Some questions from a possible new owner

artgecko

Member
Hello all,

This is my first post to the forum, although I've been lurking around for a while. I've owned reptiles for several years and keep many different species (boas, pythons, skinks, geckos, tree frogs, etc.) but I've never owned a chameleon. This is mostly due to two things that scared me off, their "short" lifespan and how "difficult" they are to keep correctly. I've done a little more research and found that initially what I had read (and had scared me off) many years ago isn't quite true but I'm still a little leery because I know they can be more sensitive than some of the other species I keep.

All that said, I may be considering jumping in and buying one...chiefly because my local petco has had 2 (I believe female), veiled chameleons for several months now and I saw them "fighting" over a good perch under their light the other day.. They are desperate to move these two and have reduced their price to $30. In this case, I am tempted not only because of the low price, but because I might make a better home than some others who might jump on them just for the low price as well, but may not do their research.

I do still have a few questions for you guys though, to determine if one of these chameleons would work with my current reptile setup and routine and also related to them being velied and female (I'm assuming female because they are solid green with no markings).

1. Is starting out with a female risky for a beginner and if so, what do I need to do to be prepared?
2. Are there any signs of illness that I should watch for / avoid?
3. My reptile room stays at around 75f - 78f (temp increases in the summer and is kept at 75 or higher via a heater on a t-stat). Humidity stays between 45%-55% (I use a room humidifier). Are these conditions ok for a chameleon cage setup or would they be problematic?
4. I have a colony of dubia roaches that I use to feed my frogs and geckos. Would I be able to use these as a primary food source? I absolutely hate crickets, so would supplement with worms / grubs but not crix. would that work as well?

If you have any other suggestions or think I should wait and start out with a male, etc. please let me know. I was planning on eventually getting a chameleon but these circumstances have caused me to consider it sooner than I would have otherwise and I don't want to make a bad decision.
 
Hello welcome!

I'm not an expert, but i'll see what i can help you out with to start...

I don't think chams are necessarily difficult, but i think the thing with them is their very specific needs along with being more sensitive to things like stress. Plus expect vet visits at some point. The money can add up quickly. This makes them bad pets for kids or people that want an animal they can ignore for days. They are also a bit stand offish more or less and tend to be show animals with some exceptions.

1) i don't have a female, but my understanding is they just have special care, for example they need laying bins and tend to have more health concerns.
2) yes, there are a lot, and some can be very subtle. I would spend some time reading into it.
3)Temp seems okay for ambient, you want it to drop a bit at night though, check out the care sheets though.
4)dubia are great, variety is important, as long as you are doing that, should be no problem ditching crickets.

Honestly i really don't like being pushy, but one thing i have to speak out against is buying animals and especially chameleons at petco. What they do is basically animal cruelty and by giving them your money you are encouraging them to stock more. Animals are seen as numbers to those stores. I realize people buy from them unknowingly as i have in the past. Please reconsider though, there are excellent breeders around. The price of the animal shouldn't matter so much, if $30 is the difference between you being able to buy one or not they may not be for you. Vet visits, amount of food, variety, water, enclosure, supplies, etc... adds up a lot. not trying to be rude, Just trying to help out!
 
james- thank you for your reply. I will have to look into the temp dropping at night, as the room thermostat is set to keep the temp at 75f (it does rise higher than that in the summer, but does not drop lower). I could place their cage away from the heater, which would give it more of a temp swing.

As for buying them at petco, you are right and I don't usually support petco (or buying from chain stores). All of my other animals were purchased at shows or directly from breeders online... The only exceptions to that are my colony of white's tree frogs and a couple crested geckos that I have, which are from petco. Both of those exceptions are due to who petco gets their stock from and in the case of the WTF, them being one of the few places that offers CBB bred in the US (most other WTF are wild-caught).

My thinking here, and why I'm considering it, is that these have been at the store for at least 6 months... and the store is now desperate to move them (thus the lowered price) which means that they would not be likely to reorder since they have not moved well for them. I can afford to spend more when purchasing an animal and from owning all of my other reptiles, I realize that the setup and feeding costs are where the real money is spent. My thinking is that the low price might attract people that are just interested due to the price and may not take good care of them.

All that said, I want to make sure a chameleon is right for the conditions I have and that I could provide a good home for one. I don't want to make an impulse decision when I can't meet an animals' needs, etc

Thank you again for your time and help.
 
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