help, help, help?

gabrielguy

New Member
hey chameleon forums, im new to this whole chameleon thingy thing, but ive been wanting a chameleon for a couple weeks by now,the problem is, like some other chameleon owners, im not sure if i have down the whole concept to taking care of it, anybody please, tell me what im missing? as you read, feel free to correct me, please do, i may have my facts wrong and i need to know everything throughly. this is what i know so far:

-enclosure:
the chameleon needs a cage(preferable screen cage) that needs to be kept at a certain heat and tempurature. during the day it needs to be at(i believe) 80 degrees, atbasking time it needs to be around 90 degrees, and at night it needs to be 70 degees.

-feeding:
when a chameleon is a baby, it eats sometimes twice a day or 5 - 7 times a week, a good idea is to get a plastic bowl and fill it with waxworms, crickets, or mealworms in it, but have the cup deep enough that the crickets dont get out, but shallow enough for the chameleon to get out if it falls it. calcium dust and gutload its food. a baby eats 6-12 crickets a day and twice a day, (not sure how much juveniles or matures eat) babies and juveniles will overeat but not often, mature chameleons will not overeat


-watering:
misting should be done 3- 4 times a day for about 10-15 minutes a session, if the chameleon isnt getting enough water, it will most likely eat vegitation to provide itself liquid, so its a good idea to have a real plant in its cage so that you can monitor your misting


-health:
a healthy chameleon has strong limbs, clear, alert eyes, and well formed droppings. if the chameleons grip and limbs arent strong enough to hold itself up, it most likely has metabolic bone disease and needs its calcium and vitamins. a chameleons eyes should constantly scan its surroundings, if its eyes are moving slowly, he/she peoboly has an infection or isnt getting enough proteins(im not sure). im not sure how to inspect its droppings, but im pretty sure it shouldnt be mushy, and i know it shouldnt have colored(yellow) streaks


-handling your chameleon:
chameleons dont like being handeled and most of the time it builds stress, but if you are going to pick up your chameleon, pick in up from the side of its stomach, and in a lifting motion


-colors:
chameleons are mistaken for changing color to blend in with your invironment, instead, they change color based on their emotions and feelings. all that i know is that chameleons turn a dark color when they are angered




what i dont know:
1)when seasons change(winter, summer) do i need to change the tempurature on the heat lamps?

2)how do i check the humidity in the cage? what do i need to keep it at? how do i keep it at that level?

3)how do i check a chameleons sex when its a baby?

4)how else(besides what i already mentioned) do you check if a chameleons gender?

5) i recently visited the pet store, and the baby chameleons had a white buildup on their faces and bodies, what does this mean?

6)how do you check a chameleons droppings? what do the yellow streaks mean?

7)is their any special kind of thing i need to know when my chameleon sheds?

8) how long should it take for my chameleon to get its first colors?

9) how do i know if my chameleon is comfortable in its environment?

10) what should i feed my chameleon if its still super small and only days old?

11) do chameleons hear? lol. is their hearing sensitive?

12)is their eyesight sensitive? for example, if i was to turn on the lights in my room, in the middle of the night, or if there was any bright light, or if it looks at the uvb light, would it hurt its eyes badly?

13) do my chameleons colors change/dull/broighten if i feed them certain things?

14) will my chameleon really get scared of its reflections if its in a glass terrerium?

15)if i didnt buy my chameleon its bedding(dirt, moss, landscaping) would it matter at all?

16) would you reccomend buying a chameleon from a pet store or from a breeder?

17)how do i check my chameleons eyes to show its healthiness?

as i have already mentioned, i need help, so i would really appritiate it if you gave me any tips or any other information that i left out(dont know). just think about a chameleons life in the hands of me, a owner that doesnt know much, help save its life!! lol:) also, please read through this again and see if you missed a question that you can answer, or iif you can correct me on anything, thank you for your time,
gabriel guy.......... :)
 
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I'm too sleepy to get into details, but almost all of that information is going to be species dependent. 80 is a bit high for any captive species though.

Edit: You need to do more research. The search feature will find answers to just about all of your questions.
 
oh, and btw, since you ^^^ said that its species dependant, im looking into getting a nosy faly panther or ambilobe panther. ill take any information anybody has on either of the two
 
#1 I would slightly lower or raise the temp. but never below 70 or above 75
#2 use a hygrometer to monitor humidity. use lots of live plants and mist frequently,
#3 depends what breed. if its a panther most of the time the base of the tale is fat if male
#4 males are bigger and more colored most of the time
#5 Idk but i wouldnt buy from them
#6 yellow should be white.that is his urate.do you use tap water?sometimes its just yello
#7 nothing really.
#8 depends on breed. most panthers reach maturity at 6-9 months
#9 if it is stressed it would be black or gap and puff up his chin most of the time
#10 fruitflies and pinheads mostly
#11 I know they hear but im not sure HOW sensitive it is. ive woken mine up from sleepin
#12 If you turn your light on for a breif moment in my experience i havent woken my cham up. but the light is never on for more than a minute. I think if they stared at the uv light for a while it would hurt them just as long as lights are not too close. If your basking and uv light are too close they can get thermal burns
#13 there are chameleon color inhancers but ive only heard bad things from them
#14 If will be extremely stressed if it sees its reflection. He could try to attack himself in his reflection and harm himself. Its like Always seeing your worst enemy and always losing in a fight with him. i have heard of chams that have died of stress.
#15 Do not use substrate. if feeders crawl on it your cham could shoot at it and get bits and pieces stuck to his tongue choke.
#16 I reccomend a breeder. but one that knows what they are doing. I also suggest not taking advice from petstores most of the time....
#17 If your chameleons eye is closed or partly closed they could have an infection. if so you can buy Refresh Tears from the drug store and use two drops in each eye. If the eyes are sunken around the edge it means dehydration.

you can handle your cham for ten minutes a day and take him outside in the sun AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!! between the hours of 12-2 are the best for soaking up sun. id say mist for 3-5 minutes. do not pull a baby of a branch or you could brake a wrist, arm, or harm tail. you shouldnt cap a baby when it comes to feeding. you should feed him 12-15 a day. as much as they can eat in 5 to 10 minutes and some left over to free range. adults eat the same but every other day. you should dust every day except sunday with a calcium without d3 and twice a month dust with d3 and a multivitamin. gutload your crickets well. your basking temp can be 85. your normal temp should be 70 to 75(room temp.) and night temp should not get below 60 or above 60
please please please do more more more research. Im glad to help but you must continue to research. much much more.
 
Hello & welcome. For me to be able to give you accurate information could you answer a few questions? Where do you live, do you plan to get a baby or adult? We will be giving you a few links to read based on how you answer those questions.
 
Please don't get one yet...its better to make sure that you know what to do before you get one...and from the questions you've asked you still have a lot to learn.

Here are some sites that will help get you started...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060114031124/http://www.adcham.com/
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/20050407.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
 
Please don't get one yet...its better to make sure that you know what to do before you get one...and from the questions you've asked you still have a lot to learn.

Here are some sites that will help get you started...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060114031124/http://www.adcham.com/
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/20050407.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Lynda you do such a great job helping people, I try to start slowly and often never get there. I need to be like you and even better, know as much as you.
 
i live in stockton, ca. im thinking about buying t from the store but right now im leaning more towards the breeder side, its more expensive and little take longer to get him, but by now,itd be better for both me and the chameleon to just wait. and i want a baby just so i can be with it longer and a baby would be better for me as a leaner, i feel, because ill be with it its whole life and ill have a longer learning period, thats if i keep him alive, which i intend on doing because i love chameleons theyre just so cute!!:) lol but im going to listen to evreybody and just WAIT:) because i want the chameleon to be happy:p
 
thank you alot, thank you to evreybody that responded to me, it means so much and its for the chameleons sake!!:)
 
Kinyonga rocks....

Follow her links, set your area up the way those links tell you to, then get your chameleon. It will make the whole experience so much easier to have the proper set up in place when you bring the animal home.

I failed to do this. My first chameleon was a gift and I had nothing. I was just told "Let's go buy you that chameleon"...we bought everything the store suggested and it took way too long to get set up and of course, what the store said wasn't really true....

It's so much better to do the research in advance and get the right stuff in place.
 
a lot of this is common sense, like taking care of a new born baby, your prying too deep into it. Research and do your best to cover all angels and you should be alright.
 
Yeah...because taking care of a newborn is best tackled by someone who's done no research.....NOT!

True, you'll learn as you go but the victim will suffer.

Why not read "what to expect" before giving birth? Why not learn from the people here before getting a chameleon?
 
a lot of this is common sense, like taking care of a new born baby, your prying too deep into it. Research and do your best to cover all angels and you should be alright.

:eek: Really?! I've seen too many chameleons suffer and die because people used "common sense". What's common sense when it comes to reptile care? This person is doing all the right things, and asking the questions NOW, instead of posting " I think my chameleon is dying, what should I do" in a few months. We've seen a lot of these in just the last month.

Bravo to the original poster. :)
 
Laurie and Elizadolots...thanks for the great comments...but I didn't do much.

Providing a chameleon with a proper cage and cage "furniture", appropriate lighting, supplements, gutloaded/nutritiously fed insects, water and appropriate temperatures are all important if you want to keep your chameleon healthy.
 
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Oh hey. I live in Sacramento. We have a breeder in citrus heights. You can email me if you like, I'll try and point you in the right direction. [email protected]


hey have they been breeding for a long time? i ask this just ti be sure they'll still breeding in the future, because im going to wait to get a chameleon so i can learn more about it. but when i do decide to get one i plan on buying from your breeder lol. what do they breed?
 
Yeah, they have 20 plus years I believe. They breed panthers. We also have quite a few members here who already have, or are going to have eggs. I know some of them have more than just panthers, but I'm not sure what other kinds of eggs are/will be cooking. My boyfriend might breed his jacksons too, so there might be some of those. And if I finally get what I want, I will eventually have CB T. bitaeniatus in addition to my Sambava panthers.
 
Kinyonga...yeah, sure...you deserve nothing....right.....

gabrielguy, definitely go with a breeder and get a captive bred animal if at all possible. Wild caught, though far less expensive, are also prone to more health issues and shorter lives.
 
Well, in some cases WC is cheaper. Some gravid females are expensive!

Anywho, if you want more info about the local 'loop' shoot me a PM.
 
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