New to chams

[cyberlocc]

Okay so I'm new to chams and I have been reading for 2 days straight read a lot on this site and others. I have a few questions about general cham care that I kinda get weird if any findings for answers.

1, High Traffic rooms, I understand that they're happier in low traffic rooms but not everyone or at least not me has a room to devote to an animal. I would like to put one in the living room I have room for a huge cage I was thinking 5'tall 4' wide by 3' deep or so. Im going to get the small kit for the young cham at first and build my own cage over the next few months I have lots of ideas how to make a wonderful cage. The question is is that going to kill it from being in a high traffic room I would love to have one as does my wife but the traffic an issue we only have 2 rooms 1 is ours and 1 is our 1.5 year olds. We really don't have visitors often my desk is in there and the TV so we are always in there. Will the noises of the tv or my baby's shrieks of joy bother it that much. Are some chams more resilient to that type of atmosphere(we were thinking veiled or panther) If it would help I could build a type of Curtain to go around the cage sometimes to assist giving it privacy but not affect air. will bumps to the cage stress it too much I have ways to keep the baby away as best as possible but we know how baby's are.

Second question is at night does the cham need it completely dark. I know the uvb and uva need 12 on 12 off but what about other lights in the house will they be a problem. the reason I ask is my daughter recently has decided to become a night owl she goes to bed later and later lol. At current they go to bed about 6-7 am when Im getting ready to leave for work. They wake up around 4 when I'm about to come home. If the lights and action at noght would affect it would switching its perceptive of day and night around to match there's and then back as we adjust the baby's back over time.

As I said We would really like a cham and if any either of these will cause serious issues would there be a way to rectify the issues somewhat. And btw this is not my first endeavor in reptiles I have had 3 different snakes and 2 iguanas plus numerous little lizards throughout my life. The most recent was a 14 foot Burmese Python Which my wife hated and made me get rid of when she became pregnant for obvious reasons. This is however my first run with chams so I want to have everything ironed out before proceeding. Thanks

 

[Oliviabryant]

I would suggest putting the enclosure in your room, make sure no one is going to bother the Cham. Secondly no night time lights, they need the drop in temperature and the dark to sleep well. Thirdly panthers seem to be a little more hardy than veileds and it is a better beginner species. I would suggest another month or two of reading and posting all your questions on here before purchasing so you can ensure you are giving your Cham exactly what it needs.

 

[camimom]

I would suggest putting the enclosure in your room, make sure no one is going to bother the Cham. Secondly no night time lights, they need the drop in temperature and the dark to sleep well. Thirdly panthers seem to be a little more hardy than veileds and it is a better beginner species. I would suggest another month or two of reading and posting all your questions on here before purchasing so you can ensure you are giving your Cham exactly what it needs.

Actually veileds are hardier than panthers, but the care for both is very similar.

To the OP- the sounds wont bother any cham you get. they are basically deaf, they can 'hear' vibrations, but they have no outer ear.

They do need the darkness to sleep, but you can just put a sheet over the cage if needed to get it darker.

veileds are great starter species, I started with a veiled, then I went on to another species, and now I have veileds and panthers.

If you don't have a lot of visitors, and you don't stand near the cage and watch him all the time, he will be just fine in your living room.

 

[Oliviabryant]

Which ever you choose - buy from a breeder NOT Petco or petsmart. You will get an unhealthy veiled and it will be discouraging and heartbreaking to say the least. Even if they do not seem to be unhealthy I can assure you the medical problems will surface shortly after buying one from the big pet stores.

 

[carol5208]

I have always kept mine in my computer room where I and others of my family are in and out. They do fine and honestly, sometimes they will sit and watch me. I had the one cage right next to my computer and instead of going to the other side my guy would sit on the branch that was closest to me and watch me type away. I think this thing of locking them up in a room where no one ever goes is hog wash! Sorry, but that is my opinion. My chameleons are friendly and I handle them every day also which is frowned upon by many. To each his own!!! just letting you know that social contact is not going to kill your chameleon!

 

[Oliviabryant]

I have always kept mine in my computer room where I and others of my family are in and out. They do fine and honestly, sometimes they will sit and watch me. I had the one cage right next to my computer and instead of going to the other side my guy would sit on the branch that was closest to me and watch me type away. I think this thing of locking them up in a room where no one ever goes is hog wash! Sorry, but that is my opinion. My chameleons are friendly and I handle them every day also which is frowned upon by many. To each his own!!! just letting you know that social contact is not going to kill your chameleon!

I have my guys out all the time and they love human contact. They will come up to me on their own and hang out. However because they have child- there is a point where they will not want the Cham in the open where they could get the Cham or knock the cage over, or pull the light cord and knock the light down. That's my reasoning for having it in their room. Otherwise I don't see an issue, as long as they can child proof everything