Swollen Casque

[Lukie Pookie]

Thanks for the positive comment. I've really been thinking about breeding crickets because people on the forum say it really saves lots of money. I heard also that moving the chameleon in its cage also reduces stress, is this true?

 

[pssh]

I dont think so. The action of moving while being awake seems to stress them out more in my experience. I put them in a shoebox so that they fall asleep and when they wake up, they crawl out of the box and up into their cage.

 

[KingJulian]

No...any change stresses them out. We first got mine and originally had him downstairs...got him mostly settled and decided to move him upstairs to our room so there's no traffic. It took him another week to eat just from that move. Ours was already a year old when we got him, so he wasnt as fragile as the babies...I would definitely wait until you guys are nice and settled to bring him home, this way you can enjoy him. there will always be babies for sale. We researched for 6 months before bring our panther home. I made sure we had everything ready for him.

 

[Lukie Pookie]

I'll actually be moving in the beginning of July. Do you think it is enough time apart for the baby chameleon, or are the two changes too much?

 

[KingJulian]

It's up to you. If it was me, I would wait. I just think it'll be easier on you. Less to worry about during the move.

 

[Lukie Pookie]

Thanks once again for the positive feedback. We'll be getting him on Friday once the cage is all cleaned. I can't wait

 

[KingJulian]

Good luck with him this is the best place for info, even though some people can be kinda harsh, they all mean well.

 

[Lovereps]

I think that for someone's first chameleon, they are far better off getting a healthy baby than attempting to nurse an ill cham back to health.
Rehabilitation of ill or malnourished pets is best left to the more experienced.
After all, if you don't know what is "normal" then how can you recognize decline or improvement? Not easy, for sure.

That doesn't mean that newcomers cannot do it but it is a far less stressful and much more pleasant introduction to chameleon ownership when you start off with a healthy pet.

If you're getting a cham from an experienced, reliable breeder who sells chams that are well-established, you'll be off to a good start.

Please be sure to vary his diet and match cage and care conditions as close to the ideals as possible.
Chameleons have a very limited tolerance for conditions, watering and feeding not being perfect.

People have often been given incorrect care instructions from retailers and other "experts", so looking over the forum caresheets and asking questions is the safer option.
Here are forum caresheets with more details on the requirements for different types of chams:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

I hope you recognize that people here would like nothing more than for your new cham to live a long healthy life with you, so I hope you will stick around.
Best of luck with the new cham