Thinking of buying a Cham!

[HebrewHammerXVI]

Hi everyone, I just signed up tonight after doing a bit of poking around through the internet as well as your forums on some basic Cham stuff. Anyways, I am very interested in getting a Chameleon, I think they are one of the most fascinating creatures. However, I have a few questions that I would like to ask before I made my finale decision seeing as I wish to be a good and able care taker. Price is no problem, I was expecting minimum around $1,000 for a full set up.

1-Can I take it out of its cage? (I live in an apartment) let it crawl around the place, fake plants, thing like that. From what I had read on these forums they are pretty anti social and scared of the care takers, is that correct? I ask simply because I really would love to interact with it a fair amount.

2-What type should I get that would match more of the above questions preference (if that is at all a possibility). I saw that a CB Panth or Veiled was the common for beginners. I do personally prefer the panthers I think simply because I'm not as huge of a fan of the head shield when they get older, I like it to stay some what normal (personal pref. No offense!!).

3-The other question was I was planning on keeping it in my room but I am afraid that due to my TV/Xbox being in there it could frighten him or keep him up which is the last thing I want so would it be better to possibly keep him down stairs in a quieter area?

4-It was stated in a few threads that they liked the cages to be higher (simulation of the trees), is it 100% necessary?

5-Cage cleaning: how often and it is very difficult? I heard they were very clean creatures for them most part.

6-Bugs. I am not a fan of them, however I will definitely do it, do you get more used to handling crickets and such over time? Can they have the same effect if they are already dead?

7-Breeders, If i I do go through with this (trust me I will not take the feedback I receive lightly) are there any specific breeders/websites to use? (btw, is shipping them okay? it seems horrifying for one to be stuck in a moving box for so long, I don't want it to go into shock or anything). I was looking into FLchams.com, seemed nice but want feedback first.

Lastly, this is kind of independent but this was what I was kind of having in mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkPtTAzHOK8&feature=related

Friendly, beautiful colors.

 

[eeekroar]

1-Some are more sociable than others. Most just want to be left alone.This does not mean you will get one that hates all interaction, but they are not a dog. Hope for the best, but be ready to accept the worst.
2-Panthers, and Veiled are what most beginners start off with.
3-As long as you cover him up at night, you will have no problem with him being in the same room as your tv.
4-Yes, I would recommend placing your cage higher up since that is more similar to their natural environment.
5-Cleaing is very easy.Clean the dead leaves out, wipe down the bottom, and clean the poop off the leaves.
6-Yes, you will get used to handling crickets. At least, most people do. No, you want to feed them live bugs, that are properly gut loaded.
7-There are a ton of reputable sponsors for this site that breed chameleons. Think about purchasing one from them, or a reputable member from the forum. Shipping should be no problem.

Just do some more research to decide if you are ready to accept the task. There is thousands of pages of information on here. Just spend hours reading through post, and you will have a better understanding of what it takes.

 

[carol5208]

you asked some great questions! the previous member pretty much answered all of them for you. He is right, that it is luck of the draw so to speak on personality but you can work with them and hopefully get them to a place where you can get them in and out of the cage without getting bit or puffed up at. Mine readily walks out onto my hand. I just took in a 4 yr old panther and he is just the sweetest thing. And so is my other. They are super clean animals and their poop and pee is all in one! They only go about once a day or every other so it is really nice to clean up after! Chameleons really do not hear but are said to sense vibrations instead so noise will not really bother them. Lights will at night. As far as the heighth it is not necessary for them to survive but they are much more comfortable up high. You really should not leave the cage sitting on the ground if that is what you mean. Good luck in your search and please feel free at anytime to ask any questions that you may have! No questions are dumb! Remember that! Welcome to the forums and hope to see you and your chameleon around in the future!!!

 

[Olimpia]

Hey, welcome to the forum! It's good that you're asking questions before taking the plunge. Other members have given you good answers to your questions.

My pair of panthers are super friendly, but I've had a couple that were not. But all of them were allowed to roam the apartment and go to fake trees I had set up for them. I find that even if you don't get to hold your chameleon a lot (because he's aggressive) the roaming is still pretty darn fun to watch. I had one mean one that wouldn't really want me holding him, but if I left his cage open he would walk across the livingroom, climb up my console table, and watch the TV from a little chunk of grapewood I had up there. Every single day lol So come noon, he was always out on or near the TV "watching" it with me.

 

[HebrewHammerXVI]

Thanks for all the speedy replies guys! It looks like from the information I received that I will be moving forward with buying a chameleon. Now just a few more species specific questions:

1-First off judging from some other threads I saw that males are slightly easier to care for, is this accurate?

2-Also I was thinking (color wise at least) going for a Nosy Bes, Tamatave,
Ambanjas, Ambilobers, however, is there a certain one that generally tend to be a little easier to care for/generally nicer? I know from what you guys said its mostly luck of the draw but just wanted to see if there was a generality.

Thanks!

 

[TyggyToo]

1-Can I take it out of its cage? (I live in an apartment) let it crawl around the place, fake plants, thing like that. From what I had read on these forums they are pretty anti social and scared of the care takers, is that correct? I ask simply because I really would love to interact with it a fair amount.
Don't count on it ever getting used to mammalian interference. I allow Mortimer Mensch onto a large plant when I can be there to watch him. Shayna Maideleh doesn't wander from her cage. To me they're both more 'fish' type of animal that I keep to watch the little microcosm of their world rather than as a companion.

2-What type should I get that would match more of the above questions preference (if that is at all a possibility). I saw that a CB Panth or Veiled was the common for beginners. I do personally prefer the panthers I think simply because I'm not as huge of a fan of the head shield when they get older, I like it to stay some what normal (personal pref. No offense!!).
That's funny! to me the panthers look like they're missing something!
3-The other question was I was planning on keeping it in my room but I am afraid that due to my TV/Xbox being in there it could frighten him or keep him up which is the last thing I want so would it be better to possibly keep him down stairs in a quieter area?
They don't care about the TV. Remember they have no sense of hearing. If the cage isn't ON the TV that is! Remember that your temp/humidity comfort level will be different from the chams. Lots of people keep them in their bedrooms though.

4-It was stated in a few threads that they liked the cages to be higher (simulation of the trees), is it 100% necessary?
I couldn't say 100%, but safety, or perceived safety, is important for any animal's wellbeing.

5-Cage cleaning: how often and it is very difficult? I heard they were very clean creatures for them most part.
Daily pick up of leaves, droppings, dead crickets. But there are also the filthy crickets -- and crickets are stinky. And every so often you want to do a more thorough sanitizing.

6-Bugs. I am not a fan of them, however I will definitely do it, do you get more used to handling crickets and such over time? Can they have the same effect if they are already dead?
Dead crickets are of no appeal to live feeders. Yes you get more used to them. They will escape. I can guarantee that with 99.99% certainty. Can you deal with that? I take the tube of crickets and shake it into a bag with a dash of calcium powder, then empty the crickets into the chams enclosures. I never touch them if I can help it, but I do hand-catch escapees if I can catch them. There are other feeder insects that are more costly, but less hassle. Still crickets are a part of life. BTW, think about where you're going to keep them too (remember the chams don't smell, but crickets do!). In your bedroom? <innocent blink of eyes> You can't just buy them and immediately feed them off, as they really need to have time to gut load

7-Breeders, If i I do go through with this (trust me I will not take the feedback I receive lightly) are there any specific breeders/websites to use? (btw, is shipping them okay? it seems horrifying for one to be stuck in a moving box for so long, I don't want it to go into shock or anything). I was looking into FLchams.com, seemed nice but want feedback first.

Lastly, this is kind of independent but this was what I was kind of having in mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkPtTAzHOK8&feature=related

Good Luck! I had some real concerns about what I could do or not when I first got Shayna. Pretty much everything you read here is 'the real deal', from high juvenile mortality to wonderful personalities to the horrors of crickets in the bathroom and free ranging chams on their window ledges. I couldn't be talked out of it either!

Submitted for your consideration,
Tyg

 

[HebrewHammerXVI]

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the reply. Can I keep the crickets outside? in a jug or something? Worms I can deal with, can I possibly substitute them with that? something that just cant jump/crawl on me or escape into my house. These crickets will be able to escape out of my wire mesh cage? even if its really tiny wiring? or are you just saying at feeding time ones liable to escape me. Lastly, I saw that hand feeding can make them more friendly to its owner if I only hand feed him his food (which I would like to know is bad or not) couldn't I technically be able to kill them first and then feed him them by just giving them a little jostle in my fingers (simulating movement). I promise I'm running out of questions lol.
Thanks again everyone for the help

 

[chameleonfan101]

I think they answered your questions but welcome to the forums!

 

[Ace]

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the reply. Can I keep the crickets outside? in a jug or something? Worms I can deal with, can I possibly substitute them with that? something that just cant jump/crawl on me or escape into my house. These crickets will be able to escape out of my wire mesh cage? even if its really tiny wiring? or are you just saying at feeding time ones liable to escape me. Lastly, I saw that hand feeding can make them more friendly to its owner if I only hand feed him his food (which I would like to know is bad or not) couldn't I technically be able to kill them first and then feed him them by just giving them a little jostle in my fingers (simulating movement). I promise I'm running out of questions lol.
Thanks again everyone for the help

you can cup feed the crix, have a decent bowl/cup opaque not clear or even a cut off half gallon jug with some screen and dump crickets

i personally free range mostly and hand feed, hand feeding is fine, alive is no issue and i think better, dont offfer freeze dried cricks or those in petstores that are the can O' something lol

you need a crickets or try dubia roaches as a staple feeder, you can use silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, superworms, mantids, moths, certain butterflies, Blue Bottle flies/house flies, grasshoppers, katydids, etc as other feeders

 

[ChappyMcChap]

I pinch the legs off my crickets so they don't escape, and the rubbermaid tub k keep them inside minimizes escapes. A breeder bin outside is heated but I just pull them from that and gutload them properly in a rubber maid inside and clean it regularly, little if any smell.

 

[LucasD]

Make sure you really have everything set up its arrival. Before I got mine, I spent too much time researching the chameleon and none researching crickets. When they arrived, I had no idea what to do with them, so a lot died on my first few shipments. Maybe it's just me, but I spend way more time feeding and cleaning the crickets than I do the actual lizard.