What I need to be a great chameleon owner.

[Chooka]

I have wanted a chameleon for quite some time and I am now financially stable enough to begin searching for one. Being new at this I have some questions and concerns. I haven't ever owned a lizard before but I have been reading up on them quite a bit. I always read up on exotic animals before buying. I had a sugar glider before and that was a real handful, so a challenging animal I'm really not afraid of.

I have been told that I shouldn't own a chameleon because I was asking certain questions, but how are you supposed to learn if you don't ask? I have read through many articles and peoples different experiences. I've gained a lot of knowledge so far but would like my resources in one big forum so I don't have to go back and forth between things I have bookmarked since many of them give different advice.

I plan on building my own cage because the ones online are a bit expensive. Yes I know I said I was financially stable to own one and I am, but everyone likes to save money when they can. I figure the mesh should be pretty small so crickets can't get out and I have read that it should be plastic coated so it doesn't harm the chameleon in any way. I have also read that they need lots of airflow so all four sides will be open. The bottom will just be a piece of wood that the plant sits on so no soil falls onto my carpet.

I am refraining from ordering a chameleon online because I just find that to be kind of cruel and I want to see the product before I buy it. So I will either find one that is being sold on an online website that I can go look at or go to a pet store, not petco or petsmart, there are many pet stores in Newberg and Portland that treat their animals great. I know that chameleons shouldn't be held often because they can become very stressed and get sick or die from the stress. Many people have different views on how often to handle chameleons so I guess it's up to them and if their chameleon has a fair enough personality for it. So here are a few of the questions I have:

How often do you hold your chameleon for:
What are the two types of lights I need?: (Can I get these at a place like Walmart?)
Do they need this light on them all day and all night?:
How often should I mist and how long?:
How warm does it need to be for the chameleon?: (most likely getting a veiled)
How easy is it to keep that temperature?:
What does gutloading mean in terms of crickets?:
What is that powder they need for their bones called?:
Different ways to feed crickets to a chameleon?:

That's pretty much all the information I need for now. I know the types of plants that are safe for them and I know if I buy one I need to make sure it is cleaned before the chameleon is introduced to it. I also know if I get branches from outside I need to tear the leaves off and cook them in the oven to make sure they will be safe. Thank you for taking the time reading through this.

 

[Theveiled]

Have you read the veiled care sheet of this site? It will answer many questions you have

 

[Theveiled]

If you dont know where it is it is found under resources

 

[Chooka]

I was just going to ask where it could be found. I will go look through it, thank you

 

[Remkon]

You have time to prepare and get answers to all your questions so that's way better than buying one before you have all the.knowledge... You will have alot of new questions once you are a proud owner!

How often do you hold your chameleon for: Once a week, just so he's used to it... If he is out of reach I skip it, don't wanna stress him.

What are the two types of lights I need?: (Can I get these at a place like Walmart?)
UVB spot 5.0 or possibly 10.0 and a basking spot.
UVB probably you probably need to get at a petstore, basking you can just use a reflector bulb ( I dno the english word).

Do they need this light on them all day and all night?:
12hrs light, OUT at night since it will disturb his sleep otherwise.

How often should I mist and how long?:
depends on the species, but 3-4times a day for a few mins at a time. The cage needs to dry in between misting's.

How warm does it need to be for the chameleon?: (most likely getting a veiled)
depends if it's male or female and also on age (read the care sheet on this site)

How easy is it to keep that temperature?:
basically it's a 1time setup and then you just stick with that for as long as you can... Keep a thermometer available in the enclosure (basking temp/ambient temp) and its recommended to but an ir thermometer to measure surface temp.

What does gutloading mean in terms of crickets?:
read the page on it in the resources section, basically it means you feed your crickets with good nutritious food so they have added nutritious value to your cham as well.

What is that powder they need for their bones called?:
calcium...
I think for veiled: (correct me if im wrong)
calcium without d3 6x a week
calcium with d3 2x a month
vitamins supplements 2x a month

Different ways to feed crickets to a chameleon?:
hand feed/tong feed
cup feed: Feed from a cup or a modified milk jug (google it)
free range feeding: Letting them run lose in the cage

 

[Theveiled]

If you have any other questions though feel free to ask!

 

[Chooka]

Thank you! I will read through everything and if I find that I'm still a little lost I will come back and ask

 

[Theveiled]

ok!

 

[Carlton]

I have wanted a chameleon for quite some time and I am now financially stable enough to begin searching for one. Being new at this I have some questions and concerns. I haven't ever owned a lizard before but I have been reading up on them quite a bit. I always read up on exotic animals before buying. I had a sugar glider before and that was a real handful, so a challenging animal I'm really not afraid of.

I have been told that I shouldn't own a chameleon because I was asking certain questions, but how are you supposed to learn if you don't ask? I have read through many articles and peoples different experiences. I've gained a lot of knowledge so far but would like my resources in one big forum so I don't have to go back and forth between things I have bookmarked since many of them give different advice.

I plan on building my own cage because the ones online are a bit expensive. Yes I know I said I was financially stable to own one and I am, but everyone likes to save money when they can. I figure the mesh should be pretty small so crickets can't get out and I have read that it should be plastic coated so it doesn't harm the chameleon in any way. I have also read that they need lots of airflow so all four sides will be open. The bottom will just be a piece of wood that the plant sits on so no soil falls onto my carpet.

I am refraining from ordering a chameleon online because I just find that to be kind of cruel and I want to see the product before I buy it. So I will either find one that is being sold on an online website that I can go look at or go to a pet store, not petco or petsmart, there are many pet stores in Newberg and Portland that treat their animals great. I know that chameleons shouldn't be held often because they can become very stressed and get sick or die from the stress. Many people have different views on how often to handle chameleons so I guess it's up to them and if their chameleon has a fair enough personality for it. So here are a few of the questions I have:

How often do you hold your chameleon for:
What are the two types of lights I need?: (Can I get these at a place like Walmart?)
Do they need this light on them all day and all night?:
How often should I mist and how long?:
How warm does it need to be for the chameleon?: (most likely getting a veiled)
How easy is it to keep that temperature?:
What does gutloading mean in terms of crickets?:
What is that powder they need for their bones called?:
Different ways to feed crickets to a chameleon?:

That's pretty much all the information I need for now. I know the types of plants that are safe for them and I know if I buy one I need to make sure it is cleaned before the chameleon is introduced to it. I also know if I get branches from outside I need to tear the leaves off and cook them in the oven to make sure they will be safe. Thank you for taking the time reading through this.

One thing I find helps someone considering a cham is to describe the sort of person who will enjoy chamkeeping more than others:

1. If you like spending more time and energy creating the habitat they need (more complicated than many other herps). You not only need to care for the cham, but also for its live cage plants and its live feeders. It can take more trial and error to get all the lighting, misting, dripping, and climate monitoring chores down to the best routine. If you are a detailed oriented person you'll get more out of all this.

2. If you have time to do cage chores on a daily basis (rather than not worrying about it more than once a week). You'll either need to arrange for multiple daily misting, running water drippers, lights coming on or off during the day, or automate everything (which means buying more expensive equipment).

3. If you don't necessarily need or expect to have a lot of social interaction every day; if you get as much enjoyment out of observing it living its life as handling it. Not all chams like interacting with their humans, so you have to accept what temperament yours ends up having.

4. If you are willing to give up enough space for a generous (I consider a generous space for an adult veiled at least 3'x4'x5') cage full of live plants and all the assorted cage accessories (lighting, misting, fogging, etc) a cham will need. The more generous space you give it, the more active and healthy your cham will tend to be. And, you'll also need space to keep a good assortment of live insects including crickets, roaches, superworms, plus others such as silkworms, hornworms, flies, as they are available.

5. If you don't mind the need to save for future vet bills, and have a herp vet already picked out just in case.

6. If you like the challenge of thinking outside the box...getting creative in use of unlikely materials to solve caging and habitat problems. There are several aspects of cham caging that are simply not considered by the usual commercial pet product companies...cage drainage, confining feeders, providing airflow as well as humidity, accommodating live plants in the habitats, assembling fogging or misting systems. If you enjoy building and tinkering, cham enclosures will be fun.

 

[alphakenc]

I have wanted a chameleon for quite some time and I am now financially stable enough to begin searching for one. Being new at this I have some questions and concerns. I haven't ever owned a lizard before but I have been reading up on them quite a bit. I always read up on exotic animals before buying. I had a sugar glider before and that was a real handful, so a challenging animal I'm really not afraid of.

I have been told that I shouldn't own a chameleon because I was asking certain questions, but how are you supposed to learn if you don't ask? I have read through many articles and peoples different experiences. I've gained a lot of knowledge so far but would like my resources in one big forum so I don't have to go back and forth between things I have bookmarked since many of them give different advice.

I plan on building my own cage because the ones online are a bit expensive. Yes I know I said I was financially stable to own one and I am, but everyone likes to save money when they can. I figure the mesh should be pretty small so crickets can't get out and I have read that it should be plastic coated so it doesn't harm the chameleon in any way. I have also read that they need lots of airflow so all four sides will be open. The bottom will just be a piece of wood that the plant sits on so no soil falls onto my carpet.

I am refraining from ordering a chameleon online because I just find that to be kind of cruel and I want to see the product before I buy it. So I will either find one that is being sold on an online website that I can go look at or go to a pet store, not petco or petsmart, there are many pet stores in Newberg and Portland that treat their animals great. I know that chameleons shouldn't be held often because they can become very stressed and get sick or die from the stress. Many people have different views on how often to handle chameleons so I guess it's up to them and if their chameleon has a fair enough personality for it. So here are a few of the questions I have:

How often do you hold your chameleon for:
What are the two types of lights I need?: (Can I get these at a place like Walmart?)
Do they need this light on them all day and all night?:
How often should I mist and how long?:
How warm does it need to be for the chameleon?: (most likely getting a veiled)
How easy is it to keep that temperature?:
What does gutloading mean in terms of crickets?:
What is that powder they need for their bones called?:
Different ways to feed crickets to a chameleon?:

That's pretty much all the information I need for now. I know the types of plants that are safe for them and I know if I buy one I need to make sure it is cleaned before the chameleon is introduced to it. I also know if I get branches from outside I need to tear the leaves off and cook them in the oven to make sure they will be safe. Thank you for taking the time reading through this.

I will suggest u do lots reading n searching on this forum,decide what type of the cham u like n keep reading the info on them before u pull the trigger,get all the set up first ,then buy ur cham,its a never ending learning process,take ur time n build ur own experience base on what u learn,good luck.

 

[Chooka]

I was wondering if you would consider this cage to be fair enough for a chameleon:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiBreeze-Screen-48-Inches/dp/B001PHABI8/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t

I would really like to build my own but I'm not that entirely handy and I have to wait until the handy man is out of town because he would probably say no XD
I was going to build one in hopes that it would be a bit cheaper but I'm thinking it won't be unless I can get the supplies I need from people I know for free, which isn't likely. We are ripping apart our house and taking cabinets out so there is wood I could use for the "bones" of the cage but I would still need mesh and a plastic or rubber bottom and possibly some sort of tarp like material for the first few inches of the bottom part of the cage so no soil and water gets into my carpet. I would also need hinges and locks for the doors and that can get quite spendy I'm sure.

What do other people use as a drainage system? Would it work to just take out the bottom tray and dump it out? Even though that could prove difficult since the plant sits on the tray. I have this idea in my head for a cage but as I keep learning about them it becomes more complex and will probably reach the price of an easy to put together cage from online or a pet store. I was hoping to make a cage for around $50 but I don't think that will be able to happen.

 

[Theveiled]

I was wondering if you would consider this cage to be fair enough for a chameleon:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiBreeze-Screen-48-Inches/dp/B001PHABI8/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t

I would really like to build my own but I'm not that entirely handy and I have to wait until the handy man is out of town because he would probably say no XD
I was going to build one in hopes that it would be a bit cheaper but I'm thinking it won't be unless I can get the supplies I need from people I know for free, which isn't likely. We are ripping apart our house and taking cabinets out so there is wood I could use for the "bones" of the cage but I would still need mesh and a plastic or rubber bottom and possibly some sort of tarp like material for the first few inches of the bottom part of the cage so no soil and water gets into my carpet. I would also need hinges and locks for the doors and that can get quite spendy I'm sure.

What do other people use as a drainage system? Would it work to just take out the bottom tray and dump it out? Even though that could prove difficult since the plant sits on the tray. I have this idea in my head for a cage but as I keep learning about them it becomes more complex and will probably reach the price of an easy to put together cage from online or a pet store. I was hoping to make a cage for around $50 but I don't think that will be able to happen.

Thats the cage I have but havent put drainage in it......yet

 

[alphakenc]

I'm not that entirely handy and I have to wait until the handy man is out of town because he would probably say no XD

Handyman is gone but imaginary man is here.,.here is a great thread to give u some idea,happy reading
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/drainage-systems-for-cages-get-creative.102038/

 

[Carlton]

At the top of the Enclosures and Supplies forum you'll see a sticky message with lots of creative cage drainage ideas. Almost none of the commercial "chameleon" cages provide a convenient way to keep them drained. Maddening. I build my own cages so refuse to give money to enclosure manufacturers who are so clueless. Thank goodness we now have Dragonstrand these days!

 

[R.H]

It's great to see your doing all your research before you buy, in most cases chameleon are brought and owners don't have a clue, however once you have purchased your new bestie you will have another Hugh list of things you will want to know or your worried about.

Thinking outside the box, before you purchase your baby research and sign up to a established hurp vet ( just in case any issue arise, better be safe than sorry)

Also another thing to think about if you like to go away who will look after him and to have trust in that person, do they have knowledge on how to look after him.

If your worried about ur chameleon or it has any health issues doesn't matter how small, to make sure you have the funds and a vet to get to without any issues, and you also have back up emergency vet numbers etc etc.

Good luck and happy chameleon searching

 

[Chooka]

Wow all of those drainage ideas are awesome. That gives me some sort of idea of what I can do. Thanks so much! I didn't know this site was so vast. I may go look around before I ask anymore questions because I do need some cage construction ideas. Thank you all!

 

[TheVeiledProphet]

One thing I find helps someone considering a cham is to describe the sort of person who will enjoy chamkeeping more than others:

1. If you like spending more time and energy creating the habitat they need (more complicated than many other herps). You not only need to care for the cham, but also for its live cage plants and its live feeders. It can take more trial and error to get all the lighting, misting, dripping, and climate monitoring chores down to the best routine. If you are a detailed oriented person you'll get more out of all this.

2. If you have time to do cage chores on a daily basis (rather than not worrying about it more than once a week). You'll either need to arrange for multiple daily misting, running water drippers, lights coming on or off during the day, or automate everything (which means buying more expensive equipment).

3. If you don't necessarily need or expect to have a lot of social interaction every day; if you get as much enjoyment out of observing it living its life as handling it. Not all chams like interacting with their humans, so you have to accept what temperament yours ends up having.

4. If you are willing to give up enough space for a generous (I consider a generous space for an adult veiled at least 3'x4'x5') cage full of live plants and all the assorted cage accessories (lighting, misting, fogging, etc) a cham will need. The more generous space you give it, the more active and healthy your cham will tend to be. And, you'll also need space to keep a good assortment of live insects including crickets, roaches, superworms, plus others such as silkworms, hornworms, flies, as they are available.

5. If you don't mind the need to save for future vet bills, and have a herp vet already picked out just in case.

6. If you like the challenge of thinking outside the box...getting creative in use of unlikely materials to solve caging and habitat problems. There are several aspects of cham caging that are simply not considered by the usual commercial pet product companies...cage drainage, confining feeders, providing airflow as well as humidity, accommodating live plants in the habitats, assembling fogging or misting systems. If you enjoy building and tinkering, cham enclosures will be fun.

This is rather in depth window into one persons mental construction of a biased stereotype. Cham owners aren't just "those people", they are doctors, lawyers, cops, teachers, soldiers, plumbers, construction workers, the middle school kid down the street, the women at the circle k, the hipster at the mall, your own mother. We are all unique in our own way. Yes some may treat their chams with an advanced level of care, some not so much. Life is tough. People live in different circumstances, different views and religious beliefs, cultures. Some people eat chameleons. Face it. But you know what. A house divided will not stand. What unites us all is our curiosity of this amazing creature. So pleas think before you judge. Chameleon lives matter!!

 

[Chooka]

So I have had someone tell me that I shouldn't get a chameleon because I have never owned a reptile before. They've said that I would likely end up killing it since I don't have any knowledge of how to own a chameleon and that chameleons should only be owned by very experienced hobbyists. They also said no matter how much I research I will never be prepared. What do you guys think about this? In my opinion, I think that as long as I do my research and prep the cage before I get the little guy I should be okay. If a 12 year old who doesn't research at all and just goes with what the petco employee tells them to do and sticks their chameleon in a tank rather than a cage can keep theirs alive [maybe unhappy, but alive] I feel as if I should be able to do a pretty good job. I'm just making sure I'm not jumping into something people think I shouldn't be jumping into. After reading all about them I still feel confident that I could own a happy and healthy chameleon. Has everyone started off owning reptiles before jumping into chameleons?

 

[niels99]

All sides open is a bit to much. It will be hard to keep good humidity. Three open sides will provide enough airflow as well.

 

[Remkon]

So I have had someone tell me that I shouldn't get a chameleon because I have never owned a reptile before. They've said that I would likely end up killing it since I don't have any knowledge of how to own a chameleon and that chameleons should only be owned by very experienced hobbyists. They also said no matter how much I research I will never be prepared. What do you guys think about this? In my opinion, I think that as long as I do my research and prep the cage before I get the little guy I should be okay. If a 12 year old who doesn't research at all and just goes with what the petco employee tells them to do and sticks their chameleon in a tank rather than a cage can keep theirs alive [maybe unhappy, but alive] I feel as if I should be able to do a pretty good job. I'm just making sure I'm not jumping into something people think I shouldn't be jumping into. After reading all about them I still feel confident that I could own a happy and healthy chameleon. Has everyone started off owning reptiles before jumping into chameleons?

I don't entirely agree...
Yes, there the majority of species would require you to have experience, but maybe more like experience with chameleons than it is with reptiles in general.

There are also species like Veiled and Panther that are more forgiving and suitable for a starter assuming the person is well prepared and willing to invest a lot of time and money in their animal.

It also depends a lot on the person. Some people are just better in taking care of animals than others and are more dedicated. Some people have an eye for detecting if something is off, some people learn this by experience and some never do.