Congratulations on your new Panther Chameleon
Welcome to the world of owning a piece of living art. Panther Chameleons come in more colors than a rainbow. There is sure to be a panther that is your favorite color. Our first panther was a Ambanja. He was only 3 months old when he came into our life. He was a little bark colored lizard with big eyes. As the months went by, with each shed came more color than before. We were mesmerized at the color a animal can have that has not been photo enhanced or human involved to be this brilliantly colored animal we see before us. These animals are born this way. Surprisingly they hide very well in the trees despite their dramatic colors. We definitely understand "living art".
This care guide was designed to show you the basic care needs of a panther chameleon. Be ready, they are easier than rumor has them to be.
Enclosure
A 48"x24"x24" screen enclosure is the recommended minimum for adult males. Bigger is always better. Adult females need to be housed in a 36"x18"x18" screen enclosure minimum. Panthers require constant air flow in their enclosures. You should not house a panther in a glass or plastic cage. Especially in the southern United States. Changes can be made for different parts of the country. *Inside the enclosure can basically be left to your imagination and creativity. These animals live in the forest edges of Madagascar. At least a minimum of 3 levels of branches are required in your panthers enclosure. This allows them to regulate their body temperature. Hot, Medium, Cool. Safe plant list later in the guide. It is not required, recommended or necessary to have a substrate in your chameloens enclosure. Panthers live in the trees. They should never be hanging out on the ground. Only females will venture down to lay their eggs in the ground. Then back up they go. When panthers hunt they shoot their tongues out the length of their bodies to catch the insects. Accidental ingestion of substrate can become possible, and cause impactions and digestive complications. We personally line the bottom of all the cages with puppy pads and paper towels. You can even use newspapers or just paper towels. This will collect the animals waste and water from mistings and make clean up a breeze. Just ball up the paper and waste and throw it away. Replace with fresh and you're good to go. Panthers also have a low odor. You would know we owned a dog well before you would smell our panthers.
Here is a video we made for our instagram of us building a enclosure
How to Mount Branches with Screws TikTok Video
DIY Enclosure Background TikTok Video
Lighting & Temperature
Panther chameleons require a basking spot (hot spot) to regulate their body temperature. We Recommend either the Arcadia Solar Basking Flood light 50 to 75 watt (WHITE) OR *Arcadia Halogen 50 watt. The goal is to maintain a 80-85 F degree basking area year around.
Panthers also need vitamins that are produced from the sun. We use a UVB linear tube bulb. We recommend the Reptisun T5HO 5.0 or Arcadia 6% UV-B bulb. We strongly recommend getting a timer for your lights. These can be purchased on amazon. Chameleons need a 12 hour day/night schedule. 12 hours on 12 hours off. We personally do 9am-9pm. That way we can spend time with them in the evenings after work.
Chameleon "Death Kit"
Zoo Med makes a Chameleon Kit that is widely available at a lot of pet shops and even expos. This kit is known as the Chameleon "Death Kit" in the community. It has the absolute WORST UVB bulb on the market for chameleons. This kit has been known to kill chameleons in a short amount of time. There are other items included that are also not appropriate for your panther. Including the reptile carpet. Please DO NOT BUY THIS KIT.
However Zoo Med does make a Chameleon Kit Deluxe that has the CORRECT UVB bulb included. This kit will work. The bulb is a little on the short side. But it's much better than the other kit by far.
Social Structure
Panthers chameleons are solitary animals. Only coming together to breed. If housing more than 1 chameleon in the same room, NO matter the gender, the must NOT be able to see each other at anytime. If you put enclosures together. You will need to put a piece of cardboard or dark colored fabric between the 2 enclosures to provide a barrier for them. Panthers can not be housed together, no matter the gender or relation.
Diet
Panther Chameleons are insectivores. Meaning they ONLY eat bugs. We provide a wide variety of insects to our panthers. No one wants to eat a cheese burger everyday. So why should your panther only get crickets. We offer our panthers crickets, dubia roaches, red runner roaches, silkworms, hornworms and super worms, blue bottle flys, Green Banana, grasshoppers. Don't get me wrong, you can provide a good diet to your panther on crickets or dubias as a staple with the occasional silk, horn or super worm. The key is Gutloading. Gutloading is basically treating your feeder insect as an empty pill pocket. When you feed your insects a high quality diet, your panther will be eating a high quality diet. The healthier the insect, the healthier your panther will be. We gutload our feeders with mustard, turnip & collard greens, carrots, oranges, squash, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apple, mango, papaya etc... We also offer our feeders a dry gut load. We use & recommend our Homemade Feeder Fuel Dry Gutload. It's available on our website.
Panthers 12 months and younger should be offered food daily. Then as they mature their appetite will slow, and they can be fed every other day. Allow your panther to eat as much as they want when they are under 15 to 18 months old. Do not restrict their feeders while they are growing.
We built a Chameleon Feeder Kit with Symton. It's a great variety pack for your panther.
Symton Chameleon Feeder Starter Kit
Symton Chameleon Feeder Refil Kit
Feeder Options
Variety is the spice of life for chameleons. Offering as many different feeders as possible is a huge benefit to your panthers life. This is a list of some feeder insects your panther can have. There are links for sources to these feeders.
Main FeedersBlack Solider Fly Larvae
Grashoppers
Red Runner Roaches
Green Banana Roaches
Dubia Roaches
Hornworms (Also great for boosting hydration)
Black Solider Flys
Silkworm & Hornworm Moths
Supplements
Panthers REQUIRE supplements (lightly) dusted on their food, NOT CAKED up on the bug. We use Repashy SUPERCAL No D 6 days a week. Example: Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
Repashy Calcium Plus LoD 1 day a week. Example: Wednesday
Supplements can be changed and motified for your personal panthers needs. All recommendations are just a base line to start with.
Water & misting
Panther chameleons have incredible vision. But they cannot see standing water. They will NOT drink from a bowl of water like your other pets do. They will drink water drops on the leaves. To simulate this in captivity we can use a hand misting spray bottle, dripper cup or even ice cubes on top of the enclosure or an auto misting system. You will need to mist your chameleon 2-3 times daily. This will also help spike the humidity level up and give your chameleon a chance to drink a couple of times. If you choose to hand mist. Mist from top to bottom. Avoid spraying your panther directly. We have had some panthers over the years want to drink directly from the bottle. I just bring it to their mouth and let them lick from the drips. Your panther will let you know if they want to do this. If you decide to use auto misting system. We recommend the brand Mist King. This will allow you to set up a misting schedule for your panther so you never forget a misting. We recommend 2-3 mistings a day. We personally do a 9:15am misting for 3 minutes. Then a 5:00pm misting for 2 minutes. The lights come on at 9:00am and turn off at 9:00pm. So this misting schedule works well with the chameleons day and night light times. You may also us a dripper on top of the enclosure during the day if needed for more hydration. Hydration is best measured by your chameleons poo. A nice white urate is a sign of a well hydrated animal.
Here is a video we made for our Instagram of us building a DIY Rain Dome for our Mist King
Handling
When you first receive your new panther, no matter the gender or age. Give them at least a few weeks to a month before you try to handle them. These animals like to gain our trust. They can be shy and scared. Sit near their enclosure on your phone or reading a book, something that keeps you still. This will help your panther get used to your presents in a non threatening way. The best thing to remember when you begin to handle your panther, is to let THEM HOLD YOU. You DON'T hold them. Allow them to get onto your arm, never reach inside the enclosure & grab a chameleon by the back. This is a threat in their eyes and you will quickly lose the trust of your panther. A tip to getting your panther to trust you is to hand feed them. Use the feeder your panther likes the most. Almost like positive reinforcement with a dog. They may soon begin to get on your arm when you open the cage, or come down from their "spot" when you enter the room to see what you have for them that day, and begin to show almost excitement when your around. All panthers are different so be patient. Some will be super freindly and out going. While others will never be that way, but we have never had a chameleon we could not hold. They can all be removed from the cage when needed. Just remember to go from below, never above. Overall in our experience with panthers, most are friendly, and each will have their own personality and preference.
Cleaning
We recommend keeping the bottom of enclosure either bare or we personally use paper towels and puppy pee pads for easier clean up. We clean our enclosure bottoms 1 time a week, or when a poo happens (adults poo a lot less than babies, it will get easier as they become mature) . Just roll up the paper towels, puppy pads used to cover the bottom and throw them away. Then you can wipe the bottom pan with a Clorox wipe. Put a fresh paper towel and/or puppy pee pad bottom down and you're done! DO NOT USE REPTILE CARPET for the bottom of the enclosure as these can cause bacteria growth along with other issues.
Screen Climbing
Panther chameleons will sometimes scratch and climb on the screen of the enclosure, sometimes it happens when you first bring them home. We can only asume they are just exploring their new area. Just trying to figure out their new space. It's nothing to be concerned about. They all seem to do it. They will eventually stop. Sometimes they will also do it after the heavy cleaning is done. Sometimes they do it when they come back in from being outside etc... Don't panic they will stop. Although sometimes is not a fun sound when their nails are popping the screen. Keep a eye for nails being damaged by this. Also sometimes they can become burned from the heat light or a thermal burn from the UVB bulb, if they hang upside down too close under the lights for too long. We cannot say for a fact your panther will do this. Its random. We have never had one do this in our care. But we have had owners panthers do this. You may need to elevate your bulbs until they stop doing this. Bill Strand at the Chameleon academy has some great resources on how to deal with this issue. How to mount the lights. We dont personally have experience with this issue.
Gutloading
We are FIRM believers that a great gut load makes for a healthier panther. In our honest opinion their feeders take more time and care than the panthers do. We pride ourselves in how much variety we offer in our gutloads. Any feeder you use is an empty "pill capsule". Just waiting to be filled with healthy, nutritious foods. Panthers are a true “you are what you eat animal”. The healthier the feeder is, the healthier your panther will be. We use a “dry” and a "wet" gutload for all our feeders. recomended gutloads are Leafy greens (mustard, turnip) Sweet potatoes, Mangos, Oranges, Apples, Cilantro, Bee pollen, Spaghetti squash, Papaya, Butternut Squash, Carrots. *Make sure to wash all produce before feeding the bugs*
We have a full color picture guide of gutloading options here.
Vacations
Chameleons can be left alone for an extended period of time if your setup is automated. Lights and a auto misting system on timers are the requirement to make this possible. If your chameleon is trained to a cup feeding method. You can place a large piece of carrot or sweet potato in the cup. Then add several feeders to it the day you leave. The feeders will stay fed and so will your chameleon. It’s also okay for chameleons to go without food for a little while. A week long trip is okay for your chameleon to go without food. But the feeder cup method helps with this. Always feed well for the few days leading up to your trip. Then when you get home you can do the same. Feed a little extra before and after your trip.
NO night time heat needed
Unless your house gets into the 40’s at night, there is no reason for your panther to have a night heat source. They need to be able to cool down at night when they sleep, which allows their body to fully shut down at night while they sleep. They can handle in the low 50’s at night. DO NOT ADD supplemental night heat. It’s also best to keep your panthers cage away from a/c vents and window drafts. This will also help maintain the proper temperatures they require.
Zip ties
We use zip ties in our enclosures to attach vines, foliage etc… When using zip ties, you cut the tails off after cinching down the tie, you will need to use a lighter to burn the cut tail smooth. We have had customers panthers get cut by the sharp tails of the zip ties. If you use a lighter to burn it smooth, this will prevent any accidental cuts or injuries.
Dry Shedders
Panther chameleons are dry shedders. Do not add extra moisture to their environment while they are shedding. They cannot be soaked like a snake can for shedding. NO changes are needed while they are shedding. Just go with their normal everyday routine. When they are younger (under 1 year or so), they will shed very quickly. But as they mature, the shedding will take longer and will be sometimes done in sections and not full bodies anymore.
Quick Health tip
Overall panthers are fairly healthy reptiles. As long as the basics are taken care of. You shouldn't have many health issues with a panther. **Your new chameleon may not eat for the first few days or more when you first bring them home. Dont be alarmed. They are just getting used to all the new sights and comforts of your home. Just give them some time. Offer food every day. Maybe even at different times unitll they settle in.
**Your panther should NOT be sleeping during the day. Chameleons are Diurnal, which means they are awake during the day and sleep at night. So make sure where ever you keep your panther, there are no lights left on over night. They will not be able to sleep. A tv or lamp shouldn't be an issue. If your panther is sleeping during the day, that is a sign something is wrong, and it may be time to seek medical care. If they fall asleep in your hands, arms, anywhere on your body. This is a stress response. You are over handling your panther, and their only option is to completely shut down.
Vines
We highly recommend you have at least one vine in your Panthers enclosure, as we have personally noticed our animals seem to prefer walking around on their vines, over the other walking options in their enclosures. All our panthers have at least 1 vine in the enclosure, some have 2. We are not a fan of the mossy vines. As they can possibly grow bacteria. It’s completely up to you if you want to use it. But just be aware that it could cause problems. We use the jungle vines by exo terra. They don’t have the moss stuff on them, and can be positioned in several different ways in the enclosure. We like to give some options for moving up and down within the enclosure.
Live plants
When you get a plant, make sure to wash it really well. And change the soil to an organic soil with no potting additives. Put large rocks over the top of the dirt. So that they can’t accidentally ingest any dirt. This can be fatal. Safe Plants include
Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Umbrella Plant (Schefflera arboricola)
Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Oak Leaf Grape Ivy (Cissus sp.)
Prayer Plant (Maranta sp.)
Other options can be found on Chameleon Forums & The Chameleon Academy.
Getting ready for lights out before lights out
Your panther will learn his/her day/night schedule fairly quickly. Their lights need to be on for 12 hours and off completely for 12 hours. We like to set our light schedule for 9:00am to 9:00pm. That way we can have time with them in the evenings after the work day, but you can set your schedule however you see fit for your lifestyle, it doesn’t matter what times you choose, as long as it’s a 12 hour cycle. You may notice them getting ready for bed before the lights go off. Sometimes up to a couple of hours or so before. This is completely normal behavior. They are just getting settled in. Almost like a chill time before bed. Like winding down for the night. As long as your chameleon is not sleeping during the main part of the day. There is nothing to be concerned about, sometimes they have an active day roaming their territory, and maybe they just need a little more rest that day. Also if they can see any light before their lights come on for the day, this will wake them up early, they have a “3rd eye” for sensing light. So if they are in a room where you get ready for work for example at 6:00am and their lights aren’t set to come on till 9:00am, they will wake up when they sense the lights on in the room, even though it’s not their lights. We keep ours in a separate bedroom of our home, that no one “lives” in, so they don’t get any light until their lights come on, we even have 3 layers of sun blocking curtains in their room. So that helps eliminate the sun waking them up too. Which if your panther is in a room with a lot of sunlight. They will wake up to the sun too. Just be prepared for them to be sleeping or trying to sleep after it gets dark out. 12 hours on and 12 hours off is not a exact science to their awake/asleep habits, it’s just a good schedule to go off of. In captivity we basically try to create the best season of their natural habitat in Madagascar. We like to create the best part of their climate. Not the hardest part of their climate.
Beyond the Basics Common Topics & our OPINIONS
In these sections we will be talking about our opinions and the most common topics we see in the chameleon community. These are our personal opinions and experiences we have had over the years of raising panther chameleons. We have raised and successfully kept panther chameleons since 2009. We are not experts, but we do know a thing or two. We don’t ever just say yes or no to a question. We will give you the reasons as to why we say yes/no. We have years of experience keeping these amazing exotic animals, and we want you to be just as successful with your panther.
Eye debris (closing ONE eye only NOT both)
Sometimes they can get something in their eye, just like us. Could be dirt, dust, shed. If you use any room sprays, perfumes, hairspray, candles or even smoke in the room your panther occupies, these can cause eye irritations. Just like for us. If possible try to limit any of these things in the same room as your panther. If an eye irritation occurs this is one thing we can recommend you try first, along with removing or stopping any of the above possible irritants near your panther. A lukewarm shower. You would turn your shower on a lukewarm temperature, then angle the shower head to point at the wall. Put your panther in the shower where they can stand in the indirect mist of the shower sprayer, not directly under it like you would shower. This will allow them to rinse their eyes out. You can repeat this 1-2 times a day for 15-20 minutes or so at a time. This will give them time to clean out their eye. They will roll it around and may even bulge it out to try to clear the eye of anything foreign. Sometimes you can help them clean their eye with a wet q-tip. Some will allow this, some will not, that’s why we typically suggest the shower option, so they can do it themselves. This is NOT a means of hydration. This is for cleaning out their eye. Also DO NOT try to clean out their eyes by spraying them in the face with the mister or shower. They will move their eyes around with the indirect mist from the showering. You can also use a Saline wash for eyes to help clean their eyes out. If this is needed, we can send you a how to video showing how this is done.
Feeder Amount
Baby, Juvenile and subadult panthers should be offered as many feeders as they can eat daily until the reach adulthood, around 15 months old. We do not believe in restricting feeders for growing animals, you can taper down on the feeders once your panther is an adult. You can feed 4-6 feeders every other day or even every couple of days. We judge our animals weight on their looks. Can you see ribs? That’s not good. The fat pads on the top of the head are a good indication of your panthers weight, hydration and health. We like to see a nice full head that’s not bulged out or sunk in. If anything ever does happen with your panthers health. If they are a nice healthy weight that will give you a little longer to correct any negative health issues. Because they can go longer without food if they have a nice reserve. Everyone always asks us how Chandler never looks stressed out at shows. We are a firm believer in a healthy well fed panther can cope with “stress” much easier than an underfed, unhealthy animal, we always make sure to feed our panthers very well before and after shows. Offering silk and hornworms the day before and after shows. This keeps up their hydration and the benefits of the silkworms is always a plus.
Panther always wants out of enclosure
When your panther first comes home, they will go through an adjustment period. They are exploring their new environment. Everything is NEW. Enclosure, ambient temperatures, your family life and schedule, new feeders, new people looking in on them. Remember your panther was raised by us (Amanda & Lee and our adult daughter Sydney). We are all they know. We were the first people they saw when they were born. We have fed them daily until they came to live with you. We raise them in our home with us. Not in an offsite facility or building. So even you are new to your panther, give them time to settle in. They will want to explore every inch of their new home. Just make sure to keep an eye on their enclosure temperatures. Their ambient temperature and basking temperatures. Also make sure they are eating and drinking along with a nice poo. Sometimes when everything is within the parameters of an ideal setup, we just suggest to give them time to settle in, sometimes they are just more social than you expected. We have been told our panthers can be more social than usual, which we don’t really know why. Other than possibly the way we raise them in our homes. And are constantly monitoring them to make sure everyone is happy. So they are just “used” to human interaction. We do tend to reward any babies after we take pictures or have them out of their enclosures. So maybe that’s it. But honestly since they cannot talk, we don’t really know. We say let them settle in, then enjoy your social panther. As we know they are one of the most social of all the chameleon species.
Chameleons mouth is open while basking or near basking areas
Your panthers basking spot should be between 80’-85’ degrees F. If your panther opens their mouth while in the basking spot this is normal behavior, they are Thermal Regulating. As long as this behavior is NOT accompanied by wheezing or popping sounds. (That might mean they could have a upper respiratory infection and will need a complete enclosure and lifestyle overhaul. Along with a possible vet visit) Think of a crocodile laying on the beach with their mouth open. They are thermal regulating their body temperature. A lot of reptiles do this behavior, and it is completely normal. It’s also a good time to double check your panthers enclosure temperatures. Basking spots and ambient temperatures. We check all our temps monthly, it's just a good habit to have.
Bioactive vs bare or paper towel bottom
We don’t recommend bioactive. At least not until you know how to care for your chameleon really well. There is a lot more that goes into that type of set up then you might know. There is no way you can prevent them from accidentally eating dirt, or eating the cleaning crew. Which isn’t bad except for their “gut load” is poop. (Isopods, “cleaning crew”) Bugs are like empty "pill capsules" for chameleons. Whatever they eat, your chameleon eats. The cleaning crew eats poop, your chameleon will eat them if they see them moving around. Those types of setups are not recommended for beginners of chameleons, there is a lot to it. Usually people are worrying about the setup so much that the chameleons needs are not met, because the environment takes so much work. It can be done, and it is being done successfully. We just don’t recommend it for a new keeper. Focus on the animal for a year or so, then if you’re comfortable taking care of the animal you can begin the process of a bioactive enclosure. A true bioactive enclosure will take time to “season”, so you can even have it up and running while your chameleon is in another easier to maintain environment while you are getting the bioactive enclosure running. Do not use reptile carpet for the bottom of the cage for any reason, it can not be cleaned well enough.
Bonding with your panther
Panthers hearts are in their stomachs. Chameleons recognize who feeds them. You can use feeding time as a great bonding experience. When you first bring home your new panther, we recommend sitting near their enclosure while on your phone or something that will keep you from moving around a lot. This way your panther can get used to your presence. Just let them settle into their new cage, schedule, life in your home. Then after the first few days you can try to offer all the good snacks by hand, we recommend hand feeding silkworms, hornworms or superworms. Only after they have had their “staple” meal for the day. Crickets, dubias etc. Then offer the worm by hand. We don’t want them to become spoiled to worms. That’s why we only offer worms by hand after their normal meal of the day. This also insures they will at least attempt to hand feed, we only offer the superworms or hornworms as a hand feed option. Don’t free feed those worms. Kind of a take it from my hand or don’t get it option. Silkworms on the other hand I will allow to be in their feeder cups, as those are EXTREMELY healthy for them, but we will still attempt to give those by hand every time first. Just to see if they will take it from us.
Building Trust TikTok Video
*DO NOT TONG FEED your panther, this can cause damage to their unique tongue. Read this article by our Friend Jonathan Hill of Ipardails. How long is a chameleon's tongue.
Facebook Groups
It’s come to our attention that a lot of Facebook groups have sprung up lately that have some “radical” opinions. They say they are offering help and advice, when really they are shaming people for their care choices, and giving terrible advice. When admins of the group are openly saying they didn’t know chameleon ownership was even a thing 2 years ago. Please, please don’t take their “advice” as law. You can’t stand on the shoulders of the keepers who have true life experience with these animals and bend their knowledge to fit your agenda or your opinion. There is more than one way to cook an egg. There is more than one way to successfully raise a panther chameleon through its full life cycle. In our opinion…someone should not be giving advice on how to properly care for these animals when they haven’t even cared for these animals for their entire life cycle. We have generational experience raising panthers, from bringing in wild caught animals, testing their fecals and treating their parasites, to getting them strong and healthy for breeding. Raising the females to their best age and size to carry a clutch. Incubating eggs for 6-9-12 months at a time. Having a 100% hatch rate. Then successfully caring for the hatchlings to a minimum of 3 months old before releasing them to their new owners. Raising up our hold backs to become new breeders, and starting the cycle again. Keeping breeders till they have lived their full 5-7+ year life span, even a wild caught living 8 years in our care. (And not coming to us as a baby) A animal that would only eat super worms. (To some “Facebook group admin experts” the no no danger worm) Please don’t let these groups scare you. These “experts” seem to push their way or the highway. Just a simple search on most of these people shows how much “expertises” they have. Owning a panther chameleon for 1-2-3 years does not make you an expert worthy of giving advice to a new keeper. We have been raising panther chameleons since 2009, and we do not considered ourselves experts. But we do know a thing or 2, the amount of animals thriving in our care is proof alone. The amount of babies we have sold that are thriving is proof. The simply way of caring for these animals is proof. They are not hard. There is not only one way to care for them. Our way just happens to be super easy and time tested. 1 tip we give everyone is to stay off facebook groups for some advice. There are some groups that are okay. But we recommend Chameleon Forums for an online community.
Why we use Faux Plants
We use fake foliage for many reasons.
1. Cleanliness of our whole collection. This allows us to heavily clean all enclosures often.
2. It allows us to make perfect areas of shade and retreat, basking and drinking areas. That will not die off.
3. In 15 years of working with chameleons of different species we have never seen one eat or bite a fake plant. We think this is linked to us always offering a dry homemade mix to our feeders in their gut load. So they are not searching out plant material for their gut content. We are testing our theory on that now.
4. It allows us to see their poop/fecal everytime so we can monitor that. As well gives us the ability to do our very frequent fecal test without it being contaminated by foreign materials.
5. Allows for a very quick spot clean so our chameleons are never exposed to their waste for more than a very short time and keeps their environment in very clean conditions all the time.
6. We never will force anyone to use fake foliage but at the same time we will not tell people to not use them because they are a tool that if used correctly we have not see any ill effects in using.
7. We always want the chameleons needs met first and foremost. Proper heat, uvb gradient, hydration, supplementation and feeders well gut loaded before worrying about a plant drying or the care of the plants.
We are very passionate and put a great deal of time into caring and loving these amazing animals and would never do anything to hurt or harm them or your experience with them. We encourage new owners to learn the animal first. His or hers normal behaviors, to get comfortable taking care of their basic needs first. Then move up to a more complex enclosure. We sell to a lot of beginners, and we want them to be as successful as possible.
Policies
We try our very best to send home only strong, well started panther chameleons, with a good foundation. We try to provide you with all the necessary information to be successful with your new panther. Including extended care guides, all required supplements, hatch date and genetics. We accept messages through our Facebook Ready's Rainforest instagram Ready's Rainforest or our email readysrainforest@yahoo.com. We offer a guarantee of 30 days after purchase on all our panther chameleons. But we do have some stipulations to this guarantee. We can do all the recommendations of how we suggest their captive care can be done. We realize that we cannot force you to care for your new animal any certain way. So with that said. We will not warrenty or guarantee your animal if some care choices are made.
Void Guarantee Practices
#1. Choice of hydration method (Fogging, showering, over misting)
#2. Glass enclosure (Instead of all screen or hybrid enclosure)
#3. Supplements (Using no supplements, using others that we don't recommend or provide)
#4. Substrate bottom (Dirt, reptile carpet, improper Bioactive)
#5. Moss vines (instead of the safer jungle vine option)
#6. Inproper lighting (Using the incorrect lights for heat and UVB, or not using them at all)
#7. Feeder choices (Offering no variety or only 1 choice or allowing them to eat poor nutrition feeders, such as meal worms, and poorly gutloaded feeders)
#8. Over handling (Causing stress to your animal for selfish reasons, they are not dogs/cats. They can be handled, But not at the expense of the animals well being. This also apply's to allowing small children to hold and possibly squeeze the animal)
#9 Signs of obvious neglect. We will require pictures/vidoes of the animals full enclosure, lighting, supplements, feeders and temperature/humidity readings to process a possible replacement or refund.
#10. You MUST get with us ASAP if there is an issue with your panther, within in the first 30 days of your ownership. Chameleons are not weak animals. But they dont give us long to corret our mistakes. Please do NOT wait days/weeks after you notice an issue before you contact us. Sometimes it could have been an easy fix that you let go to long, and is now irreversible.
#11. Seeking inexperienced veterinary care. Choosing the wrong veterinarian can be deadly for your panther.
Conclusion
Thank you for allowing us to be your Panther Chameleon partner. These amazing animals are truly a passion of ours. We want the negative stigma with these animals to be a thing of the past. They are really no that hard to care for, just different. Owning such a unique creature is extremely rewarding.
UPDATED Dec. 2024