Advice

[iwabo]

i am thinking strongly about getting a chameleon and i was wondering what is a good species for a new owner?


i already have a couple of leapord gekos that i love and hold daily.

i really like how the panther and glamorus chameleions look and was wonderin if either of those are good choices?

 

[morpheon]

The two basic species are Chameleo Calyptratus (Veiled chameleon) and Furcifer Pardalis (Panther chameleons). Of course, it is possible to start with another species, but these two are my favorite for a beginner.

If you plan on buying a chameleon, i think you should read a lot before doing it. Also, you should remember that handling chameleons daily is not a good idea, no matter what chameleon you have. Chameleon, at best, become TOLERANT to human touch, but will most likely always stress them up, more or less. This is why handling is suggested to happen only once a week, unless you have a good reason to take your chameleon out and then you have to put it on a plant, not on you. A good reason could be cleaning their enclosure or going to a vet.

If you have more questions, go ahead! Meanwhile, i suggest you to read as much as you can. This forum is full of great infos and there are several very good blogs too!

 

[OOOst16]

Morph is right on, let me stress also, leopard geckos and chameleons are completely different spectrums, the gecko being one of the easiest reptiles to care for, and the chameleon being one of the hardest. So make sure your ready for what your getting into . Research research research!!!!!!

 

[Leedslad88]

Morph is right on, let me stress also, leopard geckos and chameleons are completely different spectrums, the gecko being one of the easiest reptiles to care for, and the chameleon being one of the hardest. So make sure your ready for what your getting into . Research research research!!!!!!

Agreed!!!! Make sure you do research their natural environment and correct husbandary in captivity..... Reasearch is the key.

Just to menation they arent really animals that require handling.... they are easily stressed..... i only handling mine when i NEED to.

 

[pssh]

It is possible to have a chameleon that voluntarily will climb onto you, but you should expect (when you purchase one) that it will hate your guts and never wants to see you.


Here is my basic checklist for a baby veiled or panther:

-a screen cage of appropriate size (baby:16x16x30, adult female 18x18x36, adult male 24x24x48) you can also buy the adult sized cage and just section off the bottom so it is smaller
-live plants that are non toxic and have covered organic fertilizer free soil
-a normal incandescent house bulb of appropriate wattage
-a dome to put the house bulb in
-a linear reptisun 5.0 and appropriate hood
-a digital thermometer or temp gun to check temperature
-a digital hygrometer to check humidity (you can buy a 2 in 1 thermometer/hygrometer)
-three supplements: calcium with d3, calcium without d3, and a multivitamin that contains no vit A (make sure all are phos free)
-a pump style spray bottle to spray chameleon
-a dripper of some sort
-drainage for the water so that the cage does not flood
-many horizontal, vertical, and diagonal branches/vines/perches make sure there are many at different levels under the basking branch so he can move around under them to get a certain temp, the closest one to the bulb (6-8 inches under it) should have the maximum temperature a baby veiled can handle (80-83 degrees)

All of this can be bought on lllreptile.com but it would be cheaper to buy the uvb hood, normal incandescent house bulb and dome, plants, and digital thermometer from home depot or lowes (unless you are getting a temp gun, then tempgun.com) Veiled chameleons can handle temps as low as 50 degrees (at night) so there is no need to use a night light, though I would try to keep it around 60 for a baby. If you do need extra heat, use a space heater or ceramic bulb.

 

[kinyonga]

First of all, I would recommend that you get a male so you won't have to deal with egglaying issues. (The panthers, veileds and some other species can produce eggs without having mated.)

Here are some good sites to read to start you off...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/