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Rampesatratana

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Hello guys

I found a chameleon in the street outside my home and I took him.
I put him in a cage of 40cm high 30cm length and 20 cm width. I give him flies that I kill mosquitos butterflies ants and any other insect i find. For drink i put water in a pot. The temperature is about 35c during the day and 25 during night. I left the cage in the garden and i removed the bottom of it so now it lies on the ground. I did that for creating a more natural environment and for giving him the chance to find something to eat from the soil.
This is my first reptile and I am dont know how i shall keep him in order to be good and healthy.

Are there any changes that i have to make?
 
Rampesatratana said:
Hello guys

I found a chameleon in the street outside my home and I took him.
I put him in a cage of 40cm high 30cm length and 20 cm width. I give him flies that I kill mosquitos butterflies ants and any other insect i find. For drink i put water in a pot. The temperature is about 35c during the day and 25 during night. I left the cage in the garden and i removed the bottom of it so now it lies on the ground. I did that for creating a more natural environment and for giving him the chance to find something to eat from the soil.
This is my first reptile and I am dont know how i shall keep him in order to be good and healthy.

Are there any changes that i have to make?
Click to expand...
bring him in side!!! too cold
 
if you want to keep him you need to buy a lot of things!!!!.... you need a screened cage and a uv lamp and bulb.. also you need to buy crickets and supplements!!! where do u live??
 
Tifanydalpont said:
bring him in side!!! too cold
Click to expand...

How is that too coldd? 30C is 85F. That's pretty much perfect. Water bowl is bad, it'll only get bacteria, mist his cage 3 times a day for 5 mins, post pics of it and we can tell you species, you'll need a screened cage or terrarium that is pretty tall. Butterflies are a no no so don't feed them. Buy crickets or dubia roaches, you dust them with calcium without d3 everyday, calcium with d3 twice a month, multivitamins twice a month, I wouldn't recommend keeping him though. He won't dig and find bugs, so that was pretty pointless, you'll need a UVB light for reptiles and a heatlamp, generally 40 watt.
 
KarmaChameleon1337 said:
How is that too coldd? 30C is 85F. That's pretty much perfect. Water bowl is bad, it'll only get bacteria, mist his cage 3 times a day for 5 mins, post pics of it and we can tell you species, you'll need a screened cage or terrarium that is pretty tall. Butterflies are a no no so don't feed them. Buy crickets or dubia roaches, you dust them with calcium without d3 everyday, calcium with d3 twice a month, multivitamins twice a month, I wouldn't recommend keeping him though. He won't dig amd find bugs, so that was pretty pointless, you'll need a UVB light for reptiles and a heatlamp, fenerally 40 watt.
Click to expand...

sorry for some reason i thought it was 30 dergrees lol!
 
Hello, welcome to the forum :) Looking after a Chameleon needs a lot of research, which should really be done before you have one........ If you want to get a good environment for him, he needs lots of foliage and branches to climb on. The bigger the cage is, the better. You will need a tubular uv bulb (reptisun or reptiglo). You will need a basking bulb (just a regular household bulb is fine). The cage should have a gradient of temps, so the cham can always be comfortable (start at 85F for the basking, 70F as the ambient until we know what kind of cham you have). You will need calcium powder - one kind with no d3 for everyday use, and one kind with added d3 for twice monthly.
You will need to feed crickets, locusts, or roaches as a staple food -flies have too much protein for him in captivity. You will need to give twice daily mistings (using a pressure pump hand mister with a constant fine spray is good - an automated misting setup costs a lot of money.....)
Please post a picture so someone can tell you exactly what species you have.
 
First off, the insects would be better/more natural to feed him if they were alive. Ants contain formic acid so I don't think they are good for a chameleon. Since I don't know the insects found in Cypress, I can't tell you what butterflies would be safe, or other wild insects for that matter...but generally any that are really bright colors (red) are not safe. Often roaches, mantises and grasshoppers are safe.

I would use a dripper and mist the cage a couple of times a day. The dripper can be as simple as a tall deli cup that has a tiny hole in the bottom so that it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second.
Do you have any leaves or plants to put in the cage? Branches?

I would also recommend using a bigger cage to give it more room to move around. If you are leaving it outside, I would recommend that at least part of the cage should be in the shade so that the chameleon can escape from the sun and the cage should be mesh/wire for airflow.

Can you post a photo of it please?
 
Thank You very much guys for the useful information you gave me.

However I wont need any further guidance because I set my buddy free. I searched in 3 pet shops for the kind of food you told me to give him but nobody had it. Ι bought some kind of food that is for vegetarian reptiles but i guess that it isn't the proper one. Also I saw him striving to get out from his small cage. Furthermore I saw cats staring at him which I suppose is very stressful for him.
Having in mind all these I decided to take him back where i Found him. In the nature. I Chose a place away from the city where there are lot of pants to climb on and many insects because of a nearby lake. I believe he will love his new home and he will be safe.
I really loved him these two days that I had him. He was so harmless and quiet creature watching around trying to protect himself. Chameleons are the most magnificent and lovable creatures.

Some asked where am I from. I am from Cyprus an eastern Mediterranean island. Above Egypt.

I attached some pictures of him just before I went to set him free for those who asked



100_0811.jpg

100_0809.jpg

100_0807.jpg
 
I think that letting him go was the best thing you could do since they are native to Cyprus! Looks like a full grown male to me! Breeding season is coming up so maybe he'll find a girlfriend!
 
I think you made the right choice to let him go, they can be difficult to look after even if you have kept reptiles before and you have all the right equipment. He looks quite healthy, but he sure didn't like that little green cage, or having his photo taken.......
 
Indeed they are native in Cyprus though rarely someone can meet one. Maybe they know to hide well.

Perhaps this is why he was so miserable. He Iived all his live free and one day he found himself in a cage.
 
Rampesatratana said:
Indeed they are native in Cyprus though rarely someone can meet one. Maybe they know to hide well.

Perhaps this is why he was so miserable. He Iived all his live free and one day he found himself in a cage.
Click to expand...

They really can hide well, and it does make them unhappy when they know that people and cats can see them.......
If you want to look after one in the future, I suggest looking at keeping some other lizards first, maybe Anoles? because they like to climb and lots of leaves too........
 
They do hide well! Also, depending on how cold your winters get they may brumate or hibernate...so you likely wouldn't see them at all then.
 
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