life expectancy of a chameleon

tryme

New Member
hello again people, ive just been speaking to my friends mum because she used to own alot of lizards etc and i asked her where i could get a fitting from any ways moving on from that..she said theres no point in wasting my money because her cham died in a year...im really worried now although im not sure what conditions etc she had the cham in so i cant really state nothing about that but still, if i am investing in a chameleon i dont want it to die that soon :(
 
If they are cared for properly they should like to be 4++ years old.

Females may get egg bound and die before a year, but again if cared for the right way it shouldn't happen!

My current male is almost 2 :)




I think also, different species of chameleons have different life expectancies, but I'm not sure.
 
glad to hear it there putting me off proper now saying im going to kill a poor defenceless animal :(
 
No I'm not. (sorry if it got the wrong way :()

Haha to be honest I still think I'm going to kill my own :|
 
So because she was not able to keep her chameleon alive and healthy she thinks you won't be able to either? Why don't you show her what a little research, proper setup, and good diet can do! Many chameleons live 5 yrs or more if kept properly. Don't let this woman discourage you.
 
yeah its just off putting really like you said just because someone has failed doesnt mean i will.
 
All thats needed is research. Before you get the Chameleon double check that everything is right and everything should go wonderfully :)
 
You should have see my Female when I go her :( It was sad. She was in a circular BIRD cage, 1 1/2 feet tall and 8 inches wide. :( Shes the same size she is now. and she's got a HUGE cage compared to that now. She only had a basking light too.. no UVB light at all, poor girl :(

She'd prob. be dead if I hadn't found this site. Everyone knows so much :|
 
They are pretty much like any other small pet in my opinion. With a good environment and good food, they can live a decent amount of time. The length of their lives are proportional to the quality of care. Now that you know what a cham needs, you have a better chance of giving it a long life.
 
any one who buys a cham. from a pet store and listens to the guy who sold them that chameleon.. will not no how to properly care for that animal.. the pet store employees are not equipped with the proper knowledge for good chameleons husbandry.. and most experienced reptile owners,that owned other lizards other then chameleons, think that they have special shortcuts that no one els knows.. and most of them keep chams in all glass tanks,no uvb light,no supplements,and a water bubbler bowl.. and then they think the life span of a chameleon is only half a year or a year.. yes I will admit, I purchased my cham from a store.. but it was a private owned one.. and I said do you have any male veiled chameleons.. he said no,they are all females, and I said can I see one of them.. 3 out 4 of them had a tursal spur.. so I said this is a male.. he said listen, I been working around these creatures for years they are all females..
that goes to show you the ignorance of most sales people of a pet store..
then he said, you will need a bubble bowl or a water fall.. I laughed and said..
Ill just take the cham today and that will be all.. he said if it dies dont say I didnt warn you.. I said Ill call you in 4 years to tell you how healthy he is see ya..
 
any one who buys a cham. from a pet store and listens to the guy who sold them that chameleon.. will not no how to properly care for that animal.. the pet store employees are not equipped with the proper knowledge for good chameleons husbandry.. and most experienced reptile owners,that owned other lizards other then chameleons, think that they have special shortcuts that no one els knows.. and most of them keep chams in all glass tanks,no uvb light,no supplements,and a water bubbler bowl.. and then they think the life span of a chameleon is only half a year or a year.. yes I will admit, I purchased my cham from a store.. but it was a private owned one.. and I said do you have any male veiled chameleons.. he said no,they are all females, and I said can I see one of them.. 3 out 4 of them had a tursal spur.. so I said this is a male.. he said listen, I been working around these creatures for years they are all females..
that goes to show you the ignorance of most sales people of a pet store..
then he said, you will need a bubble bowl or a water fall.. I laughed and said..
Ill just take the cham today and that will be all.. he said if it dies dont say I didnt warn you.. I said Ill call you in 4 years to tell you how healthy he is see ya..


Thats not very nice. I mean there are some people that work at the pet stores that know what they are doing. I know someone that owns Chameleons and does everything thats told to do on this site and she works at a pet store. Its stereotyping..

I do agree that MOST do not know what they are doing but SOME do
 
so don't let that person discourage you.. if you want a chameleon, do your research and listen what the people on this forum tell you.. they no there stuff.
I wish I would have known about this place years ago.. and good luck..
 
Most pet store workers are more often hired because they will work for minimum wage as opposed to their knowledge. If they know there stuff, its coincidental, certainly not by design.

The best pet store help, will tell you they don't know everything . But their managers don't want that kind of discouragement , so they encourage BS. It sells......
 
There was a previous thread on this site somewhere (don't remember where or by who) that someone stated that most people own chameleons for about a year because that's how long it takes to kill one.

In most instances if it dies within a year it was improperly cared for or had lack of care altogether. They aren't as fragile as everyone says. I think needy would be a better word.
 
The average age for a chameleon depends on the species. Most of my veiled females live to be 7+ years old and the males can live even longer.
 
I know sorry if that came out wrong.. I meant most not all.. its just very rare..

Understandable. Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents. :)

I know pet store people act like they know everything when they don't. there was a lady helping me with my fish tank and she was a snobby stick up girl and she was acting like EVERYTHING I was doing with the tank was wrong, and a person who's worked there forever told me not to listen to the other girl because I was doing what was needed for the tank to work right.

So I know what a pain it can be to have pet store people tell you things. :)
 
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