I have a fair amount of wild-caught panthers. For the most part, they do well and I don't have a lot of problems with them. When I have had issues, the issues are usually fatal. I lost a female to a fungal infection shortly after she arrived once, but that was the only chameleon I've ever received that had a fungal issue (for those who haven't dealt with it... fungal = very bad).
I always screen my wild-caughts at the vet before even letting them in the same room as my collection, let alone putting them in a permanent enclosure (I use temporary enclosures until I am satisfied they are clean). Hydration is very important, as laid out in the previous posts. I don't have an exact method of caring for wild-caughts. I find it's best to just treat each individual chameleon separately. Some will adapt quickly and won't give you any problems. Others will take a lot of time and effort. Observation is really the key. You need to be able to spot potential problems before they become problems (such as a chameleon who isn't eating... don't wait until he's starving and skinny... get his gram weight when he arrives and keep track of how many bugs he is given to eat... if the bugs are still roaming around in the cage two days later and his gram weight has declined, then you need to start bumping him with vitamins and minerals and start switching feeders to see if there's another type of bug the chameleon may prefer - which, in my experience, wc's prefer superworms hands-down over crickets and I can almost always get a wc to start munching on supers until his health is improved and then I will start to reintroduce crickets and other feeders).
A good vet is a necessity when dealing with wild-caughts (unless you are confident you can be your own vet, which very few people can effectively do). To cleanse a wild-caught panther, it can be an involved process that requires multiple medicines and supplements. It also involves very precise measurements (body mass, dosage, frequency, etc.). There really isn't a cheap way to do it, so if you don't have the cash flow to provide care, then stick with captive-bred. I avoid getting into the panacur vs. reptaid debate. I have one and only one concern: making the chameleon healthy and free of parasites. The product you use and the path you take to get there is up to you and your vet. My vet and I have worked out a system that brings positive results and that's all I care about. What's really important is that you make the committment to do what it takes to help the animal... where you start (reptaid, panacur, etc.) isn't nearly as important as where you finish.
I highly recommend giving wild-caughts a lot of privacy and distance from human contact. If you want a reptile you can hold and interact with, either go captive-bred or just get a bearded dragon. It is not in the nature of a wild-caught chameleon to be comfortable with human interaction. It puts the animal under a lot of stress to try to interact with it. Sure, in time you might be able to adapt your chameleon to human interaction... but ask yourself why you did it? Was all that stress for the chameleon's benefit or for yours? I doubt you'll find many wild-caughts who feel their life has been improved by the fact they can now sit on your hand.
All in all, wild-caughts are fascinating pets and in many ways they are considerably more interesting than their captive-bred counterparts. They are a lot of work though and they come with a lot of expense and risk. Just be sure wild-caughts are the right fit for you...
if they are, it will be very rewarding!
