Potential new owner. :)

L

Lyndypop

New Member
Hello! I'm here learning all I can to successfully take care of a chameleon! I may be getting one from a friend of mine in a few weeks, depending on the circumstances. Regardless, it's still great to learn the details on these neat little guys! Sadly, I don't have much for funding at the moment, but I feel that I could provide a much better environment for her if I can't convince my friend that his ways are wrong.

My friend was housing firebelly toads, anoles, geckos, and two chameleons together. The real kicker is, he added a bearded dragon to the mix. To my complete surprise (ha) the bearded dragon has been growing extremely quick (almost over a foot long) and has already eaten the smaller lizards. My friend "let the firebellies go," and the male chameleon died. and now, after a few months of setting this whole crazy thing up, has only the bearded dragon and a female chameleon left. (I'm not sure of the species, I don't have her on hand so I can't really figure it out just yet.) I've been telling him from the beginning that this is a terrible, TERRIBLE combination of reptiles! If I can't encourage him soon to separate the bearded dragon from the chameleon and put them in proper conditions, I'm going to just buy her from him.

I saw her today and half her tail is missing, but he insists they get along, haha. He doesn't want separate enclosures due to space, so I have a feeling I will be buying her within the next week or so. Amazingly enough, she seems in good health aside from the missing tail.

It'll be crazy if I take her in, because I'm currently living in an apartment with my boyfriend, Aussie, and my two hedgehogs. XP I'm going to get the UVB light and some good furnishings, but currently I only have a 20 gal. fish tank with a mesh top without gauges to put her in until I get caught up on my bills within the next month or so. Will that be okay for a temporary enclosure?


One more quick question- I've read from different resources that you should not handle your chameleons. Is this inaccurate? I've seen pictures of people handling their chameleons on this site, as well as hanging out on desk tops and in backyards, away from their enclosures. When I picked my friend's chameleon up she didn't hiss, change or flare her colors, and as soon as she found a spot to settle in she fell asleep, so I don't think she was very stressed out from being handled.
 
Lyndypop said:
Hello! I'm here learning all I can to successfully take care of a chameleon! I may be getting one from a friend of mine in a few weeks, depending on the circumstances. Regardless, it's still great to learn the details on these neat little guys! Sadly, I don't have much for funding at the moment, but I feel that I could provide a much better environment for her if I can't convince my friend that his ways are wrong.

My friend was housing firebelly toads, anoles, geckos, and two chameleons together. The real kicker is, he added a bearded dragon to the mix. To my complete surprise (ha) the bearded dragon has been growing extremely quick (almost over a foot long) and has already eaten the smaller lizards. My friend "let the firebellies go," and the male chameleon died. and now, after a few months of setting this whole crazy thing up, has only the bearded dragon and a female chameleon left. (I'm not sure of the species, I don't have her on hand so I can't really figure it out just yet.) I've been telling him from the beginning that this is a terrible, TERRIBLE combination of reptiles! If I can't encourage him soon to separate the bearded dragon from the chameleon and put them in proper conditions, I'm going to just buy her from him.

I saw her today and half her tail is missing, but he insists they get along, haha. He doesn't want separate enclosures due to space, so I have a feeling I will be buying her within the next week or so. Amazingly enough, she seems in good health aside from the missing tail.

It'll be crazy if I take her in, because I'm currently living in an apartment with my boyfriend, Aussie, and my two hedgehogs. XP I'm going to get the UVB light and some good furnishings, but currently I only have a 20 gal. fish tank with a mesh top without gauges to put her in until I get caught up on my bills within the next month or so. Will that be okay for a temporary enclosure?


One more quick question- I've read from different resources that you should not handle your chameleons. Is this inaccurate? I've seen pictures of people handling their chameleons on this site, as well as hanging out on desk tops and in backyards, away from their enclosures. When I picked my friend's chameleon up she didn't hiss, change or flare her colors, and as soon as she found a spot to settle in she fell asleep, so I don't think she was very stressed out from being handled.
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It seems your friend is highly irresponsilbe. I would do my best to make him/her take the chameleon out of the shared cage. It he/she wouldn't I recommend taking the chameleon. A fish tank is not a correct cage to house a chameleon, you can't search on craiglist for a used meshed cage if you don't have much founds now.
You can hold your chameleon if she is not scared or stressed. Usually it takes time for them to get use to people, some never do.
When you said she fell asleep, did you mean during the day? Sleeping during a day is a sing of illness.
 
I'll look for a meshed cage there. I've searched my local classifieds, etc. as well. The tank my friend wants to put her in is also a fish tank. I've been telling him the requirements and needs that both of them have as very, very different for months, but he insists they are fine. He's offering her for fifty dollars though, which isn't bad compared to the $150 he paid for her, so I'm probably just going to pick her up as soon as I can.

I saw her at night, so I don't think she's sick, I think she was tired. XD
 
I think that's way too much. First of all, vields don't cost 150$ unless in a pet shop. 50$ for a vield who is missing half tail, was housed in a terrible conditions... But still it's better to take her from him as she would die there sooner then later. Hope you can save her. You can put her in a fish tank, but for no more then a couple of days and make sure are temps won't be too high, cause you can cook her:eek:
 
The cheapest housing to fill the gap until you can get something more permanent is one of those collapsible mesh laundry baskets. You can usually get them for a few dollars, even better if you can get the ones with a lid.

It would be a really good idea for you to find out for sure what species she is, more than likely she's a veiled, but she could be a Panther, Jacksons or Senegal. It's highly unlikely for her to be anything else. If he got her from a local pet store like Petco she's probably a Veiled, but may be a Jackson. Google pictures of those species and let us know which one most resembles her.

Before you go shopping, have a look at this thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/frequently-asked-questions-71620/ and write a list of essentials to get you started. Once you have your general list, you can start looking through the forums to find the cheapest place to get them, or just ask on this thread. Walmart will be your friend ;)
 
A Chameleon is not supposed to fall asleep on you, that indicates health problems. Chameleons almost always "Look" healthy right up until they die with a few exceptions like MBD, visible infections etc.

My guess is 50 bucks for an animal that is likely to be dead within the month is a bad investment and another week might be one week too long. If you can get her sooner she would be better sitting on a ficus tree in your living room. All you need for an enclosure is a frame and some screen. With a little ingenuity and very little money you should be able to come up with an enclosure. Search DIY Enclosures, or homemade enclosures on this site for ideas.

I Like Seeco's inexpensive tubes: https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-methods-part-3-outdoor-caging-72563/

And FYI your friend is an idiot and has no business owning animals. Chameleons are not tropical aquarium fish that can thrive in a community tank, they are solitary ambush predators who spend the majority of their time trying to not be seen.

If you can find the species people here could give more specific assistance. For now I would go pick it up and promise to pay your friend when you get paid. If she dies before then don't pay your friend. Or if it were me I would just not pay them ever and lose a friend I have little time for idiots as friends.

Pick up a ficus, a cfl uvb 5.0, a clamp shop light to put the bulb in, a laundry basket and some metal mesh to fasten to the top of the mesh basket, a decent squirt bottle with a fine mist setting and you have a good temporary start for under 40 bucks.

Good luck!
 
First of all, thank you everyone for your suggestions and support! :) I didn't even think of the laundry basket, that might actually be what I have to do for the time being.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get her and have her settled in. I *think* she is a veiled chameleon, but the male he had with her had horns, so I'm not entirely sure.

I'll ask him if I can pay him later. There's no way he's going to let me have her for free, so even though the price is higher than it should be for the conditions she's been in, I'm going to pay it and hope she gets healthier.

She may be dehydrated. He has water bowls up on the sides, usually has the humidity up and mists them, but last time I went over there the humidity was at 30% and everything was bone dry. I know they don't use bowls, but, I'm sure you have gathered so far that my friend doesn't exactly care. XP

DanSB, thanks for that list. I wasn't sure if a humidifier was a must, even with a temp cage, so that definitely makes it easier knowing I could use such a simple set up until I can get better supplies. I wish I was more prepared! I've been reading the frequently asked questions, even before I posted, and I was still lost on what was an absolute necessity for a situation like having a temp cage.
 
If the male had horns then he was probably a Jackson, with anyone else I'd say that makes the female likely to be a Jackson too, but from the sounds of your friend, she could be anything!
 
Oh, I will! I'll post up pictures, updates and everything as soon as she comes home. Hopefully moving doesn't put fatal stress on her.


I'm pretty sure they were both the same kind, because when he got them he said the pet store told him they would breed. But then again, you never know, because they were the ones that told him that housing all of those things together was totally fine. Ridiculous!!! (That was his argument for keeping them all together.)

I'll be picking her up before Friday, so hopefully all goes well between now and then. I got the laundry basket today, which is pretty spacious for what it is, and I'm going to pick up a ficus. I saw one today, but it was gigantic. If I can't find one, I'll just use plastic until I can, because I want to get her asap.

I'm buying crickets tomorrow, what other kinds of bugs would be good to boost some nutrients? I know gutloaded crickets work, and a large variety of other bugs, I'm just curious what would be best for a quick health boost.
 
Lyndypop said:
I'm buying crickets tomorrow, what other kinds of bugs would be good to boost some nutrients? I know gutloaded crickets work, and a large variety of other bugs, I'm just curious what would be best for a quick health boost.
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I would say silkworms and hornworms. These are the ones you can feed daily and aren't fat, but yet very tasty (not that I tried ;)).
 
She may well be pregnant, so that's something to keep in mind. If she is a Jackson she will produce live young that sometimes need assistance to escape the sac they are born in. If she isn't a Jackson, she may lay eggs and will need a laying bin to tunnel into and bury them.

Good luck, never worry about posting too often or too much on this thread, especially pictures as soon as you can.
 
I don't know if she is pregnant, the male has been gone for some time. I'll look up breeding/gestation/etc anyway. :)

Edit**I didn't realize it took so long for them to hatch/give birth. o_o I'll be sure to put a thing in there. I'd have to anyway, what with unfertilized eggs and all. So if she does lay eggs, or the first time she does it, what should I do? They may or may not be fertilized. (Assuming she's a veiled, for now)

And thanks! It's always nice to find a forum where people are nice!

Silkworms and hornworms, got it! Just not the tomato ones, because they're toxic. (If I read that right.)

So I'm getting her and a humidifier from my friend for forty bucks, which isn't bad considering the previous offer. I'll be picking her up either tomorrow or Thursday. I'll post pictures then. The females look so similar in the pictures of the veiled and Jackson, and I don't have her on hand for a comparison, but I have a feeling she's a Jackson. Did anyone have any critiques on that cage? It's not too bad on price, but if it's not right I'm probably just going to make one.
 
So, I won't be able to get her until tomorrow (so frustrating!!) but I have everything for a temporary setup. I'm 99% sure she's a Jackson, I'll post pictures to make sure.

So, we've decided that we'll be keeping for for a few weeks at most. We've arranged for someone to come get her and give her a permanent home. A boy in our state is looking for a chameleon, and his parents are helping him. He wants to earn a scout badge with her, and if it's a good situation for her that's where she's going. :) I'm definitely going to refer them to this site!
 
Lyndypop said:
So, I won't be able to get her until tomorrow (so frustrating!!) but I have everything for a temporary setup. I'm 99% sure she's a Jackson, I'll post pictures to make sure.

So, we've decided that we'll be keeping for for a few weeks at most. We've arranged for someone to come get her and give her a permanent home. A boy in our state is looking for a chameleon, and his parents are helping him. He wants to earn a scout badge with her, and if it's a good situation for her that's where she's going. :) I'm definitely going to refer them to this site!
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Ha what does that scout badge look like?

Sounds good though, send him this way to get all the husbandry knowledge he'll need though!
 
I don't know. XP From the sound of it, he is intending to keep her, but the badge for keeping a reptile happy and healthy for a long time is the goal. I talked to the dad, so the parents know and are helping him with it. If it turns out to be a sketchy place to send her, I won't. They posted a local add looking for a chameleon, so I called. It's quite a drive, but we're personally delivering her, so we can see where she's going to live, etc. I'm definitely going to keep in touch with them, and recommend this forum to help them out.

I really wish we could keep her, but our place is very small, and there's not really a way we can keep up with buying all her needs right now. So, I decided it was best to give her a home that could. Plus, the idea of bringing her home has really stressed out my boyfriend. I got him to agree to keep her for a few weeks, but even then it's been hard trying to get him on board with setting things up to bring her home. I wish we had her NOW, but my friend is working and we're picking her up tomorrow. Hopefully she's still doing alright. We have the ficus, laundry basket, and I've started a cricket colony, etc. (Even if we aren't keeping her, it's nice to have the crickets for the hedgehogs too, haha.)
 
So we finally brought her home. :) She kept falling asleep on us on the way here, but my boyfriend held her when we got home and we hand-watered her by letting it drip on his arm, and she perked up and drank quite a bit, then kept falling asleep again. We tried for about a half hour to feed her, but she wasn't interested, so we put her in her basket with about five crickets for now. Hopefully when she's settled down a bit she'll pick them up. She's been in her cage for about fifteen minutes, and is up exploring, which I hope is a good sign.

Her cage has a ficus in the middle, but she was having a hard time finding somewhere to latch on to, so we poked plastic plants into the sides too, so she had more stuff to climb on, which helped a lot. My friend gave us the chameleon, a humidifier, a cricket dusting kit with calcium, the plastic vines, and a lamp. Pretty good for forty bucks. We also need a new top system. The basket didn't come with one, so we just used that for now. If we do keep her (which may happen, the boyfriend is a little attached now, which is great. XD) we're picking up a cage in about two weeks. I know it keeps flip flopping, but if she becomes part of the family, she's a priority, so it's up to the boyfriend really if we keep her. If both of us are on board, it won't be as big of an issue to get the money for her. I just don't want to be the only one that wants her, and spend our money on something he doesn't want, you know? XP Haha.

I wish we would have gotten before and after pictures of her when we gave her water. She looked extremely thin before, but now she's filled out a lot, and is a ton more active. XD

After looking at the different pictures and seeing her again today, I knew she was a veiled chameleon. XD I asked my friend about it, and he said he had a female Jackson and a female veiled originally. He thought the Jackson, the one that died, was a male though, I guess, because it was young, but found out later it was a female. Or something like that, I really don't know what he thought they were. Either way, she's a veiled. XD

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She looks much better than I was expecting! Keep an eye on that tail, it looks like it has been nipped off and there may still be an active infection there.
 
Yeah I was expecting something a lot worse than her. She is in fact a Veiled. But your friend isn't the brightest. You really should report those things he is doing in my opinion, its not fair to the animals and it is just silly. I know you guys are friends but there comes a point where its just out of control. Anyway on a lighter subject, is that the cage he gave you? Did he give you lights and everything or? Just make sure she has UVB, a dripper, basking light, supplements, and as a few other members said a laying bin if you can fit it into that tiny cage. I know you aren't keeping her for long but it is best to get her on the right track until a kid comes into the mix. That way he won't back track what you worked hard to maintain. But I am glad she is in your care now and I hope she does well :D
 
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