newbie from Belgium

[Souli91]

Hello everybody,

I'm a 22 years old student from Belgium, i've always been interested by reptiles in general and i'm thinking about getting one Chameleon.
I'm reading a lot about Chameleons because it would be my first one and i think that this website is the best place where i can get the best informations about Chams because the french forums suck a bit....

Anyway, i'm not sure if it is the right place to ask some questions but i'm going to ask some general questions here so i don't open a new thread.
I'll probably get a Chameleon (if i find one) in one month so i have time to learn about it and get the right cage and set up everything properly.

-First, I would like to know if there is a better species to begin with because i hesitate between a pardalis and a jackson.

-I would like to get a cage of 46x46x91cm (sorry for the centimeters but we don't use inches and foot in central Europe) for the future juvenile that i'll get. I read that this size is too big for a 3-4 months Cham but i don't want to buy 2 cages so i would like to know if it will be really a problem or if there is a solution to use less space.

-It seems like there are not much offers for Chameleons in Belgium but tomorrow i'm going to a pet shop and see if they have 3-4 months Chams but i also considerate to pruchase the Cham on a website if i don't find anything in shops. So i would like to know if you know a good website that delivers in Europe. I also would like to know if that solutions is not a bit risky for the Cham.

Thanks for the answers and please be considerate that English is not my mother tongue so i still make mistakes.

 

[bigcappa]

Hi and welcome to the forums. This is one of the best places for chameleon knowledge and resources on the web. Please read through the introduction to newbie's that we have created(https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/). A lot of people start with Veiled/Yemen chameleons(http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/), they are widely offered(In America), and are more hardy then some other chameleons. I hope other Europeans will comment on finding some chameleons in Belgium or near you. Chrisz (https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/chrisz/) is in the netherlands maybe he can give you a little help. Also please feel free to pm me any questions you may have.

 

[absolutbill]

Welcome to the forums! You're doing the right thing by coming here, and as was already stated, the Chameleon Care Sheet on the Home page is a fantastic reference sheet to start with (as well as to reference later on).

Between panthers and jacksons, well, it depends on the temperatures that you'd like to keep them. Panthers prefer it warmer and less humid than jacksons, so it becomes a question of what type of environment you can provide. For example, I live in Florida where it's terribly hot and humid. However, I don't feel that I can provide a cool enough environment for a jacksons so I stick to veileds and panthers, but that's just me.

As for your cage, you can stick a piece of hard plastic in the bottom, to raise up the bottom until your new cham is big enough for their adult cage. This limits the amount of space they can roam until they are large enough to find their food, and not get lost. Typically I move my baby chams in their adult cages around 6 months, but like people chams can vary, so 2 chams that are the same age may not be the same size.

Your last question was about websites. I don't know about the ones in Europe, but what I can tell you is that here in the US a lot of us buy from experienced breeders through websites and have the chams shipped to our house. We use Fed Ex overnight, so the cham is only boxed up for about 12 hours - they leave at night and arrive usually by noon the next morning and they sleep through all that transport, so it's fairly safe to do. That's a great option if your local pet store doesn't have what you're looking for and a wonderful way to support breeders.

Good luck in your research, and feel free to PM me with questions if you'd like. Also, your English is fantastic, so good job - I wouldn't be nearly as proficient in a 2nd language!