Hi New here thinking about getting a chameleon

[Slifer892]

Hey I'm new here and I was thinking about getting a chameleon. I currently have a green iguana and feel that I am ready for a new challenge. Trust me when I say this green iguanas are as completed or even more so when it comes to their diet. Not that I am saying taking of one these beautiful animals is not hard as well. I am not sure on what books I should be looking at for info. If you could give me any links to other sites that has some good info that would be great. I was planning on either getting a veiled, senegal, or panther chameleon. Again thanks for any help I can get.

 

[Elizadolots]

Do it! You'll love having a chameleon in your life.

I strongly recommend you read the links posted in the "Basic Husbandry" thread stickied at the top of this forum.

 

[Pilotman800]

Welcome! This site is great! Lots of friendly people and good information.

Veiled chameleons and Panther chameleons in my opinion are the best starter chameleons.

Veiled chameleons are cheaper, but aren't as colorful as Panthers. Panther chameleons are more expensive, but are a lot more colorful. The care for both is pretty identical.

Some good Panther chameleon breeders are Chameleon Company, ChamalotChameleons (Dez on chameleonforums) and Kammers. (Chameleonsonly.com) You can't go wrong with any of them

A very good reputable breeder I know for Veiled chameleons are FLChams.com.

Chameleons have a lot of unique requirements. For a beginning chameleon owner, it is recommended to get a screen cage. LLLReptile.com has them, and is a fantastic site. They also have unique lighting requirements. They need both a UVB bulb, (We recommend the Reptisun 5.0) and a basking bulb. (Two separate bulbs in total)

A younger chameleon will eat around 15-20 crickets or feeders per day. They should also have a varied diet. Crickets, dubia roaches, superworms, and phoenix worms would be great to alternate with. Crickets are generally the main staple, though. When they get older, their appetite slows down a lot. Feeders need to be gutloaded and supplemented before given to your cham. Here is a blog about gutloading from a user named Sandrachameleon.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

In addition to gutloading, you need to supplement the crickets. You need dust them with calcium WITHOUT D3 every day right before you feed it to your cham, calcium WITH D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin twice a month. There is also a product called Repashy Calcium Plus which has all in one and is meant to be used every day.

There are also unique watering requirements. Chameleons don't like to drink from standing water. You have to give them their water by misting their cage. A lot of us on here using automated misting systems. These can be expensive, however. It is recommended to mist around 3 times per day for around 3 minutes each misting session. You should also have a dripper running so your chameleon can drink while you are not home.

If you get a female, you need to worry about egg laying. Female chameleons can form eggs without even mating. This is why you need a laying bin. If you fail to provide a laying bin to a female with eggs, she will eventually become eggbound and die. JannB has created a great, informative blog about this. I'll attach it below.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

If I forgot anything ill add it.

I just realized, this is the most i've ever written in one post. I should give it more detail and create my first blog.

 

[brooklynelizabeth]

Hello friend and welcome to the Forums, I also started my love of reptiles when i became a new owner of a baby Green Iguana, 5 years later, my green iguana Ruben is huge, and doing wonderfully, i decided to bring a chameleon into my family after a visit with Ruben the G.I. to our local herp doctor for his check up at the Herp Center, seeing these tiny little baby Veileds that had been born weeks prior i fell in love, I got to see the mother and father and just absolutely FELL IN LOVE with them. When they were ready to go home, i was first in line to grab one up, My Lambeau is 7 months old now, and between 6 horses, 2 dogs, a cat and of course Ruben (all which are spoiled rotten), Lambeau always seems to be the center of conversation with friends and family that visit. As you have said, tackling the care of a iguana is a learning experience, temperament, diet, habitat etc... the same goes for chameleons, and in my experience, this forum is a one stop shop for all your chameleons needs and answers to any questions you may have, many Members have posted blogs that address husbandry, feeding, and overall care of the chameleons. I wish you the best and once again, welcome to the Forums

 

[AndrewWelch]

Oh man, you've got yourself into a never ending cycle of awesomeness .

I got my first chameleon 2 weeks ago sunday, hes a little 4 month old veiled male and I have loved everyday of his company in my room . My one tip though, DONT BUY A CHAM FROM PETCO! They don't take care of the animals, and I think I bought Jose with parasites, I'm not sure though.

Good luck, and keep all of us posted!

 

[kinyonga]

Here's some more information I hope will help you ....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[Slifer892]

d3 ingestion?

I know that iguanas can not digest d3 which is in fact harmful to their kidneys, is then different for chameleons?

 

[Slifer892]

thanks

You guys have all been wonderful with the advice thank you much