Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Thank you Lynda for sharing this. I don't think that 3 years for female and 4 for the male is normal. I sure hope I can keep Luie and Camille for a nice long time. I try really hard to do everything right by them and give them regular vet attention.
12 to 15 yrs is average here for experienced keepers, one of mine is 9.
American feeding trends in comparison to ours seem to dramatically shorten lives.
We tend not to pump them full of food during the first 12 months to reach breeding size early, though sadly that trend seems to be catching on here now.
Most American beardies look fat to me.
If you look at beardies in the wild, you simply dont see fat ones, and by experience, keeping them on the lean side seems to work well for them.
Perhaps its this tendency to overfeed thats having the effect you describe.
I am afraid we really don't know what is normal. You see way too many going between the ages of 3 and 4. You can do everything right and still lose them to cancer, infection, tumors, strokes, etc. I am also willing to bet that most of them that made it over the age of 5 did not have Vet attention as regular Vet attention is not the norm in this hobby, nor do I think regular visits are needed. Fecals, yes, the stress of dragging them to the Vet for most animals, no.
We also have to think about the fact that we're taking natural selection out of the picture - Julirs, if I recall you lost one out of 69 baby veileds not long after hatching, had one with potential metabolic disorder (Hershey) and the rest were shipped off to new homes and still doing well last I heard - in nature, you wouldn't be seeing survival rates anything remotely like that and, while they're all healthy and wonderful animals, doubtless some are allowed to flourish under human care that wouldn't have made it in the wild (poor competitors for food and territory, e.g.). Our data on pets' lifespans incorporates both those animals that would have been "winners" in the wild, and those that may have been "losers", and this can confound matters.
I think the reason allot die early is because they do not have vet check ups and by the time they do take them it's too late and often they go to a vet that knows nothing about chameleons. I think the females often die early because they are not provided with the proper laying environment and often breed to much and overfeeding is a big problem. From what Lynda said she did use a vet for hers quite often. Dr. A recommends 6 month check ups and my guys love going to the vet and they are not stressed at all but I don't stick them in a box either. Luie sit on his tree in the exam room and when Dr. A comes in he reaches and grabs for him.