Well.. here's my straight up advice to you. Chams are a ton of work. A ton. You're either into it or you're not.

They cost a ton of money, they take a ton of time. If you're really commited then do it right and follow the rules that have proven themselves.

The only chameleon you can house in that tank is a colony of pygmies. You may have been to pet stores where the chameleon is in a tank like yours. That's because they're hoping it sells before it dies.

Veiled's are a great starter chameleon, but they get big, and they get mean. If you're looking for for a friendly species of chameleon you've come to the wrong reptile.

Keep reading. Keep saving. I saved and read for months before I got my first veiled, and even then it took me many more months to 'streamline' my husbandry. It's a great hobby though! And if you're into it, then go for it!

Good luck!

Read Brad's blog.

yea i know and i want to get a veiled but i dont want to cause the animal to suffer because i dont have the right setup and dont want to buy it. so are there ANY other chameleons besides pygmies that this would be acceptable for that are easily cared for? i doubt there is though. i thought veileds were also ground dwelling though. is this true?

Nope veileds live in trees and shrubs.

Unfortunately you are trying to make an animal you would like to care for fit into an enclosure you already own, and in this case ... it's not going to work.
Chameleons are more like parrots than reptiles.

-Brad

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http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Dedicated to promoting superior care for Veiled Chameleons

i really want a cham. like theres no other reptiles i want besides them. geckos seem dull to me. and after the other chams died i feel i need to do it right to get the most out of them. they were the most interesting pets i have had and i wish they would have lived longer. also, i know that pet stores do this. i dont want to house them in a tank because the pet store does. i want to because i have the tank just lying around with nothing to put in it and a veiled is what i want. jacksons wont be able to survive in this either??? they are much smaller i know but they feel like they will be just as stressed in a glass tank as the veiled

yea i know im either not going to buy one now or am going to have to buy a new tank. but unfortunately my parents most likely wont let me buy a new tank because this one seems fine to them. so i guess i wont buy one. i would feel selfish to buy a cham and make the poor animal suffer because i insisted on housing it in something i knew was unacceptable to house it in.

Honestly Tony, after reading your posts, I think you should re-evaluate what kind of reptile you want. I honestly don't think chameleons are for you as I think you're looking for more of a low maintenence reptile, maybe a bearded dragon? Beardies are really cool lizards, great personalities to them.

Chameleons need constant care, attention, misting, feeding, temp gradients, and the list goes on. As royden said, it takes many months of research before you even get a veiled in the first place just to get them to survive in captivity, and even longer to perfect your husbandry. I'm still learning, and I got my first veiled about 6-8 months ago. There's always more to learn.

I suggest you do some more research on chameleons before you even consider picking one up. This may really be too much of a burden for you.

And for glass tanks, $1 per gallon is usually the going rate for tanks. ;-) So no more than $30 for a 30 gallon tank.

-Dave

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Georgia Bugs For all your Feeder Needs

Tony,

I don't know how old you are, but I think that is a really smart decision.
Perhaps you should let your parents read this:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

It may spark their interest.

-Brad

__________________
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Dedicated to promoting superior care for Veiled Chameleons

yea im a senior in high school now so with college coming up i would have more time to care for it. i mean ive bought several books on the care for chameleons. ive read blogs on housing and feeding. even youtube videos on other peoples setups. beardies, although interesting, are not for me. ive just never been interested by them. my other option is crested geckos but they are fairly expensive. i may look in to buying one of these though.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...m-screen-cage/ would this cage be acceptable for a jacksons or adult veiled??? a panther i shown and it seems to have abundant room. plus this cage seems more affordable than most.

If you do buy one, please please please heed everyone's advice here and get the screened enclosure.

Just as you said, the animal shouldn't suffer because you don't want to spend the money.

But let us know if you need any help at all. There's plenty of people here that'd be glad to help, including myself :-)

-Dave
-Georgia Bugs

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Georgia Bugs For all your Feeder Needs