Veiled Chameleon cost

[Axotik Reptiles]

Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting my first veiled chameleon. I have done a lot of research and it seems like everyone has a different price.

I was just wondering what did you guys spend or how much you think I'm going to have to spend. My research has shown anywhere from $200-$400 including the Chameleon and all the accessories. I don't want to go over $250-$300.

Also Veiled Chameleon seemed like to best to start off with but if you guys have a different suggestion feel free to tell me! Not panther chameleons though, they are to expensive..

 

[Creaturelover123]

I cannot anwser the cost question (never had a veiled), but you are correct they are the best to start with. (Panther and veileds are pretty much the same care wise.)

 

[Kate]

I would advise getting all the set up before getting the Cham. I have had two veileds and they are amazing. I now have a panther and he is awesome.

 

[kokom05lb]

I would advise getting all the set up before getting the Cham. I have had two veileds and they are amazing. I now have a panther and he is awesome.

^ Buy all your supplies first! Dont let the pet store people bully you into buying unnessary items either.

 

[Axotik Reptiles]

^ Buy all your supplies first! Dont let the pet store people bully you into buying unnessary items either.

I was hoping to buy everything at once, also the Local petsmart here is very different from most, The people there actually take great care of the reptiles and will only sell there chameleons and other advanced lizards to people who can prove they are good owners. They also talk you into getting cheeper things that do the same thing as the bigger branded items.

But all they have now for chameleons is baby nosy be panthers starting at $249.. that's almost my limit for just the Chameleon

 

[AngieL]

We've spent about £800 to date! Enclosures, lights, plants, and the cham of course! Plus all the food and supplements and you need to have spare cash in case you need to go to the vet

 

[Lathelia]

I was hoping to buy everything at once, also the Local petsmart here is very different from most, The people there actually take great care of the reptiles and will only sell there chameleons and other advanced lizards to people who can prove they are good owners. They also talk you into getting cheeper things that do the same thing as the bigger branded items.

But all they have now for chameleons is baby nosy be panthers starting at $249.. that's almost my limit for just the Chameleon

It's better to buy the cage and supplies first. You should have everything ready when you get your cham. Monitor the temps and humidity for a few days, you can also post a pic of your enclouse here and ask if it looks ok. That's my opinion and I think it's best for your future cham, they are very sensitive creatures.

 

[Swayne8998]

If you want the proper set up, it will cost you anywhere from $600-$900, including the chameleon. I bought my guy at one year, and he was $150. You can get babies online from anywhere to $40-$70. Pet stores will rip you off and don't care properly for their animals--look for a breeder, or a reliable reptile store.

 

[oldskoolmodder]

It's better to buy the cage and supplies first. You should have everything ready when you get your cham. Monitor the temps and humidity for a few days, you can also post a pic of your enclouse here and ask if it looks ok. That's my opinion and I think it's best for your future cham, they are very sensitive creatures.

Everyone has had the right idea, set up your cage first. Figure out the temperature first. I had to buy a smaller wattage bulb because the first one temped in the 90's for my baby panther with the heat gun. That's a bit to hot for a baby and as stated above they are sensitive creatures.

It shouldn't take but a few days to figure out the right set-up and temps. Your new little chameleon will appreciate it as well. Make sure to mist a lot! Somewhere on here a member named Jannb posted a new keepers blog on Veileds we'll have to find it for ya.

 

[Swayne8998]

Yes, I was in preparation with my cage for at least a month. Calibrate your hygrometers and thermometers (Wkyd has a great blog on how to calibrate hygrometers). Setting up your cage with your cham in it will cause constant stress--extreme change to the cage can be very stressful. So I will agree, doing so will greatly reduce both your cham and your stress through the whole process.

 

[MrScowt]

well the cham itself is gonna be 100. so if you go online i got my reptibreeze medium at vetdepot.com for like 60 bucks. little things for the inside id run about another 30-50. also grabbing real stuff from outside saves money, just wash it. lastly are your lights...these can hurt a bit but to put a safe over estimate id say around 80-90. which leaves you a bit extra. at that point you gotta decide if you want to mist your cage everyday yourself or buy an automatic one OR build your own (like i did). what i did is went to petco and bought a water pump that i could fasten some fittings to out of the aqaurium section. then home depot and got a couple fittings and some tube, cost me all in all costed me about 40 bucks with the outlet timer from walmart. also you may wanna get a second timer for your lights for convenience. hope i explained enough.

AGAIN LIKE THEY ALL SAID GET YOUR SETUP BEFORE YOU GET THE CHAMELEON
just makes the whole process smooth for you and him/her.

 

[Chamlo]

I don't believe that petsmart actually CAN care for reptiles. Do they still display them in small tanks? Are the temps over 100 in the tanks? Just wanted to know cause their corporation kinda sucks. If you answered yes to the questions above don't buy from them. You might not be able to see the temp gauge but if their in a small tank it's proof enough. And petsmart with panther chams? That scares me lol. I was in my local petsmart the other day and the was a 2 month old veiled cham with MBD and was black in color. That place makes me sad. Be careful with petsmart or petco.

 

[CHScrusader]

Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting my first veiled chameleon. I have done a lot of research and it seems like everyone has a different price.

I was just wondering what did you guys spend or how much you think I'm going to have to spend. My research has shown anywhere from $200-$400 including the Chameleon and all the accessories. I don't want to go over $250-$300.

Also Veiled Chameleon seemed like to best to start off with but if you guys have a different suggestion feel free to tell me! Not panther chameleons though, they are to expensive..

I paid $90 for mine.. I got it at petco. Although, I will never buy another reptile from petco ever again. They don't know how to keep them healthy and properly care for them. I went to petco and they had 3 baby veiled chameleons I purchased one male.. I went to go get some worms at petco later that same week and I saw Whee the chams were at and it was empty, the worker said they died... So I recommend to avoid problems purchase from a breeder or at :

http://www.theveiledchameleon.com/?page_id=1185

 

[Axotik Reptiles]

Thanks for all the help guys!

I think what I'm going to do is build my own cage, it will cost a lot less and I will have fun doing so. I will build it around L=3' W=3' H=5'-6' so there is plenty of room. Maybe add a small border at the bottom while he is young so the cage isn't too big.

Also I live around an hour for any pet store so I can't drop by every day.. And the petsmart where I live is unlike any others, They have the baby chameleon in a medium-small sized screen cage with proper heat/humidity, there is only one petsmart in the province I live in and they are amazing. They make sure you are going to take care of your animal before they sell it to you. unlike pets unlimited, they don't care for anything..

I wanted to ask as well If meal worms is a good diet for a chameleon with a variety of other insects, It is really difficult to keep crickets alive and its and hour drive to get more. Meal/wax/super worms is what I feed my other reptiles with crickets and wax worms as treat once in a while. They also don't sell roaches where I live..

Also I heard Chameleons could eat veggies and like to nibble on live plants in there cage, I was wondering what kind of veggies are safe to feed and what kind of plants are safe to have in the cage.

Thanks for all the info guys, appreciate it!

 

[CHScrusader]

Thanks for all the help guys!

I think what I'm going to do is build my own cage, it will cost a lot less and I will have fun doing so. I will build it around L=3' W=3' H=5'-6' so there is plenty of room. Maybe add a small border at the bottom while he is young so the cage isn't too big.

Also I live around an hour for any pet store so I can't drop by every day.. And the petsmart where I live is unlike any others, They have the baby chameleon in a medium-small sized screen cage with proper heat/humidity, there is only one petsmart in the province I live in and they are amazing. They make sure you are going to take care of your animal before they sell it to you. unlike pets unlimited, they don't care for anything..

I wanted to ask as well If meal worms is a good diet for a chameleon with a variety of other insects, It is really difficult to keep crickets alive and its and hour drive to get more. Meal/wax/super worms is what I feed my other reptiles with crickets and wax worms as treat once in a while. They also don't sell roaches where I live..

Also I heard Chameleons could eat veggies and like to nibble on live plants in there cage, I was wondering what kind of veggies are safe to feed and what kind of plants are safe to have in the cage.

Thanks for all the info guys, appreciate it!

Mine eats mealworms everyday dusted with calcium without d3 daily.. I have like 2,700 small mealworms for my Cham and then it gets 2 crickets a day.. I hear you I live far away from a pet store too. I live way out in the mountains city is about 40 minutes away..and I'm not going to buy 1,000 crickets online and then pay like $30 for the shipping lol. I just feed it worms mostly

 

[camimom]

Mealworms should not be fed in place of crickets an roaches.

No one bug should make uP more than 40% of a Chams diet.

Also mealworms have a hard Exo Skeleton that when consumed in excess could potentially cause imapaction.

By providing as many bug types as possible you can also provide many different nutrients that each bug type possess.

 

[CHScrusader]

Mealworms should not be fed in place of crickets an roaches.

No one bug should make uP more than 40% of a Chams diet.

Also mealworms have a hard Exo Skeleton that when consumed in excess could potentially cause imapaction.

By providing as many bug types as possible you can also provide many different nutrients that each bug type possess.

Hmm... My Cham will NEVER get a roach... Gross ((

 

[ISA my Veiled]

Hmm... My Cham will NEVER get a roach... Gross ((

This is what I would do if I were you

To start with, go to amazon or eBay, seriously I wish I would have started here instead of the tons of money I spent at the chain stores, they sell you crap you don't need and honestly care about money money money.

Next, buy your chameleon from an actual breeder. Find which one you prefer and go for it, a lot of places have fantastic chameleons and I guarantee you will find what you are looking for.

Last, if there is a reptile expo near you soon, wait and get supplies there. There are hundreds of fantastic deals there and more often than not you can meet the breeder of the chameleon you are buying and explain everything to you in person to help you.not to mention from what I hear most breeders will help you weeks after buyin and will follow up on problems you have.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting my first veiled chameleon. I have done a lot of research and it seems like everyone has a different price.

AVERAGE COST OF OWNING A CHAMELEON
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/522-average-cost-owning-chameleon.html

 

[FabrizioHC]

Like it's been said before, buy the enclosure first. Once you have everything set up with branches, trees, leafs, lamps, supplements, etc, start searching for a chameleon. Amazon, eBay and Craigslist are good places to look for all of this stuff you can find it way cheaper than your local reptile store.

I recommend you look on your local Craigslist. You can find a good deal, but make sure the chameleon is healthy and whatnot, there's always the guy that wants to rip you off, if you have any Qs come here, there's a lot of people that can and will help you.