New, and going to buy my first Cham

[Annie]

Hi!

...I'm new! I love animals and am obsessed with fish. I have about 15 fishtanks running, with several different types of fish.

More recently, I have discovered a love for reptiles. I purchased a curly tailed lizard a few weeks ago and have enjoyed him thus far.

The other day, I saw a baby veiled cham (female) at the store, and she sat on top of my index finger. While I realize that a cham this small may be difficult for me to care for (as a first time cham), I am prepared to do what I must to prepare. When I went to purchase her, the pet store was out of mesh habitats. They don't expect them for a couple months. How they think they're going to properly sell the baby cham is beyond me, but they may not care.

I plan on going to another store tomorrow to pick up a suitable habitat, and then go back and get her.

I'll be new to the world of chams, but I fell in love with her.

It's nice to be here!

 

[AFH]

First off, let me say welcome!

Second, PLEASE DO SOME RESEARCH ON THIS SITE before you jump into cham care!

Look, I know how cute they are and you want one, but please, please research first.

Here's some good places to start:

www.raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com
www.keepingchameleons.com
www.chameleonnews.com
Check out Justin Carl's blog entry on the care sheet (find one of his posts and click on his name and view blog entries)
Click on the Forums button and choose General Discusson. The top post has a good overview of chameleon care.

Also, check out this thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-your-biggest-mistake-10982/ it will give you a good idea of what problems others have had.

That being said, I highly recommend NOT buying from a pet store. It sounds as if the one you are considering buying from doesn't even have the essentials you need, so I would be highly dubious of the quality and health of the animal you would get. Go with a reputable breeder. There are quite a few around. You'll pay more, but I guarantee you'll be getting a healthy chameleon with traceable bloodlines, etc. You can also ask for help at any time. When you do, use this guideline: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Good luck, and again, welcome!

 

[kinyonga]

Here are some sites with lots of information that you might like to read...
http://www.adcham.com/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...als.com/vet/index.php?show=8.Gout.Basics.html

Its important that your husbandry be good...proper lighting, heat, food, water, supplementation and provision of insects that have been fed a nutritious diet and gutloaded. Females can also lay eggs without having been mated so its important to provide a suitable site for her to dig to lay eggs in the cage once she is sexually mature.

Providing a source of UVB (sunlight or UVB tube light) will allow the chameleon to produce vitamin D3 which will allow it to use the calcium in its diet. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic. Compact lights have been known to cause eye problems so they are not recommended.

Appropriate basking temperature will aid in digestion and thus play a part in nutrient absorption. A regular incandescent household bulb can be used (in a hood) of an appropriate wattage that puts the basking area at the right temperature.

Water can be provided for babies by misting the cage a couple of times a day. Once the chameleon is 2 or 3 months old, a dripper can also be used.

A variety of insects of appropriate size well fed and gutloaded and supplemented/dusted will make up the diet. Veileds are omnivores once they reach sexual maturity...so all plants in the cage should be non-toxic and well-washed both sides of the leaves. A variety of greens (dandelion, kale, mustard, collard, curly endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.) and a bit of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.) can be fed to the chameleon too. The greens and veggies can be used to gutload the crickets too.

Most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous so dusting with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings helps to make up for this.

I dust with a vitamin powder twice a month that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system. There is controversy about whether all chameleons can convert beta carotene so some people give a little preformed vitamin A once in a while. Preformed can build up in the system though and excess preformed can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD.

Since my chameleons rarely get sunlight, I dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are the main players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them you need to look at the supplements, what you feed to your insects and what you feed to your chameleon.

Most of the above information will apply to your other lizard too.
Hope this helps.

 

[Annie]

Firstly, thanks for the welcome and all of the links and information!

Look, I know how cute they are and you want one, but please, please research first.

I know you don't mean to be offensive by this, but I have been reading about the animal for days before deciding to make the purchase. I could have picked him up the day I saw him and stuck him in an aquarium, but I do not want to care for an animal the wrong way. Like I mentioned, I have 15 fish tanks. I belong to a fish forum, where I regularly help people care for their fish, and tell them similar things about housing/raising certain types of fish. Reading and understanding the needs of an animal is essential in proper care for a creature. I understand that.

That being said, I highly recommend NOT buying from a pet store. It sounds as if the one you are considering buying from doesn't even have the essentials you need, so I would be highly dubious of the quality and health of the animal you would get.

From my vast experiences with fish, I'd be the first to say that the majority of the pet stores out there do not know what they're talking about and often house the animals they are going to be selling in poorly conditions. This cham has been there for a week. You're correct in that I don't know where she came from. Yes she was very cute and yes she's very small, but I'd still like to take a shot at purchasing that particular one and housing it. I don't mind the expense of proper housing and even contacted FlChams about ordering their housing, and I'm going to try to do it the right way.

Thank you both for the links and all of the information.