Madagascar and is the second most easy to keep chameleon (after the Yemen Veiled Chameleon).

Breeding:

Panther chameleons are oviparous (egg-laying). The eggs take 7 to 9 months to hatch. Ideally chameleons should be mated with other chameleons of the same "phase" or colour and should certainly not be bred with others from the same parents.

Housing:

Do not house chameleons together except for mating. Chameleons are naturally solitary creatures and become easily stressed if they can see another chameleon. Chameleons need a good flow of fresh air and the ideal housing for a chameleon is a mesh cage with an "Arcadia D3 Reptile" or a "Reptisun 5.0" (or "Iguana 5.0" {same thing - different packaging}) UV fluorescent tube and in one corner at the top of the cage a 60W to 75W incandescent spot light for basking. This should be on a dimmerstat to prevent overheating. There should be a temperature gradient in the tank and the temperature in the middle of the cage should be about 85F. The UV and spot lights should be on for 10 to 12 hours a day. Unlike the "montane" chameleons of Kenya and Tanzania, the Madagascan chameleons do not require a severe heat drop at night and in fact the pardalis will go into a stupor if the temperature drops too much. Instead, the temperature should be allowed to drop by about 10 or 12 degrees at night. This can be accomplished by a ceramic heater which provides overnight infra-red heating (needed in winter). A protective mesh is required around both the spot light and the ceramic heater to prevent the chameleon from burning itself (as it will try to climb on these). The cage should have a sturdy branch in it of a size suited to the chameleon's grasp. Buy weaping fig (ficus) plants from your local garden centre, hose them down to get rid of any insecticides and put the pots on saucers in the cage (this is needed to stop water from soaking your cage and also to stop crickets burying themselves in the peat of the pots). Small pots of ivy (hedera) are good for babies.

Water:

A chameleon can easily die of dehydration which results in kidney failure. Do not underestimate this. The ficus leaves need to be "misted" with hot water from a plastic plant spray bottle every morning and every evening. The hot water turns cool as it leaves the bottle in a fine mist. This provides both necessary humidity and also drinking water. Chameleons rarely drink from containers, preferring instead to lick the dew of leaves in the early morning or catch drops of rain dripping down their faces. Water dripping from dripper bottles will attract a chameleon's attention but this cannot be relied on as male panthers in particular often forget to drink and quickly become dehydrated. It is important to give adult chameleons a good soaking once a week for about 10 minutes to ensure that they gets sufficient water. Sometimes chameleons are left in a shower with a fine spray of warm water on them but be careful that only a fine spray is played on them or they will panic or their eyes will be damaged by the force of the jet. A good way of ensuring an adult chameleon has enough water is to feed it a cricket or locust and then spray water down its throat just as it is finishing off the food. Be careful that this water does not go into its lungs though (note: a chameleon breathes through a hole in the bottom of its mouth. You can see this when they open their mouths). A syringe with a catheter on the end is good for this (obtainable from any vet - get the thicker of the 2 types) Don't spray directly onto baby chameleons. A single drop can cover both mouth and nostrils and drown the m.

Food:

Feed your adult Panther chameleon a few brown crickets and 1 to 3 locusts daily (yellow "hoppers" or adult locusts). Babies can be fed small (2mm) crickets and wingless fruit flies, both of which can be bought at reptile shops for about €5 a tub. Fruitfly tubs last for about 5 weeks, producing several batches of flies over this period from the worms in the culture. Mealworms are supposed to be a treat for them but their hard outer cases contain elements which can be harmful if taken over long periods. Waxworms are an expensive treat but are better than mealworms. Maggots are a cheaper alternative and can also be allowed to turn into flies providing a level of variety (but this can soon get out of hand !). keep the tub in the fridge to slow down the turning into flies. Do not leave live food in the cage or it will start attacking the chameleon while it is asleep at night. Ideally provide a varied diet as chameleons can get bored with their food and just stop eating. Adult panthers require vitamin D3 and calcium to ensure their bones and skin develop properly. They should have their food "dusted" with a vitamin supplement such as Miner- All once or twice a week (Repton, Nutrobal or can be used but they contain vitamin A which is not so good). Get a large container such as a peanut tub and tip in a little vitamin powder. Put this tub in either a much larger plastic container or in a sink with the plug in. Then ease off the edge of the cricket or fruitfly tub and add a few crickets or locusts or lots of fruit flies and swirl them around until they are dusted. Any escaping fruitflies or crickets can be retrieved from the larger cage or the sink. Do not do this more than twice a week or the chameleons will suffer from vitamin D3 poisoning. If the chameleons are out in the garden in the summer getting sufficient natural sunlight then the addition of the supplement should be cut back. Grate up a carrot and put it in the cricket tubs. This provides moisture and also beta carotene which will be turned into vitamin A by the chameleons. Always have at least 2 tubs of crickets. There is nothing worse than suddenly finding that a whole tub has died off on Saturday evening. Remember ! - always wash your hands (preferably with an antiseptic soap) after handling any reptile.