Panther Chameleon — care sheet

Intermediate. The most spectacular commonly-kept chameleon — and a genuine step up in demand from the veiled. Same precise hydration, screen cage, and hands-off approach, but it wants higher night humidity, runs cooler, and much of the market is wild-caught. A rewarding display animal for a careful keeper, not a first reptile.

Insectivore — a varied, gut-loaded insect menu (crickets, dubia and red-runner roaches, black soldier fly larvae, hornworms, silkworms): juveniles eat as much as they can daily; adults take about 5 insects every other day. Variety is the key to good nutrition. Gut-load feeders 24–48 hours before offering.

A tall, front-opening 24×24×48 in mesh cage minimum, larger strongly preferred — they’re arboreal, so height and dense planting at every level matter. Full-mesh suits humid homes; in a dry climate cover two sides (or use a partly solid PVC cage) to hold humidity and add security. House ONE per cage — they’re solitary and stressed by company.

A gentle basking spot of 85–90°F (29–32°C) — usually just a couple of low-wattage bulbs, with the chameleon’s back about 6 in below the lamp. They do NOT want a hot all-day basking zone.

General temperature 72–77°F (22–25°C), with a vertical gradient (warmer at the top, cooler below) so it thermoregulates by climbing.

Night 60–70°F (15–21°C) — a genuine night-time drop is healthy.

UVB is essential (diurnal, arboreal): a T5 HO bulb (Arcadia Forest 6%) giving UVI ~3.0 at basking height (Ferguson Zone 3), mounted ON TOP of the mesh, plus a bright 6500K daylight LED for wellbeing. 12-hour photoperiod; replace the UVB bulb yearly.

Lower by day, high at night: 50–60% during the day and 75–100% at night. Crucially, they drink DROPLETS, not standing water — mist morning and evening, run a dripper in the afternoon, and ideally a fogger before “sunrise”. Use distilled water to protect equipment and plants. A water bowl will be ignored.

Because so much water passes through daily, most keepers run a bare floor with a drainage system rather than loose substrate (which saturates and poses an impaction risk). Live potted plants add cover and humidity.

Chameleons are sensitive to their vitamin/mineral balance, so dust lightly and on a schedule: a plain calcium/multivitamin at most feedings, and a little calcium + D3 about twice a month (alongside UVB). Too much D3 or vitamin A causes its own problems.

Males 16–20 in (40–51 cm) with tail; females noticeably smaller — one of the largest chameleons

Short-lived: males up to ~6 years, females often only ~3 (the toll of egg-laying)

See a reptile or exotics vet if you notice: Sunken eyes, eyes closed during the day, or dry/orange stringy urate (dehydration — the No. 1 chameleon problem).; A rubbery jaw, bowed limbs, or a curled/kinked tail (signs pointing to metabolic bone disease).; A female who goes off food, digs restlessly, then becomes weak and straining (egg-binding — an emergency).; Gaping with mucus, or puffing/whistling (possible respiratory infection).; Persistent dark, stressed colouration with lethargy, or swollen, gritty joints (gout, often from over-supplementation)..