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Cham keeping in Florida

C

COanimalhouse

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Hello,

I am potentially relocating to the Tampa area this summer with my panther chameleon. I had a few questions for cham keepers in this area.

First, is it possible to keep them in an outdoor habitat there? If so, what kind of set up do most people use? Are there any major predators that could pose a threat to a cham in a well enclosed habitat?

Also, I have a roach colony and I heard somewhere that you can not bring them into Florida. Is this true?

Thanks for you help!

-Julie
 
Panther chams love florida

I live a little further south than you will, so your winter temps will be 5 degrees or so colder, but I keep my pair of panthers outdoors with much success. Veiled chameleons are actually established and breeding in the wild in the Ft. Myers area. I often check the weather in Ambilobe, Madagascar to compare it to florida and have found the conditions to be very similar, just opposite times of the year since they are in the southern hemisphere. Northern Madagascar is located a little closer to the equator than florida which means the winter lows don't get as low as they do here. I have to bring mine indoors for two or three day periods everytime we get a cold snap, which is generally only a few times a year. In Tampa it will be a little more often. I check weather.com frequently throughout winter and whenever the forecast drops below the mid 60's I make indoor preparations. Yes, 60's is considered a cold snap here, HA HA. Here it generally only gets that low at night, which is ok for panthers, but since forecasts are not always accurate, I bring them in if a low less than 65 is predicted, just in case it dips into the 50's.
As far as predators go, I guess it's possible for a racoon or possum to prey on a cham, but I have never had the problem. I don't think they have enough of a odor to attract one, plus there is always so many other easy foodsources available to racoons around human dwellings(like cat/dog food, garbage, etc.) why would they bother a cham? I have heard of a cham being snatched by a bird of prey, but that was when it was not caged, just being allowed to sun out in the open on a shrub.
Outdoor keeping is sooo much easier since you dont have to worry about drainage or UVB or Vit D3. As long as they have sun and shade available, they can thermoregulate just as they do in nature. You can hook up a cheap mister to an auto timer and your garden hose and aim it at the cage. If you need any more details about setups just ask.
Oh yeah, The Chameleon Co. is in the Tampa area and they use a greenhouse with a special plastic that allows 80% UVB through. This eliminates worry about winter temps since the greenhouse stays warm enough. A small scale version with removable panels for good air circulation when it's warm would be cool.
I added a pic of my females cage, you can see the mister wand from Home Depot(4$)attatched to the fence behind her cage.
 

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Roaches

Oh yeah, about the roaches. State law prohibits the shipping of roaches to florida, but many vendors still do it, so I guess the chance of getting caught is minimal or perhaps special permits are available. They do sell them locally in a reptile shop, so I guess it is not illegal to own them.
 
Thanks!

Jacob,

Thanks for all the great info. Your set up looks great! I was thinking an outdoor habitat would make it easier to provide UVB. I like your misting system too. I have a system from proproducts that has worked very well for misting his indoor habitat, but I wasn't quite sure how I would be able to use it outside. It's nice to know that there is an easy solution to that.

As far as the roaches go, I guess I'll probably have to start my colony over with Florida roaches :( . That's too bad because I probably have over 1000 in my current colony and to top it off I got my starter roaches for free. Oh well, I'm sure I will be able to find another reptile owner in the area who would love to have them.

Anyway, as I get closer to moving, I may have some more specific questions about setting up my enclosure. I'm sure I'll be asking around about how to ship or travel with chams as well!

Thanks again,

Julie
 
roaches!!

Hi Julie, I live in Saint Petersburg about 20 minutes from you!! I would love
to get some of your roaches from you!! I order discoids out of state and
never have a problem but temps are to low right now and no one wants to
ship!! I can be reached at: [email protected]
THANKS, GEOFF
 
Hi Julie,
I lived in Tampa for three years with chameleons and they can be outside for a good part of the year. I still live near Tampa, in the same climate, and I have had my panthers outside until about a week ago. The only predator that i had and still have an issue with is fire-ants. They are more threatening to juvenile chams than they are to adults, but I don't chance it with any of them. If you put the legs of the enclosure into bowls of water, or set up some form of a "moat", it will prevent the ants from entering the cage. Something else that you have to remember is to get supplimentation without D3 for the periods that the cham will be producing its own outdoors, and suppl. with D3 for the time that they are indoors. You will notice a difference in coloration and activity level when the cham gets natural sunlight compared to artificial. In my opinion, chams should get as much natural sunlight as possible which makes this area perfect for cham owners. Good luck with your move.

Jerm
 
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