Chameleons+care=$$$

vladdimir26

vladdimir26

New Member
Yikes! I did not expect my veiled chameleon plus his good care to cost this much. I am getting him this Christmas and I swear, 2 weeks ago I thought it was just the chameleon, using only my old snake tank and heating lamp and just some crickets! Didn't expect all this extra stuff like calcium d3, calcium without d3, multivitamins, UVB, UVA, gut loading, humidity readers, ANDD!! having to buy another terrarium made of that screen material! When I close my eyes all I see is $$$$$$$! I feel bad for my poor dad being all nice and buying some new requirements for my chameleon and then having to tell him again "Hey dad, umm, we are missing another thing :3" then he buys some more things and I have to go back to that awkward moment and telling him we need some other stuff Just wanted to share this with you guys!
 
I find chameleons to be a very expensive pet to keep but worth every penny. :) Be sure you have a nice little savings for vet bills too. VERY IMPORTANT!
 
Vlad, I was the same when I was 13 and got my first veiled.

Since then I have learned a lot, but especially how to do things myself. Companies like Exo Terra are great and need to make profits, and have excellent products. But sometimes us keepers need to save a buck by doing things ourselves. Learning how to make cages, breed your own food, and use old groceries and leftovers to gutload, you'll be saving 50%-90%
 
Young man, there was a time when all this neat stuff for chameleons was not even around. Granted they didn't live as long either.....


Now if you want to save money, you can build a cage. I won't go into detials here but you can send a PM if interested.

The only thing I find is a must, is buying lighting and food supplements. Everything else you can save some money on with some help from folks around here.
 
wow i cant really say that they r really that high. now i cant say they r aint that low to take care of. my veiled cham cam from my sis she bought everything and kept pastel (my cham) in a 10gl tank for a long time. she saw that she couldnt take care of her so we went and got her. we went to home depot and spent about 100 buck in spullys to build a cage. my cage stand 6ft tall and 3ft wide. we got pvc pipe and mesh wire and a sheet of plexiglass and zip ties. we got branches outside and got fake flowers and green foliage at a dollar tree. but once you have all that stuff like vit, calcium d3., reg calcium that stuff last for a long time. i havent had to buy ne thing else yet. expect new bulbs the most i spend a mo now is 10-15 bucks that crickets and greens.:cool:
 
Vlad, I have to say that for your (apparent) age, you have a really good view of it. Do it right, realize its costly, and appreciate what your 'rents are doing for you.

The good part is that once you get the basics, you really don't have to do it often. The vitamins for instance will last you a very long time, as will the cage and fixings (and of course chameleon!)

Happy Holidays, Vlad and let your folks know how great they are!

Submitted for your approval,
Tyg
 
The good news it that you are doing it right, and starting your cham off for a good healthy life. The other good news it only it is finally set up correctly, the regular bills drop off dramatically. As long as you do you part and take proper care of your chameleon, it will be a good investment for your Dad. If you don't then he wasted a lot of money. So take good care of you guy and take pictures, we love to see everyone's chams.:)
 
hey atleast you have parents willing to hlp with the bills i work my booty off to make sure waldos happy taking him on his first vet trip today i have a concern or 2 i want addressed and besides it never hurts to let a proffesional look at him, now that ive got him set up tho i thik the vet will be our most expensive thing. if your like me tho youll do what you have to to make everything work well for him and probibly take beter care of him then you do yourself! i cant \remember the last time i had my vits maybe i should put mine with his lol?
 
vladdimir26 said:
Yikes! I did not expect my veiled chameleon plus his good care to cost this much. I am getting him this Christmas and I swear, 2 weeks ago I thought it was just the chameleon, using only my old snake tank and heating lamp and just some crickets! Didn't expect all this extra stuff like calcium d3, calcium without d3, multivitamins, UVB, UVA, gut loading, humidity readers, ANDD!! having to buy another terrarium made of that screen material! When I close my eyes all I see is $$$$$$$! I feel bad for my poor dad being all nice and buying some new requirements for my chameleon and then having to tell him again "Hey dad, umm, we are missing another thing :3" then he buys some more things and I have to go back to that awkward moment and telling him we need some other stuff Just wanted to share this with you guys!
Click to expand...

ya did the same thing when i was 12, finally convinced the mom to get me a chameleon (last big thing i got was guitar, and since i stuck to it , actually still have my old fernandez from then..well she said ok to it) then after getting to the petshop (yes they reccomended about 150 bucks of extra crap you would never use, like night light, soil, hiding cave, water dish..ect ect) well it came to over 700.00 bucks!! (more than the guitar was!!) ..well low and behold, im still into chams, and couldnt love them anymore than i still do..just remember in the long run, its a good thing..the sweat on yer forehead will dissapate soon.:D
 
I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my expenses for Kepler, and between vet bills, new cages, aquazamps, and food I'm down $1200 so far!
 
I think I'm the only 14 y/o that realizes how money works at my school. I actually waited til I knew I could afford everything, had everything set up before I got the cham, and had money leftover for vet bills, then everyone at my school is talking about how with their job they make for example 10 an hr and let's say they make 50 a day, they'd go out and spend 50 bucks the same day.
 
Hey Vald I am in the same Boat but I am the Parent. A part time job might help out the folks. Good Luck w/ all you do.:D
 
You are doing everything right, many adults get somehting without thought as to what it will need. A tip, if finding calcium without D3 is a problem, except over the 'net, you can get cuttlebone (for birds) almost anywhere & grind it up. Usa a mortar & pestle, or a cheap small grinder, washed well is used. I used a coffee grinder, broke them up so they would grind better & ta-da! calcium powder. I even got already broken cuttlebone for a bargain at the pet store.

Have fun with your new buddy & post lots of pictures!!
 
They are actually fairly cheap to care for after start up. All you need is to buy are feeders monthly and replace bulbs every so many months. Not like a cat or dog that goes through bags of food, litter, ect. that gets expensive.Or saltwater setup is usually through the roof. You don't see people with 40 dogs usually :eek:.


Supplements are only a couple dollars and last forever unless you have an army of chameleons. Gutloading feeders honestly is probably where most is spent.
 
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