Is It Worth it?

[lizardlover15]

About to purchase m first chameleon. Its alot of cash and effort into getting them the proper setup and buying them, but after all you have spent and done. Just one simple question, do you think that was worth it? woudl you do it again and what do you love so much about chams? also, about how much do you spend on your chams monthly?

(Money is not an issue, about to buy my first cham and this is simply curiosity!) thanks

 

[jannb]

Yes, it's worth every dime. I spend what ever it takes because: https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-about-these-strange-24507/

 

[philanddeb818]

Worth every penny and every effort

These graceful creatures are dependent upon us, but what they give back is undeniably a most amazing experience. I am so happy to just gaze upon them as they move about and do their daily routine. They have personalities and a very intelligent nature. Imagine if you could see what was going on around you in such a hyper-vigilant manner! They have a unique brain to engage all they’re taking in.

Perhaps Chameleons do not appeal to all people, but for me, it’s like a breath of fresh air every time I’m with them. I truly adore them.

If you give them all they need, and you have a heart for nature, they’ll give you more than you’ll know.

There are a lot of ways to feed your Chameleon for a lot less than commercially grown feed. If you want information, you can pm us.

Cheers,

Phil and Deb

 

[ronnie]

These graceful creatures are dependent upon us, but what they give back is undeniably a most amazing experience. I am so happy to just gaze upon them as they move about and do their daily routine. They have personalities and a very intelligent nature. Imagine if you could see what was going on around you in such a hyper-vigilant manner! They have a unique brain to engage all they’re taking in.

Perhaps Chameleons do not appeal to all people, but for me, it’s like a breath of fresh air every time I’m with them. I truly adore them.

If you give them all they need, and you have a heart for nature, they’ll give you more than you’ll know.

There are a lot of ways to feed your Chameleon for a lot less than commercially grown feed. If you want information, you can pm us.

Cheers,

Phil and Deb

Ditto to the above post!

 

[sandrachameleon]

For many people it is worth it. me included.

However For many people, it turns out NOT to be worth it. You have to have a considerable interest in chameleons AND in insects, imho, or why bother?

chameleons dont give back the way a dog, bird, cat, rodent pet or even a beardie does. They often dont want anything to do with their keepers whatsoever. They are fairly costly, in terms of upkeeping proper lighting, vet bills and such. There is a daily time commitment, cleaning up poop, watering, raising bugs, etc. And its not easy to find a cham-petsitter so planning even short vacations can be logistical chores.

I've seen heard and read about far too many people who get a chameleon only to realize 6 months later that its not what they had fantasized it would be like. the "cool" factor wears off. The cage cleaning becomes a chore. The crickets are noisy. etc Fecals dont get done, basic or severe health issues come up and are not properly addressed, expensive vet bills are the excuse for not doing anything, and the chameleon ends up suffering.

Basically, if you cant set aside an hour a day, if you think the cost of the chameleon itself is expensive, or if you havent got a thousand in the bank at all times for emergencies, dont do it.
If you CAN do all of the above AND you think you can sit and watch a slow moving, fasinating creature from afar and that's enough for you - Go for it. I love having chameleons, and its been well over ten years now. Im addicted!

 

[hallenhe]

Definitely worth it. The set-up is pretty much a one time expense, the chameleon can be a big initial outlay but once you receive it you're so excited you forget the money. I pay maybe ~$40 a month at the petstore; that's food for chameleon, leopard gecko, tiger salamander, frog, three newts and an assortment of fish, so the cham itself would be less (and I could pay less if I bought wholesale or raised my own bugs). So - food costs are probably comparable to a dog or cat; or just about a monthly cable bill (and the cham is definitely more worth watching than cable!)

 

[codiwatkins]

Yes it is definetly worth it!! Which is why many of the forum members have more than one chameleon!! And most have many diffrent kinds of chamleons as well!!

I would say to expect to spend maybe $10 a month on cham food. This number can be reduced if you invest in a large amount of diffrent kinds of bugs and they reproduce.

If you only feed your Cham crickets(not suggested) You can buy 30 for $3.18 with tax at petco or petsmart. My cham takes a little over a week to eat 30 large crickets. He is around a year old. I also feed my cham blue bottle flies which I think I paid like $7 for over a month ago and I still have about 50 puppa left.( I release them into his cage as they turn into flies.) You can also buy a 50 count superworm tub at petco or petsmart for $3.00, it will last you for well over a month. I would suggest buying bugs from forum members. There is a wide variety and they all have great prices! Chamelonboy has silkworms, Sara has dubia roaches and starter colonies, and ssswisss(sp) had mantis.........They all have very good prices for their bugs. There are many other forum members that have these bugs as well, these are the people I have dealt with directly!

I havent noticed any change in my electricity or my water.

While preparing for your cham I would suggest putting at least $200 in a Chameleon emergency savings, just in case your cham gets sick. I would also suggest taking it in for a well cham check up when you first get it to make sure it is parasite free. My visit cost me $50 with the fecal check. ( if you buy your cham from a breeder here on the forum you probably wont have to worry about the parasite check, but its always nice to here an expert tell you that your cham is healthy. The first week you have your cham will probably be VERY stressful because you find yourself constantly worrying about it.

Anyways I could go on forever, but I would Def get a cham. Not only are they a plesure to own, but a wonderful hobby. You get to learn about bugs and plants along with all the things you learn about the chameleon its self.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PURCHASE!! and make sure to post a pic of the little guy/girl when you get it!!

 

[jojackson]

If you only ever have one chameleon, its worth it for the experience in itself alone.
I certainly find all associated cost, time & maintainance worth it, I find watching my fella, feeding, sunning, even cleaning is less a chore than part of the enjoyment.
As somebody has mentioned, they really dont do much at all, some would say its like owning a peice of exqisit art, you cant do anything much with it but enjoy looking at it.
I consider my chameleon a peice of living art!
Ask yourself exactly what you expect from owning one, other than freinds telling you its cool. The novelty will wear off, but when it does, if you still enjoy it, then you made the right choice.