Hello everyone! Let me apologize in advance if this get's long. My name is Nichol and I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm here because my children ( 9,11 and 17) have been begging for a chameleon. We've already got a bit of a zoo with 2 small parrots, 2 dogs, 3 turtles a reef tank and a stray cat colony. I know very little about reptiles and while (if we do decide to get a lizard) the children will be responsible for the everyday care and feeding it's my responsibility to make sure they are doing it right. I'm doing separate posts within this thread for each topic. Thank you in advance for your help and patience 
I was thinking of keeping the indoor enclosure in my nieces room as she runs her ceiling fan day and night so the best air circulation is in there, it's next to the AC so it's the coolest room in the house (it stays a pretty constant 70 degrees) and she doesn't allow the dogs in her room.
The enclosures aren't a problem as my husband and sons would enjoy building them together. We were given a fairly large "table top" waterfall handmade out of slate as a gift and I could dig it out of storage to use as the indoor water source. I've only run purified water through it so I know it's clean. Branches would be cuttings from my organic grapes and because I garden I would just alternate food pots of various heights (like blueberry in the winter with lettuce starts) as the seasons change.
The outdoor enclosure could be fairly large (3x8x7) as I want it next to my turtle pond (not close enough for a turtle to get it but close enough that I could use the creeping jenny and bamboo to provide shade for about half of it). I was going to put a hibiscus in there anyway and currently have ferns in hanging baskets and strawberries and herbs in the ground.) It gets good midday sun but because of the pond and wall it stays about 15 degrees cooler than say in my front yard in the shade). I'd just divert the drip line already in place so it would "rain" twice daily, the water won't be purified but there's nothing I can do about that. The cats won't go near it because the backyard is the dogs territory and they mostly come out at night and I wouldn't leave the lizard out alone.
That's all for now. After ya'll tell me what you think we'll discuss different types of Chameleons and what might be best for us, lights, food and whatever else you think I need to know. I'm also concerned about breeding. Namely I don't want to and if I have to breed it to keep the animal healthy it's really not a great pet for us. I also need to know about local reptile vets and what I can expect in costs.
I was thinking of keeping the indoor enclosure in my nieces room as she runs her ceiling fan day and night so the best air circulation is in there, it's next to the AC so it's the coolest room in the house (it stays a pretty constant 70 degrees) and she doesn't allow the dogs in her room.
The enclosures aren't a problem as my husband and sons would enjoy building them together. We were given a fairly large "table top" waterfall handmade out of slate as a gift and I could dig it out of storage to use as the indoor water source. I've only run purified water through it so I know it's clean. Branches would be cuttings from my organic grapes and because I garden I would just alternate food pots of various heights (like blueberry in the winter with lettuce starts) as the seasons change.
The outdoor enclosure could be fairly large (3x8x7) as I want it next to my turtle pond (not close enough for a turtle to get it but close enough that I could use the creeping jenny and bamboo to provide shade for about half of it). I was going to put a hibiscus in there anyway and currently have ferns in hanging baskets and strawberries and herbs in the ground.) It gets good midday sun but because of the pond and wall it stays about 15 degrees cooler than say in my front yard in the shade). I'd just divert the drip line already in place so it would "rain" twice daily, the water won't be purified but there's nothing I can do about that. The cats won't go near it because the backyard is the dogs territory and they mostly come out at night and I wouldn't leave the lizard out alone.
That's all for now. After ya'll tell me what you think we'll discuss different types of Chameleons and what might be best for us, lights, food and whatever else you think I need to know. I'm also concerned about breeding. Namely I don't want to and if I have to breed it to keep the animal healthy it's really not a great pet for us. I also need to know about local reptile vets and what I can expect in costs.
