Getting my Grandson started

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

I’m looking to get my 4 year old grandson who is fascinated with reptiles started with a chameleon. He loves the outdoors and always hunting to capture and release critters. We are located in North Ft Myers and I would love to find a local location where I can take him to catch a chameleon of his own. I think that he will appreciate the animal that much more while sparking his knowledge of habitat and behavioral patterns. Anyone who may have a location where we can go to hunt him a chameleon I will be grateful.

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and welcome! I think looking for chameleons is a wonderful experience for your grandson. My first chameleon I actually got for my daughter. She has done very well so far in the year and a half that we have had her but that is because I have been the one taking care of the chameleon.

Not knowing if you have any previous chameleon experience I wanted to ask a few questions if you are ok with it.

- Will an adult be caring for the chameleon once caught?
- Does the adult caring for the chameleon know proper care for chameleons? They are a little more difficult to care for than most reptiles and need a very specific environment in order to thrive. In which case, I would suggest having the enclosure set up and running before you get the chameleon.
- Since it will be wild caught you will want to make sure you get it tested for parasites and give it time to acclimate to living in an enclosure.
- Chameleons are very shy and fragile lizards, knowing your grandson is 4 years old I would actually suggest not only for your grandson's safety but for the animals as well, that he not handle the chameleon.

If you are new to the hobby I would love to answer any questions you may have regarding their care. If you do catch any chameleons with your grandson, I also hope you take pictures and share it here with us

 

[Beman]

Welcome to the forum. I think that he is very young. There are better reptiles to start a young child with. Chameleons are more like fish tanks. They really should not be handled and I would never recommend young children handle them. Too many things can go wrong.

Most wild chams like in FL are sickly. They have parasites and die easily from them.

With all that said. If you are wanting to learn about proper set up to know what you would actually be getting into and the expense of it all start with this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Then ask questions here.

 

[dinomom]

I’m looking to get my 4 year old grandson who is fascinated with reptiles started with a chameleon. He loves the outdoors and always hunting to capture and release critters. We are located in North Ft Myers and I would love to find a local location where I can take him to catch a chameleon of his own. I think that he will appreciate the animal that much more while sparking his knowledge of habitat and behavioral patterns. Anyone who may have a location where we can go to hunt him a chameleon I will be grateful.

How about just a chameleon spotting trip? He can "catch" them with his camera!

 

[MzLaurie11]

My sons father got him a golden greek tort when he was four because someoone brought a tort to show and tell and it was all he could talk about. His interest was all of two weeks and all the care was up to me.for the next 8 years till i rehime him with my best friend! Not a good idea. Chameleons are the hardest and most expensive pet i have ever owned and i have had cared for all kinds of things in my life. Not only do you have to care for the pet, but its food too! Crickets, hornworms, dubia roaches, etc. All live!

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

How about just a chameleon spotting trip? He can "catch" them with his camera!

Thank you for your responses. To answer the questions and address the concerns the following is provided:
Yes my wife and I will be caring for the chameleon. Our plan is to teach our grandson proper care and respect for the species. The only reason we have decided on a chameleon is our grandson is fascinated by them and snakes. We have no problems hunting and finding snakes but chameleons are another story as they are not indigenous.
I have owned and handled exotics my entire life including mammals like primates, skunks, raccoons, in addition to various fowl and raptors. Reptile experience is with various nonvenomous snakes, turtles, tortoises various lizards and caiman. My wife also started and Curated a USDA certified facility and worked directly with one of the worlds leading Veterinarians for reptiles.
We however are always open to additional information and feedback.

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

How about just a chameleon spotting trip? He can "catch" them with his camera!

Please educate yourself on the negative aspects of invasive exotic affects on local indigenous species of flora and fauna. Leaving the animals in an unnatural environment does neither them or the environment any good. At some point they will become a nuisance and a bounty to kill them will be executed as is the case with the iguana and monitor lizards. Please do not promote the irresponsible release of exotic species.

 

[Steve A]

How about just a chameleon spotting trip? He can "catch" them with his camera!

This sounds like so much fun and as much as I've been wanting to get back down to Florida (I was born there)...... this seriously makes me want to go down there even more. The wife is just gonna have to deal with the heat because this just sounds like too much fun lol

 

[dinomom]

Please educate yourself on the negative aspects of invasive exotic affects on local indigenous species of flora and fauna. Leaving the animals in an unnatural environment does neither them or the environment any good. At some point they will become a nuisance and a bounty to kill them will be executed as is the case with the iguana and monitor lizards. Please do not promote the irresponsible release of exotic species.

Are you addressing me? I am certainly well aware of this and would never advocate releasing exotic species. Did someone here suggest this?

 

[Steve A]

Please educate yourself on the negative aspects of invasive exotic affects on local indigenous species of flora and fauna. Leaving the animals in an unnatural environment does neither them or the environment any good. At some point they will become a nuisance and a bounty to kill them will be executed as is the case with the iguana and monitor lizards. Please do not promote the irresponsible release of exotic species.

With all due respect, I've conversed with @dinomom plenty and she seems to be very educated when it comes to chameleons in general. I believe everyone here understands the unfortunate implications of invasive species surviving where they weren't originally meant to be. What she suggested was definitely nothing that promote any kind of irresponsibility here. Quite the opposite I'd say.

With that being said, there is a lot to unpack when discussing invasive species in general. While it can have a negative impact on the environment, it is also something that technically does occur naturally. For example Snakehead fish have learned how to walk on land. They don't even need our assistance to invade new territory. They are doing it themselves by walking from body of water, to body of water, on land.

Birds also pick up various species, and "relocate them" mistakenly (not the best example, but it happens). Nature does this on it's on. Again, I am not saying we should "promote" or "Assist/aid" this in any way. I just think it's worth mentioning that it does happen and it is a reality we need to live with.

Chameleons are already running rampant in southern Florida. We all know this. She is not suggesting we do something to make that situation worse. They're already here. There isn't any harm in checking them out. In fact, there are things that have been learned about chameleons because of this invasion.

Please don't take this as me being hostile towards you. I am not. But, I also do not think what you said towards her was warranted.

I think you'll find out very quickly that the people in these forums care very deeply for their chameleons. You will NOT find a better chameleon community. I promise you. I know, because I've looked. Chameleons health and being able to thrive is a clear priority here.

I also think it was kind of off for you to initially ask for actual locations to hunt chameleons yourself to keep, and then you seem to criticize someone else for simply suggesting to observe them in exactly the same environment. I understand you intend on keeping a chameleon, but I would also say that engaging in that type of activity would be "promoting" the invasion just the same as observing them would.

I've only been on these forums for months, but I can tell you first hand that the knowledge here is incredible. I've learned a lot here. I highly suggest you kindly take in advice given to you on here, and learn just as I have. It will benefit what you're trying to do SO much. The last thing you want to do, is go through a bad experience keeping a chameleon that has high odds of dying rather quickly. There is a lot to keeping a chameleon, and where the chameleon comes from is a huge factor in successful keeping. I know this first hand.

I also highly suggest you start out by checking out chameleonacademy.com. There is incredible information on that site that you absolutely need to know before beginning to keep a chameleon, regardless of where you get him/her from. Welcome to the forums! I hope you read up about chameleons, get yourself prepared properly, and stick around! We would all love to help in whatever way we can.

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

My sons father got him a golden greek tort when he was four because someoone brought a tort to show and tell and it was all he could talk about. His interest was all of two weeks and all the care was up to me.for the next 8 years till i rehime him with my best friend! Not a good idea. Chameleons are the hardest and most expensive pet i have ever owned and i have had cared for all kinds of things in my life. Not only do you have to care for the pet, but its food too! Crickets, hornworms, dubia roaches, etc. All live!

I guess neither your or your husband did your homework nor appreciate the pleasure of the reptile hobby.

 

[Steve A]

I guess neither your or your husband did your homework nor appreciate the pleasure of the reptile hobby.

This is incorrect.

The point she is making here is a 4 year old child loves something 1 minute, and then moves on with life. Long term commitments are not for children. My son is 6. Technically, our chameleon is "his pet".

Does my 6 year old take care of my chameleon? No. That would be bad parenting, and chameleon keeping on my part. ****I**** take care of our chameleon. A 6 year old child is not ready to take on this kind of responsibility. It is a lot of learning, and a lot of work.

Obviously, because she IS a successful chameleon keeper, she DID do her homework and she DOES appreciate the pleasure of keeping chameleons, which are one of the most difficult reptiles to keep.

You are not going to get a 4 year old child to successfully keep a chameleon. Which means you are going to have to take 100% care of the chameleon, and likely for it's entire life, as their life spans are short and your child won't be ready to take care of a chameleon before it's max life span is past.

She is just trying to explain and stress just how much work and how difficult it is to keep a chameleon. And you should listen to her advice. She is right.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome @Ripps 1st chameleon
While I fully appreciate and laud the nurturing that you are giving and wanting to further with your grandson, I also do have to agree with some of the comments that ‘hunting’ his own wild chameleon may not be the best of choices. While you have already instilled in him a love and respect for herping and the natural world, perhaps you may want to expand on his sense of responsibility for community and all life and adopt from a local (or not so local) reptile rescue. This would enable him to select his animal, introduce him (very gently) to the effects of irresponsible pet ownership and give a needy animal a good home. He might even surprise you and choose an animal other than a chameleon. Personally, I think a bearded dragon or a sturdy snake might be a better choice, but that is just my opinion. If he does indeed choose a chameleon, we would be more than happy to help you to set up a beautiful and proper enclosure and you could also start introducing him to sense of community by sharing on the forum with him - like have him select pics he wants to share and what he wants to say and read our responses with him. This really is an amazing community and more like a ’chamily’. We work hard to remain welcoming to all and G rated.

 

[Tkrd69]

Not to step on any toes but if you want to see wild veiled chameleons look it up on the FWC web site for evasive animals list. They have maps on sightings a lot in the Labelle area if your familiar with Hendry county.

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

This is incorrect.

The point she is making here is a 4 year old child loves something 1 minute, and then moves on with life. Long term commitments are not for children. My son is 6. Technically, our chameleon is "his pet".

Does my 6 year old take care of my chameleon? No. That would be bad parenting, and chameleon keeping on my part. ****I**** take care of our chameleon. A 6 year old child is not ready to take on this kind of responsibility. It is a lot of learning, and a lot of work.

Obviously, because she IS a successful chameleon keeper, she DID do her homework and she DOES appreciate the pleasure of keeping chameleons, which are one of the most difficult reptiles to keep.

You are not going to get a 4 year old child to successfully keep a chameleon. Which means you are going to have to take 100% care of the chameleon, and likely for it's entire life, as their life spans are short and your child won't be ready to take care of a chameleon before it's max life span is past.

She is just trying to explain and stress just how much work and how difficult it is to keep a chameleon. And you should listen to her advice. She is right.

I didn’t ask for yours or her opinions on what my roll and the interaction with my grandson would be over the care of the animal. You imposed your negative experiences on me because you failed to properly interact with your child on the responsibilities of pet ownership and or hobby commitment. On top of that you taught the child that regardless of the commitment he or she doesn’t have to be responsible for their decisions and somebody else will do it for you and ultimately get rid of the obligation. Great lesson folks. That’s what is wrong with our society today. Younger parents don’t know how to teach their children responsibilities. Now they’ll carry that lesson with them throughout their life. Keep up the good work folks.

I don’t know what is wrong with the people on this page. They want to give me everything but what I requested. All I requested was information on where chameleons were in-ethically released and live in the wild. I have the experiences to care for the animal and teach my grandchildren the responsibilities of getting animals. I’m sorry that you had to learn your lessons the hard way but I don’t. Please keep your negative comments to yourselves. I am not asking about your negative experiences only for positive information related to my request. I went through the gauntlet of questions and demonstrated that my experience far exceeds most. If you have information concerning my request please respond otherwise keep dwelling on your own negative experiences.

Very Curt but Respectfully,

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

Not to step on any toes but if you want to see wild veiled chameleons look it up on the FWC web site for evasive animals list. They have maps on sightings a lot in the Labelle area if you’re familiar with Hendry county.

Thank you very much for your valued information. Finally somebody who can read and reply to a direct request. You’re terrific.

 

[Steve A]

I didn’t ask for yours or her opinions on what my roll and the interaction with my grandson would be over the care of the animal. You imposed your negative experiences on me because you failed to properly interact with your child on the responsibilities of pet ownership and or hobby commitment. On top of that you taught the child that regardless of the commitment he or she doesn’t have to be responsible for their decisions and somebody else will do it for you and ultimately get rid of the obligation. Great lesson folks. That’s what is wrong with our society today. Younger parents don’t know how to teach their children responsibilities. Now they’ll carry that lesson with them throughout their life. Keep up the good work folks.

I don’t know what is wrong with the people on this page. They want to give me everything but what I requested. All I requested was information on where chameleons were in-ethically released and live in the wild. I have the experiences to care for the animal and teach my grandchildren the responsibilities of getting animals. I’m sorry that you had to learn your lessons the hard way but I don’t. Please keep your negative comments to yourselves. I am not asking about your negative experiences only for positive information related to my request. I went through the gauntlet of questions and demonstrated that my experience far exceeds most. If you have information concerning my request please respond otherwise keep dwelling on your own negative experiences.

Very Curt but Respectfully,

I am 39 years old. I'm not a 20 year old father. I know what I'm doing with my child.

And it's because I've learned what I've learned about chameleon keeping, that my 6 year old son, can not handle his chameleon. Nor can he properly care for it. No 6 year old is doing this. Nor should they. It's dangerous to the chameleon, and it can be dangerous for the child.

The real problem here, is you lack knowledge on what it is like to care for a chameleon, and you seem unwilling to absorb the great information that has been given to you.

FYI, I have verbally (and used videos and pictures) to teach my son about chameleon care. He understands what HE needs to know when he's around our chameleon.

If you think a 6 year old child is ready to take good care of various bugs, feeding them, cleaning THEIR cages (we aren't even at the chameleon itself yet!), dusting them properly, providing multi-vitamins on a proper schedule, checking and adjusting the chameleons enclosure for proper temps and humidity, handling those said bugs, being able to separate a specific count of each bug every day and being able to remove them from one container to your chameleons enclosure, then I don't think anyone here can help you because, despite coming here you seem to have all the answers.

You are getting our opinions because you DID ask for our opinions and we are very happy to help you. Again, we aren't quite saying you should not get a chameleon. We are saying, it is not the right pet for a 4 year old child. The chameleon will have to be YOUR responsibility as ***it is NOT possible for a 4 year old child to take care of a chameleon***.

Should you choose to get a chameleon, we will gladly assist you on learning how to properly take care of him/her. However, hunting for a wild chameleon is not recommended.

No one is saying you should not teach your child anything about chameleons. By all means, DO this! I do this with my son ALL the time. Just because he is not one the taking care of our chameleon, does not mean he is not learning about the chameleon and won't some day take care of them on his own.

You are assuming an AWFUL lot here regarding me as a parent, and more importantly, my son and how he is being raised. FWIW, my son is on the spectrum. He is high on the spectrum, but he is autistic. He is INCREDIBLY intelligent, and very capable. He's even ahead of most children his age, up to a few years older. He can tell you every planet in the solar system, and he knows things that would blow your mind. Does your grandson know what a dodecahedron is? Because I doubt it. So let's not turn this into some personal thing. We are all here for the care of chameleons. To learn, and to teach.

Let's tone this down, and stop trying to turn it into some kind of competition over who knows what. Let's get grounded right now.

The reason you are here is because **You do not know what you are doing with chameleons**

And that is okay! If you can't grasp that, I strongly think you should reconsider the type of pet you are trying to get your grandson. If you are unwilling to take on information from other people, you WILL fail as a chameleon keeper. And the chameleon will suffer as a result (which is what WE are trying to avoid happening on here because we care about chameleons). I guarantee it.

So where do we go from here? Are you willing to learn and be a part of this amazing community? Or are you just going to attack us for trying to help you?

I am STILL here, ready to assist you in any way I can if you want to become a chameleon keeper.

 

[Beman]

Well it would appear this thread has gone sideways... I am sad that you are not open to the feedback but I have also been here long enough to know that people are going to do what they want to do. The concern people were trying to express was for the safety of your 4 year old. Chameleons will not only bite but will target a humans eyes with their tongue when they feel threatened. Most adults natural instincts will kick in and the animal can easily get hurt. I have seen in this forum what happens with small children/ adults and their reactions to a chameleon when an unexpected bite or targeting happens. It is not normally a good thing for the chameleon in the end.

No one in this forum supports releasing animals into the wild. However we also are not out there trying to catch them in Florida either. We buy from ethical breeders or go to rescue organizations.

Use the forum search tool and you will find old threads people have posted on where to find them in Florida. search term Florida chameleons should bring them up.

And I already posted this for you but for proper husbandry to be able to keep this animal alive go to this link and read through everything. Chameleons are very very hard to keep in captivity. When you are starting out with an unhealthy animal you will need a good reptile vet as well. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[MissSkittles]

@Ripps 1st chameleon I’m sorry that you have found little to no help in any of what has been said. There is yet one thing that has not been said and I DO hope you will take some heed of it…many whom have the wild chameleon populations on their property will shoot first and ask questions later. Since you obviously live in Florida, you are aware that it is often difficult to know where public and private lands divide and just about no one ever posts no trespassing signs. Please be cautious in your hunting.

 

[Ripps 1st chameleon]

I am 39 years old. I'm not a 20 year old father. I know what I'm doing with my child.

And it's because I've learned what I've learned about chameleon keeping, that my 6 year old son, can not handle his chameleon. Nor can he properly care for it. No 6 year old is doing this. Nor should they. It's dangerous to the chameleon, and it can be dangerous for the child.

The real problem here, is you lack knowledge on what it is like to care for a chameleon, and you seem unwilling to absorb the great information that has been given to you.

FYI, I have verbally (and used videos and pictures) to teach my son about chameleon care. He understands what HE needs to know when he's around our chameleon.

If you think a 6 year old child is ready to take good care of various bugs, feeding them, cleaning THEIR cages (we aren't even at the chameleon itself yet!), dusting them properly, providing multi-vitamins on a proper schedule, checking and adjusting the chameleons enclosure for proper temps and humidity, handling those said bugs, being able to separate a specific count of each bug every day and being able to remove them from one container to your chameleons enclosure, then I don't think anyone here can help you because, despite coming here you seem to have all the answers.

You are getting our opinions because you DID ask for our opinions and we are very happy to help you. Again, we aren't quite saying you should not get a chameleon. We are saying, it is not the right pet for a 4 year old child. The chameleon will have to be YOUR responsibility as ***it is NOT possible for a 4 year old child to take care of a chameleon***.

Should you choose to get a chameleon, we will gladly assist you on learning how to properly take care of him/her. However, hunting for a wild chameleon is not recommended.

No one is saying you should not teach your child anything about chameleons. By all means, DO this! I do this with my son ALL the time. Just because he is not one the taking care of our chameleon, does not mean he is not learning about the chameleon and won't some day take care of them on his own.

You are assuming an AWFUL lot here regarding me as a parent, and more importantly, my son and how he is being raised. FWIW, my son is on the spectrum. He is high on the spectrum, but he is autistic. He is INCREDIBLY intelligent, and very capable. He's even ahead of most children his age, up to a few years older. He can tell you every planet in the solar system, and he knows things that would blow your mind. Does your grandson know what a dodecahedron is? Because I doubt it. So let's not turn this into some personal thing. We are all here for the care of chameleons. To learn, and to teach.

Let's tone this down, and stop trying to turn it into some kind of competition over who knows what. Let's get grounded right now.

The reason you are here is because **You do not know what you are doing with chameleons**

And that is okay! If you can't grasp that, I strongly think you should reconsider the type of pet you are trying to get your grandson. If you are unwilling to take on information from other people, you WILL fail as a chameleon keeper. And the chameleon will suffer as a result (which is what WE are trying to avoid happening on here because we care about chameleons). I guarantee it.

So where do we go from here? Are you willing to learn and be a part of this amazing community? Or are you just going to attack us for trying to help you?

I am STILL here, ready to assist you in any way I can if you want to become a chameleon keeper.

What is wrong with you people. I don’t have any idea where in the world you got the idea that I don’t know about the proper care of chameleons. I merely asked where to find them in the wild rather than to continue to sponsor the irresponsible sale and trade of the species.
My friend I’m 64 years old and already raised my children (both older than yourself) and am now engaged daily interaction and rearing of my grandchildren. I’ve forgotten more about reptile husbandry including chameleons than most of you will ever know. I can only speculate that you have egos and control issues that make you think that you possess the only knowledge and that anyone else who dares enter the forum is lacking the knowledge and experience you all are so proud of. People who are truly knowledgeable don’t force their limited experiences on others they don’t know but rather engage and listen and then maybe you can learn something.
Only a moron would think that anyone would allow a 4 year old or anyone unskilled to hunt and or capture any wild creature. I also take my grandson as I did with my children hunting, for wild game, but that doesn’t mean that I handed them a rifle and turned them loose. They are along for learning safe practices for guns, behaviors of wild animals and respect for the land, animals, and weapons used to harvest animals. Not everyone has to rely on the intelligence of their children whether on or off the spectrum smart people like country folks, farmers and hunters etc. actively nurture our children in every aspect of husbandry, hunting and respect for the outdoors and the hazards and joys of the privileges we have been provided. So please take your more holier than thou attitudes and choke on them. I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP OR ADVISE ON HUSBANDRY OR CARE. I ASKED for a LOCATION for responsible harvesting of animals forced to survive in an unfamiliar environment.