10 year-old buying chameleon

[Beman]

I do not think you are ready for a chameleon of any type. They are not like the cartoon pascal chameleon. They do not like human interaction and this in fact stresses them out. Your house ambient at 87 is far too high to support a chameleon being able to live.

And buying from non reputable breeders comes with its own risks. I spent well over 1,000 on my first set up. Veileds may start out tolerant when they are young but become aggressive as they mature.

I think you need to read through the link I gave you and watch the youtube I gave you. You are jumping into something that is going to be extremely overwhelming for you when the chameleon starts to decline and die because it does not have the environment it needs to survive. Your parents need to be fully invested in this as it is really expensive. The last time I was at the vet it was almost $500 with my chameleon. This is not a cheap hobby. And these animals do not like human interaction they only tolerate it to a point.

 

[Doolingdogs]

Hi friend!
One thing I would like you to consider is cost of care. I bought a "cheap" chameleon and ended up with a $790 vet bill. This totaled his cost to $880! This was not optional as without it, he would die. And this was just for the cost of him! His enclosure and systems cost me at least $1,000 and there are still upgrades for me to make. For example, there are 11 plants in his cage, they each cost between $10-30 and I still feel I need more. That's minimum $110 in just plants. Again, this is not optional. Veileds need safe live plants because they will eat chunks of them. This is just the beginning.
I really want you to consider that this is not just about what you want, this is an animal's life.
When I was your age, I begged my parents for a chameleon and they responsibly said no. There were a lot of reasons, but the main one was they knew we would not provide proper care. So I waited 18 years until I was in my own home, with my good job, knowing that I can provide everything necessary. I'm brand new in the hobby, thinking I researched enough, but quickly when he came home figured out I didn't know what I thought I knew. You don’t have to let the dream die! But with everything you've posted, I highly encourage you to continue to do research by reputable sources, continue saving your money, prepare his cage long before he comes home, and fully accept the nature of a chameleon and not try to mold them into an image you imagine.
Thanks for reading my two cents!

 

[elizaann2]

thats funny ive never had mine launch his toung at me he has always just bitten and hissed

Oh ya she is really trying to get you!

 

[MissSkittles]

Oh ya she is really trying to get you!

Stella is persistent and always looking for a meal. She has it stuck in her head that my fingers are fat worms.

 

[MissSkittles]

I do hope you’ll take all of our words and advice to heart. I think it’s safe to say that all of us want you to have the very best experience with keeping a chameleon, and that is most likely to happen when you have learned all that you can, have full support from a parent (or are an adult yourself) and have the resources and money to care for all of a chameleon’s needs. Too many times we see that a young person like yourself has gotten a chameleon, does not have the things needed to keep the chameleon healthy and alive and do not have the full support of a parent or other adult. It always ends very very sad with a chameleon that has suffered and had a horrible death, the young keeper who is crushed and all of us who tried to help also saddened and frustrated. We will all be more than happy to help you to learn about chameleons. When the time is right, we’ll be happy to help you get set up properly. If you want to start with a different reptile now, I bet we could even help you with that - many of us keep other reptiles and animals.

 

[Mark_C]

Oh my. Just dropped in to lurk and saw this thread.
Please think of the cost, the time, the equipment, the food, the maintenance, but mostly, this is an animal's life.
Contrary to cartoons and movies, chameleons do not quick change color to match their environment, and they are not necessarily friendly as adults.
They can not be trained and you won't be walking around with it on your shoulder.
I have a male panther who's over a year old and tolerates me, though he has drawn blood on a couple of occasions and I'll tell you from experience that chameleon bites hurt.
Maybe start with something a bit more tolerant and accessible, like a bearded dragon (as someone mentioned before).
Please take a few days and think this through, this community is made up of a number of experts, heed their advice.
Not looking forward to seeing an 'Emergency' post in the near future.

 

[elizaann2]

Hi friend!
One thing I would like you to consider is cost of care. I bought a "cheap" chameleon and ended up with a $790 vet bill. This totaled his cost to $880! This was not optional as without it, he would die. And this was just for the cost of him! His enclosure and systems cost me at least $1,000 and there are still upgrades for me to make. For example, there are 11 plants in his cage, they each cost between $10-30 and I still feel I need more. That's minimum $110 in just plants. Again, this is not optional. Veileds need safe live plants because they will eat chunks of them. This is just the beginning.
I really want you to consider that this is not just about what you want, this is an animal's life.
When I was your age, I begged my parents for a chameleon and they responsibly said no. There were a lot of reasons, but the main one was they knew we would not provide proper care. So I waited 18 years until I was in my own home, with my good job, knowing that I can provide everything necessary. I'm brand new in the hobby, thinking I researched enough, but quickly when he came home figured out I didn't know what I thought I knew. You don’t have to let the dream die! But with everything you've posted, I highly encourage you to continue to do research by reputable sources, continue saving your money, prepare his cage long before he comes home, and fully accept the nature of a chameleon and not try to mold them into an image you imagine.
Thanks for reading my two cents!

I second what @Doolingdogs said. With one of my chameleons, I have spent over $700 on her for proper supplies and care. She is about a year old now, and I have an appointment to get her tested for parasites, which you need to do as soon as you get them and then at least yearly after that, plus a blood draw to make sure all her organs are working they way they should be. This visit alone will cost around $400. They are not cheap, and they are not easy. I am an adult and have been doing this for a year now, and I still find it really overwhelming and feel like I am in over my head. I love the hobby and the animals so I will keep going, but I am doing it fully aware that they take a LOT of time and money do to it right.

I had an idea for you, is there a reptile rescue near you that you could maybe volunteer at? This could possibly give you time with a chameleon, which it sounds like you want and would also give you some hands-on experience with what it takes to properly care for them. If you would like, I would be more than happy to help you look for one to volunteer at.

 

[Coop]

As someone who started keeping at 14, I figured I'd chip in my two cents. Chameleons are expensive and an incredible time requirement. Flower and Pete, my first and second chameleons, are the perfect example of why you should never get a chameleon young. Flower came with an diagnoseable eye disease that ran me over 1500 dollars in vet bills and still didn't cure her. Pete was missing a vertebrae and even after a year and a half of almost no issues, his spinal column suddenly collapsed and killed him within a week. That week alone cost me two thousand dollars of driving and vet bills and medicine while I still tried to process what happened to my beautiful, kind little man. To even see the vet, it cost over sixty dollars in gas and three hundred for a checkup. The x-ray alone cost me six hundred. I even paid for acupuncture to try and relieve stress on his internal organs. Nothing ended up working. Now if we factor in the cost of the lizard, the cost of their home, the cost of feeding and the cost of distilled water, I easily paid over five thousand dollars on those animals. All of it sudden. All of it without enough notice for me to save for those specific events. The money i had saved to buy a car was liquidated into Pete within a week. Unless you're prepared to dump a thousand dollars or so on a cage, hundreds on the animal, hundreds on lights, and hundreds on plants, and still have a thousand dollars in saving for an emergency, don't get a chameleon. Something small, hardy, and much, much nicer as a pet would do you far better. If anything, I'd recommend looking into a leopard gecko or a crested gecko. Both are hardy, easy to care for, and wont cause you close to the amount of heartbreak a chameleon will. As someone who loves these animals and wants kids like you to succeed, please look into another animal. They'll be much better for you and last you a lot longer than a chameleon will.

 

[kinyonga]

@elizaann2 said…”is there a reptile rescue near you that you could maybe volunteer at? This could possibly give you time with a chameleon, which it sounds like you want and would also give you some hands-on experience with what it takes to properly care for them”…this is a great idea!

 

[dinomom]

As someone who started keeping at 14, I figured I'd chip in my two cents. Chameleons are expensive and an incredible time requirement. Flower and Pete, my first and second chameleons, are the perfect example of why you should never get a chameleon young. Flower came with an diagnoseable eye disease that ran me over 1500 dollars in vet bills and still didn't cure her. Pete was missing a vertebrae and even after a year and a half of almost no issues, his spinal column suddenly collapsed and killed him within a week. That week alone cost me two thousand dollars of driving and vet bills and medicine while I still tried to process what happened to my beautiful, kind little man. To even see the vet, it cost over sixty dollars in gas and three hundred for a checkup. The x-ray alone cost me six hundred. I even paid for acupuncture to try and relieve stress on his internal organs. Nothing ended up working. Now if we factor in the cost of the lizard, the cost of their home, the cost of feeding and the cost of distilled water, I easily paid over five thousand dollars on those animals. All of it sudden. All of it without enough notice for me to save for those specific events. The money i had saved to buy a car was liquidated into Pete within a week. Unless you're prepared to dump a thousand dollars or so on a cage, hundreds on the animal, hundreds on lights, and hundreds on plants, and still have a thousand dollars in saving for an emergency, don't get a chameleon. Something small, hardy, and much, much nicer as a pet would do you far better. If anything, I'd recommend looking into a leopard gecko or a crested gecko. Both are hardy, easy to care for, and wont cause you close to the amount of heartbreak a chameleon will. As someone who loves these animals and wants kids like you to succeed, please look into another animal. They'll be much better for you and last you a lot longer than a chameleon will.

I agree a crested would be much easier BUT if the house is really 87 degrees that is too hot for them. Need low to mid 70s with a night drop.

 

[Mark_C]

Looks like he wasn't happy with the advice and his account is unregistered atm.
I feel bad for the kid. He's excited about it but has no clue what he's getting into.
And that cham is going to suffer, and probably die, for it.
Perhaps he'll take it as a life lesson.

 

[dinomom]

Oh no I hope not..I hate to think the life of an animal has to be sacrificed for a life lesson.

 

[kinyonga]

@r/theflex Did you get the chameleon and set everything up?
I’d like to see what you did and see if I can help you so your chameleon will do well.

 

[Coop]

@r/theflex Did you get the chameleon and set everything up?
I’d like to see what you did and see if I can help you so your chameleon will do well.

I think he deleted his account, unfortunately.

 

[Ghostbirb]

I hope they listened to all the advice given
As much as it would be disheartening to hear how hard and expensive it is to take care of a chameleon, it’s a truth, this something that can not have corners cut.

 

[JacksJill]

Due to COPPA laws children under 13 need parental consent to create profiles on websites that collect any data even just date of birth. We encourage young people to create profiles with the cooperation of their parent or guardian to participate on Chameleon Forum.

 

[Lindasjackson]

i saw that you mentioned getting a Jackson’s. Please don’t! They are hard to care for and their temps and humidity are crucial for their well being. They need temps on the 50s to low 60s at night with humidity at80-100%. daytime temps at basking no higher than 80 and the rest of the enclosure in the 70s. Humidity in the daytime 40-50%. This is really hard to achieve unless you have a fogger and mister for night time. They require expensive equipment to survive and at 10 years old I doubt you can afford that. Then you have to think abou vet bills if they get sick. They can run into hundreds or even thousands of dollars! I haven’t even listed the cost of everything you need to set one up properly. I really understand you want a chameleon but I don’t feel you’re ready and I think you need to wait til your older with your own income. for now I think a good pet for you would be a gecko or a bearded dragon. There are some very interesting geckos out there that are really cool and not as expensive or as hard to take care of.

 

[Ambilobe123]

Often in these situations we cannot convince the user to not get a chameleon at all, especially for younger users. As well, too many replies only talking about how the chameleon is going to die will most likely scare the user off of the forums.

I think that in these situations it is best to primarily give advice on how to keep the chameleon, while having an emphasis on the need for a parent or other responsible adult to help both with care and financially. If we cannot stop someone from getting a chameleon, we might as well try our best to make sure it is taken care of.

 

[Beppo]

Amen

 

[MzLaurie11]

Hi Rex! I am all for kids taking on the responsability of a pet. Do you have any other pets that only you take care of? i have had all different kinds of pets my whole life. One thing i do know, if its classified as an Exotic, its expensive! Not just the setup and supplements, but i spend $30-$40 a month for live feeders. yes a month! Then you have to learn how to care for your feeders and keep them alive and healthy. No matter how careful you are, a feeder will escape from time to time. Is your mom ok with crickets and dubia roaches in the house? also they only eat live food. This is a big problem because you have to go buy them and you dont have a car. Also, if a chameleon gets sick, the minimum vet bill will be at least 300 and up. Chameleons need so many special things cause they die very easily. Now you dont want to get a pet then have it die cause you didnt know to do something it needed, do you? Well of all the animals i have had including three salt water tanks, chams by far are the hardest to take care of. You think your chores are too much, wait till you take care of a cham.you havebto feed them then feed their food too. And cleaning, you are cleaning all the time! If your feeder habitate isnt clean, your cham will end up getting sick too. Then your mom will faint when she gets the vet bill and you dont want that either. get a pet you can interact with and build a relationship. chameleons are still too wild to make a good pet. I would start with a hamster or cat. Even a snake is easier to care for then a chameleon.