What makes them different?

Bschucher

Established Member
I've had several different types of reptiles in my life from snakes to other types of lizards but to me at least, there is just something so special about these guys (and gals). I absolutely adore this lil fascinating creature. I also wanna thank all here who take the time to help others with the care of them. Your thoughts?
 
I started my reptile experience not long ago with my first chameleon, Grumpy. No idea what it is that makes them amazing. Maybe it’s the eyes that swivel around independent of each other, the color/pattern changes they show, the little mitten feet, the attitudes, the acrobatics they perform, the pajamas, the accuracy of shooting those super long tongues...no idea. Whatever it is, they are amazing little animals and I’m so glad to have discovered the joys of being kept by them. 😊
 
^^Agree!! When I took in my first and former cham, I had NO idea that I would fall absolutely in love with chameleons. I'd say for me, one of the most intriguing aspects of a chameleon is their intelligence. I find them to be highly, highly intelligent creatures. Crafty little things sometimes too. OH I remember what I was going to say lol....so I used to let our cham out on our screened-in porch. I set up a free range for him out there in appropriate weather, and would leave the sliding door open so he could come in and go back to his cage on his own. Then at times, I would shut the door but sit nearby to monitor. He would climb down and literally scratch at the door when he was ready to come in. Melts my heart to remember that.
 
After seeing movies like Tangled and Rango I knew right then and there that I wanted to own a Chameleon! They are sooooooo cute and cuddly and can change into all sorts of colors and textures. It was then that I knew I must have one!! (alright enough with the B.S. and lying :LOL: ) I've always enjoyed exotic types of animals and I was introduced to Chameleons when I was very young and remembered that I would love to have one some day. It wasn't until after I got divorced and took myself to a reptile convention and saw them again that I finally pulled the trigger and bought one.( It was also sort of a middle finger to my ex. Sorry if that's offensive) Unfortunately in my impulse buy I bought the dreaded "Chameleon Kit" and then smart enough to come on here and started learning and learning quick. Unfortunately, due to wanting to be a "cool" cham owner I had created a free roaming environment for my Cham. Then one day I went to work leaving my Cham right where he usually would hang out and my oldest son had to do some work on the back porch. He decided to leave the back door wide open(It was summer) and he came back inside and got side tracked and a few hours later he noticed that my cham was missing. Well I rushed home from work and searched the entire back yard. I did the flashing a flash light into the trees that night and to no avail, we never found Boy George again? :( It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I decided I wanted to try again. I pulled the trigger once more and got myself a nice male Veiled. A few months later I adopted a nice female veiled and now to add to the fun. A Petco in my area occasionlly calls me when their Jacksons give birth so I go and take them and raise them as I am doing now. I have 14 four month old Jacksons. So a little story into my journey of being a Cham owner. :)
 
When I saw my first chameleon in a pet store I was fascinated by the eyes, long tongue, color changing and everything else. I bought it not knowing a thing about how to care for it. The store gave me lots of information that I found out was not right as I went alon...but by some miracle I got things right enough that this little WC male Senegal chameleon made it for over a year. Everyone I talked to said "why you buy a chameleon?"..."they die in a couple of weeks". I started saying to the people who asked me that...maybe you should ask me what I do to keep mine alive instead of telling me what you do that kills them....and some did listen.
When I got the next one I had to agree to take it no matter how bad it's condition was....same for the next few I got. Some were very near death...some great.
First vet I had to go to wouldn't even pick it up, couldn't sex it, had no idea what was wrong with it or what to do with it. Same story for the next one. Then I found a great vet with very little chameleon experience but a great desire to learn. We learned a lot together over the years and some papers were written as a result of his studying them as we went along.
I'm still fascinated by them!
 
Chameleons are absolutely amazing! I am an animal lover but not exactly a “pet” person. I love playing with others dogs and cats and I love the zoo and the aquarium and my idea of a date is a trip to the pet store, but I personally haven’t connected with any other animal like I have with the chameleons. Something about a chameleons need for personal space and their show of emotion just clicks with me. 🥰 I think this forum and all the wonderful people here have made me want to be a lifelong chameleon keeper. So I’ll add another heartfelt “thank you” in total agreement with BSchucher ☺️
 
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