# Lizards > Chameleons >  Some of my Chameleons...

## SoCaliSon

Every once in a while I take a break from reading through the forum to make a couple posts.  I thought share some more recent pics of some of my Chams... Hope you enjoy...

Furcifer Pardalis, "Panther Chameleons"

I had been waiting for almost a year to acquire an offspring of one of the most impressive Ambilobe Panthers I have ever seen... Yoda.  Yoda is very well known in the cham communities for being one hell of a stud, and having some of the richest reds you will ever see.  He had been retired, but I was able to get in contact with the Nic at Chameleon Kingdom, who is great, and has become a pal of mine, and he was in possession of what at the time was the final Yoda clutch.  I patiently waited for the hatching, and Nic sent me the biggest guy out of the clutch.  He is 5 months old, and is starting to show some killer colors. Just wait till this guy matures... he is going to be a hell of a sight.  I am working on acquiring a group of girls from another exceptional bloodline to breed him too... I will keep you updated.

*Meet Sgt. Pepper*

----------


## SoCaliSon

Oops... Posted before I was finished... I will have to do the others in seperate posts... More to come in a couple mins.... :Very Happy:  :Embarassed:

----------


## SoCaliSon

Here is McLovin and his GF Muffin, 

McLovin' is almost 2yo now.  He is my 75%Ambilobe 25% Nosy Be breeder.  This gorgeous... and probably the friendliest chameleon I have ever kept... I have little "egg McMuffin's" that should be hatching the first part of next year.  With Muffin being a true Nosy be, the offspring should carry a lot more Blue than Daddy shows.



Muffin, Nosy Be Female, almost 2 years.

----------


## SoCaliSon

And I'll just share one more for right now... My pride and joy Lombardi... Some of you may remember him from my past threads... I have raised him from 2.5 months and he is about 11 months now.  He is HUGE!  I have eggs from him and his mate incubating as well... I know Pat gets first pick... but anyone can feel free to contact me to be put on the list for hatchlings when they arrive. 

Funny story about him... Earlier this month I had him outdoors basking on his fav tree... When I stepped inside to grab the camera and I heard his tree go down... I ran out to find the tree laying on the ground, with a huge crows feather sitting right next to it.  I panicked thinking that a crow took off with my cham, I searched for 2 DAYS!  Nothin. :Sad:   I kept up hope cause while I could see a crow trying to land on the tree to get the cham, I could not see a crow flying of with a 200+ gram chameleon.  I had just about given up when somebody gave me a great idea.  One day before I went to work I put his female outside in a cage visible from most areas around my house.  I came back 4 hours later to find Lombardi hanging on the screen of the cage fired up trying to get to the lady.  Needless to say I was ecstatic to have my boy back. 








Thanks everyone hope you enjoy!

~Joe

----------


## blackcrystal22

Wow, those are some stunning animals!

You seem to know quite a handful about these creatures.. If I perhaps was looking into getting a single cham as a pet of some sort, but wanted a pretty one, how would I go about getting that?

----------

_SoCaliSon_ (05-29-2009)

----------


## LadyOhh

Very nice!!! 

Love your Chams  :Very Happy:

----------


## Patrick Long

Lookin damn good there Joe! 

Crazy about Lombardi going AWALL.

He was on a mission and couldnt be stopped!!!

----------


## greenex

amazing looking animals  :Surprised:  :Surprised:

----------


## SoCaliSon

Thanks for the compliment Crystal.  

If you were looking into getting one... A pet store would be last place I would recommend, but I'm sure we all know that :Wink: .  There are numerous well reputable breeders in the states that I could refer you too if you are really interested... You won't pay too much more (Maybe just on shipping) but it is WELL worth it buying an animal that you know has been hatched and raised in an ideal environment.  Then you also have the benefit of speaking directly with the breeder that hatched them, and you can look at the parents of the cham to get a good Idea of what it will look like when it matures.  Both panthers and Veileds make great first time chams, and they are two incredibly beautiful species IMO.  If you choose panthers you have a lot of variety in what kind of color variation you want.  There are several Locales of panthers that have a huge variation in coloration from Locale to Locale.

www.screameleons.com has a nice breakdown of how the different panther locales look. :Smile: 

~Joe

----------

_blackcrystal22_ (05-29-2009)

----------


## SoCaliSon

Thanks for the compliment Crystal.  

If you were looking into getting one... A pet store would be last place I would recommend, but I'm sure we all know that :Wink: .  There are numerous well reputable breeders in the states that I could refer you too if you are really interested... You won't pay too much more (Maybe just on shipping) but it is WELL worth it buying an animal that you know has been hatched and raised in an ideal environment.  Then you also have the benefit of speaking directly with the breeder that hatched them, and you can look at the parents of the cham to get a good Idea of what it will look like when it matures.  Both panthers and Veileds make great first time chams, and they are two incredibly beautiful species IMO.  If you choose panthers you have a lot of variety in what kind of color variation you want.  There are several Locales of panthers that have a huge variation in coloration from Locale to Locale.

www.screameleons.com has a nice breakdown of how the different panther locales look. :Smile: 

EDIT:  Thanks Everyone.  Yeah Pat... It was a tough couple days thinking he was gone cause I was careless for just a minute.  I couldn't believe it when I found him that day.  It was awesome.  He has a labedo that can't be stopped!
~Joe

----------


## PrioBull

WOW! man you got some really awesome chams... I always been attracted by them. Somebody I will get one, I am wondering if I could have your permission to print your picture and show them to friends?

----------


## Laterr

> If you were looking into getting one... A pet store would be last place I would recommend, but I'm sure we all know that.


you know, it's funny because i work at a pet store and when i see that someone is REALLY serious about any reptile, i recommend breeders as well. Lol. But they're not all BAD either  :Smile: 

Anyway, i love the second to last picture of lombardi. it's as if he raised his hand in a fist just for the picture. Nice chameleons

----------


## SoCaliSon

> WOW! man you got some really awesome chams... I always been attracted by them. Somebody I will get one, I am wondering if I could have your permission to print your picture and show them to friends?


Go for it... That kind of use is fine with me... I just don't want to find pics of my chams being advertised for sale anywhere.  :Wink:  :Very Happy:   If you plan on publishing them anywhere on the web send me a message and I'll let you know.




> you know, it's funny because i work at a pet store and when i see that someone is REALLY serious about any reptile, i recommend breeders as well. Lol. But they're not all BAD either 
> 
> Anyway, i love the second to last picture of lombardi. it's as if he raised his hand in a fist just for the picture. Nice chameleons


Awesome... I too used to work in a shop... I would do the same thing.  You are right.. there are shops out there that do take their care seriously.  The biggest dissadvantage IMO with buying from a pet store... Is being able to know where your animal came from... and what the lineage.  Aside from Panthers and Veileds, most chams that are sold in shops are WC, and will require extra attention to make sure they are not carrying any parasites or something of the sorts,

I am PMing with BlackCrystal... and I wanted to copy my response here in case anyone is a little more interested in how they are kept.  I typed this up real quick, but I think it touches on the major points.




> I always recommend just buying a cage.  Going the DIY method I find often ends up costing about the same (unless you have mat on hand) and takes extra work.  The screen Cham cages (18x18x36) that they sell at LLL would work great for a baby panther and are not to expensive. Depending on how active he is, He may be able to stay in that his entire life... For an active adult I recommend the 4x2x2 alum screen cage.  The screen part is important as they need fresh circulation, stagnant air leads to URI.  A ReptiSun 5.0 uv fixture(tube not compact) is the best way to provide UV, and a regular 60 watt incadecent house bulb above the basking spot will keep the basking spot around the right temps.  70-75 deg ambient temps, with a 85-90' basking spot is what you want to aim for.  Live plants with regular daily mistings helps keep the humidity where it should be.  Contrary to popular belief, no night lighting is needed.  A night time drop in temps of about 10-15 degrees is actually important for the health of a cham, and Red night lights don't allow for this.  No substrate is the way to go considering the amount of mistings chams need.  I drill holes in the pvc bottoms of my cages and catch the water in bins, as I have all my cages set up on an automated misting system that provides four 5 min misting sessions a day, even when I am not there to water them.  All that water has to go somewhere, and if you have anything at the bottom of the cage, it can easily build up nasty bacteria that could possibly be ingested by a hunting cham.  
> 
> Panthers can be a little pricey $185-$300 for babies on the market right now... But I think they are worth it. 
> 
> Hope this helps... I am always willing to answer Q's so don't hesitate.
> 
> ~Joe

----------


## ballin

AWESOME chams, I got myself a baby panther right now. still young but getting his colors in better everyday, he is 2 months now and I'm wondering when he will start showing his blue? he is a blue bar ambilobe

----------


## pavlovk1025

Damn dude. Those are HAWT! Ive always wanted a chameleon but I never wanted to get an animal that I might have difficulty providing for, but based off of what you said a cham doesnt seem to be too much hassle.

----------


## RoyalGuardian

Fantastic!! Your Chammies are so pretty and vibrant! O_O you should make youtube videos PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!!?

----------


## PythonJosh

last pic is cute :o

----------


## chromeitout

You mentioned screen cages only... I am about to build an in wall cage in my living room for some type of display animal.  I had not even considered a chameleon until I saw your beautiful specimens.  The cage can be  up to 3ft tall x 6ft long x 2ft deep.  The front of the cage will have to be glass or plexi and the back will have to be black pvc on passing door tracks.  The sides and top could very well be screen if necessary.  Do you think this would be sufficient for a cham, or should I go with a different reptile?  (I have a great deal of experience with reptiles, but none with chameleons.)

----------


## SoCaliSon

> AWESOME chams, I got myself a baby panther right now. still young but getting his colors in better everyday, he is 2 months now and I'm wondering when he will start showing his blue? he is a blue bar ambilobe


Thanks. 2 months is young.  Do you mind me asking where you acquired him from?  Most breeders will hold back their chams to at least 3 months as they can be tricky when they are small.  Sgt. Pepper in my pics is a Blue Bar Ambilobe, he is around 4-5 months in my pics, but he was the largest of his clutch.  Blue and green are typically the first color that the babies will start to show around 3-4 months.  Panther Males typically show their full color potential around 12-14 months.




> Damn dude. Those are HAWT! Ive always wanted a chameleon but I never wanted to get an animal that I might have difficulty providing for, but based off of what you said a cham doesnt seem to be too much hassle.


Thanks!!! They are awesome! They may require a little more attention than other herps, but way worth it IMO.




> Fantastic!! Your Chammies are so pretty and vibrant! O_O you should make youtube videos PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!!?


 :Smile: My camera sucks at taking vid... But I have a few that came out okay... I suppose this would be a good spot to post them.  Some of these are kind of old.  And yes... I guess I talk to my lizards.

http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z...t=dc09f62c.pbr

YouTube - Elwood the Nosy Be Eating

YouTube - Margarita the Veiled Eating a Hornworm

YouTube - Lombardi and Sookie Sex Tape

YouTube - Lombardis Weigh In 11-7-08




> You mentioned screen cages only... I am about to build an in wall cage in my living room for some type of display animal.  I had not even considered a chameleon until I saw your beautiful specimens.  The cage can be  up to 3ft tall x 6ft long x 2ft deep.  The front of the cage will have to be glass or plexi and the back will have to be black pvc on passing door tracks.  The sides and top could very well be screen if necessary.  Do you think this would be sufficient for a cham, or should I go with a different reptile?  (I have a great deal of experience with reptiles, but none with chameleons.)


It gets kind of touchy when you are dealing with an animal that not only needs High humidity, but air circulation as well.  Too much or too little of either can be bad.  A lot of keepers especially up north, and in the UK use glass/acrylic enclosures because of the cold weather they encounter.  It can be done, as long as you find a way to avoid stagnant air.  Another thing is with the demension of your cage... You would want to focus on having something that is taller than wider... They are arboreal animals that love to have as many vertical highways to climb around in as possible such as hanging vines and tree branches.

~Joe

----------


## ballin

[QUOTE=SoCaliSon;1077678]Thanks. 2 months is young.  Do you mind me asking where you acquired him from?  Most breeders will hold back their chams to at least 3 months as they can be tricky when they are small.  Sgt. Pepper in my pics is a Blue Bar Ambilobe, he is around 4-5 months in my pics, but he was the largest of his clutch.  Blue and green are typically the first color that the babies will start to show around 3-4 months.  Panther Males typically show their full color potential around 12-14 months.



I got him from a local breeder. he is actually now 3 months and has been shedding and eating. thanks

----------


## Syn

Hey Joe, nice to see you on another forum besides CF.  :Smile:  Nice looking group, Lombardi is still amazing!

----------


## SoCaliSon

> Hey Joe, nice to see you on another forum besides CF.  Nice looking group, Lombardi is still amazing!


Hey Sabrina!  Thanks!

----------


## wolfy-hound

Those are so awesome! My boss just got a giant millers? I think.  She's a big um and really awesome!
I'll send her the info to make suer she's got everything right!

----------


## SoCaliSon

Thanks for the compliments.

Mellers are awesome chameleons... one of the largest species.  Very Very cool Chams.

Most Melleri are wild caught and this for a very long time gave them a bad reputation as hard to keep, as they often died after a short stint in captivity.  They are a bit tougher because of their hydration and enclosure needs(because of their size).  But over the last few years there has been a lot of great work done with them, and we are starting to see more and more cb.  The best site for anyone who owns or is thinking to own a Mellers is http://www.melleridiscovery.com.  That site is the most complete, accurate, and up to date source of info for working with them.  I still say about 90% of Mellers on the market are WC and should be checked and treated for parasites.

----------

