Hi my name is Kat. I am planning on getting a chameleon but I like to research things before jumping into them. I have no clue what I am looking for. I had a leopard gecko that lived a long life. I will be starting from scratch. I dont know what to get or what age is best. I think my lifestyle will dictate what is best for me. I am a mother of 5 yr old twins so sometimes it can get hectic here they do well with the salt water tank so I though maybe we could expand to something I want . I will need something hardy, and I would like to be able to handle it as well. Any suggestions would be great or a reference to a reputable source of info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Kat
New to Chameleons need advice on choosing
- Thread starter Renford
- Start date
Tootime
New Member
I have done saltwater fish and corals for years, I can tell you that this is much easier. As far as what kind, that I can't tell you. I went with a panther due to the fact I love their coloring. I would recommend doing lots of research first, this site is great for that and so are all the people. I would also recommend starting your roach colony first before getting the cham. If I could change anything I did this would be it. I bought a mistking as I like as little maintenance as possible with the hours I work. My kids love the lizard, my wife has not bought into it yet as she is worried about salmonella poison. My first one just shed for the first time today and I am still amazed at his new colors and brightness. Good luck...
Tootime
New Member
You can raise Dubia Roaches, they are really easy to breed and raise your own food. I just started raising my own, so for now I am stuck getting stinky crickets from the pet store. I still will have to order silk worms and super worms however the roaches are so easy that for around $100 I will have food from now on with little maintenance.
bbprinting
New Member
If you are looking to get a chameleon because you want to be able to handle him you might want to look into something else, you will see tons of people on here who handle theirs all the time and have very close relationships with the chameleons, but their are a lot of chameleons that you can't hold at all and some that are down right mean. It can be highly stressful on the chameleon when you try. I know when my kids were 5 they wanted to hold and carry around our dogs everywhere so I would assume the same for yours with the Chameleons. They require a lot of work on a daily basis and must be feed live insects at least every other day as adults. They can be very hardy animals but that is only after a lot of work, they are about 25 times harder than say a dog. Not trying to talk you out of it I just want you to see both sides of it. There are so many stories on here everyday of people who buy a chameleon because they love the idea of having one but don't take care of them the way they should and will not take them to the vet when needed and they end up suffering and end up dieing.
shugocharaseason4
Member
This video tells you all you could know about breeding Dubia roaches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nedCYxxfd5g
Enzo Veiled
New Member
It's great you're looking for research before you jump into a chameleon. They are as said before very hard to take care of and require daily feeding a and care taking. Like a child. If you're not okay with live insects, I would recommend a dog or cat. Chameleons are a very stressed lizard and can be feisty. If you're looking for a certain type of chameleon I would probably recommend a veiled or panther. Jackson's, I'm just afraid he will stab me with his horn haha.
I have a male veiled, I heard females lay eggs even when their by pregnant, like a menstral cycle or something.
Food: chams eat a staple diet of crickets. As treats you can give the mealworms and wax worms and silk worms etc.
Happy hunting for your Cham!
I have a male veiled, I heard females lay eggs even when their by pregnant, like a menstral cycle or something.
Food: chams eat a staple diet of crickets. As treats you can give the mealworms and wax worms and silk worms etc.
Happy hunting for your Cham!
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Hi and welcome to the forum!
This is the official forum chameleon care-sheet: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/
It will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to start off. That will give you an excellent idea of their care and what goes into it, and any questions you still have we're happy to answer. There's also a section about individual species profiles, so you can look at info specific to a veiled, or a panther, etc.
I think all of this will help you decide which is the best fit for you.
This is also a blog that outlines all the supplies you will need and the general cost, which will give you an estimate of what you might be looking at spending up-front to set up a chameleon: Average Cost of Owning a Chameleon
Any of the site sponsors located in Canada are very trust-worthy. We don't allow anyone to become a sponsor unless they have a great reputation.
And if you're a busy mom I definitely recommend automizing everything as much as possible, as it will give you less work. So I recommend that you put as much stuff on a timer as you can, like the lights, the misting system (if you get one, which I recommend but is optional, it just makes your life easier), etc.
And don't be scared off by the dubia roaches! These do not fly or climb, live and breed very happily in a large plastic tote, and don't smell or die like crickets do. They make excellent, very cost-effective food to raise so especially in Canada where it might be hard parts of the year to order in crickets, it might be a good idea to have something at home you can pull from.
This is the official forum chameleon care-sheet: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/
It will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to start off. That will give you an excellent idea of their care and what goes into it, and any questions you still have we're happy to answer. There's also a section about individual species profiles, so you can look at info specific to a veiled, or a panther, etc.
I think all of this will help you decide which is the best fit for you.
This is also a blog that outlines all the supplies you will need and the general cost, which will give you an estimate of what you might be looking at spending up-front to set up a chameleon: Average Cost of Owning a Chameleon
Any of the site sponsors located in Canada are very trust-worthy. We don't allow anyone to become a sponsor unless they have a great reputation.
And if you're a busy mom I definitely recommend automizing everything as much as possible, as it will give you less work. So I recommend that you put as much stuff on a timer as you can, like the lights, the misting system (if you get one, which I recommend but is optional, it just makes your life easier), etc.
And don't be scared off by the dubia roaches! These do not fly or climb, live and breed very happily in a large plastic tote, and don't smell or die like crickets do. They make excellent, very cost-effective food to raise so especially in Canada where it might be hard parts of the year to order in crickets, it might be a good idea to have something at home you can pull from.
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