A few questions

[steveoi812]

If guys dont mind, a few questions, please?

Ok what are the advantages to buying a juvie cham as opposed to buying an adult or vise versa? What would you guys recommend? A juvie or an adult?

Also I am thinking of getting a veiled cham, I have heard that they are nice for beginners, is this true?

Also if I do decide to get a baby what are the rates of growth, how fast will a baby grow???

Thanks to all who reply.

 

[REL JJA]

Re

I Am Not Sure About The Advantages Of Juvie Or Adult But I Have A Vieled Chameleon And He Has Growin Very Quilcky We Bought Him As A Baby Back In March Or Beg Of April And Now He Is So Big It Is Unreal So They Grow Extremely Fast W. The Proper Care. Chameleons Are Really Not For Beginners But Anyway They Usually Do Not Like To Be Held Unless Absolutly Necessary Lol!!! But I Am No Expert That Is Just My Personal Experience.

 

[Jordan]

I like getting them when they are smaller. I like whatching them grow. It is amazing how fast they grow-up. With the popular species you can expect them to be full size in 12-15 months. I think this applies to all species but I only have experience with two different kinds.
I would say that veileds are the hardiest of all the chameleon species. The temperatures they can thrive in, their varied diets in the wild and ability to handle lower humidity better then other species.
The veiled chameleon male size ranges from 18-24", the female from 12-14". Sexing them from birth is possible as the male has a tarsal spur on his back to legs. The males have higher casque, a more pronouced back bone, and a more laterally compressed body. The female takes on a rounder appearence most of the time. The males have way more vivid colors then the females and have one more noticable strip on the sides of their bodies.
The veiled chameleon can handle alot of different things if they have to but in captivity you want to give them the best conditions possible. The cage size you put them in is size dependent. With an adult male no less then a 2'Wx2'Dx4'H mesh cage is required. They should have a basking area with temperature of 90-100 degrees. The ambient temperature in the cage should be about 75 degrees. This gives them chance to thermoregulate as they need. The humidity should stay between 50-70%. They do not reconize standing water (like in a dish). They only drink from leaves. You can accomplish hydrating them with frequent misting (also helps keep humidiy up) and a water dripper positioned over some foliage with something to collect the water.
These are just the basics of the veiled, if you want more information about another species just ask. The people in here have a wide variety of chameleons.

 

[Frank Castle]

If guys dont mind, a few questions, please?

Ok what are the advantages to buying a juvie cham as opposed to buying an adult or vise versa? What would you guys recommend? A juvie or an adult?

One advantage of getting a Healthy Adult (Properly taken care of and not grown to fast "will talk more about this further down") Is that you dont run into some of the health issues with growing them. Juviniels are an awsome starter in my opinion, you watch them grow, and come into their colors, and when you end up with a healthy adult the personal pride is worth it all.

Also I am thinking of getting a veiled cham, I have heard that they are nice for beginners, is this true?

Veileds are Great beginners, They have a desent amount of tollerance in Begginer mishaps that other chams can not survive. They are Fairly cheap compaired to other chams also.
Panther Chams, also pretty hardy. Beautiful in color, cost quite a bit more than a veiled.
Jackson Chams: Also a good starter. Husbandry is a little more involved than the previous two mentions. Mid ranged price between Veileds, and Panthers.

Also if I do decide to get a baby what are the rates of growth, how fast will a baby grow???

Thanks to all who reply.

Growth depends on Food intake. You can grow a baby cham to adult size in 6 months (Not Recomended). During rapid growth you can run into a lot of health issues, mainly MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease) This is where the cham grows faster then the bones can keep up. you end up with weak rubbery bones, or even broken bones (Not Fun).
Average time to grow is as said earlyer 12-15 months. They do grow quick, I have had my veiled for almost 3 months now. He is 6 months old. He has already Tripled in size, may be evben Quadurpled. It is amazing to watch after each shed that they get more and more colorfull.

If this is your first cham I recomend going with a Male. They are Brighter in coloration and easyer to care for then a female. Females at some point will require monitered food (Not that you dont moniter males food) for egg production, and a egg laying site.

Hope this answers some of your questions

Frank

 

[steveoi812]

Frank, Rel, and Jordan. Thanks for the swift and informative replies, you guys. I have made my decision, I going to jump into the world of cham husbandry.

I am thinking of ordering the 65 gallon cham kit from lllreptile.com, hopefully sometime this week. I am thinking of picking up a juvie somewhere locally instead of getting one shipped through the mail. I'm thinking this might save the animal some stress.

I would love to keep coming back here and keeping you guys updated on everything, in the mean time is there any required reading that you guys would like me to read? I have fround several care sheets on the net, but id there anything else I should know besides the basics?

Thank you guys, you have all been very helpfull.

 

[Frank Castle]

http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Is a great source. Look under article refrence, and read everything you can. Your Husbandry is the key to success. Setting up right the first time will save you a lot of problems later on. Get the Right Lighting, Plants, Cage, etc. Make sure you have your setup complete and in place before the you get the cham. Make sure the temps are good for your Species. Dont forget Misting/Hydration. Suplimentation and feeders are a big part also. You will not only be caring for a Cham but the feeders also. Good luck, and keep us posted on what you are going to get.

 

[a23cham]

getting a cham as an adult is an advantage on saving $ because you dont need to pay for xtra cages lights etc. when he out grows his cage.
however i love chams as baby's and really take pride in how they look as adults.

 

[ClmbrJ]

If your descion is made maybe you wouldn't mind me making a suggestion or two.

1. find out who the breeder is from the pet store before you purchase and research/contact that breeder first. Find out everything you can about the clutch, things like how many eggs were lost, and how many previous clutches has the female had, and how many eggs per clutch usually are all things I like to know before the purchase

2. Have your compleete set-up up and running for at least 3-5 days before purchase to ensure all conditions are correct and stable, I like temp and humidity gages that include a resetable min/max feature so you can see how much range occurs in a given time period

3. Automate EVERYTHING you can...mist, lights, fans (if aplicable) this provides stability for your cham and takes time and effort off your shoulders

4. If you aren't already, get very familar with cricket husbandry

5. prepare your home for the cham, are dogs going to have to get used to not being in a certian room? Are kids going to have to be taught not to pester your new cham? Are a/c habits going to have to change? etc etc etc

Keeping Chams is challanging but well worth the effort. Gongrats and good luck. Let us know how things are going and ask ANY question you can think of. I didn't have a nice place like this when I first started and consider myself pretty lucky I have yet to have any issues.

Jason

 

[ClmbrJ]

or maybe five

 

[steveoi812]

Frank thanks for the link, it is very informative! Very much appreciated.


Thanks you guys for the tips and suggestions. I am doing more research and hopefully within a couple more weeks I will have the knowledge and money for my setup.

Thanks everyone....